Castle Aching

[Guy Rixon]

Yes, apparently they just left it to rust in the open at Mannez after it went out of service. Pity. It was in use when I was there in the mid-1970s, and I was once invited onto the footplate when it was in steam. I have pictures of the crane and the tip wagons (in less-decayed condition) somewhere but they need finding and scanning.

[martinT]

I would be very grateful for a scan of this article, if possible.  I am interested in the GW coaches that worked through to Ilfracombe.

 

IIRC this was, and remained, common.  I am not sure that GW locos worked through at this stage (a GW 4-4-0 was noted running through during WW1), but GW locos were probably more common later, after the larger TT was installed at Ilfracombe.  

James,

copies of the GWSG's Pannier journal are available to non-members for £3.50 (+ P&P) from the Publications Officer - see their website:http://www.gwsg.org.uk/ . The Pannier page lists the content of all Panniers (42 to date). The article referred to ('A Barnstaple Scene Unravelled' by Brian Bailey) is a fascinating analysis of the 2 coaches (& the workings that took them to Barnstaple) shown in 2 well-known photos that surprisingly never get printed together! Pannier 42 is a really excellent edition & at 36 pages larger than previous ones.

 

Martin

[Edwardian]

James,

copies of the GWSG's Pannier journal are available to non-members for £3.50 (+ P&P) from the Publications Officer - see their website:http://www.gwsg.org.uk/ . The Pannier page lists the content of all Panniers (42 to date). The article referred to ('A Barnstaple Scene Unravelled' by Brian Bailey) is a fascinating analysis of the 2 coaches (& the workings that took them to Barnstaple) shown in 2 well-known photos that surprisingly never get printed together! Pannier 42 is a really excellent edition & at 36 pages larger than previous ones.

 

Martin

 

Thanks, Martin

 

I keep meaning to re-join the GWSG - I must do so.

Edited May 2, 2018 by Edwardian

[Regularity]

If there's a goods shed, there would be one or two fixed cranes inside (number depending on size of shed) and unlikely to be an outside one.

 

That’s not true.

The crane(s) inside the shed would have limited radius in which to operate, and would assist with, for example, unloading crates from open wagons onto the platform or directly onto a cart. The outdoor crane would be used for things such as large logs, assuming there wasn’t a bank from which to roll them, and where a greater reach is required - for example to lift something that is just within the loading gauge out of high sided (e.g. 5 plank) open and onto a cart or lorry.

 

I grant that for some minor, parsimonious companies such as the Midland, that this short sighted paucity of facilities for profitably handling goods traffic may not have been common, but a glance at photos and plans of goods yards where a shed is big enough to have a crane will usually show another, larger, one out in the open.

This is the Bishop's Castle Railway crane, courtesy of Albyn Austin. It usually seems to have been coupled to one plank wagon 59 shown in the second photo (which happens to have a fixed derrick in the background) and that wagon has no jib support.

 

Be wary of undated photos! Thankfully we know that those photos were taken near or at the end of the line’s life.

 

The big derricks were used for loading the large timber trunks and logs, and were specifically supplied for that purpose.

 

Other photos of the crane on the wagon in use show it to have been of low capacity. It didn’t need a jib support anymore than most track-side cranes required one, but wagon 59 is being used as a runner/reach wagon, to accommodate the overhang.

 

The other photos firstly show the crane in use to help recover rails etc as the removed the track after closure: it features prominently in these photos. Before that, it was in use at Lydham Heath, to help with timber loading. For these purposes, a siding was laid alongside the the existing one (and only one!) in the yard, and the siding temporarily slewed to connect it, so that the crane could be put there. Once there, the siding was put back to normal and the crane wagon chained down to the rails, to stop it tipping over. It wasn’t moved up or down, the temporary track was there for it to stand on and be clamped to.

 

This happened in the line’s latter days. I used to tease Barry about this, as with the 6 wheel tender in use on Carlisle, this is most likely the correct thing to have on his layout. His response was unrepeatable. Not because he said any naughty words, but because he gave me a look, of a kind practised by teachers when controlling hobby know-it-all’s. (No prizes for working out how I came to be familiar with this look. Nor for commenting that nigh on 40 years later, nothing has changed...)

[Nearholmer]

That ‘big crane’ in an earlier photo isn’t, technically, a crane, it’s a ‘stiff leg derrick’, named after a particularly poor centre forward d, who played for Accrington Stanley in the 1880s (which is remarkable, since they weren’t formed until 1891). Common in timber operations, where very wide field of lift was important, and a clever bit of kit because it doesn’t need a separate counterweight arrangement.

Edited May 2, 2018 by Nearholmer

[uax6]

http://www.ambaile.org.uk/en/asset/show_zoom_window_popup_img.html?asset=28675 shows an ex Aberdeen and Inverness joint hand worked mobile yard crane. Now if you mount a Mikes models Cowens yard crane on a wagon chassis that's what you get. The jib is fixed, but for movement the pins would be knocked out of the two bars that support the jib, allowing the jib to be lowered on its own hook (wind the hook up hard against the pulley, take the tension off the wires, remove the pins, and then lower the hook and the jib falls at the same time, reverse the operation when you get to the new location....)

Heres a better view: http://www.ambaile.org.uk/en/asset/show_zoom_window_popup_img.html?asset=28726

 

Mike models are here (scroll down to the midland yard crane) http://www.holtmodelrailways.co.uk/index.htm

 

Andy G

 

Edit, there was a 6 wheeled outside w ironed crane at Fort George that lasted till closure, and that was also dumb buffered till the end....

Edited May 2, 2018 by uax6

[corneliuslundie]

I am well aware of the problem of undated photos, particularly of the BCR where those in the two books I have are hardly ever given dates (three more books on order from the BCR). I was also aware that the photo was late in the life of the railway - most seem to be. Thank you very much though for the extra information. My club is collecting information for a BCR layout and every sliver helps. And on Saturday I am due to learn how to operate Lydham Heath at the Craven Arms show (at the racecourse, not in the town) as we shall have it at our exhibition in Welshpool in late October and I shall not doubt have to help with the layout then.

Albyn Austin has been a fantastic help in our quest for information, as have various BCR Society officers. I may start a thread about the layout when there is enough to report.

Jonathan

[Edwardian]

http://www.ambaile.org.uk/en/asset/show_zoom_window_popup_img.html?asset=28675 shows an ex Aberdeen and Inverness joint hand worked mobile yard crane. Now if you mount a Mikes models Cowens yard crane on a wagon chassis that's what you get. The jib is fixed, but for movement the pins would be knocked out of the two bars that support the jib, allowing the jib to be lowered on its own hook (wind the hook up hard against the pulley, take the tension off the wires, remove the pins, and then lower the hook and the jib falls at the same time, reverse the operation when you get to the new location....)

Heres a better view: http://www.ambaile.org.uk/en/asset/show_zoom_window_popup_img.html?asset=28726

 

Mike models are here (scroll down to the midland yard crane) http://www.holtmodelrailways.co.uk/index.htm

 

Andy G

 

Edit, there was a 6 wheeled outside w ironed crane at Fort George that lasted till closure, and that was also dumb buffered till the end....

 

I rather like this MM crane, which is captioned as MM122 Midland heavy yard crane

 

Yes, a Midland one! And man-enough for anything.

 

The reason being is that it looks quite similar to GER examples I've seen (IIRC, that is).

[uax6]

And Highland ones too.

 

But I would have thought that CA would have a mobile one (less capital cost you see).

 

BTW have you though of having most of the yard as a loading bank? The Highland did this at most of their terminals, and presumably it made life easier for all...

 

Andy G

[RedGemAlchemist]

I rather like this MM crane, which is captioned as MM122 Midland heavy yard crane

 

Yes, a Midland one! And man-enough for anything.

 

The reason being is that it looks quite similar to GER examples I've seen (IIRC, that is).

Ooh, beautiful! This would be perfect for Kelsby yard!

[Donw]

Further back it was suggested that there might be room for a cattle dock at the end of the long siding beyond he coal unloading area. I humbly suggest that coal merchants were not noted for there quick unloading and cattle were a load that needed to get away as soon as possible after loading. So I suggest the cattle dock would more commonly be close to the start of the siding and the coal area towards the end.

 

Don

[Nearholmer]

An arrangement that I rather like is the one used at several places on the K&ESR, where the lie of the land is used to create a substantial loading bank at the back of the goods yard, and multiple points of access from the public highway are used to avoid wasting space on railway land ....... its all very 'fit for purpose'.

 

This is Northiam, but some of them had longer loading banks. The 'not loading bank' siding was used for coal.

Edited May 3, 2018 by Nearholmer

[Edwardian]

Further back it was suggested that there might be room for a cattle dock at the end of the long siding beyond he coal unloading area. I humbly suggest that coal merchants were not noted for there quick unloading and cattle were a load that needed to get away as soon as possible after loading. So I suggest the cattle dock would more commonly be close to the start of the siding and the coal area towards the end.

 

Don

 

That was my assumption.

 

I wonder how many wagon-lengths from the turnout might be suitable for the location of a cattle dock.

 

I envisage the merchant's own wagons can sit at the end of the siding until required.

[Guy Rixon]

Are the coal and feed merchants reasonable and cooperative men? If so, then they might be persuaded to move their wagons to clear the cattle dock. However, if they feel they have priority in unloading (and they might, if they are paying siding rent), then the cattle dock would have to be well clear of "their" spots. This would put it much nearer the throat of the station and quite a long way from the road entrance.

 

I suspect, from browsing many station plans, that there was a desire not to herd the beasts any further though the yard than could be avoided. Too much chance of some getting loose on the tracks and this particularly scary if they could easily stray onto the running lines.

 

Might it look well to have a drove path running up the back of the layout, behind and outside the yard,and leading to the cattle dock?

[Edwardian]

Are the coal and feed merchants reasonable and cooperative men? If so, then they might be persuaded to move their wagons to clear the cattle dock. However, if they feel they have priority in unloading (and they might, if they are paying siding rent), then the cattle dock would have to be well clear of "their" spots. This would put it much nearer the throat of the station and quite a long way from the road entrance.

 

I suspect, from browsing many station plans, that there was a desire not to herd the beasts any further though the yard than could be avoided. Too much chance of some getting loose on the tracks and this particularly scary if they could easily stray onto the running lines.

 

Might it look well to have a drove path running up the back of the layout, behind and outside the yard,and leading to the cattle dock?

 

The outer limit, the rear fence of the yard will not be on the board where the track is laid.  It will be on the front edge of the rear board.  There is, indeed, a lane planned to run behind it (for those who remember the village, it runs along the side of the (incomplete) shop building, left foreground of picture below).

 

So, yes, it would be entirely possible to have an entrance to the pens from behind them - which ties in also with Kevin's point about multiple entrances. 

Edited May 3, 2018 by Edwardian

[Nearholmer]

There were cases in cramped stations of cattle docks being foul of point-work and/or foul of something else, a passenger platform (Hemyock, and Newport Pagnell, IIRC), or even access to a loco shed (Seaton, Devon). My assumption is that this was acceptable because the cattle wagons only needed to be in-situ for a few minutes, and not very often.

[Edwardian]

There were cases in cramped stations of cattle docks being foul of point-work and/or foul of something else, a passenger platform (Hemyock, and Newport Pagnell, IIRC), or even access to a loco shed (Seaton, Devon). My assumption is that this was acceptable because the cattle wagons only needed to be in-situ for a few minutes, and not very often.

 

Interesting.  I was a little reluctant to place the cattle dock on the short siding, as it would be separated from the passenger platform by not much more than the width of the siding. I called to mind the example of Midhurst, beautifully modelled and explained here - http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/124504-midhurst-lbscr-station-1866/?p=2794812 - where the sensitivities of the travelling public were respected by a tall and solid fence.

 

Siting the dock behind the front part of the rear siding solves this problem, save that "Station Road" would feature beasts occasionally and their ordure more persistently.  Perhaps this should be an unofficial short cut, with the 'official' route to the station taking the road to the back of the layout, round the church and into CA via the main street past The Dodo?

 

I should explain that a small 12" wide extension is planned beyond the buffer stops of the yard sidings.  This will sit in the shallow bay created by the window (boarded up) of the workshop.  I will not, therefore, extend to the front of the layout.  It will, however, allow the road from the station to be depicted heading to the rear of the layout.  There it notionally connects with the road running behind the parish church, which runs across the back of the scene into the village. 

 

The reason that you will all be interested in the extension piece in due course is that it is also to be the location of the brewery.

[Hroth]

...

The reason that you will all be interested in the extension piece in due course is that it is also to be the location of the brewery.

Most essential!!!

 

And every morning, the waft of hops and barley over Castle Aching.....

 

(a good source and sink for traffic too. It WILL be rail served?)

[Hroth]

Back to the Cattle Dock....

 

Have a look at the layout of the station at Highley on the SVR.

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/71-highley-svr/

 

The cattle dock is perched over the points at the mouth of the "goods yard", right next to the road entrance to the yard.

There are also some nice photos of the station and its environs, including a static crane on a plinth and the loading gauge. (You'll need one of those you know!)

 

And its only a tiny station!

[Nearholmer]

Having a break from incorporating review comments into a complex document, by looking at pictures of cattle docks, which is an odd form of relaxation.

 

Hemyock in one of its iterations http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/h/hemyock/index4.shtml it looks as if this was an inconvenience, so the dock was given its own micro-siding at a later date.

 

And, if you peer carefully at this one of Newport Paggers, you can see that the dock was a simple continuation of the passenger platform http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/n/newport_pagnell/index13.shtml. The route to and from it was down the station approach road.

 

I think that you might be ascribing modern urban sensitivities to rural Edwardians. After all, the toffs would have arrived by coach, and been conducted direct into the station, without their patent leather boots being sullied.

Edited May 3, 2018 by Nearholmer

[Caley Jim]

 

I think that you might be ascribing modern urban sensitivities to rural Edwardians. After all, the toffs would have arrived by coach, and been conducted direct into the station, without their patent leather boots being sullied.

Yes indeed. Country folk, even nowadays, are practically insensitive to 'fresh country smells'. After all, they are part of their everyday working environment. In Edwardian times it was agriculture which kept the economy of rural villages, and small towns, running, so the residents of CA are unlikely to complain.

 

Jim

[Northroader]

I expect market day at Castle Aching would look similar to this:

[Hroth]

I expect market day at Castle Aching would look similar to this:

D6FEEC12-19E1-4131-80C6-CD349CE48E7A.jpeg

Were they expecting Evel Knievel, perchance?

[wagonman]

Hemyock in one of its iterations http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/h/hemyock/index4.shtml it looks as if this was an inconvenience, so the dock was given its own micro-siding at a later date.

 

 

 

 

The caption seems to have mistaken the carriage shed for the goods shed!

[Nearholmer]

Possibly, although I think the words are true, in that the goods shed is, just about, in view in the right background.

 

This map shows an early iteration of the layout of the station, which was twice changed significantly.

 

The version on the map looks like a really badly designed model railway layout!

Edited May 3, 2018 by Nearholmer