Unusual Piece of Track at Penrhyn Castle Railway Museum

In amongst the display of Narrow Gauge Trackwork was an usual 'piece of track'(?) which I have never seen before. It seemed to consist of two timber baulks joined by a set of 'metal sleepers', but the sleepers were positions above the baulks rather than below. I wondered if perhaps a piece of rail was then attached to the metal sleepers, but couldn't see any sign of this in the display. I've attached a picture, and wondered if anyone could explain exactly how the 'track' was used, or provide images of the piece of track in us?

 

Is this from an early waggonway where the wagons' wheels ran in ruts on the outside of the rail?

 

The only reference I had to this type of P-way is from Mr Boyd and the theory was that some kind of rail sat on the top, keeping gauge by resting in the groove as seen on the top of the "sleeper", in fact if I remember, it is the rail in the background.

 

If it took a rail on the top, there would be very little space for any sort of flange, and no way I can see to support a taller 'rail' . Strange!

Richard

 

I did wonder if the grove was for some sort of rail. The track at the back with the stone sleepers (and a few other sections there) included a round rail section on which a double flanged wheel ran, and I wondered if maybe the system worked ina similar way? I think possibly that it was in use on an incline railway, but couldn't be certain. There wasn't any interpretation boards there to give further explanation.

 

Would the dished sleepers? be from an incline with the rope lying on the sleepers?

Or I have seen something similar but not in railway use for lowering barrels down a slope.

 

Is this a piece of track at all? Or is it s sort of carrying sled (upside down in the picture) that would slide along the track in the background which has circular section bar rails? I'm thinking the the grooves on the metal tie bars of the supposed sled might sit on top of the bar rails - which might have been greased. Of course, such a 'sledway' would have to be straight or nearly straight. Just a thought ! Also the bar rails in the background don't appear to be fixed in the chairs, indicating this could have been a portable system, where track is taken up from behind the sled and placed in front of it as it's moved. Perhaps used for moving stone blocks? Or maybe a slipway for putting boats in and out of water?

 

That is a good thought. This is fast turning into one of those mystery object's games. The thing is can anyone authoritively know what it is or how it was used?

 

Have you tried asking the museum directly? Even if they don't have any visible display boards, they must have records of it as an artefact, recording where it came from etc. That might give some clues.

Tom

 

Unfortunately the museum was not in season, so it wasn't really practical to ask, however I guess if there is an email contact I could send the picture and ask. I would hazard a guess that the attendants themselves may not have known, and with it being a weekend out of season I doubt there would be any curators present who could do the research to answer the questions.

 

These are just the sleeper from the original Penrhyn tramway built in 1801 between the quarry and porth Penrhyn, they supported an early type of rail which is rare to find in substantial lengths as the rail was cast or wrought and very brittle. It is believed that the bowl in the sleepers was to allow the horses to walk along the centre of the track

Ellis
PQL

 

Interesting, thankyou for that answer Ellis. Are there any images of the system in use (drawings, I guess none survived in situ till early photography?

 

your welcome , uh I’m not sure if there are any, im not 100% sure when they stopped using the system but the tramway was lifted when the Penrhyn railway was built (to take out the 3 inclines between Felin Fawr and the port). The system was rebuilt in stages starting in 1876. I've attached a picture of the rail that was used. For more information visit: Penrhyn Quarries Limited it has all the history and the current project

 

Thankyou, that's interesting to see the rail sections, and it makes more sense as to how the rail would have fitted in place. Would the time baulks have been present in use, or are these just added for display effect and the sleepers recessed into the ground?

 

I'm not 100% sure about this system if you send an email to Penrhyn quarries Limited they can proberbly tell you all you want to know about the system. Im only good with the railway that replaced the tramway sorry.

 

Thankyou, it has been helpful anyway. Just having a look at your site at the moment.

 

your most welcome

 

I suspect this explanation and Mr Boyd's is correct. They are the cast sleepers used on the original 1801 Penrhyn Rail Road with oval iron rails. The theory hehind the sleepers being formed downwards is that slate waste ballast could be put over them so that the horses haulling the wagons wouldn't loose their footing nor trip up on the sleepers.

Penrhynman

 

Thankyou for elabourating, so are the baulks just for display then?