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GWR map of loading gauges


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  • RMweb Gold
19 hours ago, Penrhos1920 said:

Did the GWR have a map of loading gauges similar to the weight restrictions that would show where the wider and/or longer coaches couldn’t go?

As far as I know there wasn't a map but there were exhaustive lists - which changed considerably over the years - in the GWR General Appendix.   There might have been more local restrictions listed elsewhere but the GA list included branch lines so I would regard it as complete.

 

Various of the information published in the 1936 edition of the GWR GA was altered over the years in published amendments which, as far as I can trace,  appeared on the following dates March 1937, December 1937, February 1939, March 1940, May 1941,  April 1943, September 1943, December 1944,  May 1946, November 1947, July 1949, by letter in February 1950 for new Hawksworth gangwayed stock, May 1950, January 1951, May 1952, September 1954,  January 1956,  June 1956,  and December 1958

 

The method of showing dimension on coach bodies was revised from May 1952 following 'a mishap' when somebody had used he width over body as their decider rather than the width over projections (e.g door handles etc).

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I’ve found that there was also a 1920 edition.  Was there an earlier one?  I’d have thought that by 1905 there would have needed to be one as Churchward had introduced the Dreadnought coaches which were a lot bigger than the usual Dean coaches.

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  • RMweb Gold
21 hours ago, Penrhos1920 said:

I’ve found that there was also a 1920 edition.  Was there an earlier one?  I’d have thought that by 1905 there would have needed to be one as Churchward had introduced the Dreadnought coaches which were a lot bigger than the usual Dean coaches.

The 1920 GA only has two and a bit pages referring to coaching stock restrictions and the only supplement I have (1924) has very few amendments to it.  Interestingly the GA refers to 'the Coaching Arrangements Book' and 'the pink pamphlet' implying that they might contain further iinformation although in both cases the references are listed under a paragraph regarding through working to certain other companies.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Am I right in assuming that the width given in the GA refers to the maximum body width, rather than the width over handles?  Because if it's the later then the GWR didn't build many coaches 9' over handles after 1904 for travelling over LNER and SR lines.

 

When did the 'yellow-disc' classification come into being?  There's a pair of articles in MRJ 129 & 130 which refer to a 1938 coach as being classified 'yellow-disc'.

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  • RMweb Gold
21 hours ago, Penrhos1920 said:

Am I right in assuming that the width given in the GA refers to the maximum body width, rather than the width over handles?  Because if it's the later then the GWR didn't build many coaches 9' over handles after 1904 for travelling over LNER and SR lines.

 

When did the 'yellow-disc' classification come into being?  There's a pair of articles in MRJ 129 & 130 which refer to a 1938 coach as being classified 'yellow-disc'.

Interesting area as there were various changes over the years in what was published.  Clearly some earlier entries refer to width over handles while with others it is unclear what they refer to (probably width over body.    Oddly the distinction between body width and width over handles wasn't made absolutely clear until 1952 when a letter dated 24 May stated that henceforth two width figures would be painted on passenger stock solebars instead of the single width figure figure previously painted on the solebar.  This change came about because the handles of a coach had fouled the tablet apparatus at an undisclosed location, on the GWR).

 

The amendment regarding Yellow Disc vehicles was issued in December 1937 which suggests that it probably dated from that year.  The Red Triangle restriction was included in the 1936 General Appendix from original day of publication.

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