jim s-w wrote:Perhaps a lot may have changed between the mid 50s and the mid 70s Noel.
A lot did, mostly the replacement of wood by plastic for crates, of glass by plastic for bottles, and of wood by steel for casks. Pubs and off licences started stocking more soft drinks, wines and mixers as the pub clientele in particular became less male dominated, and the types of beer sold started to change and storage methods changed accordingly, with refrigeration of beers becoming more common. Wooden casks were never airtight, meaning that beer in them started to deteriorate immediately it left the brewery, so most pubs would not be storing it in large amounts, even in a cool cellar. This meant placing and receiving orders every day, and pubs could, and did sometimes, run out of beer altogether on hot days.
jim s-w wrote:It’s always a good thing when a layout gets someone reminiscing.
Just making the point that I had some idea of what I was on about, Jim. Human memory is not reliable, but first hand knowledge may still be useful, and even a camera can lie. Drays on a multi-drop round might look somewhat like this https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Brewery/Wilsons-Brewery-Manchester-168463019930250/. No date, of course, it could even be in preservation, although this is unlikely I think, as it is carrying a mixture of wooden and plastic crates plus two sizes of cask, which is more detail than would be usual for preservationists.
A couple of pictures from what was once a major Birmingham brewery https://www.midlandspubs.co.uk/breweries/enlargements/ansells-brewery-deck.htm https://www.midlandspubs.co.uk/images/breweries/ansells-brewery-dray-and-tanker.jpg, taken from https://www.midlandspubs.co.uk/breweries/birmingham/ansells-brewery.htm, plus some of their drays https://www.stilltimecollection.co.uk/collection/tpt-transport-truck-lorry-wagon-leyland-dray-brewery-beer-brewing-ansells-birmingham-midlands-D6F3
A real twin steer dray in preservation https://www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/15822022144, apparently original to Hancocks. The kegs are modern, of course.