Berne Gauge to London. Idea Concieved When?

[The Stationmaster]

As many of those ex GWR locos were permitted over certain stretches of other companies' lines as well, that info rather suggests that the GC wasn't that generously provided after all!

 

Not all that much when you think about it - GW locos were very heavily restricted in the 1948 exchange trials although obviously ok on the generous ex GNR loading gauge and of course a 'Castle' had run on the WCML (but only the LNW part I suspect), and the L&SW mainline loading gauge was also a generous one. That apart GW locos were generally fairly tightly restricted or subject to a number of restrictions, for example 78XX working to Redhill etc were restricted to 40 mph over a substantial part of theh

route between Reading and Guildford while some GW tank locos running over Southern lines in the South West had to have the steps 'narrowed' to be permitted.

EDIT: Just found a list of lines over which "large" GWR coaches can travel and 9'3" wide are not accepted on the GCR (or any LNER) although they are on sections of many other companies' lines, the widest on the GCR is 9'0"

Keith

 

It was a bit more complicated than that, and in many cases was probably done/not done for convenience. For example the restriction on 60ft long x 9ft 3" wide GW vehicles passing over most ex Great Central lines was removed in 1944 which hardly suggests a sudden re-gauging exercise. But the 9ft restriction (on vehicles 60ft long or longer) had applied in the Pre-Group period. The difference in what was, or wasn't acceptable, was a combination of both length and width together with end throw and overthrow at the centre of the vehicle - and some GW vehicles were wide throughout their length and thus limited for both interchange and use on the Company's own lines. So for instance the LNWR - which also had a generous loading gauge could accept wider (i.e. 9ft 4.5" wide) GW stock on most of its main lines.