Derek
Member
- Location
- UK, Midlands
Evening all.
I have looked at this photo from Ernie Brack's collection on flikr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/51276682475/in/album-72157684478421123/
I have seen this position from other angles, but due to perspective I could never be sure what space there was between the two right hand running roads, though from OS maps I predicted there could not possibly be the clear 6ft gap. Here it looks like less than 5ft. The cameraman has his back to the entrance to the engine stable, so not running lines and it was built like this late 1880s, before 'modern' practices. I'm guessing in a situation like this they'd just use 'common sense', which apparently was popular back then, and make sure they only use one road at a time- there wouldn't be that many movements per day.
Also the third track from the right, the one next to the train, is a siding- normally an ash wagon at the end and that does appear to have 6ft between it and the running line it isn't the 10ft we expect now. The site (Whitby) was VERY compact and presumably this has resulted in corners being cut.
My questions are A) am I right that there were areas with low clearances like this and subject to local rules B) was this typical or one of those unofficial things that took place in remote backwaters (as Whitby was in 1880- at least for trains). C) would this have contributed to its closure as a depot in 1950s due to modernised working practices?
NB for anyone interested in this area, Mr Brack has added several very interesting photos to this collection. NB2- not the interesting tandem (I believe Martin referred to this as 'type 2' where the 3rd road diverges from the 2nd. Again I'm quite pleased as my prediction suggested it had to be one of those type and my estimate for the sizes worked quite nicely too.
Derek
I have looked at this photo from Ernie Brack's collection on flikr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/51276682475/in/album-72157684478421123/
I have seen this position from other angles, but due to perspective I could never be sure what space there was between the two right hand running roads, though from OS maps I predicted there could not possibly be the clear 6ft gap. Here it looks like less than 5ft. The cameraman has his back to the entrance to the engine stable, so not running lines and it was built like this late 1880s, before 'modern' practices. I'm guessing in a situation like this they'd just use 'common sense', which apparently was popular back then, and make sure they only use one road at a time- there wouldn't be that many movements per day.
Also the third track from the right, the one next to the train, is a siding- normally an ash wagon at the end and that does appear to have 6ft between it and the running line it isn't the 10ft we expect now. The site (Whitby) was VERY compact and presumably this has resulted in corners being cut.
My questions are A) am I right that there were areas with low clearances like this and subject to local rules B) was this typical or one of those unofficial things that took place in remote backwaters (as Whitby was in 1880- at least for trains). C) would this have contributed to its closure as a depot in 1950s due to modernised working practices?
NB for anyone interested in this area, Mr Brack has added several very interesting photos to this collection. NB2- not the interesting tandem (I believe Martin referred to this as 'type 2' where the 3rd road diverges from the 2nd. Again I'm quite pleased as my prediction suggested it had to be one of those type and my estimate for the sizes worked quite nicely too.
Derek
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