Does anyone know if combined road/rail weighbridges were (are?) ever used? and if so any pointers as to what the plate arrangement looked like?
Steve
Combined Weighbridge
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Re: Combined Weighbridge
Hi Steve,
The short answer is yes. As a retired Trading Standards Officer I have tested a great number of weighbridges during my career including road/rail ones.
The long answer depends on which period you are looking at. ICI on Severnside had combined a road/rail weighbridge which had a concrete deck with rails embedded in it which allowed both road and rail transport access. This bridge operated using strain gauges to measure the load on the bridge but there were older mechanical weighbridges with metal plates that were road/rail. A lot of rail weighbridges had a pair of tracks leading to the weighplate - one crossed the plate to permit weighing, whilst the other pair of tracks were routed so the weight was removed from the plate and hence the weighbridge levers to prevent damage from trains crossing the bridge when weighing was not required.
Robin
The short answer is yes. As a retired Trading Standards Officer I have tested a great number of weighbridges during my career including road/rail ones.
The long answer depends on which period you are looking at. ICI on Severnside had combined a road/rail weighbridge which had a concrete deck with rails embedded in it which allowed both road and rail transport access. This bridge operated using strain gauges to measure the load on the bridge but there were older mechanical weighbridges with metal plates that were road/rail. A lot of rail weighbridges had a pair of tracks leading to the weighplate - one crossed the plate to permit weighing, whilst the other pair of tracks were routed so the weight was removed from the plate and hence the weighbridge levers to prevent damage from trains crossing the bridge when weighing was not required.
Robin
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Re: Combined Weighbridge
Thanks for that Robin, I thought that would be the case, it seemed to make sense particularly for heavy industries ie. quarries or aggregate dealers (in my case a pre-War sand quarry) where goods were being dispatched by both rail and sold ex. yard to local customers to have some sort of combined measuring system. I am working on adapting an etched Pooley weighbridge plate to suit, when its a bit more advance I'll post a couple of images on here and then run for cover!
Steve
Steve
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Re: Combined Weighbridge
Only some rail weighbridges I've seen have inset rails - the one at Tywyn (NG) has those. Here's the one at Heathfield showing the more usual raised rails. And bridge rails at that!
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Tim V
(Not all railways in Somerset went to Dorset)
(Not all railways in Somerset went to Dorset)
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Re: Combined Weighbridge
That picture seems weird. Whichever position the switch is set to, only one rail carries the weighing load.
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Re: Combined Weighbridge
I think the weeds masking the rail joints on the left side are fooling you, the first and third rails from the left are fixed, the second and fourth are on the weighbridge. Blow it up to full size (2 clicks) and you can see the rail gaps at the far end.
PS. The chequerplate in the centre is also fixed, only the foot or so under the measuring rails is the moving weighbridge.
PS. The chequerplate in the centre is also fixed, only the foot or so under the measuring rails is the moving weighbridge.
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Re: Combined Weighbridge
Spot on Keith. You beat me to it.
Robin
Robin
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Re: Combined Weighbridge
Pooley's Weighing Apparatus catalogue, 1901, doesn't show any examples of combined road/rail weighbridges. It looks like their designs bolted the rail to the top surface of the weighbridge plate rather than inset.
However, it does show the Double Rail weighbridge type as per the photo above and the associated text confirms how they operated.
A PDF copy of the catalogue can be found on the Southwark Bridge Layout website. Lots of interesting bits of equipment to model and in some cases drawings with dimensions for weighbridges.
https://www.southwarkbridgelayout.org.uk/weighing-apparatus
However, it does show the Double Rail weighbridge type as per the photo above and the associated text confirms how they operated.
A PDF copy of the catalogue can be found on the Southwark Bridge Layout website. Lots of interesting bits of equipment to model and in some cases drawings with dimensions for weighbridges.
https://www.southwarkbridgelayout.org.uk/weighing-apparatus
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