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Stations, Junctions, etc
Engine Sheds
Other
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Miscellaneous
Harbury Cement Works: misc_hcw174
A Private Owner (PO) covered wagon belonging to Associated
Portland Cement Manufacturers (APCM) was photographed in 1948. It has a steel
body and underframe with manually operated Morton brakegear on both sides. This
wagon was very similar to the Great Western Railway Iron Minks, but would have
been manufactured by an independent railway wagon builder such as the
Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company
Ltd. All PO Wagons had to be inspected and registered by a Railway Company
before being deemed suitable to travel on the main line. The registration
details were carried on an iron plate fixed to the solebar, while a second
plate carried the manufacturers name and address and the wagons
works serial number.
The use of PO wagons allowed companies to advertise their
products and in addition to APCMs Blue Circle brand name for
their standard Portland cement product, APCM also publicised their
Ferrocrete brand name. A finer ground Portland cement resulted in
higher early strength properties. This was aimed at the structural civil
engineering market where reduced curing times and the ability to maintain
production in cold weather was important. As well as advertising, wagon No262
has a number of painted markings typical of PO wagons. On the extreme bottom
left was the empty wagons weight (Tare). In this case the weight was 7
tons, 0 hundred weight, 0 pounds. Above this, the double C motif stood for
commuted charge, this indicated that the wagon owner had paid an annual charge
for this wagon to be shunted and stored when necessary on railway sidings. When
introduced in 1926, the annual CC charge per wagon was one shilling. This
replaced two separate charges; an annual charge for shunting (one shilling) and
a daily siding rental (six pence). Adjacent, on the other side of the label
holder is a yellow five pointed star. This symbol was introduced in 1933 to
indicate that the wagons owner had paid a charge for it to be returned
empty to a specified address. In this case the wagon was marked Empty to
Southam Road, Harbury, GWRy (above the 10 ton load limit on the bottom of
the panel to the right of the door). On the end panel is the name and address
of the wagons owners.
One financial advantage of using PO wagons was the lower
mileage rates. As an example, in the Birmingham Railway Rates Book of 1936 the
following rates applied to specified goods travelling to Birmingham from
Southam Road and Harbury Station: Packed Portland Cement or Lime (minimum
load of 4 Tons), carried at Owners Risk from Private Siding to Station: In
Owners wagon 4 shillings / 9 pence In Company wagon 5
shillings / 5 pence Both these were official exceptional rates
which had had to be agreed with the Railway Commissioners for these products at
this location, because they were less than the standard commodity class rate
charges. Railway Companies were legally obliged not to give any undue
preference in favour of or against any trader, so any reduced rates had to be
approved, published and be available to any trader who wished to transport the
specified goods from that location. It was estimated that 80% of all goods
carried on the railway were under exception rates. At Southam Road and Harbury
Station there was also a special reduced rate for Empty Cement Bags (1 ton per
truck) of 4 shillings / 9 pence, although this is identified as a temporary
rate expiring on 30th June 1936.
APCM had a large fleet of covered wagons and others can be
seen at: Hatton North - 'gwrhj2260' Five
Ways Station 'mrf23' Stratford Station
Yard - 'gwrsa499a'
Robert Ferris
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