roythebus
Pleased to say the restoration of BEA coach MLL738 is as complete as it can be, now restoring MLL721
Posts: 1,256
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Post by roythebus on Oct 28, 2009 23:56:04 GMT
Does anyone have any idea when the coal depot at Kensington High Street closed? Are there any track plans around?
ISTR the track was still there and in use in the 1960's and was fianlly lifted in the early 70's when the current hotel was built on the site.
Did it close at the same time as the West Ken coal depot?
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Post by tubeprune on Oct 29, 2009 16:50:13 GMT
reganorak kindly looked it up today and emailed it to me as he was in the right place. He found:
High St Ken closed 26-11-63
W Ken closed 14.07.65
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 29, 2009 17:21:33 GMT
Most of the inner London coal distribution depots ran down very rapidly following the passing of the Clean Air Act 1956, after the extensive London smogs earlier in the 1950s. A few years to get organised after the act was passed, and then coal buring was progressively banned in large areas of London from around 1960 and the depots went with it. It was a very sudden change - up until 1956 British Railways had been investing considerable amounts in mechanisation and modernisation of the depots. 10 years later they were all gone.
The Underground played their part, as Lots Road power station was converted from coal to oil fuel in the early 1960s as well.
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Post by bassmike on Oct 29, 2009 18:18:31 GMT
There is an article in the latest Midland Record magazine about all the coal depots and the trains that served them
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roythebus
Pleased to say the restoration of BEA coach MLL738 is as complete as it can be, now restoring MLL721
Posts: 1,256
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Post by roythebus on Oct 29, 2009 20:01:16 GMT
Thanks for the info. I certainly remember the coal trains to West Ken, usually a Jinty with a load of wagons, same to the High Street depot too. I was a bit young to realise that lot was soon to close. Luckily, I could still hear the pannier tanks from my parents house near Lillie Road til the early 1970's.
Any info on the track plan at High Street?
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Ben
fotopic... whats that?
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Post by Ben on Oct 30, 2009 0:27:04 GMT
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roythebus
Pleased to say the restoration of BEA coach MLL738 is as complete as it can be, now restoring MLL721
Posts: 1,256
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Post by roythebus on Oct 30, 2009 9:33:09 GMT
Thanks, most useful, but as usual raises more questions...
There doesn't appear to be a run-round facility in the coal depot, so if there was only one loco there, how would it get to the other end of the train? Maybe a second loco was kept there as a yard shunter. At West Ken coal depot, shunting appears to have been done by horse, given the plethora of wagon turntables there.
Looking at Harsig's plan of Earls Court, presumably the second e/b district road was added post-1966 to allow parallelfahrt for Edgware Road and South Ken trains?
I'm surprised at the extent of Triangle Sidings. Presumably this lot went when they built the BEA air terminal over the top.
At High Street, on the bay roads, there appears to be space for a loco traverser. Was there evr one here or in steam loco-hauled days did another loco go on the back of the train?
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mrfs42
71E25683904T 172E6538094T
Big Hair Day
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Post by mrfs42 on Oct 30, 2009 10:27:00 GMT
High Street has a complicated history, signalling wise: it was originally a joint Met/District 'box, but by 1907 the District finally having the hump moved their functions out of the joint 'box into one of their own.
According to my notes, the District side of High St. was two track either side of an island platform - there was a loco. spur between the Met and the District, controlled (slotted) by the Met. box, but only accessible from the District platform nearest the Circle. However, there are ringed arm subsidiaries on both platforms and the north-facing exit from the yard, so I suspect that there was a spare engine wafting around: one side woud use the Met. Loco spur and the other side might use the track into the yard - certainly the impression I've got from looking at the locking table and how the subs. were numbered around the connection.
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mrfs42
71E25683904T 172E6538094T
Big Hair Day
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Post by mrfs42 on Nov 7, 2009 22:48:33 GMT
This might be of interest - it is an extract from Supp to TC 6/36: Working of Inner Rail Circle Trains on Sundays.  It looks *much* better in a high-res copy! |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 8, 2009 18:06:49 GMT
When I get my new scanner up and running you will see a fully signalled layout. Also have you looked at the photos of HSK on the LT Museum site?  |
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mrfs42
71E25683904T 172E6538094T
Big Hair Day
Posts: 5,922
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Post by mrfs42 on Dec 5, 2009 23:34:57 GMT
As an addendum Coal Trains to High St Depot from Cromwell Curve were signalled as 4 beats on the bell - not consecutively as an express passenger elsewhere, but as 2-2.
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