Abandoned Wagons, coaches and rolling stock

[russ p]

Took some pictures at Willesden yesterday

 

 

 

 

[russ p]

Took some pictures at Willesden yesterday

 

 

 

 

[18B]

Never thought that this thread would hit 43,000 views! 

 

[ManofKent]

A few from a morning wander along Iron Wharf - previously the Faversham Quay branch.

 

 

[ManofKent]

A few more. I lost count of how many there are, but there's a good number and all seem to be the same type (no expert on vans - but presumably these were considered out of date when the line closed in the late 60's):

 

[Enterprisingwestern]

13 minutes ago, ManofKent said:

all seem to be the same type

 

There are three different end designs at least, quite a treasure trove, thanks for posting.

 

Mike.

[eastwestdivide]

There’s Vanwides in there, which lasted longer than the late 60s. Is it possible that the vans arrived long after the branch closed? I saw quite a few van bodies “exported” on the back of lorries from Hoo Junction around the early 80s (I think the frames were scrapped on site, but the wooden bodies were worth more as ready-made sheds). 

[BernardTPM]

Some are Banana vans: three sets of hinges for the doors and no vent on the end (like the HD/Wrenn/Dapol model).

[PhilJ W]

The Vanwides had a relatively short life. Wear in the suspension led to derailments. 

Edited January 9, 2021 by PhilJ W

[50A55B]

On 09/01/2021 at 20:55, PhilJ W said:

The Vanwides had a relatively short life. Wear in the suspension led to derailments. 

Not so, they replaced an earlier type of Palvan with offset doors which had the problems. Vanwide type Palvan were the last type of ‘traditional’ van to stay in service after air brake and suspension modifications.

Edited January 10, 2021 by 50A55B
Clarity, hadn’t made it clear that vanwides were the type last in service.

[PhilJ W]

Sorry, I meant Palvans.

[cctransuk]

I doubt that any of these were 'left behind when the branch was lifted' - simply a case of bodies from scrapped wagons being bought as handy sheds.

 

John Isherwood.

[ManofKent]

5 hours ago, cctransuk said:

I doubt that any of these were 'left behind when the branch was lifted' - simply a case of bodies from scrapped wagons being bought as handy sheds.

 

John Isherwood.

There definitely were abandoned wagons when the line was lifted - there's at least one photo showing the sidings shortly before closure in the Middleton press book https://www.middletonpress.co.uk/books/railways/southern-main-lines/faversham-to-dover.html . Whether they were just left behind or sold off I've no idea, but they weren't brought in to the site, they were already there. The boatyard was already in existence and adjoined the sidings, although it was much smaller when the line closed.

[ManofKent]

7 hours ago, eastwestdivide said:

There’s Vanwides in there, which lasted longer than the late 60s. Is it possible that the vans arrived long after the branch closed? I saw quite a few van bodies “exported” on the back of lorries from Hoo Junction around the early 80s (I think the frames were scrapped on site, but the wooden bodies were worth more as ready-made sheds). 

I don't know about all of them - some may have arrived later from somewhere like Hoo, but there were certainly abandoned wagons sitting on the sidings in the mid-late  60's prior to the branch sidings being taken up. The main part of the quay branch was taken up in the late 60's, but the remaining stub from the mainlines wasn't removed until the 80's, there may have been vans parked up there - as far as I know it was disused (was on the edge of an industrial estate (now housing, with the victorian goods shed offices)).

[cctransuk]

6 hours ago, ManofKent said:

I don't know about all of them - some may have arrived later from somewhere like Hoo, but there were certainly abandoned wagons sitting on the sidings in the mid-late  60's prior to the branch sidings being taken up. The main part of the quay branch was taken up in the late 60's, but the remaining stub from the mainlines wasn't removed until the 80's, there may have been vans parked up there - as far as I know it was disused (was on the edge of an industrial estate (now housing, with the victorian goods shed offices)).

 

Do any of the vans that are there now have chassis?  If not, it is unlikely that they were de-chassised and the chassis scrapped after the branch was lifted.

 

John Isherwood.

[Mark Saunders]

It was not unknown for yards to have internal user vans for storage! On closure they would probably have been unfit to move on the main line.

[PhilJ W]

That much rolling stock in a small yard suggests that they had been withdrawn and stored. It would be interesting to see the sales contract of the yard to the boatyard.

[cctransuk]

43 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

That much rolling stock in a small yard suggests that they had been withdrawn and stored. It would be interesting to see the sales contract of the yard to the boatyard.

 

I've yet to see any evidence of 'rolling stock' - just plenty of grounded bodies. With railway access very close, it is not surprising that wagon bodies were purchased for secure storage in preference to flimsy sheds.

 

John Isherwood.

[BernardTPM]

6 hours ago, cctransuk said:

Do any of the vans that are there now have chassis?  If not, it is unlikely that they were de-chassised and the chassis scrapped after the branch was lifted.

The vanwides still appear to have the solebars, probably because the sliding door lower runners are attached to these.

Edited January 10, 2021 by BernardTPM

[ManofKent]

5 hours ago, cctransuk said:

 

Do any of the vans that are there now have chassis?  If not, it is unlikely that they were de-chassised and the chassis scrapped after the branch was lifted.

 

John Isherwood.

 

No full chassis, but some appear to have the solebars still attached. I've honestly no idea whether chassis removal could have easily be done on site or whether it's more likely to have been done in the Faversham wagon repair shed (off the main line near where the branch started). Both the Wagon repair shed and Engine shed stopped being used around the same time the quay section of the branch was closed. 

 

The quay side of the branch line was little used in the early 60's - the photos in the Middleton Press book show it was mainly used for wagon storage prior to that part of the line being taken up.  The sidings were reasonably extensive. The rest of the branch wasn't removed until the 1980's and was effectively a separate goods yard off the main line (there's a road separating the two halves).

[Fat Controller]

36 minutes ago, ManofKent said:

 

No full chassis, but some appear to have the solebars still attached. I've honestly no idea whether chassis removal could have easily be done on site or whether it's more likely to have been done in the Faversham wagon repair shed (off the main line near where the branch started). Both the Wagon repair shed and Engine shed stopped being used around the same time the quay section of the branch was closed. 

 

The quay side of the branch line was little used in the early 60's - the photos in the Middleton Press book show it was mainly used for wagon storage prior to that part of the line being taken up.  The sidings were reasonably extensive. The rest of the branch wasn't removed until the 1980's and was effectively a separate goods yard off the main line (there's a road separating the two halves).

Might I suggest that the Vanwides, at least, may have come from one of several locations on the Isle of Sheppey that cut up wagons. 

[ManofKent]

28 minutes ago, Fat Controller said:

Might I suggest that the Vanwides, at least, may have come from one of several locations on the Isle of Sheppey that cut up wagons. 

It's certainly possible they came from multiple sources.  The site is a veritable mix of old boats, containers, vehicles etc.

 

I think with the sidings that the boatyard now occupy holding a significant number of disused wagons for several years prior to closure that the likelihood of at least a number of the vans coming from there is fairly high, but with the closure being 55 years ago I doubt anyone working there today is likely to remember.

[Ben B]

This might be more for the Railways in Fiction thread, but the shots of that boatyard full of wagons and random tat put me in mind of a picture book we had at school when I was little, about a man who lived in an old railway carriage, and kept buying extra old wagons and vans to extend his 'house', filled and surrounded by all sorts of odds and ends... I can remember a page where the lorry driver who's just delivered a wagon jokes "any more carriages and you'll need an engine, you'll have your own train!".

 

Sorry for the thread drift

[CloggyDog]

Happy to report the Shenfield Shark is still there, as of 19:15 this evening.

 

[pheaton]

15 hours ago, CloggyDog said:

Happy to report the Shenfield Shark is still there, as of 19:15 this evening.

 

Im sure i read somewhere that its been bought for preservation, but there were difficulties encountered trying to extract it.... ISTR it was dumped there after running a hot box

 

i wonder if this is the very very last piece of plain bearing rolling stock left on the mainline??

Edited July 5, 2021 by pheaton