Securing of wagon loads

[Nick Tindall]

Greetings to all. Is there anyone who could help with how the following loads were made secure on wagons? - a) steel plates on plate wagons where the load was wholly within the wagon rave, and b) a BD container loaded in a high goods wagon (from photographs, not uncommon in the latter days of traditional freight, when presumably the conflat fleet was getting clapped out). All assistance welcomed. Regards Nick Tindall.

[John Duffy]

This would make a really interesting thread if it extended to cover both the mundane, the sheeting and roping of wagons and how the railway tackled some of the more exotic loads it carried. I consider this to be a topic that has not had its share of exposure and will watch with interest.

John

[Guy Rixon]

I've read of sprags being nailed to the wagon floor to secure loads. Would this work for the containers?

[Paul Willis]

This would make a really interesting thread if it extended to cover both the mundane, the sheeting and roping of wagons and how the railway tackled some of the more exotic loads it carried. I consider this to be a topic that has not had its share of exposure and will watch with interest.

I'm afraid that I don't believe that there is anything in it that addresses the two specific questions from earlier, but I often return to JH Russell's book on wagon loads for examples of all types of loading:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Freight-Wagons-Loads-Service-GWR/dp/0860931552

It's probably long out of print, but I'm sure that secondhand copies of it come up frequently.

Although its core material is around the use of GWR wagons (and some in Western Region days), the true value of this as a reference work is that it specifically shows the way that wagons and other special vehicles (like conflats, well-wagons, etc) were loaded. I'm assuming that practicalities of doing this meant that the usage and techniques was ubiquitous across all companies.

The other element that is quite informative is that there are a number of examples of bad loading practices, where the load has moved or even in one or two cases broken the back of the wagon itself. So there are plenty of learning points from those!

There are a couple of pictures of containers, but only loaded on Conflats themselves. Containers seem to have featured quite extensively in the pages of MRJ, as a quick search showed: http://www.modelrailwayjournal.com/index.php?o=&s=container&t=All&g=0&x=0&y=0

Of particular interest, if you have the issues, are Roger Marsh's 3mm article in MRJ 43, and Gerry Beale's 7mm article in MRJ 89. As well as showing some lovely modelling, both of them deal with examples of containers being carried in ordinary goods wagons, and show the securing methods (mainly ropes) used for them.

HTH
Flymo

[John Duffy]

Thanks Flymo, there is an obvious reason why that book is not in my collection already, but I will try and overcome that and have a look for it. Much appreciated.

John

[billbedford]

Greetings to all. Is there anyone who could help with how the following loads were made secure on wagons? - a) steel plates on plate wagons where the load was wholly within the wagon rave,

Gravity, though there may have been dunnage at the end to stop the loads shifting under braking / acceleration(???) There would certainly be dunnage between the plates to allow them to be lifted out of the wagon.

and b) a BD container loaded in a high goods wagon (from photographs, not uncommon in the latter days of traditional freight, when presumably the conflat fleet was getting clapped out). All assistance welcomed. Regards Nick Tindall.

Some hyfits had internal securing points, e.g. the 'blisters' on the LNER steel opens. It could be, of course, that only empty containers were carried in hyfits.

[LesGros]

Greetings to all. Is there anyone who could help with how the following loads were made secure on wagons? - a) steel plates on plate wagons where the load was wholly within the wagon rave, and b) a BD container loaded in a high goods wagon (from photographs, not uncommon in the latter days of traditional freight, when presumably the conflat fleet was getting clapped out). All assistance welcomed. Regards Nick Tindall.

Nick,
Jim Summers gave a talk on the subject at Scalefour North a year or to ago. He told me that his source for some of his material was the Barrowmore group. Not sure if it will answer your specific question, but try

BR20426 British Railways – 3 Instructions and Diagrams for Loading and Securing Long, Projecting and Otherwise Exceptional Loads

to find it go to http://www.barrowmoremrg.co.uk/Prototype.html and scroll down the page.
caution: beware of being distracted by the other documents there.

Cheerydoo, and Happy New year to All

[Jim Summers]

Indeed, as Les says, the Barrowmore resource on the web should give most of the information, as I illustrated in my talk.
You are looking for a series of green booklets, around A5 size (which wasn't recognised by BR in those days), but would fit a poacher's pocket in your uniform. They dealt with roping and sheeting of various types of loads - how I wish I had kept my full set, but the Barrowmore folk have done us a great service by publishing those they have.

Jim

[John Duffy]

A most useful reference which I had previously bookmarked but hadn't noticed the reference to handling and sheeting of traffic.

http://www.barrowmoremrg.co.uk/Prototype.html

Thanks all

[Will L]

In deed "BR20427 British Railways – 4 Instructions for The Loading and Securing of Containers on Rail Vehicles" pages 10/11 from the Barrowmore sight answers your question.

Will

[Nick Tindall]

Many thanks to all posters, especially to those who pointed out the BR publication on Loading and Securing of Containers - and to Barrowmore for making these available. Since confession is good for the soul, then apologies are now due to all, since when the existence of the BR booklet was pointed out in forum, a little bell went off and a rummage in the back of the cupboard revealed a spoil from a railway career which had been totally forgotten - viz, a full set of the nine BR booklets. It would be only fair therefore now to offer any one or all of these booklets on loan to anyone who would like to borrow it/them, and if anyone would like to do so, please say. The booklets are -

1. General instructions on Handling, Loading, Sheeting and Unsheeting of Traffic Dealt with at Goods Stations; 2. Instructions for Handling and Loading Specified Traffics; 3. Instructions & Diagrams for Loading and Securing Long, Projecting and otherwise Exceptional Loads, also Procedure regarding Acceptance and Conveyance of Out-of-Gauge and otherwise Exceptional Loads; 4. Instructions for the Loading and Securing of Containers on Rail Vehicles; 5. Information and Instructions regarding Infestation of Commodities, Equipment and Premises by Insects, Rats and Mice; 6. Instructions to Staff using Mechanical Appliances; 7. Instructions to Staff Regarding the Use of Loose Lifting Tackle; 8. Instructions for the Operation and Maintenance of Weighing Machines and Weighbridges; 9. Dimensions of Loads (Table and Diagrams shewing maximum dimensions of loads, etc, which will travel safely without restriction over lines shown herein). And yes, it is 'shewing' but 'shown' in the last of these.

Going back to the plate steel wholly within the rave of a plate wagon, I do recall timber blocks simply being nailed onto the timber floor of wagons to discourage loads otherwise held down by gravity from shifting about. Not sure how official this practice was, and booklet three, which has lots about steel traffic, doesn't deal with traffic which is wholly within gauge and within the wagon. Anyone out there with practical experience in loading steel into plate wagons in the past?

Regards Nick Tindall