I'm sure plenty of carriages originally lit by gas have been preserved, but I don't think any retain working gas lighting systems.Are there any gas lit carriages in preservation? If so can they be run in service or would they be considered too much of a safety risk these days?
Gas lighting as an option ceased to be commonplace in the 1970s I think, but a new touring caravan throughout the 1980s would likely have a fridge that could be powered by battery/electric hook-up/propane.I never realised caravans were gas lit too.
I once stayed in a YHA that was lit by gas but that's about it.
I’m sure there are gas lit carriages somewhere in preservation but no doubt people will convince you otherwise.
Thanks, I’m here all week.
I don’t think having gas lamps lit up hen on the move was a particular problem for the trains ( judged by the standards of 1900, that is!) It was having them lit ( or indeed having gas around at all) when irresistible force met immovable object. I suspect, however that in the majority of road accidents involving caravans, being hit by a flying gas bottle was a more likely scenario than it exploding - even if it was in the van at all.Gas lighting as an option ceased to be commonplace in the 1970s I think, but a new touring caravan throughout the 1980s would likely have a fridge that could be powered by battery/electric hook-up/propane.
Of course the caravan generally wouldn't have these gas powered features functioning while on the move, so that removes one of the risk factors present on trains.
Boom boom!I’m sure there are gas lit carriages somewhere in preservation but no doubt people will convince you otherwise.
Thanks, I’m here all week.
Gas lighting as an option ceased to be commonplace in the 1970s I think, but a new touring caravan throughout the 1980s would likely have a fridge that could be powered by battery/electric hook-up/propane.
Well yeah... but if the vehicle with gas lighting is stationary, you've already solved half the "irresistible force/immovable object" conundrum!I don’t think having gas lamps lit up hen on the move was a particular problem for the trains ( judged by the standards of 1900, that is!) It was having them lit ( or indeed having gas around at all) when irresistible force met immovable object. I suspect, however that in the majority of road accidents involving caravans, being hit by a flying gas bottle was a more likely scenario than it exploding - even if it was in the van at all.
Well yeah... but if the vehicle with gas lighting is stationary, you've already solved half the "irresistible force/immovable object" conundrum!
Not sure what the current advice is for transporting your gas bottles for your caravan, but in the past you were advised to carry them in the boot of your car. Both to protect them from impact (caravans are pretty flimsy) and to increase the weight above the driven wheels. The smaller gas bottles that some preferred were as you suggest more at risk of becoming projectiles than becoming explosive.
It is my strong suspicion that if any gas lit carriages survive (I have no idea whether they do), they will all be converted to electric by now. Possibly something fancy to replicate gas lighting, but electric nonetheless for safety and convenience [1] all round.
[1] No point having gas lighting if it's too expensive or too much of a faff to light it/maintain it.
Now that you mention it, the last caravan my parents had did have lockers specifically designed to hold two smaller gas canisters rather than just a large one which had to sit out in the open when in use... but we're getting into the weeds topic-wise. I suppose there's a place now for retro caravan reminiscing should there be desire for such a niche thread!Most people transport them in the little cupboard provided on the caravan for the purpose. Probably safer there (typically clamped in place) because if an impact did breach them the explosion would be outside the car.
I believe the "gas wagons" were delivered to sidings at points where coaches were serviced and used to replenish the onboard lighting supply cylinders. I have seen an old photo of Marlow station where such a vehicle was stationed. I presume it was exchanged every so often with a full one from a depot such as Old Oak. It seems there was not a suitable local supply in certain locations.Here's a real sidebar, but my 1960 Hornby model railway catalogue had a "gas wagon", which was about 10 or so large gas cylinders (like huge beer barrels) mounted sideways on a wagon, with a substantial framing around them. One wonders what this was used to supply. The railway tended in the coal gas era to have centralised gas production facilities, but were such distribution vehicles still used by this time?
There's an extensive network of gas lighting still in London. Here's a belter round the back of Downing Street, with smaller cousins all around. At their most atmospheric when it has snowed : Birdcage Walk - Google Maps . They have battery timers on the valve nowadays, so the old spectacle of the Lamplighter coming round on a bicycle with their long pole to turn them on at dusk no longer can be seen.About ten years ago several ornate street lamps on the Thames embankment near Westminster underground station were gas lit.
Not because of lack of investment but as a history lesson.
May still be gulping gas, unless the green lobby has discovered them.
Although gas lighting disappeared earlier, gas for cooking (and refrigeration) in refreshment cars lasted until modern times, and presumably is what is still used on heritage lines with restaurant facilities. It's the only energy source they had if power was not coming down the train line from the locomotive, which I believe only came with the Mk 3. All the Mk 1 refreshment vehicles, which of course provided all the facilities in the Mk 2 era as well as these did not have any refreshment vehicles of their own, even the miniature buffets and the ones in dmus, had gas cooking, they had commercial Calor Gas propane cylinders in the underframe which were changed regularly; sometimes not regularly enough, "no gas" being one of the myriad excuses for lack of refreshment facilities.
The gas used changed over (1950s?) from the old coal gas previously used to the commercial cylinders.
The absence of power source and the poor features of the old coal gas system led the LNER in the 1930s to introduce "anthracite electric" kitchens, which essentially were coal-fired ranges (the junior chef had to double up as a fireman), with forced draught from electric fans to get adequate heat. Some early 1950s BR restaurant cars perpetuated this approach.
Here's a real sidebar, but my 1960 Hornby model railway catalogue had a "gas wagon", which was about 10 or so large gas cylinders (like huge beer barrels) mounted sideways on a wagon, with a substantial framing around them. One wonders what this was used to supply. The railway tended in the coal gas era to have centralised gas production facilities, but were such distribution vehicles still used by this time?
I do seem to recall that the last gas-lit service in London was mentioned by John Betjeman in one of his knowledgeable accounts as being the stock the LMS provided for the services from Broad Street to the LNER destinations like High Barnet or Potters Bar, up to 1939, with old North London Railway wooden-seated 4-wheeled coaches. An old agreement over the use of the terminus at Broad Street meant the North London, and then the LMS, had to provide the stock. I think the last gas-lit of all was again some wooden-seated stock used for coal miners' services in South Wales. Our colleague @ChiefPlanner probably knows more than anyone else about this.
Is it no coincidence that the Institute of Mechanical Engineers has its HQ in Birdcage walk (off Parliament Square), mentioned above?There's an extensive network of gas lighting still in London. Here's a belter round the back of Downing Street, with smaller cousins all around. At their most atmospheric when it has snowed : Birdcage Walk - Google Maps . They have battery timers on the valve nowadays, so the old spectacle of the Lamplighter coming round on a bicycle with their long pole to turn them on at dusk no longer can be seen.
Yes some of the old mess coaches and vans used with cranes tracklayers ballast cleaners etc had gas lighting fitted in some of them.Maybe my memory (what's left of it!) is playing up, but I have a memory of the mess coaches used by the relaying gangs into the 1980's having gas lighting.
Pat
Around 1500 gas lamps still around London but there is a storm brewing about some of them.....There's an extensive network of gas lighting still in London. Here's a belter round the back of Downing Street, with smaller cousins all around. At their most atmospheric when it has snowed : Birdcage Walk - Google Maps . They have battery timers on the valve nowadays, so the old spectacle of the Lamplighter coming round on a bicycle with their long pole to turn them on at dusk no longer can be seen.
I believe Nottingham also has a substantial network, and in Germany Berlin is likewise.
My parent's 1972 caravan (which hasn't moved for 20 years) has a little storage cupboard at the front for gas bottles. The gas/electric fridge is at the back by the door. I'm struggling to remember if they bothered to move the gas bottles from the back to the front for travelling.Most people transport them in the little cupboard provided on the caravan for the purpose. Probably safer there (typically clamped in place) because if an impact did breach them the explosion would be outside the car.
My parent's 1972 caravan (which hasn't moved for 20 years) has a little storage cupboard at the front for gas bottles. The gas/electric fridge is at the back by the door. I'm struggling to remember if they bothered to move the gas bottles from the back to the front for travelling.