1947 GWR freight for Cheddar

[The Stationmaster]

As the freight services originated from Bristol West Depot I would suggest that as a branding for the Toad - or no specific depot at all?

Chris.

I wonder if there might even be a slightly greater opportunity? The 03.55 from West Depot to East Somerset Jcn returned to West Depot but the 08.00 West Depot to Cheddar returned as the 11.00 Cheddar to Stoke Gifford in the 1947 TT. Regrettably the freight marshalling book for 1948 is rather sparse on Cheddar information (and strangely it doesn't even show a connecting yard for Cheddar or Wells - neither are listed under Bristol Wes Depot although that could well be a printing error of course).

[phil_sutters]

Thanks for that link, not one I've come across before and while the photos are 6 years after my period its a good start for trying to work out some formations. I liked the short train of a Toad, Esso tank and a pannier. The two combined workings in the linked photo also looked interesting. Will have to go and have another read through the 3 cheddar books and see what Ive missed. Having gone through the electronic extracts of Steaming Through Cheddar that I have saved on the laptop (must really do the other books as well!) I have found a photo taken from the road bridge facing away from the station of lots of open wagons loaded with aggregate (presumably from the covered loading siding.) Any more info on these would be very welcome. The fruit workings I have a lot of data on, both on Syphon types and the use of Fruit D etc. I would be interested if there are records of the grey fruit wagons being used. I really hadnt realised quite how many off network wagons would be needed. Looking in my Cheddar storage box, I currently have: 1 Conflat, 1 MOGO, 1 MACAW, all in GW along with more modern releases of a Charles Roberts slope sided steel mineral and a Charles Roberts 14t tank (both of which are Bachmann Collectors club editions that need repainting.) Are any of these of no use? (and need to be sold on) My only other PO wagons are all based from around the Calne area, and I'd hazard a guess are of no use. I also have a Foster Yeoman branded open, I'd assume there is no chance of it getting diverted Is there much else on the Cheddar branch in Branch Lines of Somerset? Its not a book that I have at the moment and would be interested as to its value. Ravenser, thanks for the advice on kits. Will start looking out for a few more to build when I am in Toulouse. My original plan of spending my 6 months away from home working on etched kits has been shot down by getting put in a hotel rather than a house (I doubt their fire alarms etc will be happy with solder fumes!) Instead its going to be a case of stocking up on plastic based projects!

Just to add to the fun of deciding what vans carried what, in Somerset and Avon Railways in Old Photographs (by Kevin Roberts), under the same photo of porters about to load strawberries into Siphons at Cheddar, the caption reads "One of the principal products for transport from the station was rabbit, another was soft fruit during what was a short season....." So work out what van type - ventilated / refrigerated - would have been used! The photos in this book are predominately pre-grouping, by the way.

[The Fatadder]

Just to add to the fun of deciding what vans carried what, in Somerset and Avon Railways in Old Photographs (by Kevin Roberts), under the same photo of porters about to load strawberries into Siphons at Cheddar, the caption reads "One of the principal products for transport from the station was rabbit, another was soft fruit during what was a short season....." So work out what van type - ventilated / refrigerated - would have been used! The photos in this book are predominately pre-grouping, by the way.

Just ordered a copy, costing a whole 99p... I guess rabbit traffic means I need to add some Mica? meat vans to the todo list.

 

Also placed my Coopercraft / Parkside order this morning, so thats a whole bunch of wagon kits on the way...

 

 

 

 

Depends on what you want to achieve tbh. New levers and guides make the most visual difference imho and an etched vee gives the brake gear a bit of robustness.

 

Axleguards will be RCH 1923 in Bill's range although what's usually called the BR type did also appear on wagons after the war and before nationalisation.

Tricky question really, I like the look of your 9ft chassis on the scalefour stores, and the better price compared to Bill Bedford's chassis (and I do like the look of your design.) For other wheel bases I think price is going to take over, a set of etched break leavers and new sprung w irons working out a fair bit cheaper.

 

With your chassis, do you solder up the running chassis before or after building the body? (just thinking about the limiting factor when I wont be able to solder in France.)

[Fat Controller]

Rabbits would have been gutted, but not skinned or jointed, and conveyed in normal vans or NPCCS- I believe wicker baskets may have been used to carry them. As in the case of most game, it was considered a couple of days 'hanging' would improve the flavour. Micas would probably have been reserved for the frozen meat traffic from Avonmouth and other ports.

Other sources of large-scale rabbit traffic were the Barnstaple branch, some of the Cornish branches and Fishguard (not sure if those were imported from Ireland or caught locally)- it was an important source of cheap protein until the combined effects of myxamatosis and cheap poultry killed the trade in the early 1950s.

[OnTheBranchline]

Cambrian:

C81 12ton 6 plank Open Wagon Kit, 9' wb wood underframe *2

C9 LMS 12 ton "All-steel" Van Kit 1

C57 12ton High-sided Goods Wagon Kit 1

C58 12ton High-sided Goods Wagon Kit 2

C80 12ton Wood Bodied Van Kit (Unventilated, "Wood ends") 1

C93 LMS 12ton One Plank Open Wagon Kit 1

C101 LMS 12ton Van Kit (Ventilated, "Steel ends") 1

C102 LMS 12ton Van Kit (Unventilated, "Steel ends") 1

Parkside:

 

LNER 12 Ton Van (Corrugated Ends) 1

LNER 12 Ton Goods Van (Diag. 94) 1

 

 

Cooper Craft

Dia. O4 Open A Wagon with William's Patent Sheet Rail 1

1003W - Dia. V5 Wooden Mink Van

1006W - Dia. 02 7 Plank Open Wagon, High Side & Sheet Rail

 

Bachmann

Bachmann UK 38-375 12 Ton ventilated van with planked ends LNER 1

Bachmann UK 38-083 12 Ton Southern 2+2 Planked Ventilated Van GWR Grey

Bachmann UK 37-730B 12 ton ventilated van in GWR dark grey.

Bachmann southern 2+2 Van in Southern brown

Mix of private owner wagons to distress

 

Which then leaves cattle boxes, I am guessing from its age that the Cooper Craft model would be too old to last to the late 40s? (or if it did it would be rare?) Hopefully the proposed Geen kit is more suitable... The weathered 3 pack looks tempting as an initial starting point to work from

 

What would be the date that the van would have been introduced? (It doesn't have the GW on it like the ones introduced in 1933?)

[Coach bogie]

Great Western Journal has a few articles that may be of help

 

Congresbury issue 15

 

S&T Maintenance in the Cheddar Valley issue 54,55,56

 

Mike Wiltshire

[wagonman]

 

 

 

I have found a photo taken from the road bridge facing away from the station of lots of open wagons loaded with aggregate (presumably from the covered loading siding.) Any more info on these would be very welcome.

 

 

 

As this thread seems to have been bounced, and as no-one seems to have answered this question, I thought I'd stick my oar in too. The were two private sidings at Cheddar dedicated to 'stone' traffic, one just to the west of the station operated by Callow Rock Lime Co Ltd which dealt in lime rather than stone, and the other on the west side of the goods yard originally for L W Bryant (Quarries) Ltd but ceded to Crow, Catchpole & Co Ltd in 1936. They were originally tar distillers, based in London, but had by this time expanded into roadstone, hence their interest in Bryant's quarries. All their wagons were nominally London based though at least one (number 208) is known to have been marked "return to Cheddar". Tarred roadstone wagons were not pooled at the outbreak of war and indeed were not taken into BR stock until the early '50s. There were for instance still 140 Foster Yeoman wagons in circulation in 1946.