Jump to content
 

Totnes Quay warehouses - gentrified


Coombe Barton

Recommended Posts

I'll also go through my slides (how ancient is that!) to see what other photos I have of the Plains. They won't be any earlier than the mid 70's though.

 

That wooden structure on the roof looks to be a large dormer window with at least 5 vertical panes. Cheeks slate hung? The photo does enlarge with a click... although I suspect you know that!

 

Will be back soon!

Alan

 

Any prior to gentrification would be good - very kind of you.

 

The dormer still exists - been through my pix again

 

post-5402-0-73054500-1323727804_thumb.jpg

Link to post
Share on other sites

John

 

Here's the first half dozen I've found which focus on the largest block. All before conversion and a couple before the owners (Reeves) carried out a few repairs and a paint job. We had ways of making owners do this!

 

A couple are enlargements of that lean-to shelter, with an extra bit of brightness. They've all had a bit of photoshop to remove the biggest dust marks!

post-11262-0-31582900-1323784223_thumb.jpg

post-11262-0-44166400-1323784233.jpg

post-11262-0-59627500-1323784246_thumb.jpg

post-11262-0-83304800-1323784262_thumb.jpg

post-11262-0-52492800-1323784284_thumb.jpg

post-11262-0-70054000-1323784296_thumb.jpg

Link to post
Share on other sites

And here's the last 6 I have John. 3 of the building(s) at the south end... showing the surviving piece of track, and the group at the north end next to the bridge approach. It was this group that Harrison and Sutton 'took on'... under my ever watchful eye!!!!!!

post-11262-0-90938100-1323786053_thumb.jpg

post-11262-0-00684200-1323786073_thumb.jpg

post-11262-0-73907300-1323786086_thumb.jpg

post-11262-0-16972500-1323786102_thumb.jpg

post-11262-0-88366300-1323786122_thumb.jpg

post-11262-0-15739200-1323786146_thumb.jpg

Link to post
Share on other sites

You'll all be getting fed up with me... but I was asked what came of my model... so here it is in it's current sorry state! Remember... the slates are real! I obviously had too much time on my hands! Lost a few more while taking the photos!!!

post-11262-0-88230500-1323787838_thumb.jpg

post-11262-0-05871400-1323787854_thumb.jpg

post-11262-0-85204800-1323787866_thumb.jpg

post-11262-0-35318400-1323787886_thumb.jpg

post-11262-0-24167000-1323787901_thumb.jpg

Link to post
Share on other sites

Alan

 

Those are fantastic - just what I need to produce my versions of the buildings. You've saved me having to try and find the archive mentioned above at a time whan its open. Our next visit can only be in August.

 

SWMBO is also excited because buildings are her thing - before and after shots are on the cards.

 

Thank you.

Link to post
Share on other sites

It's to stop falling slates from decapitating an unsuspecting passer-by! Quite a late addition!

 

As you and your better half are into 'before and afters' I thought I'd fish out the one I got the wrong way round, and here it is.

 

Anyway, I'm so very pleased the photos are useful. First time I've had 'em out of their box in 7-8 years! I knew they'd come in use some day!

 

You mentioned 'that archive', and I can tell you it's on the first floor of the former Mill building adjacent to the pedestrian entrance to Morrisons off Coronation Road. Just behind the Seven Stars and over the road. The ground floor's a Tourist Info place.... just go in and head for the stairs to the right. There was an exhibition on Totnes's history up there, and the photo archive is tucked away in the far corner. Hope it's open when you're down. And... here's a photo of it before it was restored! It belonged to the Bacon Factory (on the site of the supermarket)... which also had a 'warehouse' range. I got the nice stone one listed, but all the later brick stuff was demolished... including the one attached to the stone building near the road, which was a smoking house. The walls inside were thick with a black gooey mess (You didn't need to know that, did you??!!)

 

Fire away with any questions! Anybody, for that matter!

post-11262-0-88689100-1323819063_thumb.jpg

post-11262-0-69113600-1323819081_thumb.jpg

post-11262-0-68172600-1323819096_thumb.jpg

post-11262-0-33983800-1323819111_thumb.jpg

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold

You'll all be getting fed up with me...

 

No way Alan. For me, there can never be to much of The Plains!

 

Thank you very much for putting up this brilliant archive. It's good to see some shots of what was left of the tramway.

All that I would love to see would be some snaps of the horse/tractor shunting! A long shot I think! I couldn't find any on display at the town photo archive. I'll have to dig into the archive when I next visit.

 

Seeing the old Harris bacon factory was a real memory jogger. At least a very small part of it still exists (if I'm correct) as the tourist information office and photo archive. http://www.totnesimagebank.info/

 

Also thanks for the info that the Harrison Sutton Partnership was involved in a little part of it! As I implied "my memory ain't what it used to be!"

Link to post
Share on other sites

All that I would love to see would be some snaps of the horse/tractor shunting!

There is a reproduction in Tony Kingdom's book of a photo in the Western Morning News of the last horse shunt, but none of the tractor shunting.

 

There's a reference to tractor shunting here - http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/43440-farm-tractors-as-shunters/

Link to post
Share on other sites

I should have thanked you guys for saying nice things about the model... but It's difficult to decide what to do with it! Have nearly binned it once or twice, but now I'm glad I didn't.... but that time will come!

 

I did mention another model I made about the same time (25 years ago!) of Rattery Viaduct which, although not strictly finished, is in a much better state... and I'd rather like to find it a home... somewhere in Devon would be nice. Would need to be collected, I think. It's 2mm scale but just under 40cm long.

 

Shall I post a new thread with photos?

Link to post
Share on other sites

Before I post the viaduct piccies, can I just say, John, that the Fore Street/The Plains Conservation Area Appraisal (on the S Hams site) only has the cover page at the moment... the reason being I had a look at it a couple of days ago and noticed they'd mixed it up with the one for High Street, so I told them so. I dare say the High St one only has the cover page too... presumably while they sort out the problem. Easy for me to notice... as I wrote them!

 

Am I modelling? Well, yes, in a 'new beginnings' sort of way. Came back to the fold earlier this year when I traded in some ancient N gauge stuff for a few OO engines, coaches and wagons. I have a layout planned (got most of the track) and will be taking over the garage in spring after getting (yet another) shed to take all the stuff that's in there now! In the meantime I've been weathering all the stock I've bought, something I've never done before. Absolutely lovin' it! Oh, I'm just 64, so no time to waste!

Link to post
Share on other sites

I've collected various appraisals for

so if you can add anything ...

 

And I came back a couple of years ago, resurrected my own P4 stuff and am now building.

 

I visited the South Hams for the first time in 20 or so years in the summer. We stayed for a couple of nights in Stoke Gabriel. SWMBO had three weeks of me following her round chapels and allowwed me a day where she followed me round warehouses. We're a strange family.

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Thank you for posting all this, Alan, it will come in useful for Bear's End. A few years ago my FIL moved to To'ness and when we visited from France, we found he and the Dragon had bought a new place just up the Newton Abbott road, not one of the warehouse flats we had thought they were after.

 

[i never forgave the Dragon, he could have had a mooring, too.....]

 

Doug

Link to post
Share on other sites

Only too pleased the photos might be of use, Doug. As far as I can recall, the flats in those warehouses were a bit on the pricey side for what they actually were and lacked any 'outdoor' space... and the moorings are very restricted by the tide... which is out more than in!

 

I'm a little more than 'just' up the Newton Abbot road... in Ipplepen, to be precise, which is closer to Newton than Totters.

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
  • RMweb Gold

Excellent stuff John. Well found. I've never seen any images of shunting on the Plains before.

 

I knew the last British Railways shunter, the late Stan Smith, who worked with the horses at the end and laterly with the Fergie T20? tractor.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Just found a pic of horse drawn traffic - about half way down http://www.devonpers...uk/totnes2.html

 

Interesting pictures, John. Could Totnes Plains really be the most unlikely place to find an LMS 3-plank wagon?

 

It might be the railway equivalent of the dockyard 1/4 Whit spanner, Fred the fitter loses his,so he 'borrows' his mates, who 'borrows' another mate's and so on until the ship's launched whereupon the Captain's steward finds it in his pantry cutlery drawer....

 

[For pantry, read 'The Plains'!]

 

Doug

Link to post
Share on other sites

Excellent stuff John. Well found. I've never seen any images of shunting on the Plains before.

The only other one I have is the one on P74 of the Tony Kingdom book on the Ashburton Branch - reproduction of the Western Morning News pic from 31st May 1948 of the last working.2 Horses, a bolster (Number ending 420) and a guy in a white coat holding up the traffic.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...