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Wondering if anyone can on this thread can fill the gaps on the shunters that were owned and operated by ICI at Winnington/Wallerscote? I understand that in 1951 ICI purchase 5x English Electric 350hp 0-6-0DE shunters, named: 1. Davy (EE works no. 1901, renamed John Brunner from 1973); 2. Perkin (EE works no. 1904); 3. Joule (EE works no. ?); 4. Solvay (EE works no. ?); 5. Cavendish (EE works no. ?, transferred to Tunstead in 1960) I've also seen pictures of either an English Electric 0-6-0 (or a Class 08) named Ludwig Mond - this loco might be one of the above renamed or a later addition to the fleet? ICI also purchased 8 (?) Ruston and Hornsby 165hp 0-4-0DE shunters in 1956/57, named: 1. FA Freeth 2. Kelvin 3. Faraday 4. Rayleigh (temporarily operated at Tunstead in 1960) 5. Ramsey (temporarily operated at Tunstead in 1960) 6. Trevithick (permanently transferred to Tunstead in 1960 and subsequently rebuilt) 7. ? 8. ? Finally, ICI purchased a single GEC Stephenson 500hp 0-6-0 in 1980, named Ludwig Mond. This seems unusual given that the Wallerscote facility would cease production in the mid 1980s, the internal rail system itself would be run down towards the end of the 80s and it was an expensive loco?

Tried again on my PC rather than tablet and no problems. Definitely looks like the unloading gantry, this map covers the loading facilities: https://www.old-maps.co.uk/#/Map/434963/565707/13/101329

Thanks John, I've already had a look at your excellent website - interesting section on the ore trains with some great photos too. Fantastic layout project as well! Unfortunately I don't suscribe to old maps so can't peruse said triangle. There must be a book on this topic, I noticed Darlsey mentioned at the start of the thread but have mixed feelings about some of the Middleton Press books I own. If anyone has a copy and is reading this any chance you could let me know if it has good map snippets/photos in of the ore loading and unloading points? It would be good to get an opinion on it before buying.

Really Interesting thread - I've cycled down part of the route when I was completing the coast to coast cycle. Suitably inspired, I'm musing on the viability of a future layout based on the Consett ore trains. I'd really like to get a track plan/map for the iron ore loading facilities at the quay and the unloading gantry at Consett. Can anyone recommend the best source for those or does anyone have anything they would be happy to share?

Paul - just wondering if you ever managed to dig out any photos of the loading points in the works? Or any more general pictures of the works you may have taken when visiting?

Thanks for your input Bennyboy. The light railway from Gorstage to Wallerscote was indeed a post war construction - I believe it opened on 20th July 1953 and as you say, closed in the 80s at the same time as the plant that it served at Wallerscote stopped production. As an aside, no doubt there will be many reading this thread interested in the RTR 00 gauge models recently announced by Hatton's (http://www.ehattons.com/ici?utm_source=ici&utm_medium=ganttchart&utm_campaign=projectupdates). I only just became aware of the project so thought I'd flag it up in case anyone else has missed it. Although an N gauge modeller, the availability of 00 gauge ICI hoppers makes a foray into the bigger scale very tempting, particularly if combined with DCC running and sound. I'd like to model a small part of the Winnington works but first I'd like to get a better understanding of the broad functions that each of the key buildings at Winnington fulfilled. Can anyone help in labelling up one of the various maps that have been received? Or does anyone have a labelled map?

Currently building an N gauge model of Wallerscote island, Northwich at which the soda ash produced from the process using the limestone was stored before forward distribution by water, rail (with liberal numbers of the Farish covhops) and road. However, if anything justifies a return to 00 gauge this does! I can feel a micro layout representing another part of the ICI empire at Northwich coming on... Of course, N gauge ICI hoppers would be even better but to have them represented RTR in any scale is a great result.

I recently came across a collection of c.24 photos of the Wallerscote light railway in the National Archives. The photos cover the Gorstage exchange sidings and the light railway up to the Wallerscote works and give a good overview of the railway. I've never seen any of them published in, eg: Railways Across Mid-Cheshire by Alan Wilkinson etc, and unfortunately I can't post them on here due to copyright restrictions. However, if anyone is interested I would be happy to email them to you for personal use - and even happier to receive some photos, eg: Mond railtour/Northwich salt branches etc in return!

Harry - Many thanks for your excellent contributions again. The signalling diagram is very helpful, it really complements the plans you posted by confirming the track layout and helping me to understand how it operated. Am starting to wonder what sort of questions I can ask you to prompt further releases of similarly good material!

Thanks to everyone for all the photos, great to have a definitive track plan and some pictures to put it in context. Is anyone lurking out there with pictures of the connection between Gorstage sidings/mid-Cheshire line/WCML? Or of Hartford junction in general?

Thanks for the further scans Harry, a shame the original archive copies have gone missing because it looks like a very interesting document and no doubt there were other ones too. I really do appreciate all the scanning, if you have time it would be great to see a scan of the page that covers the Wallerscote works and in particular Wallerscote Island (assuming the document covers that area). I really wasn't expecting for a plan of Gorstage sidings to come up so many thanks for taking the time to post, it fills a big gap.

Wow, thanks for scanning and uploading this unexpected gem! I have never seen a plan of Gorstage sidings so this is a most excellent find, what were the plans published in? Thanks again, I would definitely be interested to see the remainder (as "see page 4" teases on the fourth photo...). Very interesting!

This is a tantalising prospect, have you had any luck at digging out the photos?

Many thanks for taking time to set up an account and contribute. This thread also motivated me to do the same so it clearly has broad appeal! I would be very interested in a map of the full works, would it be possible for you to send me a copy? If you have any maps or material that cover the so-called 'Wallerscote Light Railway' than ran from the exchange sidings next the West Coast Main Line at Gorstage to the Wallerscote works that would also be very interesting (information on it is very hard to find). However, as a non-railway modeller that may well be too specific a request. My interest in railways is also more general (born out of studying economic history) and so you may find my undergraduate dissertation interesting (based on a case study of Brunner Mond) which investigates how the British economy would have developed without the railways. You can read it here: http://www.lse.ac.uk/economicHistory/workingPapers/2012/WP166_.pdf As ever, stick to the abstract, introduction and conclusion if you just want a quick overview.

Just been browsing the expanded set, you have added some great photos! Too many to highlight but I particularly like the 1999 portrait shot of the (Class 08?) shunter ahead of the Class 47, just ahead of the roadbridge on the Oakleigh side. That's a helpful insight, I presume the MGR wagons were simply drawn through said grey shed to discharge into a below track pit? To summarise: Inputs: Limestone, backlime, coke (generally sent through left hand fan of sidings looking through roadbridge to Winnington) and coal (sent through right hand siding fan). Outputs: Soda Ash by PCA until early 1990s (loaded somewhere in the works and then shunted into Oakleigh for collection?) Operation: Until track relaying mainline locos went no further than the roadbridge; was this simply a matter of policy (as you suggest) or was there also another reason such as inadequate storage at the works so raw materials were effectively stored in the wagons in Oakleigh sidings until needed?

Amazing, thank you very much for going to such effort - the pictures are great. Any more would always be a bonus but to have these is extremely welcome. I'm going to continue to mine your knowledge and ask: Did the MGR coal wagons discharge into the same unloading facility as the limestone wagons (seems unlikely?) or did they have a separate under track discharge point? Also, presumably the coal traffic ended at some point as coal power was replaced with, eg oil? I have noticed that if you look at the current Winnington site on google maps the sidings that curve to the left after the roadbridge split into two, on the right side there is the current unloading pit and limestone storage but on the left side there appears to be what could have been coal unloading facilities and a large heap of coal (?). Conveyors lead from both areas into what I presume is a screening plant, which itself has a conveyor to the lime kilns so my assumption is that there are separate discharge points from which raw materials (coal, limestone) pass (but are kept separate) into a common screening plant before being fed into the kilns? On a related note, another area I am really struggling to get any photos or even much info on is Gorstage sidings/Wallerscote light railway in general, have you come across anything that covers those areas? Would be particularly interested in anything that shows the relationship between the sidings and any junction/connection to the WCML (I can't even find any relevant track plans). Hopefully if we put out some feelers for the archives we might get some information, or at least know to stop looking! It would be great to find them, not just from a narrow modelling perspective but because of their general importance in terms of industrial history. Thanks again for all your help.

Paul, I would really appreciate it if you could scan and share some photos, I am particularly interested in more panoramic photos that show the general layout of the sidings (and how many tracks passed under the road bridge?). Photos that show the differing traffic types would also be great. If you could aid my operational understanding on steam too, I would be very grateful. My interest in this area stems from studying economic history at university where I realised a case study of Brunner Mond could act as case study to answer the classic question in economic history: do railways cause economic growth? My dissertation topic was chosen on purely academic criteria, scope for originality and ease of research etc. Indeed, at the time, my interest in trains was thoroughly dormant, a legacy of the childhood 8x4ft trainset, but researching the project rekindled my interest as I realised what a relevant piece of history I had on my doorstep. As a result, I have covered both the archives at Chester, the National Archives in London and emailed Brunner Mond but likewise drawn a blank on primary material on the Northwich ICI rail network, albeit I was only keeping an eye out for anything that came up incidentally in the course of my main research. I would be very interested in Peter's research, I do feel there must be scope to potentially restart something in that area. As an aside, I saw your joint layout in Model Rail a while back - very impressive indeed! Tempted me to attempt something similar, merely at the other end of the journey for the hoppers! Thanks again, Ed

Paul, I very much enjoyed your book, I feel there is scope for a follow-on type volume on the internal railways of ICI Winnington/Wallerscote?! Would it be possible for you to share some of your photos of Oakleigh? Obviously there are some great photos in the book but understandably you could only devote so much space to Oakleigh. I'd also be interested in fleshing out the operational side of Oakleigh, especially when the hoppers were steam hauled. In particular when a train was brought into Oakleigh and then departed with empties did that mean the steam engine ran tender first on the return? Or was it normal practice to turn engines using the Hartford triangle? Looking forward to your response, Ed

This question prompted me to sign up to RM Web as a fellow N gauge modeller also seeking to recreate Oakleigh sidings as a 'mini project'. I am currently building a micro layout (that has grown to 2.5ft x 5ft) of Wallerscote Island but am considering a 'shunting plank' based on Oakleigh as a follow on project - particularly given the very recent end of trains to Oakleigh. I have found the old maps website useful and have a copy of the relevant map for 1977, although other research reveals as with so many industrial sidings that you can justify many different track layouts as the sidings have been regularly expanded/contracted/relayed/modified. There are some good pictures in the Foxline 'Railways Across Mid Cheshire' and the Cheona 'History of the ICI Hopper Wagon, but a trawl of Flickr/google is also fruitful. I have amassed a few Mond PCA and TTA tanks to populate my layouts. I sense the potential for research synergies... How is your investigative work going Branchie?