UK Milk Tank Loading confirmation, was it top or bottom?

[Michael Hodgson]

13 minutes ago, mikesndbs said:

 

Well that's interesting, how did they control ingress of dirt etc? 

I think they tried to avoid it!

[Wickham Green too]

1 hour ago, mikesndbs said:

Well that's interesting, how did they control ingress of dirt etc? 

Was it through an open manhole as suggested in the picture or was that just for inspection - with the filling through a hose connection ?

[Karhedron]

10 minutes ago, Wickham Green too said:

Was it through an open manhole as suggested in the picture or was that just for inspection - with the filling through a hose connection ?

 

The manhole was for inspection and washing out. There was a separate small inlet which was used for filling as shown below (although since it is a demo, they are actually using water :D ).

 

 

The basic design of the tanks is almost 100 years old and it has to be remembered that they were introduced to replace churns. It was a big step forwards in terms of hygiene compared to what had gone before but definitely not what we would consider ideal by modern standards.

 

I have seen several photos from the 60s and 70s (including the one in my previous post) which suggest that filling via manhole may have occurred as an expediency. I have also spoken to the former manager of the Express Dairy in South Morden who recalls that up to 1-in-3 tanks were rejected on arrival. Possibly another reason that the traffic shifted to road.

Edited February 13 by Karhedron

[Wickham Green too]

Yes a hose coupling would have been better than just a funnel - though that, itself, would have given them more to keep clean. 

[Michael Hodgson]

58 minutes ago, Karhedron said:

I have also spoken to the former manager of the Express Dairy in South Morden who recalls that up to 1-in-3 tanks were rejected on arrival. Possibly another reason that the traffic shifted to road.

Certainly sounds excessive.  Given the location, I'm assuming you mean rejection of a load at the bottling plant, rather than rejection of empty wagon for loading.

 

on what grounds?  cleanliness of tank, contamination of load, curdled on arrival?

Would that be down to poor controls at the despatching station (perhaps not properly washed out after previous run or mixing contaminated milk in with good milk from another farm) or bad handling by BR ? 

[Wickham Green too]

Only bad handling by BR would not be an equal hazard with road transport !!?!

[Damo666]

What did they mean by 'Glass Lined'?

 

It's a question I often meant to ask. Do they mean enamelled?

[phil-b259]

16 minutes ago, Damo666 said:

What did they mean by 'Glass Lined'?

 

It's a question I often meant to ask. Do they mean enamelled?

 

Effectively yes.

 

Basically the interior of the tank was glass lined so as to keep the milk free from metallic corrosion  / contamination.

[Wickham Green too]

15 hours ago, Damo666 said:

... Do they mean enamelled?

I'm getting claustrophobia just wondering how they did that ! 🤢

[Oldddudders]

4 minutes ago, Wickham Green too said:

I'm getting claustrophobia just wondering how they did that ! 🤢

Claustrophobes might have struggled with daily cleaning tasks, too. The Morden South tanks were highly visible in the platform at Vauxhall, with chaps climbing in and out. 

[Karhedron]

15 hours ago, Damo666 said:

What did they mean by 'Glass Lined'?

 

It's a question I often meant to ask. Do they mean enamelled?

 

Yes, vitreous enamel like an old steel bathtub. There were instructions that milk tanks were not to be loose shunted as rough handling could crack the enamel.

 

Some tanks were lined with Staybright Steel (what we call stainless steel today). I do not know what proportion of tanks had which lining as the tanks stopped carrying descriptions like that after nationalisation.

[scottystitch]

I have to say, Matt, based on previous threads, and the information you're able to share on this one, I'm thoroughly looking forward to getting my hands on your new book.

 

Best

Scott.

[Pint of Adnams]

The filling was most definitely by a smallish diameter probe pipe inserted through an aperture in the top of the tank and reaching almost to the bottom. The initial discharge from that pipe will have foamed but the outlet was quickly submerged by the rising level of milk.

 

The 'glass lining' was developed in the US by a chap named Pfaudler: History & Milestones - GMM Pfaudler but glass lining was superseded following the adoption of Staybrite stainless steel Firth Brown Steels - Wikipedia , which was lighter, did not require lining, and was also coupled with the use of Alfol, another US invention, as insulation.

 

Pfaudler was represented in England by Enamelled Metal Products Corporation, Ltd.: Enamelled Metal Products Corporation - Graces Guide

[Wickham Green too]

2 hours ago, Karhedron said:

.... There were instructions that milk tanks were not to be loose shunted as rough handling could crack the enamel. ...

This was before the concept / technology of shock-absorbing wagons was developed, of course.

[Karhedron]

17 hours ago, Michael Hodgson said:

Certainly sounds excessive.  Given the location, I'm assuming you mean rejection of a load at the bottling plant, rather than rejection of empty wagon for loading.

 

on what grounds?  cleanliness of tank, contamination of load, curdled on arrival?

Would that be down to poor controls at the despatching station (perhaps not properly washed out after previous run or mixing contaminated milk in with good milk from another farm) or bad handling by BR ? 

 

Yes, rejected at the bottling plant. Usually the reason was that the milk has started to spoil. Whether this was due to inadequate cleaning from the previous load or slow transit from the dispatching dairy I am not sure. The tanks were pretty old by this point (I am talking 1970s here) which probably did not help.