Moorewood

[RailWest]

In Mac Hawkin's "Somerset & Dorset Then and Now" plate 53 shows 44561 on a Down train passing Moorewood signal-box in a photo credited to RE Toop and dated 20-May-1961. The caption states that by that date the connection to the Down sidings had been removed, yet the official date from Weekly Notice P/EW46 for the removal of that connection was 9-Dec-1964 (quoted also by RA Cooke). Is the photo wrongly dated or - given that the site of the sidings is not visible in the photo anyway - is it simply a case that the caption is incorrect? I suspect the latter.

 

  

[bécasse]

Chris, surely you don't believe published photo captions unless you can independently verify them! I learnt not to a very long time ago.

 

The most obvious explanation would be that the sidings were effectively out of use for traffic purposes by the date of the photo, but remained in situ (and usable for engineering purposes and even putting off cripples), so the caption writer was a bit right but not completely so. The other possible explanation is that the photo date is wrong, which is usually the answer (what I call "the trees in full leaf in December syndrome"), but given your intricate knowledge of the S&D in its last years I presume that you have discounted that one. A date from an STN is unlikely to be wrong unless the work was postponed at the last minute, and that obviously can't be the explanation here.

 

Obviously the caption writer could just be plain wrong (confusing it with another location perhaps) but one usually finds other, obvious, flaws in captions in the same work if the writer was slipshod.

[bécasse]

Chris

 

Was this the Roads Reconstruction (1934) Ltd siding? That is the only siding listed between Binegar and Chilcompton in the 1960 RCH Handbook of Stations. This link  might prove useful if it was.

[RailWest]

No, that was the Up siding for Emborough Quarries.

[bécasse]

In which case it isn't listed in the 1960 RCH Handbook of Stations, I have looked for Moorewood and under both Binegar and Chilcompton and it isn't there - so it was out of traffic use by 1960. It would be listed if wagons could be consigned to or from it.

[Combe Martin]

On 03/04/2023 at 19:32, RailWest said:

In Mac Hawkin's "Somerset & Dorset Then and Now" plate 53 shows 44561 on a Down train passing Moorewood signal-box in a photo credited to RE Toop and dated 20-May-1961. The caption states that by that date the connection to the Down sidings had been removed, yet the official date from Weekly Notice P/EW46 for the removal of that connection was 9-Dec-1964 (quoted also by RA Cooke). Is the photo wrongly dated or - given that the site of the sidings is not visible in the photo anyway - is it simply a case that the caption is incorrect? I suspect the latter.

 

  

 

Are there 2 versions of this book ?, mine, first published in 1986, has pictures of an empty Masbury in plate 53 !

[RailWest]

Firstly, it is quite likely that the Down Sidings were effectively out-of-use for some years before the points were removed, given that apparently both coal and stone traffic from them had ceased by the late 1930s. On the other hand, it has been said that they were used to hold (empty?) wagons for the Emborough works and also for New Rock Colliery, as the latter's sidings at Chilcompton did not have the capacity. Indeed, it is said there was a proposal to retain a length of track of the S&DJR after 1966 from Bath to Moorewood specifically for New Rock, who would otherwise have to seek alternative loading facilities (but instead they closed down).

 

I have been pointed to a better scan of the Toop photo here

 

It is possible to enlarge this much more clearer to the extent that no point is discernable in the down line nor any rodding leading across to it, but the shortening of the perspective is a little confusing. In the background can be seen disc 14, for moves back over the east crossover. This is where it gets confusing.....according to George Pryer disc 11, for moves back INTO the Down siding, was in the 6-foot, and as clearly it is not there then one might assume that it has been removed, However, all the available signal diagrams for Moorewood (1914, 1930 and early BR) show that signal to be on the outside of the track and there is no known record of it being moved, in which case one would expect any view of it to be blocked by the train anyway.

 

 

 

 

[RailWest]

>>>Are there 2 versions of this book ?, mine, first published in 1986, has pictures of an empty Masbury in plate 53 !

 

Actually, it appears that there were three - 1986, 1995 and 1999. Mine is the 1999 version.

 

[bécasse]

6 hours ago, RailWest said:

Firstly, it is quite likely that the Down Sidings were effectively out-of-use for some years before the points were removed, given that apparently both coal and stone traffic from them had ceased by the late 1930s. On the other hand, it has been said that they were used to hold (empty?) wagons for the Emborough works and also for New Rock Colliery, as the latter's sidings at Chilcompton did not have the capacity. Indeed, it is said there was a proposal to retain a length of track of the S&DJR after 1966 from Bath to Moorewood specifically for New Rock, who would otherwise have to seek alternative loading facilities (but instead they closed down).

 

That would be compatible with the lack of reference in the 1960 RCH Handbook of Stations, it is perhaps relevant that the Roads Reconstruction (1934) Ltd siding is listed (unusually I think) under both Binegar and Chilcompton which suggests that the precise means of handling wagons consigned to it was decided locally.

[RailWest]

I have uploaded now a new web-page about MOOREWOOD (including Old Down Siding).

 

It's mostly about the signalling there (no surprise there!) , but I've included some background details about the stone and coal traffic also. Sadly there is a dearth of good photographs and maps for that location, so contributions would be welcome :-) and hopefully more detail can be added in due course.

 

The photograph below - sadly very poor and uncredited - has been included here as I /think/ that the 'T' shaped structure in the background /might/ be a 'tower' for the erstwhile aerial ropeway to Cockhill Quarry - any thoughts?

 

http://www.trainweb.org/railwest/railco/sdjr/moorewood.html

 

Edited April 10, 2023 by RailWest