If you register, you can do a lot more. And become an active part of our growing community. You'll have access to hidden forums, and enjoy the ability of replying and starting conversations.

MHR Restorations and Overhauls

Discussion in 'Steam Traction' started by LN850, May 21, 2010.

  1. Jamessquared

    Jamessquared Nat Pres stalwart

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2008
    Messages:
    26,100
    Likes Received:
    57,416
    Location:
    LBSC 215
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    The only thing I can think is to wonder if the loading bank at the brewery was very short (maybe only a single van could align with the brewery door??) At which point you might need a small loco to adjust the positions of vans, or even to move full ones into the second siding and then draw up the next empty. Though I admit that is slightly clutching at straws, as you would have thought they'd have had a shire horse or two to do that. Maybe the brewery owner was simply an early convert to things mechanical?

    Tom
     
  2. Jamessquared

    Jamessquared Nat Pres stalwart

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2008
    Messages:
    26,100
    Likes Received:
    57,416
    Location:
    LBSC 215
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Thanks! That NLS website is a goldmine for old maps once you get the hang of how to use it.

    Tom
     
  3. Wenlock

    Wenlock Well-Known Member Friend

    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2008
    Messages:
    2,027
    Likes Received:
    1,319
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Bus Driver
    Location:
    Loughton Essex
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    I dare say shire horses would have been used for deliveries. But it would have been wasteful to keep one around for the occasional positioning move. Horses cost money to keep, whether they are working or waiting for work. Internal combustion costs only when in use. Hence such inventions as the "locopulsor".

    I recall that in my brother's early railway career in a goods yard, he (as a clerk) had to join in with all the staff to manually reposition wagons for (un)loading rather than wait for the daily trip loco to arrive. There wasn't enough work to justify employing a horse, a simple mechanical device would have been very useful.
     
    Jamessquared likes this.
  4. Rumpole

    Rumpole Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    Dec 17, 2005
    Messages:
    2,563
    Likes Received:
    761
    Occupation:
    Tea-Maker
    Location:
    34105
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Looks good fun actually!
     
  5. 8126

    8126 Member

    Joined:
    Mar 17, 2014
    Messages:
    823
    Likes Received:
    962
    Gender:
    Male
    Actually, when I first made that comment I was assuming any siding would have been a really short stub, the map shows them a lot longer than I expected. Those two roads at the end will have to have been a fair bit lower than the main line, just from the lie of the land.

    So something with power must have been needed to get wagons up from the end to the barrel loading platform, which appears to have been near the junction. I guess it's possible that most of the brewery siding simply wasn't up to a main line locomotive, and Sweet Pea was needed to get wagons to an acceptable collection point. I can only assume it always propelled wagons up to the interchange, and maybe there was some capstan shunting between roads at the bottom to get the right wagons in front of it.

    By the way, I love the description of how to drive Sweet Pea. Makes steam seem positively straightforward by comparison.
     
  6. Steve

    Steve Resident of Nat Pres Friend

    Joined:
    Oct 7, 2006
    Messages:
    11,930
    Likes Received:
    10,088
    Occupation:
    Gentleman of leisure, nowadays
    Location:
    Near Leeds
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Just thinking a bit more about this. It is a 6" to the mile map so will not show all the tracks, simply a bit of a representation so it is quite possible that there was a loop or other sidings.
    I agree that the website is full of useful old maps. A good source of info. I've bookmarked it.
     
  7. Wenlock

    Wenlock Well-Known Member Friend

    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2008
    Messages:
    2,027
    Likes Received:
    1,319
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Bus Driver
    Location:
    Loughton Essex
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Having checked the 1939 edition 25" map on that site, there are more sidings, including a loop and two wagon turntables.
     
  8. 73129

    73129 Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2007
    Messages:
    4,496
    Likes Received:
    1,079
    Location:
    Winchester
  9. Lplus

    Lplus Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 24, 2011
    Messages:
    1,919
    Likes Received:
    991
    Location:
    Waiting it out.
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
  10. domeyhead

    domeyhead Member

    Joined:
    May 16, 2007
    Messages:
    396
    Likes Received:
    161
    The story is there for everyone to read - it's on the front pages of several local papers eg this one
    http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/141...fter___27_000_in_charity_cash_goes__missing_/
    The Society themselves are happy to talk to the Media and it's refreshing that they chose to acknowledge the facts of the story rather than draw down the corrosive and damaging curtain of silence. Because of their openness there's no need for us to speculate on the story.
    I am going to help them out financially by joining them. I want to see 30499 run before I kick the bucket.
     
    cct man, dampflok and Shaggy like this.
  11. Shaggy

    Shaggy Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    Mar 5, 2009
    Messages:
    2,501
    Likes Received:
    2,370
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    72B
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    It's been on my list of things to do for the last couple of years but like so many other things, it dropped down the order of needs and musts to do financially. It was however put on my New Years Resolution list and will be one that I am happy to commit to.
     
  12. 73129

    73129 Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2007
    Messages:
    4,496
    Likes Received:
    1,079
    Location:
    Winchester
    Great to hear you'll thinking about becoming a member of the Urie group. I've been a member now for a few years. Its a few quid well spent in my opinion.
     
    Shaggy and dampflok like this.
  13. dampflok

    dampflok Member

    Joined:
    Dec 8, 2009
    Messages:
    205
    Likes Received:
    21
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Nurse,Qualified Ward Manager now retired
    Location:
    Nuertingen,Germany
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    I first saw 30499 in 1973 at Barry and was fascinated by this locomotive with Drummond cab and raised footplate over the cylinders . I was 16 at the time and had never heard about the Urie S15s . I'm so happy she has been
    saved and will be restored to 1922 condition in holly green livery with Urie smokebox and stovepipe chimney . I did help out on 30506 later chipping away old paint and rudst on a few weekends as I lived nearby .
     
  14. cct man

    cct man Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    Jan 15, 2007
    Messages:
    3,220
    Likes Received:
    49
    Occupation:
    CONSTRUCTION
    Location:
    LONDON

    As a life member of the ULS, I am led to believe that their are further developements.

    Chris.
     
  15. Swan Age

    Swan Age Member

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2005
    Messages:
    941
    Likes Received:
    260
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    21C101 in the South West
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Lets hope the current situation can be resolved amicably, so that the ULS can get about restoring their two wonderful machines back to traffic and put recent events behind them.
     
    Last edited: Jan 9, 2016
    siquelme, domeyhead and green five like this.
  16. siquelme

    siquelme Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 23, 2013
    Messages:
    1,021
    Likes Received:
    911
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Portsmouth
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    I do hope that the ULS will be able to bounce back from this situation, got to give them credit for the way they are handling the situation but I do believe they will be able to successfully bounce back from this.
     
    domeyhead likes this.
  17. siquelme

    siquelme Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 23, 2013
    Messages:
    1,021
    Likes Received:
    911
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Portsmouth
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
  18. MellishR

    MellishR Resident of Nat Pres Friend

    Joined:
    Apr 16, 2009
    Messages:
    8,068
    Likes Received:
    5,164
    Back to the subject of additional shed space, discussed a few days ago and, I think, previously on this thread: there seems to be some space, covered in trees, between the fence at the side of The Lamports (the road SE of the station) and the existing tracks. Could that not be used?
     
  19. Swan Age

    Swan Age Member

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2005
    Messages:
    941
    Likes Received:
    260
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    21C101 in the South West
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Think this idea was pursued many years back before the flats/apartments were built, in those days it was a large empty site (former coal yard if I remember correctly). Cost of land purchase and the enormous amount of backfilling required to bring the site up to railway height stalled the idea.
    I don't think what is left of the site would be of any real gain and of course you have the added problem of Nimby neighbours who live in the (new) development.
     
  20. MellishR

    MellishR Resident of Nat Pres Friend

    Joined:
    Apr 16, 2009
    Messages:
    8,068
    Likes Received:
    5,164
    It looks wide enough for at least a one-road shed, and the neighbours might even prefer a blank wall beyond the fence to the noises from the working railway. The position of the fence, immediately beside the road, implies that the developer didn't buy the land on the railway side of that, so who does own it? Maybe still NR?
     

Share This Page