Edge Hill Loco Shed 4 May 1968 Last Day of Steam
Resource Type: Audio | Posted on 16th July 2013 by Jenny Porter
An audio recording of Edge Hill Loco sheds on the last day of steam, Friday 4th May 1968. In this recording we hear the Ayrshire Yeomanry and some other engines recorded by Keith Rose.
The image is of a Black Five 45156 Ayrshire Yeomanry taken by Tony Laycock sometime late in 1967 with an old Brownie camera at Edge Hill Depot the day it was transferred to Patricroft MPD prior to Edge Hill closing to steam (with thanks to http://www.steamtraingalleries.co.uk)
Interviewee: Keith Rose
Categorised under: The Station & Railway Pioneers, Landmarks, Landscapes & Locomotives, Work & Industry, Sounds & Ambience
Comments
I’m interested in this subject, as my father was a labourer for a plate layer (what’s that?) working for the Mersey Docks & Harbour Board.
They don’t have information on file they say. Would your knowledge of railways include plate-layers? My father was working for them just prior to the start of WWII
Michael,
A `Platelayer`was an individual who worked on the railway line itself and carried out maintenance of the track,sleepers,fishplates and ballast,for example. Fishplates held the rail together,which was normally in 60ft. lengths,and called `bullhead` rail. It weighs about 100 lbs per yard.It was also at this point that expansion and contraction of the rail takes place,depending on external air temperature. There is still a lot of this track about,in sidings and yards,for example,but on the main lines of Britain Continuously Welded Rail(CWR)is now used,which is very predominant. Fishplates are not used in CWR as the rail is welded together in lengths of 300/600/900 feet. Expansion and contraction of CWR takes place at joints in the rail called `breather-switches`.
Platelaying duties are an important role to this very day in the safety of the operational railway. However,a lot of work is now carried out by various types of railway `On-track` machines. Some of these machines are quite remarkable in what they do.The railway track is usually referred to as the `Permanent Way`. However,when a line is closed or lifted then there is nothing so temporary as the `Permanent Way`.! Nothing lasts for ever..the Edge Hill Grid Iron is testimony to that.! Most platelayers were responsible,at one time,for a specific length of railway line but these days they tend to be mobile,using road vehicles,to travel to specific locations where they are needed and can look after a lot more railway track in this way.