Hi Everyone,
I will soon be starting work on my new baseboard. I had to delay my original plans due to financial restraints.

Upon doing a little online research on here, RM Web as well as a couple of other sites I am considering constructing a layout based on the former site of the old explosive factory.

I understand that there was a spur line that served the factory during part of its time and have managed to trace the route of that line. This line is reported to have terminated behind the bungalows at Upton Towans and I have even managed to find the old platform tucked away in the trees there.

Here comes the tricky part. A number of reports say that the site itself was served by a locomotive (gauge?) that went around the site itself rather than terminating at the aforementioned platform. Is this true?

If so does anyone know where I might look for the rail plan? I have looked at a website called The Hayle Archive featuring The Bates Collection which gives a blueprint type hand drawn layout of the entire explosives factory. However it is a little ambiguous as to the extent of the rail line.

What type of engine and rolling stock were employed if the above is true? Anybody who might be able to offer advice, your assistance would be highly appreciated.

Chris

Chris, have a look here. There is a small description of the locomotive, although the gauge is not stated.  Also contains 24 photos of the ruins of the location.

AditNow Mine Exploration

Terry

Cheers col. Shame they scrapped the engine. So much of what we once knew is long gone

Chris

Hi Chris.

Check this out:

http://www.hayletowncouncil.net/documents/RailwayBookCompletewithMaps-ready.pdf

Reading through it, especially walk three, I came to the conclusion that the gauge was probably standard gauge.

Thank you for the replies. I've researched and read the Hayle link, although any info more than welcome and useful. Very helpful link to aditnow with info about the engine.

I concur the gauge would appear to be standard. At least on the spur line.

Quite fascinating to be able to trace the old Redruth - Hayle railway route prior to the London Paddington extension to Penzance.

The engine I'm looking for was a M5 0-4-0 called Hill (at least it was called so during its time in Cwmbran). There are pictures of M5s on the web but what did the spark arresting funnel look like. Wouldn't it be amazing to be able to locate the number plate!!?

I've found evidence around the explosive factory site showing what appears to be some sort of narrow gauge rail/tram lines (pictures to follow if it ever stops raining!). :shock:

Anybody know where I might possibly find pictures of the elusive engine? Been looking online at even more websites and I'm getting blurred vision and a headache (no puns please!) :oops:

Spent an hour or three this morning looking as well Chris. It's got me interested as I'm into Cornish mining etc in a big way as well. Spark Arresting Chimneys, now there is a subject. They ranged from a bit of wire mesh stuck across the top to a full blown thing that looked like two funnels welded on top of each other like a big metal balloon. You were on about the narrow gauge tramway stuff on site, that could well have been just that, tramways between various sections, probably horse or human powered. Certainly the finished material would have been shipped out by standard gauge in gunpowder vans, and perhaps also by sea. On to the engine, have they got any thing at County Records in Truro or the Cornish Studies Library at Redruth. Camborne School of Mines could have something as well, wherever that is now and by whatever name it goes under. Might be worth a look in at the King Edward Mine Centre at Troon as well. You never know.

I've done a bit more research and managed to also trace what I think is the spur line leading to dynamite quay on the opposite side of the estuary from Hayle. It followed the line of the regular railway as far as I can tell, as far as St Erth where the sidings used to be on the now industrial estate. From there it followed the route of the St Ives branch line before a spur again branched off to dynamite quay. It looks like it cut through the now Hayle golf course before joining the metalled road alongside the quay. Much of this is assumption so forgive me if I'm wrong but there is what appears to be, at least on Google Earth, the scar by the side of the river leading across part of the golf course.

The "on site" narrow gauge tram lines would probably have been for moving materials within the factory from magazine to magazine (bunker to bunker).  The historical notes said it was in use as a store until the 60's. 

I knew 2 large munitions sites in the north east fairly well - Aycliffe, a manufacturing plant, near Darlington  and Thorpe Arch, a "finished goods" storage facility near Wetherby.  Both these sites had very extensive narrow gauge "tram" line networks within the sites - in some cases, right into the buildings themselves.  They were used to transport the heavy munitions from the semi-underground storage magazines to waiting road or rail transport for onward shipment (in the case of Thorpe Arch during WW2) to the bomber airfields of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and East Anglia.

As to pictures of the loco you could try getting in touch with the magazine Railway Bylines by Irwell Press
www.irwellpress.com

From a book on the Royal Naval Cordite Factory at Holton Heath in Dorset, which was also rail connected, there was a considerable amount of rails within the site, both standard and narrow gauge. It may give some ideas for construction and layout of an explosives plant.

The standard gauge locos were fireless, i.e high pressure steam was pumped from a boiler house into what looked like a loco boiler but was actually a large steam tank/reservoir, obvious purpose was to eliminate spark throwing!

The narrow gauge lines were used by petrol driven "trolleys".

There is a 128 page book on the RNCF with plenty of photos, maps and text

"A pictorial record of the Royal Naval Cordite Factory" by M R Bowditch & L Hayward, Finial Publishing ISBN 1-900467-01-1.

Pictures include interior, exterior  and construction shots  of buildngs and the track and locos and a partial aerial view..

[user=1235]60019Bittern[/user] wrote:

As to pictures of the loco you could try getting in touch with the magazine Railway Bylines by Irwell Press
http://www.irwellpress.com

The Irwell Press appear to get all of their photos from The Transport Treasury.  You might as well cut out the middle-man and go straight to here:

Rail and Transport Photographs Archive - Transport Treasury

Terry

Some great shots on that site Terry. :thumbs

[user=6]Petermac[/user] wrote:

Some great shots on that site Terry. :thumbs

Quite reasonably priced too.

Well worth everyone having a look.  Choose a collection and click on the 'slide show' option - magic.

Terry

As promised. A couple of photos of the old spur line route/platform and on site narrow gauge tram lines (it did stop raining!). Very easy to miss the platform as it is very overgrown - especially in the summer months. Very little evidence of the old narrow gauge tram way as most was removed when the place was decommissioned. There may be other tracks buried under the sand but barring getting Time Team in I think it would be frowned upon if I went in armed with my bucket and spade to uncover such evidence.

On a slightly different note I have hunted high and low for pictures of the engine, but it would seem it was very camera shy. There is a little bit of information on a website which details a history of the Cwmbran Wire Works. My sister lives in Cwmbran so I might be doing some real time research into local museums when I next pay her a visit. I still have hope that the old engine number plate was saved by somebody and now adorns their mantle-piece or resides in a local museum.

The journey continues…

Chris,if you press enter a couple of times between photos you will get a gap and you can enter text if you want.

[user=1033]Spurno[/user] wrote:

Chris,if you press enter a couple of times between photos you will get a gap and you can enter text if you want.

Fixed.