Help understanding functions of a BLT/Layout advice

[Titanius Anglesmith]

On 29/05/2024 at 16:01, Chris M said:

That's a lovely BLT plan. The two track bridge over the river is a bit ostentatious though. There would almost certainly only be a single track across the river as it would half the cost of construction. There may have been other more extravagant railways but the Midland Railway would certainly not waste money on a double track bridge, even it it resulted in a less convenient track plan.

In my neck of the woods, the single-track branch had all the infrastructure, including a 14-arch viaduct, built to accommodate double-track in case of the line being doubled in the future (which never happened)

[Karhedron]

On 29/05/2024 at 09:29, Harlequin said:

A full milk tanker is a very heavy beast but I think I'm right in saying that even they could be moved manually by pinch bars. I think that used to happen regularly at Hemyock and one of the staff would ride the tanker once it got moving so he could apply the brakes in the station. However, in the model we have to use the loco.

 

I think that Hemyock had a winch at the dairy to haul tanks from the station, across the road and into the dairy. To get back to the station, they were gravitated down the slight slope. I can well believe that a member of staff would ride the tanks to hit the brakes once the tanks arrived.

[Karhedron]

On 29/05/2024 at 15:43, Michael Hodgson said:

Tanks (whether milk, oil or any other liquid) can't be handled just anywhere.  They need special facilities (various pipework) for loading and unloading.  Too many models run oil tanks to a branch terminus that doesn't have a suitable siding for unloading!  So if you want to justify running a milk tank to a BLT you do need the dairy.

 

There were some exceptions to this. There were a handful of locations where the dairy was located away from the station and the milk was driven to the railway in a tanker lorry. It would then be pumped into the tanks while parked alongside. Saltash, Torrington, Camborne Totnes all used this arrangement. Totnes was perhaps the most amusing as the dairy was right by the station but lacked a siding meaning that the milk was driven just a few hundred yards to be loaded into the tanks at the siding. Here is a picture of tanks being loaded at Dolcoath siding with milk from the MMB creamery at Camborne.

 

http://www.cornwallrailwaysociety.org.uk/uploads/7/6/8/3/7683812/_5483164_orig.jpg

[Michael Hodgson]

57 minutes ago, Karhedron said:

 

I think that Hemyock had a winch at the dairy to haul tanks from the station, across the road and into the dairy. To get back to the station, they were gravitated down the slight slope. I can well believe that a member of staff would ride the tanks to hit the brakes once the tanks arrived.

I don't know the location but I assume I've misunderstood something as winching rail vehicles across the road sounds distinctly hairy. 

Was this a public road, being crossed by a winch cable? 

Were there gates to stop road vehicles driiving into the cable? 

Otherwise it sounds like military tactics to decapitate enemy motorcycle dispatch riders

[Karhedron]

The operation at Hemyock would definitely never pass modern H&S. It was a winch cable across the main road in the village. There were no gates, just a man with a flag IIRC.

 

Here is a full tank coming out of the dairy and heading for the station under the power of gravity. No winch but you can see a member of staff "riding shotgun" ready to apply the brakes. No gates either, just the chap with the STOP sign.