Broad Gauge.

[Broithe]

I found a stack of sleepers today in Shropshire....

 

 

...I had no means of measuring them, but they were way over even 5' 3" - I presume they were Mr Brunel's 7' ¼".

 

There can't be too many of them left lying around - or too much call for them, I suppose.

 

How fast would trains be running now, if only people had listened to him?

[DiveController]

Same speed given the same amount of maintenance?

 

but, please Jim, tell us more about broad(er) gauge….

[minister_for_hardship]

Was anything marked on the chairs?

 

Maybe leftovers from a broad gauge new build/replica project? Chairs are very close to the sleeper ends.

 

Thought maybe some BG sleepers might have survived incorporated into buildings or holding up signs and things, but not out in the open with chairs still bolted to them?

 

http://www.broadgauge.co.uk/library/images/locations/torquay_station/torquay_station_01_large.jpg

Edited May 25, 2015 by minister_for_hardship

[burnthebox]

I found a stack of sleepers today in Shropshire....

 

 

...I had no means of measuring them, but they were way over even 5' 3" - I presume they were Mr Brunel's 7=))' ¼".

 

There can't be too many of them left lying around - or too much call for them, I suppose.

 

How fast would trains be running now, if only people had listened to him?

 

Broithe, you could have walked heal to toe & maybe got some kind of measurement, now go back to Shopshire & measure them

[burnthebox]

I found a stack of sleepers today in Shropshire....

 

 

...I had no means of measuring them, but they were way over even 5' 3" - I presume they were Mr Brunel's 7 ¼".

 

There can't be too many of them left lying around - or too much call for them, I suppose.

 

How fast would trains be running now, if only people had listened to him?

 

Broithe, you could have walked heal to toe & maybe got some kind of measurement, now go back to Shopshire & measure them =))

Edited May 25, 2015 by burnthebox

[Broithe]

They weren't very accessible....

 

I couldn't see any ID on the castings.

 

Some seven foot track that was unconnected, survived into modern times.

[minister_for_hardship]

IIRC most of it was bridge section rail, spiked onto longitudinal baulks. Towards the end it looks like they went for something more modern; bullhead rail, cross ties and chairs.

 

The galv bolts look modern-ish.

[Broithe]

IIRC most of it was bridge section rail, spiked onto longitudinal baulks. Towards the end it looks like they went for something more modern; bullhead rail, cross ties and chairs.

 

The galv bolts look modern-ish.

 

Most, but not all.

 

 

It certainly looked more modern than a hundred years old, but the rails would have been well over six feet apart, I would say.

[Broithe]

There was a lot of mining in that area in the 19th and early 20th centuries - it just be some 'special' gauge that was used internally somewhere locally.

[minister_for_hardship]

Most mining gauges are on the smaller end of the scale, maybe something to take some sort of rolling gantry or trolley?

[Broithe]

Most mining gauges are on the smaller end of the scale, maybe something to take some sort of rolling gantry or trolley?

 

Indeed, I wouldn't expect it to go down the hole.

[Broithe]

They were here, so they presumably arrived fairly recently.

[minister_for_hardship]

Yes, and there's a modern pallet wedged under them.

[Junctionmad]

theres a rail crane, in the google photos, I suspect the sleepers might have been a constructors track way

[Broithe]

theres a rail crane, in the google photos, I suspect the sleepers might have been a constructors track way

 

The crane looked standard gauge.

 

[minister_for_hardship]

The plot thickens...

[Broithe]

It's a museum full of interesting junk - not necessarily related in any close manner.

[burnthebox]

As the minister has said, the pallet lying underneath would stem from the early 60's, which may give a clue to a date

[RichL]

Maybe it was for some kind of crane. They came in all sorts of wide gauges.

[Broithe]

As the minister has said, the pallet lying underneath would stem from the early 60's, which may give a clue to a date

 

Mmm, the pallet may or may not be related to the sleepers, maybe it was just an attempt to avoid them being in direct contact with the soil without the benefit of ballast drainage - the "StreetView" pictures would suggest that they may have arrived in the last few years - possibly together, possibly not.