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Military Railways

Discussion in 'Heritage Railways & Centres in the UK' started by SpudUk, Jan 18, 2013.

  1. Harleyman

    Harleyman New Member

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    Tidworth was (and no doubt still is) a dump in either county!

    Back to subject; there is still a considerable amount of permanent way around the Caerwent army training ground, formerly a Royal Navy munitions storage depot. Further west in Wales, the Trecwn branch running from the main Fishguard line is still very much in situ.
     
  2. Allan Thomson

    Allan Thomson New Member

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    RAF Jurby, Andreas and Ronaldsway were all constructed using spoil and stone transported by the Island's Railway system, but all were located some distance from the Railhead and so the stone and spoil had to be transported a distance by road to construct the Runways with.
    Despite this RAF Jurby could claim to have two railways - the first an overhead gantry to load bombs (ok that's cheating a bit), and the other being a target railway consisting of a concrete and Earth Berm, behind which a wickham railcar towed a target plane mockup which a fixed gun emplacement could practice firing upon (to train up gunners for the aircraft). The Berm Still exists, but the shed has now gone and there is no track left. The Gantry is still in situ, but sadly access is not easy as the airfield is now used for motor racing.
    Attached are the shots of the berm and range railway including an overhead view at the time of operation, and the shots of the overhead Gantry and Munitions Store
    . Munitions Store and Overhead Bomb Gantry RAF Jurby (1).jpg Munitions Store and Overhead Bomb Gantry RAF Jurby (2).jpg Munitions Store and Overhead Bomb Gantry RAF Jurby (3).jpg Munitions Store and Overhead Bomb Gantry RAF Jurby (4).jpg Munitions Store and Overhead Bomb Gantry RAF Jurby (5).jpg Munitions Store and Overhead Bomb Gantry RAF Jurby (6).jpg Munitions Store and Overhead Bomb Gantry RAF Jurby (7).jpg Munitions Store and Overhead Bomb Gantry RAF Jurby (8).jpg Munitions Store and Overhead Bomb Gantry RAF Jurby (9).jpg Munitions Store and Overhead Bomb Gantry RAF Jurby (10).jpg Munitions Store and Overhead Bomb Gantry RAF Jurby (11).jpg Munitions Store and Overhead Bomb Gantry RAF Jurby (12).jpg Arial_photograph_of_Wickham_Target_Range[1] at Jurby.jpg
    Jurby Ranges Railway (1).jpg Jurby Ranges Railway (2).jpg Jurby Ranges Railway (3).jpg Jurby Ranges Railway (4).jpg Jurby Ranges Railway (5).jpg Jurby Ranges Railway (6).jpg Jurby Ranges Railway (7).jpg Jurby Ranges Railway (8).jpg Jurby Ranges Railway (9).jpg
     
  3. Shaggy

    Shaggy Part of the furniture

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    If you have access to Facebook, there is an open group dedicated to Military Railways. On it are some great shots of different establishments including Longmoor, Bicester, Chilmark, Dean Hill and the Rae Railway. Sorry, this PC will not allow access to Facebook so cannot post the link as yet but will try later from a different one.
     
  4. 4953 Pitchford Hall

    4953 Pitchford Hall New Member

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    Does anyone know anything about the old MOD sidings alongside Ordnance Road in Aldershot????

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
     
  5. Reading General

    Reading General Part of the furniture

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    I always maintain there used to be a military siding off the Reading to Basingstoke line heading west not far south of Southcote Junction (and nowhere near Bramley). Never head any confirmation of this.
     
  6. 4953 Pitchford Hall

    4953 Pitchford Hall New Member

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    Ok thanks, sounds like a good possibility that it's the one! Cheers


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
     
  7. Pete Thornhill

    Pete Thornhill Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Administrator Moderator Friend

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    It's possible particularly during WW2 where for various reasons there isn't quite the records of peacetime.
     
  8. Reading General

    Reading General Part of the furniture

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    it was heading in the general direction of Aldermaston which I think was an RAF base in WW2
     
  9. Lplus

    Lplus Well-Known Member

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    Looking at google maps it appears to run into the establishment at Burghfield
     
  10. Reading General

    Reading General Part of the furniture

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    by gad you are right sir, I hadn't thought of that. There seems to be an area within the ROF that could have been sidings. I can't see any sign of an internal railway though
     
  11. Chris B

    Chris B New Member

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    Boughton Camp near New Ollerton in North Nottinghamshire had a rail network.
    Both parts of the camp are now industrial estates but there are still the big cast concrete buffer stops eviedent and rails where the crossed the camp roads
     
  12. geekfindergeneral

    geekfindergeneral Member

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    For those with an interest in WW2 military railways, you could do a lot worse than joining World War 2 Railway Study Group. They produce an excellent Bulletin, with insights into German archive material as well as the Allies and Home Front. Two of their members are behind the current and very definitive Longmoor Military Railway story, published in three parts.

    http://www.ww2rsg.org.uk/
     
    flaman likes this.
  13. flaman

    flaman Well-Known Member

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    I'm surprised that Shoeburyness hasn't been mentioned. There is still a large railway layout there, though the southern section through the Garrison area and the northern section over the swing-bridge to Havengore Island are gone. It still receives some military traffic from the main line, although in recent years it's main use has been as storage sidings for redundant main line and LUL stock.
    Troop trains were run directly into the site in the past, I can remember there being a proper platform near the Garrison close to Shoebury town centre. There was also internal passenger traffic; notable visitors, top brass, foreign government representatives, etc, were taken to observe test firings and demonstrations on the ranges in some pretty exotic rolling-stock, including "Kitchener's carriage", originally built for service in the Sudan. Until the 1990s Shoeburyness was also home to an interesting variety of other vehicles, such as the 18" rail-mounted howitzer which has been mentioned in another recent thread on NP, 2 x 45ton breakdown cranes, a 75ton steam crane (dual gauge, standard and 14 foot!), an apparently GWR "crocodile" which was originally a 6" naval anti-aircraft gun mounting built in 1915 and a French ferry van which was trapped in England in 1940. Both the latter are now preserved at Mangapps Railway.
     
  14. Bertie Lissie

    Bertie Lissie New Member

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  15. 73129

    73129 Part of the furniture

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    Can't remember the army camp name. But there was a rail head at a army camp in Warminster. Looking on google maps the line is still there but I don't think it's still in use. I remember in the late 70s a small diesel shunter working there.
     
  16. kesbobby

    kesbobby Member

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    Battlesbury Barracks and the adjacent Training Unit at Warminster are the homes of mechanised (armoured) infantry units. The railhead is similar to several others in the UK in that it is usable but not regularly used.
     

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