Prototype track archive

[Hardwicke]

Thought this might be useful. I will add more as time allows.

Track DSC_2013.jpg

12072009 Skegness down carriage sidings

Track DSC_1995.jpg

12072009 Skegness down carriage sidings

Track Century Road IMG_1638.jpg

Retford Dive Under viewed from Tunnel Road footbridge 09072011

[grovenor-2685]

Nice clear pics, the more the merrier.
The ones we used to have on the website are now here
http://www.norgrove.me.uk/resources/track.htm
Regards
Keith

[Rod Cameron]

Interesting photos - some captions would be useful, even if just date and location.

[Hardwicke]

updated !

[craig_whilding]

It'd be good if you have any more pictures of that first crossing as the nose chair is GWR practice being slab and bracket I believe though the rest of the chairs don't look very GWR.

[martin goodall]

It'd be good if you have any more pictures of that first crossing as the nose chair is GWR practice being slab and bracket I believe though the rest of the chairs don't look very GWR.

Not just GWR practice. Other companies also used a 'slab and bracket' to hold down the nose of the crossing. I don't think the example shown is actually GWR.

[wally]

That slab and bracket nose fitting is definately not G W as can be seen from the casting marks, furthermore it is held down with standard chair screws which will not fit through G W chairs as they have a tapered shaft to expand the ferrules and the G W fittings have a paralell hole of too small a diamater. To fit in these you need a special AS type screw with paralel shaft as shown in the attached photo.

This shows detail of some resleepering we did on the East Somerset a couple of years ago, the rail and supports is original G W 85lbs bullhead with two bolt fishplates, note also the use of a plastic washer between the top face of the chair and the head of the screw to replace the ferrule.

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The new works are to the right of the joint and tomorrows challenge is on the left.

Wally

[jim s-w]

Hi All

A few more modern examples - these were installed at New Street over Christmas 2004

BNS-vee.jpg

A Flat bottom Fabricated Vee

bns-checkrail.jpg

Checkrail

bns-sleepers.jpg

No more orange pipes - cables are routed through hollow metal sleepers

Cheers

Jim

[martin goodall]

I was interested to see the example of 2-bolt fishplates on the East Somerset. As seen in the photo, this brings the two adjacent sleepers very close together and so is quite a noticeable feature.

The GWR introduced these 2-bolt fishplates in the 1930s, but I heard from a retired GWR PW engineer that they absolutely hated them, and got rid of them as quickly as they could, and went back to using 4-bolt fishplates as soon as they decently could. Thus the example on the ESR would appear to be a rare survival.

[Mark Tatlow]

Prior to grouping, a number of the railway companies used interlaced turnouts. These were cheaper because much shorter timbers were used but in theory at least they were prone to differential movement.

Whilst I beleive the practise had gone by grouping; there were a lot of them about and they lasted for many decades in quiet yards. I certainly saw one at Lairg in, I think, 1979. Whilst this example is probably recreated being on a preserved line, it ought to be of interest:

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This turnout counts as "partially" interlaced as the interlacing does not carry through the crossing. The grouping companies were much more inclined to replace the timbers to the crossing than they were to the centre of the turnout.

[wally]

Heres another shot of an E S R retimbering job which shows G W R slab and bracket components being used in a slip environment, note this is held down with the A S chair screws I mentioned earlier.

019.JPG

Wally

[Hardwicke]

As promised here are a few more photos. I've spent the weekend close by the old Southwold Railway and then travelled back along the East Suffolk line from Halesworth. The photos are from Skegness though.

SkegnessDSC_1853.jpg

skegness DSC_1991.jpg

Skegness DSC_1859.jpg

[Hardwicke]

Last ones from Skegness.
The bufferstop is very lightweight rail.
Notice the tar seeping out of one of the sleepers, track circuit wires, missing bolts on chairs, variations of colour and litter.
The kink in the right hand siding is where some flat bottomed track has been added as a replacement. You would NEVER be allowed such bad tracklaying in a scale model! The other sidings are not much better.

Skegness DSC_2010.jpg

Skegness DSC_2035.jpg

Skegness DSC_1986.jpg

Michael Prince

[Hardwicke]

Two of Retford Low Level and one of Manchester Piccadilly.

Retford Low Level DSC_0997.jpg

Retford Low Level DSC_0982.jpg

Manchester Piccadilly DSC_1535.jpg

Michael Prince

[Hardwicke]

And recent track alterations at Worksop (the crossover was moved further east towards Retford)
Notice the P4 track panel !

Worksop IMG_1605.jpg

Worksop IMG_1599.jpg

Worksop IMG_1598.jpg

Worksop IMG_1597.jpg

Worksop IMG_1595.jpg

Michael Prince

[Dave K]

I thought that I would add this photos showing a Great Western old type curved switch in the Somerset and Dorset Trust site at Washford on the West Somerset Railway.

curved switch.jpg

[Mark Tatlow]

Now here is a bit of trackwork to get your juices going; a centred mixed gauge turnout:

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This is at Noyelles sur Mer, in Picardie - about 30 miles south of Bolougne. It is on the Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme (http://www.cfbs.eu/). The the use of meter guage centred on the standard gauge allows either gauge loco to propel either gauge stock but does result in some complex trackwork - there are effectively four pairs of switch blades and four crossings in this turnout alone. There was in fact also a scissor crossover here, that I did not manage to photograph, which was mind bogglingly complicated.

So Russ, on the CLAG site you say:
All Green Street's trackwork was built by Tony Wilkins. Please don't tell Tony that there is a piece of trackwork more complicated than a 5-way turnout: he will probably insist on building it...

I reckon I have found it, a centred mixed gauge scissors crossing................

[Russ Elliott]

Thanks Mark, that's some crazy stuff there. I can't help wondering if they've had any problems with different gauged stock taking different routes over those turnouts. I shall try not to draw Tony Wilkins' attention to them!

[Hardwicke]

track for S4_DSC0808.jpg

It's a while since I posted any trackwork photos so here's one I took in December 2011. I'm not saying where, just yet, to see if anyone recognises it. A very busy station in the UK....

Michael

[Re6/6]

Here's one that I'd never seen before...a 'double overlaped'(?) F/B scissors recorded at Utrecht station a couple of years ago.

Crying out to be modelled!

IMG_4039.JPG

IMG_4040.JPG

[Bulwell Hall]

Just to revert to the subject of GWR two-bolt fishplates for a moment....

Whilst en route from a funeral in Dorchester to home this afternoon I called in at Maiden Newton station for a few minutes. I was able to confirm a recollection from previous visits which is that both up and down running lines through the platforms still have two-bolt fishplates. Is this the last remaining section of such track on the national network? The station still has a regular passenger service form Bristol TM to Weymouth and even steam excursions on summer Sundays using appropriate GWR motive power.

The weather this afternoon was typical of January being very cold and dull with sleet in the air so the photo is not the best. It does however show the track with the recognizable signal box structure in the back ground.

Gerry

[Tim V]

Pity about the chairs by the joint.

[Bulwell Hall]

As it was such a sombre day yesterday - I had just attended a funeral and the weather did nothing to lift the gloom - I thought I would submit a second, more cheerfull, view of Maiden Newton taken on a sunny Sunday morning back in May 2011. If you can tear your eyes away from the magnificence of the 'Castle' for a moment you will also notice that the rear bogie wheel is just above a rail joint having a two-bolt fishplate. Practically the whole length of both tracks through Maiden Newton station - or at least that visible from the platform as we don't condone trespassing - have rail joints with two-bolt fishplates. The only exception is where the point and crossing work for the junction with the former Bridport branch was removed and replaced with plain track with flat bottom rail. The section of flatbotton track with checkrail in the forground of the photograph is the remains of the trailing connection from the Up line to the former goods shed. The siding was retained for engineers use long after the goods yard closed and the goods shed demolished and I dont know exactly when it was removed. The switch rails for this turnout are still lying in the grass in front to the site of the former cattle dock and have been there for years.

The 'Castle' was en route from Bristol TM to Weymouth with the 'Weymouth Seaside Express' and stopped at Maiden Newton for a few moments for tokens before proceeding on to the next single line section to Dorchester - back in the day of course the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth line was a fully fledged double-track main line but at least it's still open! The series of trains is due to run again this year but I understand will be fewer in number. Due to Weymouths part in the Olympic Games there will be insufficient capacity at Weymouth to accomodate them.

Gerry

[wally]

The Maiden Newton shots are verrrrry interesting, is there any visible marking cast on the chairs (the G W two bolt ones) to indicate the rail section?

In addition to the date and G W R on one end there should be 85 or 95 or 00 each of which is the rail weight designation. Alternatively on the S1 chairs on the joint there will be an apreciable gap where the foot of the 85lbs rail does not fit fully into the chair.

Wally

[Bulwell Hall]

To be honest I did'nt take much notice of the chairs - there has been quite an amount of spot re-sleepring over the years as you would expect and as clearly shown in the close up view of the rail joint. There are many GWR chairs still in situ though and I'll try to remember to take a closer look when I'm there next!

Gerry