relaxinghobby Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 I'm currently reading a biography of Winston Churchill by historian Paul Johnson. On page 68 he reports that during the twenties Churchill was digging three connected fish ponds at his country house Chartwell using a mechanical digger and to speed up the work " laid down railway tracks to speed operations, first 18 inches wide, later 20 inches, three in all"..."He populated the lakes with black swans which sang to each other ( unlike the silent white swans)". Does anyone know what he used for locomotives? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Sheep Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 he might have just shoved the trucks along by hand? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pacific231G Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 I'd agree that it was pobably hand pushed as, although 18 inch gauge was used with loco haulage (As for example at the Royal Arsenals) it was very common until the 1950s to lay down short hand operated portable railways and you often see them in photos of 1930s housing estates being built. For large civil engineering projects a contractor might have used loco haulage but for a smaller project like this hand tramming seems more likely. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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