Alan Sewell visits Marsh Mills...
It was the creation of Penpont Dries that reminded Alan of a visit to Marsh Mills in 1974. His industrial visits, documented in both photos and contemporaneous notes are always a wonderful time machine and he kindly sent over these as I worked through the layout build...
English China Clays Ltd
Marsh Mill Dries Plympton, Devon
Gauge: Standard
Date of Visit: 13 April 1974
Works is situated at the end of a half mile branch from the BR mainline on the edge of Plymouth
The regular working loco appeared to be 0-4-0DH English Electric no. 3987 of 1970 which was parked in the loading bay of one of the large drying sheds.
A string of covered vans for bagged clay were standing nearby with a further rake outside another shed. This held the out of use loco under another covered loading bay. This loco was the fireless 0-4-0 Bagnall no.3121 of 1957 covered in clay dust. Both locos were painted white originally
Most of the yard tracks were set in concrete to allow lorry access and this may be a safety reason for the motion guard on the fireless loco’s slide bars.
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| ECC Marsh Mills, 13th April 1974, Alan Sewell photo. |
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| ECC Marsh Mills, 13th April 1974, Alan Sewell photo. |
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| ECC Marsh Mills, 13th April 1974, Alan Sewell photo. |
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| ECC Marsh Mills, 13th April 1974, Alan Sewell photo. |
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| ECC Marsh Mills, 13th April 1974, Alan Sewell photo. |
It's interesting to see Alan's photos and imagine a much larger site than I have created with Penpont. Interesting too, to think of these industrial locomotives that saw the change from clay hoods and 12t vans to the CDA and ferry wagons - and how the character of the place would have changed as a result. Today the site is closed and I believe partially home to the Plym Valley Railway.
Today's post is the latest in a long series of industrial visits Alan has shared with us all - and I hope there will be many more to come. For now, you can use the 'Alan Sewell' label to find others in this series. Until next time, more soon...
Solid gold Alan and James! Thank you both for sharing. I think the fireless loco ended up at Bodmin and was I think in the shed next to Bodmin parkway station. I remember having a good look at it about 10 years or so ago. It's unrestored. The warning notice Infront of the vans in the first picture is a detail I've not noticed before.
ReplyDeleteHi James
ReplyDeleteGlad this "voice from the past was of interest. Going back through my archives is as much a time machine for me as it seems to be for you- a way of recalling memories. We were on a holiday with my late brother and his wife and my wife to be. Robert knew of my interests and had been on visits with me before but our prospective wife's were largely unaware and not enamoured of clay dust. Although w also had a quick visit to Par, I think the rest of the holiday was more conventional and involved some expensive meals!!!
Tom- I wish I wish I had taken more note of that warning sign and its wording. It may have been there to ensure a lorry did not become a "shunting tractor" by mistake
Best regards
Alan
Alan that extra bit of human interest is absolutely pure magic. It just makes the whole thing more personal, more relatable, dare I suggest more exciting too… love it! Keep them coming!
ReplyDeleteThat sign - I can’t make it out but it’s a gem isn’t it!