Rolling stock at Harrogate

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HarrogateRailProject
NER Y7 0-4-0T
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Joined: Wed Sep 02, 2020 4:02 pm

Rolling stock at Harrogate

Post by HarrogateRailProject »

Hello! It's only been a month and I'm already back again with more questions to ask because despite my best efforts cross-referencing and making estimates, nothing has really stuck that satisfies my curiosity.

On the NER Association's archive, you can find two images that really got me intereste. This first is a wagon with the number 902015 (which according to the archive is a set of gas cylinders) that is located in the now disused bay platform that would be the closest to the current North Box. Ordinarily I would assume that this was a stray unit from a goods train waiting to be moved, but in a photo from another collection (Mike Morant Collection) it can be made out to be sitting on the furthest end of the siding between the through lines at the station, which at the latest could have been 1951 due to a shed exchange from Starbeck to Hull of a visible loco. This is curious given its a known fact that the picture directly of the cylinders wasn't taken until 1958, suggesting it was somewhat a resident of the station.
My question is - Why would they need gas at the station to be brought by tanks? The lamps at the station (as far as I know) were mostly electric by the 1950's?

The second wagon in question is an Ex-NER Gunpowder Wagon that was photographed at Raskelf in 1960. It had "NOT TO LEAVE HARROGATE" painted down the side of it.
This one is not something I've managed to spot in any pictures of Harrogate and I cannot find reference to it anywhere else. Does anyone know it's purpose while at Harrogate or where it might have been stored? I'm building the station specifically (including Bower Road Bridge and the NER signal bridge) and need to know the specifics of anything that spend long periods of time in the station from the NER period to early BR days.
Trev21
GNR J52 0-6-0T
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Re: Rolling stock at Harrogate

Post by Trev21 »

' need to know the specifics of anything that spend long periods of time in the station from the NER period to early BR days.'

Passengers lol! Wasn't known as the 'Late and Never Early Railway' for nothing :lol:

Oh - in answer to your question of 'where else to look' for info on another thread, I get a lot of photos by searching ebay, both current and completed listings, either under railwayana, or just general search in your case under 'Harrogate Station/Train/LNER..' or whatever.

I am modelling Ripon/Melmerby/West Tanfield, also in 1930, and have found the OS 25" maps pretty accurate in terms of track diagrams - but NOT 100%!
Last edited by Trev21 on Sun Nov 01, 2020 2:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
jwealleans
LNER A4 4-6-2 'Streak'
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Re: Rolling stock at Harrogate

Post by jwealleans »

The gas tank would be used to refill the cooking equipment on Restaurant cars (and possibly gas lit carriages). It would travel to a location where it could be refilled from time to time but otherwise would be parked at or close to a point where it could be conveniently used to recharge the smaller cylinders on carriages.

Your gunpowder van, almost certainly steel, might have a specific purpose at Harrogate or may simply have been used for secure storage either for goods or station/p way equipment.
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manna
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Re: Rolling stock at Harrogate

Post by manna »

G'Day Gents

The Ex 'Gunpowder' van may also have been for the storage of 'Paraffin' for the signal lamps, I believe Harrogate had a lot of these!!

manna
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HarrogateRailProject
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Re: Rolling stock at Harrogate

Post by HarrogateRailProject »

Thank you all for your input! It's been most useful.

To Trev: Thank you for the suggestions! And with what you're modelling and what I am, all we're missing is Nidd Bridge and Wormald Green and we're half-way to Northallerton!

To Jwealleans: That does make sense - It appears in the cattle dock (the one I've dubbed as platform 3 even though I'm not sure it was ever public or numbered) in the track adjacent to where the Harrogate Sunday Pullman/Yorkshire Pullman were stored. If I'm not mistaken, the kitchen carriage would have continued on the Harrogate portion of the train rather than the one to Hull, but this may have varied. I'll be sure to try find plans to model it!
With the gunpowder van, I'm not entirely certain of its purpose of its location of storage, and I had considered PW to be a likely cause but if so, where and how was it used? Harrogate had a Wicker's Trolley, and the Ganger's limits were just South of Harrogate Station below where Waitrose Car park is now and lasted to I believe Dragon Junction, so it has to be within the station (unlikely) or the Goods yard, which is the more probable answer. So why does it never show up? And what could they possibly need it for?

To Manna: That is a very interesting point - I've noticed Harrogate had a number of lamp stores and more signals than I can count, so I do imagine they'd need buckets of lamps!
Was paraffin used for the station lamps too? One of the original LNER lamps with post in the yard just North of Harrogate's platform extremities in the Ripon-Bound direction behind the semaphores. Also would the paraffin have been containerised? I don't mind if you don't have the answers, I just have so many questions bag I struggle to find answers for!
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