Turntables

Can anyone advise if above has one & if the Mallaig locos
are turned frequently???
TIA
Neale

 

Yes and I presume it is used in season. It was relocated there from Marylebone.

 

Probably more so for charters and returning to Carnforth at the end of the season, has limited use for everyday purposes without one at Mallaig.

 

Yes, there is a turntable, but it is used infrequently. The Jacobite locos almost always face chimney first out of Fort William, apparently so that they are 'right way round' for the more challenging aspect of Beasdale Bank. The turntable is normally used to turn the locos when they initially arrive and that's it. They have occasionally been turned for other reasons, such as photo charters, but it certainly isn't the norm to turn them regularly during the season.

 

Hi guys, I am writing an article about surviving turntables. Can anyone tell me more about the Fort William turntable, its history, whether it's still at Fort William, present condition and so forth? I know that it was moved from Marylebone, but that's about it at present. Cheers.

 

A BBC report from December, 2000. <BJ>

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/1089330.stm

https://www.hlf.org.uk/our-projects/fort-william-turntable-installation

 

Thanks. I had already seen the first one of those, but not the second. So that's another snippet I can add in to this. Cheers for that.

 

It's still there, installed earlier this century but it's not the original one and it's not on the original site. The current table was formerly at Marylebone, London. The original TT was located at the locomotive depot adjacent to the current station, the site is now where Morrisons, Premier Inn and a small retail park is located. I was told by an old Fort Bill driver that if you are standing at the counter in McDonalds you're more or less in the middle of the turntable well. Looking south from the current station the original station was at the other end of the dual carriageway bypass.

 

The turntable on the Severn Valley Railway is ex Fort William.

http://www.svrwiki.com/Kidderminster_Turntable

 

Inevitably another plug for the VCT mine of information, are you aware of the turntable database on the VCT website ?.

http://www.tt.vintagecarriagestrust.org/ts/tsearch.asp

 

And also to be consulted is the publication by the NERA
"Servicing the North Eastern Railway@s Locomotives.
ISBN 978-1-873513-62-0
Edited by John Teasdale.
This details most of the Turntables on the Ne Region giving detail of Size, Maker, Cost and power type amongst other bits.
The booklet also details Water Columns and supply systems.

 

Thanks. I am aware that it was moved from Marylebone in 2000/1, however I have a further question. The VCT lists its date of manufacture as 1937, however if the turntable was the one that formerly stood on the north side of the bridge at Marylebone, then it must be the Grade II listed TT mentioned here, which appears to be far older, manufactured by the Great Central Railway in 1898. Two comments on the RM website suggest to me that it was this GC one, unless of course there were two at Marylebone, one of them scrapped and the other transported to Fort William. Anyone know anything more about how old the TT is?

Thanks for the book recommendation. Can't see it on Ebay, it is listed on Amazon but is unavailable, so I guess that's out for the moment.

 

I've consulted some of the maps at http://maps.nls.uk.

http://maps.nls.uk/view/103313267, revised 1936-37, shows a turntable east of the running lines, roughly level with the Hanover Gate entrance to Regents Park. That could be the 1898 one.
http://maps.nls.uk/view/102901729, surveyed October 1952, no longer shows that one (but does show what appears to be a very small one in the yards west of the running lines, about grid ref 2722 8259).
http://maps.nls.uk/view/102901735, also surveyed October 1952, shows one immediately adjacent to Rossmore Road. That could well have been installed in 1937, either a new one built then or the 1898 one relocated.

Both areas have been totally redeveloped since then. The Historic England site does say "The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system." It may have confused one turntable installed when the line opened with the other one installed later, adjacent to Rossmore Road.

 

Thanks. That suggests to me that it was the 1898 one then, given that is the date mentioned by the Grade II listing, and that it was moved. I don't believe that the listing would be incorrect really, one would thought that they would be absolutely sure about this. Besides, why would the railway scrap one turntable when it could easily be used elsewhere? Thus I am inclined to think it was moved. Having said that, this would then indicate that the VCT have got their information wrong, and that 1937 was the date of installation rather than the date of manufacture. Possible?

 

I wonder if an enquiry to Carlisle library, (CS being a Carlisle based company) or the NRM could lead you to the company archives, to see if there are still records available of the build/ delivery dates of the turntables they produced.
A further thought - have you contacted the West Highland Rail Heritage Trust, to see what details they may have of the provenance of the turntable. Companies House details are online -- although I'd suggest maybe your first contact should be John Barnes at the Glenfinnan museum.
It's good to see you are making the effort to verify what is already published online.

 

That's a good idea, Carlisle Library that is. Unfortunately West Highland Rail Heritage Trust was dissolved in 2008 (anyone know what happened with that?), but I have got a list of names of officers, so potentially I could track some of them down and ask them how much they know about the TT.

 

Try John Barnes at the Glenfinnan Station Museum

 

Just out of intrest, how did the original Fort William Turntable end up in Kiddy?

 

Cool. Thanks

 

On the back of a Lorry!