Caledonian Railway Association Forum

The wheelbase was directly related to wagon body length. Without becoming too embroiled in structural engineering, in simple terms a wagon solebar was simply a uniformly loaded beam continuous over two supports (the wheels) which were spaced to minimise the bending moment in the solebar. While a con...

A late arrival on this particular scene I'm afraid but I hope this contribution is helpful.

The A. Kenneth & Sons wagon in the Robbies Rolling Stock catalogue is a complete fiction as are few others. Caveat emptor.

regards,

Ed. McKenna

Some years ago I was approached at one of the Glasgow meetings by someone whose name I have forgotten. He showed me a photocopy of a photograph of a pile of wrecked wagons bearing the Dinwoodie & Little name. I know details of this trader and their wagons but have been unable trace the original ...

Thanks John. I was aware of the photograph in Niall's book. Problem is that I don't think that it is one of Police Commission wagons although probably identical.
regards,

Ed. McKenna

In 1905/06 Dundee Police Commissioners purchased 30 special side- tipping wagons for conveying gas works refuse to the site of reclamation works where The Esplanade was being extended. The price of the wagons caused a bit of a stooshie at the time but was justified by the labour saving in emptying t...

I suspect that this is what was known as a "Traders' Ticket". These were tickets issued to traders who conducted business with the railway. I believe the number of tickets issued to each trader was proportional to the amount of business conducted. I have never been able to establish if the...

Kestell Bros. were shipowners and coal exporters.

I think it more likely that lime for mortar would be transported in wooden barrels. Sacks, unless multi-layer paper, tend to let the water in.

regards,
Ed. McKenna

David,

RCAHMS in Edinburgh has a large collection of aerial photographs including those taken by RAF, Luftwaffe, Ordnance Survey etc. It may be worth contacting them at https://www.historicenvironment.scot

Ed. McKenna

Re construction of the Bankfoot Light Railway. Speculation is good but evidence is better. The railway was constructed by Roderick Fraser an Inverness based contractor.

Hope this helps.

Ed. McKenna

For some reason previous postings on this topic appear to have escaped my notice. I can confirm that post 1898, or thereabouts, Waldie wagons were painted grey. Not just any shade of grey mind you but, according to RYP's records, "Waldie Grey". Just what particular shade of grey that was i...

Due to visitation from the dreaded lurgi I have come late to this party. To be honest I don't know of any official explanation as to why these handrails were provided. My own theory, and it is only that, is that they were provided to enable workmen to climb into the wagon for the purposes of emptyin...

Re Steve Parson's query. The singer Sewing Machine Co had a number of wagons at it's Clydebank Works. I had previously assumed that these were for internal use but a film in the NLS moving image archive [http://movingimage.nls.uk/film/1592] shows a loaded train leaving the Singer plant with two load...

Allan, You may be thinking about Alloa Coal Co wagons which were said to have been painted yellow. That was certainly a suggestion in the Pickering Order Book with an alternative of black being given. I suspect that black was used for the Clackmannanshire collieries wagons. The Alloa Coal Co Bannock...

Alan, After 1898 the Perth Co-op Coal Soc wagons were painted "brown oxide" according to the Pickering records. Prior to that I suspect that the wagons were light grey but documentary evidence is lacking. I doubt if they were yellow. The photograph that you put up appears to have a sepia t...

Gents, I doubt if the Perth Co-op Coal Soc. wagon was to CR Diag 22. For one thing it has no end-door. The Perth wagon was the standard Hurst Nelson product of the time (1892/93) and owes much to the design developed by Harrison & Camm the raised end plank and absence of external diagonal strapp...

Jim, I don't know for certain but would suggest that the "structures" you refer to are most likely to be drainage ditches. The line seems to be running across a moss at that location and it was common engineering practice to provide such ditches as an aid to consolidation of the line and t...

O.K.Dave, I'll bite. Nest building in or on railway wagons was not at all unusual and there was an annual "season" during which newspapers reported many such occurrencies. There was an instance at Berwick-on-Tweed in 1906 when the nest was moved by staff between wagons six times. There was...

WCC DouglasPark2299.JPG If I have managed this correctly there should be a copy of Wilsons & Clyde Coal No 2299 attached. This is, as far as can be judged from the photograph, the Pickering version of a Diag 22 wagon. Unfortunately I am rubbish at estimating dimensions from photographs so I can...

Jim, I think you will find that the animals sold at the Perth Bull Sales ( the Stirling sales are a fairly recent innovation) were of such value that they would be transported in horse boxes or special cattle trucks of a similar style and comfort. The HR at least had two vehicles described as "...

ASTONISHING!. My earlier response to Jim's photographs, the original comment apparently now lost in the ether.

Ed. McKenna

Dave, What a trove of treasures you continue to be. Your photograph is fairly convincing proof of the varying height lettering so thanks for that. Expect a PM from me asking for copies of the two photographs you have posted. I would not be in a rush to say that the wagons in the photographs are defi...

Can I take this discussion away on a slight tangent? In the thread on Carrongrove Paper Mill under the Operation and Administration part of this Forum there is a photograph of a train of traders' wagons outside the Mill. There is group of Banknock wagons one of which may be a Diag 22 wagon - althoug...

Tony, Your photograph of Bent Colliery Co No 560 has captured a rare beast. The fancy cast plate at the estreme left of the solebar is a Midland Railway Carriage & Wagon Co Ltd builder's plate. So this is a batch of wagons not built by RYP or Hurst Nelson which most of the Scottish traders' wago...

Another informative response from the Sage of Curnow. Thanks, Dave. I have a well-thumbed copy of the book Dave mentions although it jumps about a bit and there is no continuous narrative as such. The only sentence referring to rail connections contains the date 1923 but the reference is to internal...

Does anyone know precisely when a rail connection was provided to Carrongrove Papermill? The mill siding branched off Stoneywood Goods Station and was no minor undertaking since it required heavy cutting to get from the goods yard level down to the crossing of the Denny to Fintry road. The mill conn...