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| Railway Updates | |
| The 2" Gauge Railway |
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The Incline The incline would have carried chalk up from the on-site pit below and coke up to the charging floor. We hope to reinstate this and run small wagons up and down. So far, the slop has been lengthened and the ground has been cleared and prepared. Work will soon start on laying track and safety features such as a large buffer at the base of the incline. |
| The wagon turnable At the top of the incline is a wagon turntable. It is thought that this is not original but has been restored in recent weeks to full working order. |
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The Winch This winch, formally from a ship, pulls the wagons up the incline. It replaced the original which was of the same design. We currently only run down to about a 3rd of the inclines length but with new track and a new cable, we will be soon running to the bottom. |
| The Hydraulic Engine This unique hydraulic haulage engine runs the winch. It is powered only by mains pressure water. We are in the procession of restoring this although it is in operation.
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The Charging floor The wagons where then pushed by hand through the charging floor where their loads were tipped out and used to charge the kilns. The track runs right through the building with another turntable in the centre of this section. This turntable is beyond repair although we can run wagons over it. |
| Skip Wagons We currently have 3 skip wagons of this design although these would not have been the ones used. These are too big and heavy for the winch and site and originally come from Southampton Power Station. We therefore hope to bring onto the site, smaller tubs. In the meantime, we run one of these wagons up and down the incline on open days. |
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The back of the charging floor A further turntable, irreparable, is located at the other side of the charging floor from the incline. The intention is to extend the line at this point for the running of locomotives. A petrol and a diesel Lister locomotive will be soon be moving to the site. Watch this space for more details. |
| Behind the building The hand pushed line also served the firing floor and lime store. |
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The firing floor The line runs into the firing floor. This would have been to deliver wood and other fuel for the kilns. This is currently for display only. |
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The cleared incline |
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