Meanderings in Dorset and Devon

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ge_rik
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Re: Meanderings in Dorset and Devon

Post by ge_rik » Tue Oct 16, 2018 12:28 pm

Peter Butler wrote: Tue Oct 16, 2018 10:39 am You're gonna need a bigger garden Rik!
Just beginning to think that, Peter. There's a couple of places I could add extra sidings but neither of them would give sufficient space for either the Brickworks or the Boneworks. The Boneworks might be a better option from the traffic point of view as it requires traffic in and out, whereas the Brickworks would only require coal in. Just trying to think how I might model an open wagon full of bones - though apparently, the villagers used to complain about the smell of bone-laden carts passing through and so they then covered them in tarpaulins thereafter.

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Re: Meanderings in Dorset and Devon

Post by philipy » Tue Oct 16, 2018 12:39 pm

ge_rik wrote: Tue Oct 16, 2018 12:28 pm . The Boneworks might be a better option from the traffic point of view as it requires traffic in and out, whereas the Brickworks would only require coal in.
Rik, the brickworks would require coal in and also bricks out, so the traffic would be much the same for both. Plus of course you'd have coal empties out as well, anyway.

When I was involved in a P4 layout of Grafton, we had a full and empty rake of brick wagons and an empty and full set of coals, which were attached and detached from the mainbline goods trains and run up and down the brickworks branch to Dodsdown.
Philip

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Andrew
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Re: Meanderings in Dorset and Devon

Post by Andrew » Tue Oct 16, 2018 2:39 pm

philipy wrote: Tue Oct 16, 2018 12:39 pm [
Rik, the brickworks would require coal in and also bricks out, so the traffic would be much the same for both. Plus of course you'd have coal empties out as well, anyway.
Plus the odd van of sundry supplies, I guess? Wagon loads of bricks would look lovely - I like loads that add a touch of colour to an otherwise grey and grimy wagon...

Andrew.

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Re: Meanderings in Dorset and Devon

Post by IrishPeter » Tue Oct 16, 2018 4:13 pm

It was tiles rather than bricks in my home town. Blythe's had two yards both with small 2'gauge railway systems that pre-dated the Great War, though the moveable track was largely "Jubilee track" thrown down on to recycled SG sleepers and roughly spiked. Because of the wet nature of the ground the formula seemed to be one full length SG sleeper to every two or three that had been sawn in half - so long-short-short-long-short-short-short-long, etc.. The loading siding would be realigned periodically using the business end of the digger used to extract clay from the pit.

In earlier times, a larger yard a little to the west had an isolated SG line - horse drawn, and there was a steam hauled 3' gauge line for the local cement works. The only ones that survived into my life time were the two in the tile yards. Both lines used Ruston locomotives in the 1980s, and the Ings Lane yard had a Lister Railtruck in the 1990s. The rolling stock in both cases was a slack handful of Hudson skips.

The most fascinating part of the process was watching them winch the loaded wagons one at a time up into the pugmill up a 1 in 3 slope! I noticed the locomotive used to retire to around the corner before winching occurred. I assume the theory was that Newton's (another Lincolnshire man) laws of motion would be obeyed and that if the cable parted the Huddy would derail before it hit the loco!

Cheers,
Peter in Va
Last edited by IrishPeter on Tue Oct 16, 2018 5:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Traffic Pattern? What pattern? Spuds out; grain in, but cattle, sheep and passengers are a lot less predictable.

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Re: Meanderings in Dorset and Devon

Post by bazzer42 » Tue Oct 16, 2018 5:02 pm

Slow on the up take sorry, still wrestling with 4mm. I hope you enjoyed the Gartell railway, it's owned by my wife's uncle and aunt. Had the privilege of driving an ex peat works lister along the line in the late 80s when still under construction. I can still picture "old" Mr Gartell as his dad was known showing me the coaches he had built on some ex pleasure park bogies from Keef's in Ross. They used old bus seats and proper drop lights. A clever chap. A nice part of the country too, a lot of the wife's family are in and around Templecombe/Yenston

Love the sound of brick works Andrew. There was a narrow gauge line at Bridgwater brick works but pictures are far and few between on the web. I think there is a Brick museum there somewhere that I ought to check out given my family are based at that end of Somerset.

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Re: Meanderings in Dorset and Devon

Post by ge_rik » Wed Oct 17, 2018 7:37 am

A few thoughts on the Brickworks v Boneworks dilemma .....

Brickworks
* coal, sundries in - bricks, tiles, pipes out
* either 2' feeder or ropeway from clay pits to works
* plenty of examples to use as basis for model (including Bursledon)

Boneworks
* coal, bones, manure, sundries in - fertliser, glue out
* self contained works
* unusual prototype, fewer examples on which to base it

From the traffic point of view, the bones and manure would be new for Down trains and unusual. But the bricks, tiles and pipes would be more interesting for Up trains.

In both cases, I would be unable to model the complete works, just a representative building plus some goods awaiting collection, with the rest off stage. Trying to figure out the best site. I would want it a fair way down the line so the wagons have further to travel, but I have more available space up the line - unless I do some re-modelling of the landscape.

Hmmmmmm ..... much head scratching ......

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Re: Meanderings in Dorset and Devon

Post by ge_rik » Wed Oct 17, 2018 7:40 am

bazzer42 wrote: Tue Oct 16, 2018 5:02 pm Slow on the up take sorry, still wrestling with 4mm. I hope you enjoyed the Gartell railway, it's owned by my wife's uncle and aunt. Had the privilege of driving an ex peat works lister along the line in the late 80s when still under construction. I can still picture "old" Mr Gartell as his dad was known showing me the coaches he had built on some ex pleasure park bogies from Keef's in Ross. They used old bus seats and proper drop lights. A clever chap. A nice part of the country too, a lot of the wife's family are in and around Templecombe/Yenston
Apparently, one of the steam locos, Mr G, is named after the elder Mr Gartell

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Re: Meanderings in Dorset and Devon

Post by FWLR » Wed Oct 17, 2018 8:51 am

Andrew wrote: Tue Oct 16, 2018 2:39 pm
philipy wrote: Tue Oct 16, 2018 12:39 pm [
Rik, the brickworks would require coal in and also bricks out, so the traffic would be much the same for both. Plus of course you'd have coal empties out as well, anyway.
Plus the odd van of sundry supplies, I guess? Wagon loads of bricks would look lovely - I like loads that add a touch of colour to an otherwise grey and grimy wagon...

Andrew.

And me Andrew.

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Re: Meanderings in Dorset and Devon

Post by FWLR » Wed Oct 17, 2018 8:53 am

It would be the Brickworks for me Rik. Coal and bricks too and from the same build…What a build that would be.

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Re: Meanderings in Dorset and Devon

Post by IrishPeter » Wed Oct 17, 2018 2:36 pm

I think I would prefer the brickyard over the bonemill, more because I understand brickmaking more than the goings on in a kett house. One of the local tile yards had 2' gauge sidings laid into the drying shed to allow them to transfer clay from the pug mill to the sheds, and the tiles from the drying sheds to the kiln with less trouble. Sadly, those sidings were disused by my time, and my grandfather couldn't remember what they were used for other than to move materials around what was a relative small site. Looking at the section of the rail - which was very light - they may have fallen into disuse when the horses were replaced with a locomotive after WW2. By contrast, much of the "main line" was laid in heavy flat bottom rail.

Brick making it a relatively simple process.

Dig the clay
Move it to the brickworks*
Put it through the pugmill the produce a consistent quality of clay
Mould the bricks or tiles
Move them to the drying sheds*
Dry them
Move them to the Kiln*
Fire them
Wait for the bricks to cool
Discard any misfires, broken bricks, etc.,
Put to one side any that the seconds
Dispatch to the customer*

The processes I have starred could involve rail transport, and also, there would be rail traffic generated by bringing coal to the brickyard. In the bigger brickies they dried the tiles/bricks in heated, but not truly hot, tunnels, so the product was moved into the tunnel on railway wagons fitted with racks to allow for even drying of the product. Around my way this was held to be produce softer tiles/bricks which would be more prone to weathering, but I think that was just Us justifying our conservatism. Also they dispatched most of the tiles by barge as the major markets were river side - Hull, Grimsby, Goole, etc. - so carting them to the railway station a mile away did not make much sense unless it was a destination with no suitable river or canal connection. When my grandfather decided he did not like farming, he went as the mate on one of the barges that was engaged in the tile trade on the River Humber, so I got it explained to me at an early age. Some of the more aggressive skippers would move a load of tiles from the South Bank to Hull, pick up whatever they could get in Hull for the West Riding, and then bring a load of coal back!


Cheers,

Peter in Va
Traffic Pattern? What pattern? Spuds out; grain in, but cattle, sheep and passengers are a lot less predictable.

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Re: Meanderings in Dorset and Devon

Post by BorisSpencer » Wed Oct 17, 2018 5:29 pm

The following was from my local paper in 1941 when the local brick and tile works closed. Shown on a local map of the time is the works, the clay pit, and also a tramway running to a sand pit.
Short Notice of Sale – Thursday Next

The whole of the

Brickmaking Plant & Machinery
Steam Engines, Lancashire Boiler, Rails, Timber, etc.
Including Combination Brick Making Machine comprising:- Clay Breaking and Grinding Rolls 30ins. wide; Horizontal Double Shaft Mixer, Grinding Rolls, Pugmill and Wire Cutting off Table by Wootton Bros. Ltd. Leeds; Power Brock Press by William Johnston, Leeds; Power Mixer, Roller Grinding Mill, Portable Electric Driven Blower, Spare Brick and Drain Tile Dies, Spur Wheels, Belt Pulleys and Fittings; Horizontal Steam Engine 20in. Cylinder, 40in. Stroke; “Hart Parr” 20h.p. Horizontal Petrol Engine; “Lancashire” Steam Boiler 30ft. long x 7ft. diameter (100lbs.steam pressure), Fuel Economisers 48 pipes; Egg Ended Wrought Iron Eater Tank 36ft. long x 4ft. diameter; 3 Galvanised and 1 Riveted Steel Water Cisterns; Steam Heated Dryer Installation containing 15,000ft. x 1in. Wrought Iron Piping; Vertical Steam Engine; Vertical Belt Driven Pump; 120 Iron Framed Two-tier Wood Drying Shed Brock Wagons each 7ft. 2in. Long x 3ft. 3in. wide, with roller bearings for 24in. gauge track; 6 Jubilee Steel Side Tip Wagons each 4yd. Capacity; 12 Steel Clay Tubs, 2 Transfer Bogies, Wrought Iron Tippler; Tug Haulage Gear and Chain; 1,200yds 14lb. section Flat Bottom Steel Rail Track, Steel Sleepers, 20 tons Flat Bottom Steel Rails 14 and 20lb. sections; 2,000 Wood Sleepers average 3ft. long; 15 tons 4in. To 6in. Mild Steel Flats ¼” to ½” thick; 30 tons Cast iron Scrap, 15 tons Wrought Iron and Steel Scrap, 10 tons Cast Iron Plates 36ins. long x 16in. Wide, 1,000 Galvanised Corrugated Iron Sheets, 20 Standard of Timber comprising Deals, Spars and Boards, Shafting, Piping, Belting, Barrows, Bricks, Wood Doors and Loose Effects.

Will be offered for Sale by Auction on the premises.
On Thursday Next May 1st. 1941, at 11.0 a.m. prompt.

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Re: Meanderings in Dorset and Devon

Post by BorisSpencer » Wed Oct 17, 2018 5:59 pm


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