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GWR Routes: Banbury to Wolverhampton
GWR Routes: North Warwickshire Line
Moor Street Station: gwrms1206
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View of the concourse area leading to the platforms at Moor
Street station showing the ground level goods yard to the right of the release
road for locomotives. On the left is a ticket inspector's cabin whilst to its
right are the two gated entrances and exits to the platforms. Moor Street
station was built on the site originally allocated as the terminus of the North
Warwickshire Railway before the said company was taken over by the Great
Western Railway. The locomotive is probably one of the 517 class (note the
boiler size / position and the squarish shapes either side above the buffer
beam and compare with mra467). There were 156
locomotives in this class and a large number of these had autogear fitted from
1904 onwards (8 in 1905, at least a further 45 before 1922, while 34 were
fitted after grouping). If this locomotive is about to use the traverser it is
most likely one without autogear, since the autogear enabled these locomotives
to operate from either end of an adapted coach (an auto-trailer), or even a
pair of auto-trailers, so there was no need for them to run round to the
leading end of the train, so therefore no particular need to use the
traverser'. The traverser is clearly extended to expose three sets of rails,
one the locomotive is standing upon with the other two on the right; the third
set of rails being in front of the buffers on the right. The buffer stops
protected the traverser from wagons standing on the siding that runs through
the goods shed. The traverser was designed as a space saving device by moving a
locomotive bodily sideways from the platform to the release road in lieu of a
crossover thereby shortening the length of platform required. The space seen
under the platform in front of the locomotive is where the traverser would move
when only two of the traverser's set of rails were aligned with the platform
and release roads. The concrete buffer stops can be seen inset into the edge of
the concourse whilst on top are the oil lamps used to denote their location at
night.
Robert Ferris
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