Platelayers Bogies

[Andy873]

Looking through an auction list from 1874, Gregson (railway contractor who had gone bust that year) was selling off various equipment that was used in his last railway contract. Now among other items it lists twenty three 4 yard wagons and two platelayers bogies - does this mean the two bogie wagons were used for transporting platelayer's along his railway works by rail?

I've never hear of this term before, can anyone explain what these two bogie wagons are / were used for please.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

= Small railcar (or just a trolley), possibly, but not necessarily hand-operated, and used primarily for transporting maintenance workers and their equipment to/from wherever they're working?

 

[Gloster]

It could mean a simple arrangement of two axles connected like a very simple wagon bogie, i.e. just the bit under the wagon underframe. It could just be two longitudinal wooden baulks just inside each pair of wheels to keep the axles the correct distance apart and in line, and one transverse baulk to keep the other two baulks the correct distance apart and to rest the load on. Lengthy items could be rested on the transverse baulks of a pair of these, one at each end, and then slowly pushed along the line to where they were needed. The two bogies probably wouldn’t be connected so a certain amount of coordination was needed to keep the bogies near the end of the load.

 

[John Webb]

Bearing in mind we're talking about a railway-building contractor rather than a maintenance concern, my guess is that they were something like Gloster describes and most likely with a platform on top. These could be used for carrying sleepers, chairs or using two of them, the rails from a stockpile to a site where new track was being laid. Also for carrying the necessary tools to do the work.

 

[Rescars]

This is just speculation, but as there were two of these vehicles and they were described as bogies rather than trolleys, I wonder if they were intended to be operated as a pair to support longer loads. New rails perhaps as JohnWebb suggests? If this is correct, I can't imagine there would have been anything very sophisticated to connect the two bogies together - a length of chain perhaps (if anything at all)? I'd be pretty certain that their prime purpose would have been to carry platelaying materials to the construction site. Any carriage of staff would almost certainly have been opportunistic, probably unsafe and possibly frowned upon - unless there was a photographer about to take one of those evocative shots with everyone involved carefully posed and facing the camera of course!

 

[furnessvale]

This is just speculation, but as there were two of these vehicles and they were described as bogies rather than trolleys, I wonder if they were intended to be operated as a pair to support longer loads. New rails perhaps as JohnWebb suggests? If this is correct, I can't imagine there would have been anything very sophisticated to connect the two bogies together - a length of chain perhaps (if anything at all)? I'd be pretty certain that their prime purpose would have been to carry platelaying materials to the construction site. Any carriage of staff would almost certainly have been opportunistic, probably unsafe and possibly frowned upon - unless there was a photographer about to take one of those evocative shots with everyone involved carefully posed and facing the camera of course!

When I was a per way engineer in the north west of England in the late 1960s, we always called them bogies. It was not a reference to using them in pairs. Before the modern low level steel and aluminium devices, they were heavy wooden things with heavy iron wheels on axles which were left on the track as you lifted the platform away.

 

[Rescars]

This is certainly a straightforward explanation. Much more probable than mine!

 

[Andy873]

It could mean a simple arrangement of two axles connected like a very simple wagon bogie, i.e. just the bit under the wagon underframe. It could just be two longitudinal wooden baulks just inside each pair of wheels to keep the axles the correct distance apart and in line, and one transverse baulk to keep the other two baulks the correct distance apart and to rest the load on.

Bearing in mind we're talking about a railway-building contractor rather than a maintenance concern, my guess is that they were something like Gloster describes and most likely with a platform on top. These could be used for carrying sleepers, chairs or using two of them, the rails from a stockpile to a site where new track was being laid. Also for carrying the necessary tools to do the work.

I agree with John, @Gloster's description is as always a clear and concise one that even I can understand.

Everyone seems to agree on what these things were and used for, so if we think of these bogies simply as sets of wheels two of which can be connected together to form a very basic and crude vehicle for carting materials.

Question - As these bogies are effectively sets of wheels I presume you could set within reason different wheel base lengths to correspond with what you want to move, as and when required? if so, then these bogies are not only useful bits of kit, but essential.

This is just speculation, but as there were two of these vehicles and they were described as bogies rather than trolleys, I wonder if they were intended to be operated as a pair to support longer loads. New rails perhaps as JohnWebb suggests?

It could well be, I know the standard L&Y rail length at this time was 21 feet.

 

[AndrewE]

Question - As these bogies are effectively sets of wheels I presume you could set within reason different wheel base lengths to correspond with what you want to move, as and when required? if so, then these bogies are not only useful bits of kit, but essential.

I suspect they were basically square, the length governed by how heavy they were. They needed to be able to be lifted above the rails to get them onto the wheelsets - and quickly off the track if the need arose (many years ago.) So no longer than the robust build would allow a small gang to lift!

 

[John Webb]

I can only find an image of a modern metal trolley (click on photo to go to the larger original):
Platelayers trolley

© Copyright DS Pugh and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

The wood ones would have been of similar size and usually had two handles each end for lifting them on and off the track.

 

[AndrewE]

How about the one on

Welcome to Bideford Railway Heritage Centre - Trolley

Railway push trolley at Bideford Railway Heritage Centre

www.bidefordrailway.co.uk

 

[John Webb]

How about the one on

Welcome to Bideford Railway Heritage Centre - Trolley

Railway push trolley at Bideford Railway Heritage Centre

www.bidefordrailway.co.uk

Thanks, exactly what I was thinking of! I guessed a heritage railway somewhere would have one, but wasn't certain where to start looking.

 

[AndrewE]

Thanks, exactly what I was thinking of! I guessed a heritage railway somewhere would have one, but wasn't certain where to start looking.

I just did a web search for "Wooden platelayers trolley." I expected one to show up in the collection at York museum, but his was almost the first result.
p.s. another good one on https://www.nymr.co.uk/lineside-huts
Otherwise most of the results are adverts for models!

 

[alxndr]

When I was a per way engineer in the north west of England in the late 1960s, we always called them bogies.

It’s still the name used for them in Scotland.