Traces of Temporary Sidings

[Andy873]

I've mentioned these sidings before, but I'd like to explore them a little more...

A few weeks ago, John Hinson from the Signalbox.org site kindly sent me a copy of the original Great Harwood Junction box inspected June 1876. The box was confusingly named Padiham Junction and is based on Chris Littleworth's research.

I can't share the box diagram as it's John's diagram not mine.

On this diagram just inside the junction itself, on the branch line side are two sets of sidings. There is no known text about these (what appear to be temporary) sidings.

On the West end side of the junction there appears to be three dead end sidings plus a short stub. These sidings come together and there is a cross over onto the branch's down line. On the East side the other set of sidings were again three dead end ones plus another short stub. This too had a connection to the branch line, this time it's to the Up line.

All six sidings ran parallel with the East Lancs Down main line, the Western set of sidings had also one cross over to the EL Down main. The diagram also shows three disc signals actually situated at the necks of these sidings.

The branch line coming off the EL line at this point runs through a shallow cutting, however there looks to be a short gap in that cutting exactly where these sidings would have been. If you look at the OS sheet from 1894 you can see a dotted line across the branch line tracks, this is where I believe both sidings connected to the branch. Bottom right hand corner of the map. Courtesy of the National Library of Scotland.

View map: Ordnance Survey, Lancashire LXII.12 (Blackburn) - Ordnance Survey 25 inch England and Wales, 1841-1952

maps.nls.uk

These sidings completely disappeared and are not shown on any OS maps. It looks like these sidings were used to aid the construction of the branch line.

Is it a possibility that in later years the Eastern siding closest to the EL Down line became the EL Down Loop with its connection the the branch line cut?

Have you come across temporary sidings used during the construction of a line?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Have you come across temporary sidings used during the construction of a line?

Not quite what you are asking, but fairly sure that there were temporary sidings constructed when Manchester Airport was having its second runway constructed in the late 1990s, in order to bring stone in from the Buxton area. Not sure if any of the trackwork remains in place.

 

[Whistler40145]

Not quite what you are asking, but fairly sure that there were temporary sidings constructed when Manchester Airport was having its second runway constructed in the late 1990s, in order to bring stone in from the Buxton area. Not sure if any of the trackwork remains in place.

Yes, you're quite right about the temporary siding at Manchester Airport

 

[ls2270]

The HS1 site at Beechgrove Farm would be an example.

 

[LYradial]

Looking through John Marshall vol 2, north Lancashire loop, there is half a page about the contractor (thos stone) and the problems and delays with the Gt. Harwood section, mostly huge quantitles of wet clay and subsidence, needing to be moved or infilled, maybe this is connected, sidings to hold the wagons needed.

 

[Andy873]

Not quite what you are asking, but fairly sure that there were temporary sidings constructed when Manchester Airport was having its second runway constructed in the late 1990s, in order to bring stone in from the Buxton area. Not sure if any of the trackwork remains in place.

I didn't know about those sidings, are there any traces left of them?

Looking through John Marshall vol 2, north Lancashire loop, there is half a page about the contractor (thos stone) and the problems and delays with the Gt. Harwood section, mostly huge quantitles of wet clay and subsidence, needing to be moved or infilled, maybe this is connected, sidings to hold the wagons needed.

Yes, John does describe this in detail.

Thanks to John Hinson's box diagram of the original Gt. Harwood Junction showing these temporary sidings, I'm able to fill in a missing gap with regards to the branch line's construction.

I know railway mineral wagons were in use in 1876 as sadly one labourer was run over and killed by one of them.

I have seen the cuttings and embankments all the way from Gt. Harwood Junction (Blackburn) past Harwood station to Martholme viaduct, most of this is (going East) on a downward gradient. There wasn't anywhere else to place such sidings, I felt there had to be some sidings but couldn't work out where they were, now I know.

Question - I know the labourers (well some at least) rode on the wagons to where the spoil was needed, was it possible to use the manual brakes on such wagons whilst riding on them?

And would the L&Y have used horses to pull the wagons back up the line?

 

[jfollows]

I didn't know about those sidings, are there any traces left of them?

Google Earth pretty much denies their existence.
Essentially there was a branch to the left only a short way after the convergence of the lines from the S and N; other than that there was a branch at the time, little else could be seen from the train.

 

[bangor-toad]

Here's an image from Wikimedia Commons showing the location of the runway construction sidings:

You can see the branch leaving the line into the airport in the top left hand corner.


If I can pose a challenge: Can anyone find an image of the temporary siding at Gatwick Airport station leaving from the north end of platform 6 used in the construction of the M23 (from the early 1970's?)
Cheers,
Mr Toad

 

[Belperpete]

It was common for temporary tracks to be laid during construction (and not just of railways), but far less common for them to be left in situ after construction was complete, let alone signalled, if I understand what the OP is saying correctly.

Empty wagons could well have been hauled up the grade by horses, as there would have been plenty in use. However, for what sounds like a significant volume of work, might not a contractor's loco be more likely.

I wouldn't rule out the workmen riding down on the wagons, using a pole to operate the brake. Don't underestimate the ingenuity (or recklessness!) of the average navvy! Look at the contraptions that quarrymen used to ride down inclines (car gwyllt).

 

[Andy873]

Google Earth pretty much denies their existence.
Essentially there was a branch to the left only a short way after the convergence of the lines from the S and N; other than that there was a branch at the time, little else could be seen from the train.

Yes, once those sidings go and the landscape is re-worked you can be hard pushed to find any traces.

Empty wagons could well have been hauled up the grade by horses, as there would have been plenty in use. However, for what sounds like a significant volume of work, might not a contractor's loco be more likely.

It has been suggested some time ago on the forum that initially the L&Y might have laid a narrow gauge single track, the L&Y certainly had a few narrow gauge engines. No one really knows if that happened with this branch. Horses and gravity would have been the cheaper option?

I wouldn't rule out the workmen riding down on the wagons, using a pole to operate the brake. Don't underestimate the ingenuity (or recklessness!) of the average navvy! Look at the contraptions that quarrymen used to ride down inclines (car gwyllt).

I've seen TV programmes showing wagons being braked as they roll down hill - thanks, that's what I was trying to imagine.

Regarding the temporary sidings mentioned in my opening post:

The box diagram shows the box was inspected 17 June 1876.

Question - The three disc ground signals - would it be normal to install signals on temporary sidings? or would this be unusual? they guarded entry / exit to and from the (not yet open) branch line and worked from the box mentioned.

Could it be that the L&Y had an idea of using these sidings (after the branch opened) as carriage sidings? There certainly was a need to store stock for workings out of Blackburn, and in the 1880's Gt. Harwood station had a carriage shed and carriage sidings installed...

 

[driver9000]

I didn't know about those sidings, are there any traces left of them?

You can still see where the sidings diverged from the Airport branch next to Heald Green West Junction. All trackwork was lifted a long time ago although the Sectional Appendix carried the local instruction for the freight line long after it was abandoned, I'll have to look out an old appendix for the details.

 

[Rescars]

Straying a bit from the OT, but one of the largest sets of temporary sidings must have been those laid at Swindon in 1892 to accommodate all the redundant locos and rolling stock for scrapping or conversion following the abolition of the broad gauge. I don't know, but I doubt there was much in the way of signalling.

 

[Trackman]

Yes, you're quite right about the temporary siding at Manchester Airport

Think it had a secondary use apart from the runway construction, something to do with Airbus parts?

 

[Whistler40145]

I'm pretty sure the Branch Line Society ran a tour along the siding at Manchester Airport

 

[edwin_m]

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I assume the embankment diverging eastwards from the Watford line at How Wood is the remains of the temporary connection put in when the Midland line was being built.

Many of the reservoirs in the Pennines had temporary construction railways, such as one from near Bamford up to Ladybower and a continuation of the Delph branch up to Castleshaw.

 

[Taunton]

Straying a bit from the OT, but one of the largest sets of temporary sidings must have been those laid at Swindon in 1892 to accommodate all the redundant locos and rolling stock for scrapping or conversion following the abolition of the broad gauge. I don't know, but I doubt there was much in the way of signalling.

I believe the Broad Gauge sidings at Swindon carried on as the mainstream Swindon scrapyard, later having travelling electric cranes installed to move the scrap around. They had a second burst with the quantities of South Wales locos acquired in 1923, and ended up as the disposal point for the Western diesel-hydraulics, among many others. They were on the north side of the line west of the station, as far as where the M&SW line crossed. The various well-known photos of all the Broad gauge locos lined up, taken from a slightly elevated position, were shot from standing on the M&SW embankment.

They were of course re-gauged from Broad to Standard.

 

[Rescars]

I believe the Broad Gauge sidings at Swindon carried on as the mainstream Swindon scrapyard, later having travelling electric cranes installed to move the scrap around. They had a second burst with the quantities of South Wales locos acquired in 1923, and ended up as the disposal point for the Western diesel-hydraulics, among many others. They were on the north side of the line west of the station, as far as where the M&SW line crossed. The various well-known photos of all the Broad gauge locos lined up, taken from a slightly elevated position, were shot from standing on the M&SW embankment.

They were of course re-gauged from Broad to Standard.

Not so temporary after all then!

Regarding the well known photos, the shots of the loco dump show that the trackwork was of understandably pretty low standard, but the variations in the length of the sleepers seems remarkable. Presumably these were salvaged from elsewhere, but why such variation. Had they seen a previous life as part of Brunel's baulk road perhaps?

 

[karlos]

Re: the Manchester Airport sidings, there was still some track in situ in 2010 and it can be seen using Google Earth's historical imagery feature. Has since been paved over for a car park.