A London coal yard

[MikeWilliams]

This is one of my favourite railway photographs.  A London coal yard captured by the LNWR's official photographer probably just before the Great War.

The first thing I notice is the great many wagon turntables.  You can hardly see them but there must be for  so many wagons and tracks to be at different angles!  On the nearest track is (L to R):

LNWR D4 7ton 4-plank (must be 7ton as it has small axleboxes)

LNWR D53 traffic coal wagon.  The curved brake lever was typical of these wagons and they had bottom doors.  Ordinary open wagons didn't have bottom doors.

LNWR D9. 10ton 4-plank D9.  It says "10" (tons) on the side so must be D9 rather than D4.

All of these are in pre-1908 livery of diamonds and no "LNWR" lettering.  Notice the cornerplates have very small rivets.  They are indeed rivets as the iron plate was fixed to the wooden planks with rivets, not bolts, whereas the other strapping has bolts from the inside and square nuts on the outside.

The board marks are hardly visible on the inside because whilst they had what I believe are called "reeded" edges on the outside, the insides were smooth.  The floor also had boards butted up with no chamfer to give as smooth a finish as possible (Modellers might want to give just the slightest scratch line).  There are also no visible bolt heads inside as they used countersunk coachscrews.  Raised screw heads were avoided because striking one with a shovel would jar the shoulders of the men.  There were wagons built with bolts the other way around – round head on the outside and square nut on the inside – but it was not the norm for coal wagons.

The capping strips on top of the sides and ends are clearly shown.  You can't see the bolts holding them down as they were countersunk.  I believe sometimes these were fixed with wood screws, but on these LNWR wagons they were special bolts about 3ft 6in long going down through the iron capping, through all four planks and the curb rail, with a nut on the bottom.  None of that is visible in this picture of course.

Identification of the second row of wagons can wait for another day ....  Please chip in with observations and comments.

Mike

[MikeWilliams]

Sorry, just one more note about these three wagons.  The first is an open (merchandise) wagons (not a coal wagon) but seems to have empty coal sacks inside.  The second is a coal wagon but carrying clay pipes packed in straw, and the third is also not a coal wagon but has just been emptied of, probably, coal.  Perhaps we modellers are too fussy about the loads we put into our models!

Please add notes, comments, corrections ... anyone.

Mike

[Doddy]

Hello Mike,
Whata great picture! Loads and loads of evocative details, I must admit my eyes were drawn to the private owner wagons, Herbert Clarke, Clay Cross, Booth Brothers, Cory & Son and Nathaniel Pegg & Co
Nathaniel Pegg & Co. were coal merchants in south London and Kent. In 1870 the companys address was listed as Commercial Wharf in Lambeth, South London. By 1900 the firm was at 76 Tweedy Road, Bromley Kent. There were also depots at Bickley Station, Penge, Hayes, Catford, Clapham, Forest Hill and Putney. By 1930 the business had been incorporated as a limited company.
With th eold tenement buildings and very bright advert for white tiles, this must have been very colourful in reaility.
10/10

[MikeWilliams]

Thanks Doddy, that's very interesting.  I'll identify more wagons and things tomorrow.

Mike

[MikeWilliams]

On the second track far left can just be seen the raised end of a coal wagon.  These were very common in various shapes and it would be nice to see more models with raised ends.  The first wagon to be seen properly is Clay Cross.  It probably has six or seven planks as the LNWR wagon next to it has particularly wide 9in planks.  There is a history of Clay Cross here and I found it fascinating, as I had no idea it was founded by George Stephenson:
http://www.oldminer.co.uk/clay-cross.html

The other wagon is another LNWR 15ft 6in D53 Coal Wagon (officially described as a "traffic coal" wagon to distinguish it from a "Loco Coal" wagon), with the door open on the far side.  This also is in pre-1908 livery.

Beyond the second row of wagons is a gap, but there are rails there, filled in smooth up to rail level.  Anyone care to suggest what that surface is?  Too smooth for setts, surely too early for tarmac?  Wood would have been slippery, so what is it?  Cinders?  I love the Wood & Co coal cart.  Horse drawn carts were the norm until after the Second World War but modelling that one would be a real challenge.  There's another similar cart, also Wood & Co, just going out of the picture to the left.

On the next track are two wagons, but at the very far left is another mainly out of shot.  That is another LNWR D53 Coal Wagon with newly painted lettering, suggesting a date not long after 1908 at the latest.

Next are two J R Wood & Co wagons, the first a standard 7-plank and the other probably earlier with those nice raised ends again.  That's probably a builders plate on the end though it could be an owners plate if the wagon was leased.  Wood's wagons must have stood out with their bright yellow/orange woodwork and huge letters.

Notice the (I assume) Foreman in the centre of the picture wearing a heavy coat, what looks like a bow tie and a bowler hat.  I wore a bowler when I started work in the City of London in 1974, but I wasn't working in a coal yard!

To the right is another J R Wood & Co wagon No.828 (maybe that was their dedicated siding?) which I think is to the 1907 standards, a 7-plank with no end door and Ellis pattern axleboxes.  Interestingly, the 7mm scale POWSides transfers are for No.828, so maybe taken from this picture?

Mike

[wolfstone]

A great photo.
Is there  wagon turntables just in view to service the two sidings at right angles next to the dock ?
Tim

[MikeWilliams]

Yes, I think so Tim, but suspect thee are more.  Wish I new where it was, then we might find a map.

Mike

[753]

Mike
One of my past modelling projects were horse drawn wagons and carts, as you admired the Wood coal cart, I had a dig in the archive and found these two.
The shape of the cart is a wonderful example of the wheelwright's art, next project?

Mike

[Andy B]

Nathaniel Pegg - Coal Merchant, Phoenix Wharf, Clink Street.
Clink street runs under the approaches to Cannon Street station on the south bank of the Thames.
But there were no goods or coal facilities there, nor at London Bridge station, the next one to the south-east.
Blackfriars, to the west had a large goods facility, but no sign of coal.

Several of the other PO merchants had offices in St Pancras / Kings Cross area, so with the number of LNW wagons, together with Clay Cross, I was thinking it to be more likely North of the Thames.
I started panning around this area - https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=17&lat=51.54029&lon=-0.13401&layers=179&right=163 and despite finding several coal depots have not found one to match this layout. Maybe others will take up the challenge?

[MikeWilliams]

Two other wagons a little further back that we've not mentioned are the one with coke rails which could be Shadwell Wood?  and Herbert Clarke which is an older wagon, though quite large, with seven plans and the bottom one wider which I've not seen before, and the door quite small covering only 4 planks.  I see this one has a very bright "A" added to its number, so maybe it has been replaced and due to be withdrawn or scrapped.

W Cory and Son London Ltd is a favourite of mine as I built a 7mm version which I lettered by hand and as quite proud of at the time!  I can see at least five of their wagons.

Wagon books speak about wagons with a "London Plank" which was a separate hinged plank above the door, but although this is (apparently) London, I don't see a single example.

Mike