Locos that didn't even qualify as a 'might have been', but really deserved preservation

Mrs Craven

 

Tom - There were certainly other cases of awkwardly-sited locomotive works. Two that come to mind are the LYR works at Miles Platting,
re-located in the 1880s to a green-field site at Horwich, and the GNSR at Kittybrewster, re-located in the early 1900s to Inverurie. Among private loco builders, Sharp Stewart re-located in the late 1880s from Manchester to Glasgow for similar reasons.

Back to the topic of this thread, you have identified in other posts that, while the Southern and its constituents are fairly well represented in preservation, there are shortfalls for the pre-1900 SECR and for the later LBSC. Perhaps this trio of 0-6-0 tanks would have helped cover those gaps:

http://www.semgonline.com/steam/r-r1class-ser_01.html
http://www.semgonline.com/steam/tclass_01.html
http://www.semgonline.com/steam/e2_class.html

Although in respect of the last entry, there is the risk of argument with those who believe that Mr Billinton copied the design from Rev'd Awdry.

 

To access the works a locomotive had first to be turned on a turntable located on the main running line, then pulled across the road linking Cardiff town centre with the docks, next pushed onto the yard turntable and manually manoeuvred into the yatd using heelbars. If it was one of the typical 0-6-2Ts the rear of the locomotive next had to be lifted in the overhead crane shop so the trailing wheels could be rolled out reducing the wheelbase before it was moved back onto the turntable then onto a traversing table which its coupled wheelbase was now just short enough to fit on, it then had to be moved through the rear of the crane shop onto a second traversing table giving access to the main part of the works.

 

In its original GNR form I hope.

 

I enjoyed his appearances on Newsround and Country File.

 

Quite straightforward then.

 

So this was a railway works without a rail connection?

 

That's an idea that'll never catch on!

Peter

 

Swanage/SLL has made it work for quite a few years now. Hate to think how much it's costing them to move locos in/out by low loader though!

Keith

 

Herston works?

Tom

 

I will never say Brighton works had a poor layout again!

What’s interesting in that description is not only the awkward access, but also that it put a constraint on the size of locos - essentially the railway could never build a bigger loco than would fit on the traversed, essentially a modest-sized 0-6-2T.

Tom

 

I've seen it said that its why the TVR stopped building their own locomotives and went exclusively to buying them.

 

You should look at old photos of Dundalk (GNRI), which had a similarly cramped transverse arrangement, and was no small part of why that line developed such a famously excellent stud of 4-4-0s ... nowt bigger fitted!

 

Indeed - not forgetting Ian Rileys works at Heywood, nor the NYMR's C&W facility at Kirby Misperton.

Some daft ideas never catch on

Peter

 

Not some silly little 0-4-2T from Swindon? Phew!

 

Is this it?

 

Think so, yes. West Yard was the name.

 

It certainly explains why their largest and most modern design, the A class retained the short wheelbase of the first 0-6-2Ts. Whereas the Rhymney with a large modern works at Caerphilly (though unlike the TVR they didn't construct new locos there) could build the much better proportioned 0-6-2Ts which the GWR copied the leading dimensions for the 5600s.

 

In 1839, when the line was still under construction being alongside a canal dock (later filled in to expand the works) accessible to small sailing vessels was useful and at that time coal was transferred by wheelbarrow into ships at the same wharf. When the company only had six locomotives and there was little development at the end of Bute Street it would all have seemed quite adequate. It was indeed the lack of space which led to the Taff Vale to cease new loco construction and by the time the fleet had grown to 275 a new works was planned at Radyr on the north west outskirts of Cardiff. The GWR instead decided to greatly expand Caerphilly instead, opening the new workshops there in 1926 and closing West Yard.



Also note the tram lines in Bute Street, the works was behind the buildings to the right in this model of Bute Road station. Photos show locomotives rather than horses being used to get locos in, but the awkward turntables arrangement required 3 locos in steam to get one cold loco into the works.

 

It’s probably worth having infrastructure photos like the one above to hand to counter the periodic cries of “why did company x continue building such locomotives when other - normally French or US railways - were building much larger. Length of turntables was another constraint, and I can think of at least one large express passenger loco that was stymied by virtue of available turntable size.

Tom