|
|
|
|
GWR Route: North Warwickshire Line
GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton
Bordesley Station: gwrbg2271
A composite image showing a photo and diagram of an Overhead
Runway System used to handle goods. Following the First World War the cost of
labour significantly increased and various mechanical appliances were developed
to reduce the manpower required to handle mercantile goods. In 1921 at least
two pocket books were produced by Great Western Railway employees detailing
some of the new appliances being introduced at their goods depots and
explaining how they were being used: · Mechanical Appliances for
Handling Railway Traffic, by G Buckeley, published for the Railway Gazette
· The Mechanical Handling of Goods, by C Woodfield, published for
Pitman's Technical Primers.
Both books featured the Overhead Runway System manufactured
by Messrs Herbert Morris of Loughborough who had perfected the installation in
goods sheds and yards. The use of a flexible double roller bogie trolley that
could negotiate a junction between the rolled steel joists increased the
versatility of the system while maintaining the strength. The drawing shows the
arrangement of a junction, while the photograph shows a trolley crossing the
junction. This is a hand travelled trolley with an electrically powered hoist
as installed at the Bordesley Goods Shed. The two outside chain pendants
operate the steering gear while the trolley is in motion. The system at
Bordesley had a rated capacity of one ton.
Robert Ferris
back
|
|
|