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Curving Goods Sheds - did they exist?


cary hill

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I was reading about a proposed plan(1903) to rearrange the buildings and track layout at Minehead Station.

 

One proposed change would have involved the building of a goods shed with a gently curving track passing through it.

 

It was noted by the author that a gently curving goods shed would have been a most unusual feature.

 

I can't recall seeing a "curved" goods shed - does anyone know of one?

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Don't even understand why one would have been needed at Minehead in those days - there was plenty of space around the station.

 

Surely, a curved track leading to/from the goods shed, but not through?

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Curved buildings are surely almost as much of a challenge in 12" = 1ft as they are in a model - maybe more so, as they have to stand up! Perhaps the shed would have been rectangular, with a curved loading platform serving a curved road?

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All the ones I can think of involved straight roads (railway 'roads' that is) but sometimes with quite severe curvature on the approach or at one end. I could foresee some difficulty working on a curved deck in a goods shed although I did know some where the width of teh deck reduced although the shed was straight so it might not have been totally impossible to work.

 

I've a glimmer of an idea that I can recall seeing a banana shed sited on a slight curve but I'm not certain about it.

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I've a glimmer of an idea that I can recall seeing a banana shed sited on a slight curve but I'm not certain about it.

 

:)

 

This one at Oldham survives in a derelict state, though it is much larger than what the OP is probably thinking of and I think the railway tracks were outside rather than inside.

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Survival? Have you followed the sequence to the end?

 

This is a heartbreaking set of photos. Clegg Street warehouse was one of my two favourite LNWR goods buildings, the other being Huddersfield warehouse. Since the latter is preserved and looks to have a secure future I will now just have to build a model based on Clegg Street for Bradford North Western.

 

Ian

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Curved buildings are surely almost as much of a challenge in 12" = 1ft as they are in a model

 

Surprisingly even a few curved engine sheds existed (Woolwich Arsenal, Cornbrook Junction, Staveley Old Works, Brunswick, Sunderland Hendon) - so there were probably a few curved goods sheds. It is amazing what can be built given the need or desire to do it and a variety of materials, don't forget all the many roundhouse sheds.

 

Flex that plasticard!

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I've a glimmer of an idea that I can recall seeing a banana shed sited on a slight curve but I'm not certain about it.

 

In some areas, there were whole bunches of them.

 

Coat definitely required today, methinks...

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Thanks for the replies so far.

 

Could't decide if the possible curved shed for bananas was an extended April Fool or not.

 

I agree that there was no apparent need for a curved goods shed at Minehead at the time it was proposed, as there was plenty of land available for expansion at that time.

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The basic principle here - already implied in several posts - is that utilitarian considerations are always going to 'push' the design toward rectilinear. Cheaper construction, maybe even of a modular template established already, uniform internal arrangements for all the handling and storage. Only a significantly constrained site is likely to drive the use of anything else. Although... I did once have to do with a German commercial building erected during the height of the Bauhaus movement. Very artful with sexy curves and all that: it was a complete PITA to make efficient use of some of the internal space.

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All the ones I can think of involved straight roads (railway 'roads' that is) but sometimes with quite severe curvature on the approach or at one end. I could foresee some difficulty working on a curved deck in a goods shed although I did know some where the width of teh deck reduced although the shed was straight so it might not have been totally impossible to work.

 

I've a glimmer of an idea that I can recall seeing a banana shed sited on a slight curve but I'm not certain about it.

 

Mike, I'm quite surprised that the banana shed at Reading has somehow escaped your 'all seeing Western Region eye'.... there are a few shots of it in the latest GWR Journal!

 

;)

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Mike, I'm quite surprised that the banana shed at Reading has somehow escaped your 'all seeing Western Region eye'.... there are a few shots of it in the latest GWR Journal!

;)

It's an age thing Nidge - I can remember that banana shed quite well but I wasn't going to commit in print until I'd found that GWRJ and checked my memory; and it wasn't quite so easy to remember where I'd put the GWRJ in question :blush:

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If memory serves me Clegg Street warehouse was curved because the whole goods yard was one big curve. This was a joint LNW/GC yard and at one time there was a GC goods shed too, but it burnt down many moons ago, and I'm not sure I've ever seen a photo of it.

 

Potentially the arrangement at Clegg Street would be quite space saving in model terms - although this is of course a relative term as I doubt many would have the room to model such a big yard, except maybe in 2mm scale.

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Its a shame Clegg Street has gone. There was all sorts of schemes to turn it into a hotel, apartments etc but these days its not exactly the sort of area I'd like to live in. Every time I looked at it it said "model me".

 

I'm a "Roughyead" (Oldhamer) born and bred (even though I emigrated to Rochdale lol) and this was one of the truly - if only - iconic buildings in the town, at least since Oldham Brewery was demolished in the 80s :biggrin_mini2: .

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