Pitfall Posts - and other stone and concrete markers

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drmditch

Re: Concrete marker post. BR or LNER?

Post by drmditch »

Very good, thank you. I must get up and down to the Derwent valley path when the weather gets a bit better.
It would be interesting to find out exactly how they were used.

Now I must try to work out where I can put some (small) ones on my railway!
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Cuddie Headrigg
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Re: Concrete marker post. BR or LNER?

Post by Cuddie Headrigg »

On a not too unrelated topic, how far are the S&D totems on the Stanhope and Tyne set into the moorland? Any ideas?
sdrtotem.jpg
More S&T here: http://ironroad.smugmug.com/OTHER/Stanh ... &k=PkqTVm2
drmditch

Re: Concrete marker post. BR or LNER?

Post by drmditch »

I think these are Stockton and Darlington Railway (SDR) quarter mile markers. At least they seem to occur at about that frequency, but perhaps they are just boundary markers.They give me hope when pedalling against a head wind up there!

They occur all the way between and Waskerly and Parkhead, and all seem to be about the same height above ground, so I would think they are not set in for more than their height. I'm sure I've seen one built into a wall somewhere, but cant remember quite where.

There is also that long snow fence that appears to be built of the original stone sleeper blocks.
PinzaC55
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Re: Concrete marker post. BR or LNER?

Post by PinzaC55 »

As far as I know the LNER post was called a "Pitfall Post" which seems self explanatory but I have never been happy with the "colliery subsidence" explanation. There were a few of them in Claxheugh Cutting between Pallion and Hylton and although there was a colliery (Hylton Colliery) over the other side of the River Wear the cutting was through Dolomite and although I am no geologist I find it hard to imagine it subsiding given that the headgear of the colliery was about 60 feet lower than the cutting with the coal faces presumably being far lower.
Between Coxgreen station and Offerton road bridge the line suffered very badly from subsidence and as far as I know there were none of these posts there.
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Cuddie Headrigg
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Re: Concrete marker post. BR or LNER?

Post by Cuddie Headrigg »

There appear to be several, currently, on the down ECML at Plawsworth and evenly spaced. Two wooden(?) nos. 1 & 4 in the first image with 2 & 3 being concrete. The second image shows post 3 as it is now and if you look closely the side facing the track appears to have several 'notches' and the third image shows posts 1-3 in 1986 when all appeared to be concrete. Only the modern posts are in a vertical position and being replaced, they must serve a current purpose one would think!
Attachments
2012 11 05enefjpegx.jpg
2013 01 09anefjpegx.jpg
1986 02 23 47544@plawsworth0935suolivglas.jpg
Bryan
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Re: Concrete marker post. BR or LNER?

Post by Bryan »

PinzaC55 wrote:As far as I know the LNER post was called a "Pitfall Post" which seems self explanatory but I have never been happy with the "colliery subsidence" explanation. There were a few of them in Claxheugh Cutting between Pallion and Hylton and although there was a colliery (Hylton Colliery) over the other side of the River Wear the cutting was through Dolomite and although I am no geologist I find it hard to imagine it subsiding given that the headgear of the colliery was about 60 feet lower than the cutting with the coal faces presumably being far lower.
Between Coxgreen station and Offerton road bridge the line suffered very badly from subsidence and as far as I know there were none of these posts there.
One of the BR Track Renewal gangs formerly based at Wakefield Kirkgate was called the Pitfall Gang.
Its purpose other than renewals was to rectify colliery subsidence faults.
One of the methods used was these posts.
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61070
GCR O4 2-8-0 'ROD'
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Re: Concrete marker post. BR or LNER?

Post by 61070 »

R. pike wrote:Super work there 61070. I never thought i'd see one let alone a small colony. I guess it has been a task to train the dog to find the fallen ones..
Extending our walks up towards Consett has revealed three more surviving posts beside the Derwent Walk. One is still standing at High Westwood, just up from the site of the former station, and there are two between Ebchester and Shotley Bridge (one fallen, one standing). For anyone looking out for them, all the posts are on the right hand side travelling towards Consett. Since we 'discovered' the fallen post in the photo above, and revealed its base, someone else has been busy cleaning it of undergrowth. It's complete all but for the top 6 inches. Quite nearby is also the metal base stump of an old signal post.
johndon
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Re: Concrete marker post. BR or LNER?

Post by johndon »

There are a number of these posts on the approach to the site of Beamish Station, picture of one here: http://southpelawjunction.co.uk/wp/wp-c ... tation.jpg and, thanks to PinzaC55, I now know what they are :D

John
drmditch

Re: Pitfall Posts - and other stone and concrete markers

Post by drmditch »

Thank you Johndon.
I must get up to Consett and down to Beamish when this wretched cold fog goes away.
Since I started it, I've re-titled this thread to be more appropriate for the contents.
PinzaC55
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Re: Pitfall Posts - and other stone and concrete markers

Post by PinzaC55 »

In the spirit of the retitled thread, I photographed this LNER "Catch Points" post just west of Stainmore Summit in 1996. It was a special design used on this line which of course regularly got snowed in. In use it had a concrete block with an apex top on top of the post but this seems to have been nicked. The post to the left of it carried a conventional Catch Points sign of wood with metal letters. Ken Hoole's book "Railway History In Pictures - North East England" has a photo of a snowbound J21 with these signs clearly visible.
Image
LNER Catch Points Sign near Stainmore Summit 3.4.96 par PinzaC55, on ipernity
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