Restoring 34841
This is the first occasion on which the wagon
moved under its own steam.
Still a lot of work to do.
Works No.
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Registration No.
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Date:
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Part 2: Rebuilding
Having transported the remains of the wagon to my home town of Castleford, the next problem was what to do with it. Initially it was stored in the open at the yard we shared in Cutsyke with my uncle. We knew that there was a lot of work required on the parts we had retrieved let alone replacing all the missing bits. The first job undertaken was to dismantle the chassis and start looking at how to repair the main members which had corroded badly where the soot and ashes from the smokebox of the sterilising boiler had been cleaned out and the cross members that had been cut. This work was carried out over a number of years whilst at the same time I tried to find an engine and other parts.
The remains of the wagon as found.
(Click on picture to see larger view.)
One of the first things I wanted to do was to identify the
wagon. Fortunately there were several features of the remains
that made a positive identification possible.
i) The chassis was that of a non-tipping wagon.
ii) The wheelbase was 10' 4" which was applicable to a 6 ton
wagon or short chassis 8 tonner.
iii) The remaining section of footplate, the angle of the
steering box and position of the brake pedal indicated that it
was an early type of wagon with the round fronted cab.
iv) The front wheels had steel plate inserts between the
spokes.
v) The wheels and chassis were painted red.
vi) A portion of timber from the back of the cab was still
attached to the footplate and this was maroon in colour.
vii) The remains of brass screws for fixing an "R.G.&S.
Owners and Lessors" plate were found in the offside chassis
member above the rear axle.
Careful scrutiny of the records held by Bob Whitehead enabled me to narrow down the search. The most distinguishing feature was the plates in the front wheels which were quite common on tipping wagons but rare on non-tippers. This eliminated a large number of potential suspects. The remaining features enabled me to determine that it could only be wagon number 34841. Armed with the evidence of the identity it was then possible to retrieve the original registration number.
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Copyright © Michael
Walters
Last updated 23/01/2005