Brand new bullhead rail

This winter the IOWSR has laid in a quantity of newly rolled bullhead rail. l gather the South Devon has also done this. Does anyone know of other examples?
















U

 

Ploughman can no doubt give chapter and verse but the NYMR has laid in new BH in places. There are several lengths laid out alongside the running line at Grosmont at the moment, ready to be dropped in place.

 

Indeed yes, Steve. The Moors use Bullhead rail, a few years ago they had the chance of getting brand new [slight seconds, as it couldn't be used on high speed lines] Bullhead. It was decided that the Bullhead would be used in the station areas, to give a more historical feel, as each station is set in a particular era [as you may well know] Pickering in the immediate pre WW11 era, Levisham/Goathland either side of the Great War and Grosmont in the BR era 1948-65. They use flatbottom else where on the running lines.

 

East Somerset Railway installed some new bullhead a few years ago.

 

Network Rail themselves still install new bullhead rail in some locations, such as on the Mallaig line. Fort William yard is full of the stuff waiting to replace worn rail out on the main line.

Peter

 

I believe moves are afoot on the Ffestiniog with the same end in mind. This would seem to raise the possibility of chaired bullhead rail on platic sleepers!

I normally default to function over form, but even I have to admit the ambience of FfR stations has undoubtedly been affected by the switch to FB rail. As always, it's swings and roundabouts, for whilst we might lament loss of bullhead at Minffordd (the very first FfR station I saw), it has to be said the flower beds in summer now look absolutely stunning .... and none of it overly popular with the omnipresent local sheep population. Now that's what I call an achievement!

General query: Is rail (plus sleepers, fixings etc) one of those purchases which benefits from a collaborative approach by groups of lines?

 

It was also discussed fairly recently on this thread.
https://national-preservation.com/threads/bullhead-versus-flat-bottom.1419335/

 

I suspect the answer is that the relatively small orders of tourist railways will merely get tacked onto the end of a larger annual order.


Incidentally, the IOWSR is not laying this rail in a station but in the open countryside.

 

Is the IWSR still working it's way through the substantial big railway donation, or is that all now in use?

 

Best answered by somebody else but the panels donated following the Island Line revamp seemed largely flat bottom.

 

Some of the rails destined for installing this winter on the NYMR

 

Be that the recent revamp? I was wittering on about the proceeds of the like singling, which on reflection, I suspect was far longer ago than I was thinking.

 

I wondered that.

Would be pleased to learn that a few more than four lines had the means to buy a few lengths of authentic pattern rail.

 

If you want authenticity Paul. They'd still be using 15 foot lengths of wrought iron fish-bellied rail .

 

Oh dear! Reductio ad absurdam. Most preserved lines date from well after the fish bellied rail era

 

Indeed. I also keep forgetting that "public railways" in the UK didn't exist pre 1st January 1948, when the vaunted/sainted British Railways came into spontaneous existence.

 

If this is correct, the NYMR was originally built with fish bellied rail.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitby_and_Pickering_Railway#History

 

Indeed, and a length of such rail, found in the cess during relaying work years ago, is on display at Pickering.

 

Yup the NYMR/Whitby & Pickering Railway was laid with Fish Bellied rail. Except for he current "Deviation" between Grosmont [at the MPD] and the Summit near Moorgate through Goathland/Aidensfield/Hogsmead...... The "old" now rail trail would have been Fish Bellied, though.

 

I believe the RVR, when they rebuilt the station layout at Robertsbridge, which involved the complex geometry of several curved turnouts, used fresh-rolled BH up to bridge 1, where FB takes over for the running line. At least it looked that way when first laid, the rust looking a very bright orange.