Reusing Disused Sidings For The War Effort

[Andy873]

We know that the railings of many parks all around the country were cut down and reused (melted) during the war (WWII) as iron and steel were greatly needed to help with the wat effort.

Did the same happen with old disused sidings?

I was looking at some old sidings which served a brick works and wondered if they were taken up during the war and melted down for re-use. There are some clues however, the 0.5 miles (approximately) of sidings were last used in 1909. They are still shown in the revised 1928-29 map sheet however the 1956 one shows they are no more.

These sidings had a signal box next to the running lines which controlled entry / exit to and from them, this box is reported as abandoned in 1940, boarded up in '41 and demolished in '46, this all leads me to wonder if they went during the war...

How likely do you think it is that these sidings went during the war?
Was reusing old rails during the war common? By that I mean melting them down?
Are there examples you know about?

Rails, albeit old and rusty are nevertheless a source of high quality steel.

 

[Ducatist4]

The vast majority of the park railings etc that were taken for the war effort were dumped in the sea as they were made from low grade cast iron that wasn't good for anything. What it did do however was to make it feel like the general public were "doing their bit" to help by sacrificing their railings. The same applies to a lesser extent to some types of rationing.

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

If the rails were serviceable they would have been reused for the numerous yards, sidings etc that were put in during WW2 to handle the huge increase in freight traffic (supplies / ammunition etc).

Not WW2 but during WW1 some minor railways were closed and the rails quickly removed for use in France. The Bideford, Westward Ho! & Appledore Rly in Devon springs to mind.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

The vast majority of the park railings etc that were taken for the war effort were dumped in the sea as they were made from low grade cast iron that wasn't good for anything.

Was that definitely the case, or unsubstantiated "urban myth"?

 

[Taunton]

The impoverished 15-mile Weston Clevedon & Portishead finally closed in 1940, the GWR bought it, not for its non-existent traffic but for the rails; they were initially used for wagon storage, but then lifted and used, as sidings, elsewhere. The substantial number of new sidings put down in wartime, plus of course bombing repairs, had initially been done with surplus main line rails from relaying, but after a while this was hardly being done either due to new steel shortage.

 

[Ducatist4]

Was that definitely the case, or unsubstantiated "urban myth"?

There are many reliable sources that say that's what happened, including references to it at the IWM in London last time i was there.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

There are many reliable sources that say that's what happened, including references to it at the IWM in London last time i was there.

These "reliable" sources usually seem to point to journalist Christopher Long's oft-quoted letter to the "Evening Standard" newspaper, back in May 1984, where he asserts that the info originally came from Canning Town dockers some six years earlier. A great story, but is it verifiably true, particularly the bit about the 'vast majority' of the collected metal being dumped?

 

[Gloster]

These "reliable" sources usually seem to point to journalist Christopher Long's oft-quoted letter to the "Evening Standard" newspaper, back in May 1984, where he asserts that the info originally came from Canning Town dockers some six years earlier. A great story, but is it verifiably true, particularly the bit about the 'vast majority' being dumped?

I has a vague recollection that at least some were used as reinforcing bars in concrete obstructions (‘dragon’s teeth’). As there were occasions when similar blocks were used to protect the foreshore, I wonder if this is how the story grew up.

 

[Taunton]

There was a considerable shortage of raw materials for iron and steel production both during WW2 and for a while afterwards, due to imports of iron ore from places like Norway (a onetime major supplier) stopping. Therefore the blast furnaces would welcome scrap iron (and park railings are typically wrought iron rather than cast iron) regardless of quality, especially as they are just basically iron, whereas things like scrap cars have a mix of contaminants like chrome etc which are a nuisance to get out in the process.

 

[contrex]

What it did do however was to make it feel like the general public were "doing their bit" to help by sacrificing their railings.

I believe this was also the case with aluminium saucepans.

 

[Andy873]

All your replies on this are much appreciated and as always interesting!

I don't really have much more to contribute on this one, regarding the sidings I've been looking at, I guess I'll never know just when they were removed and what their fate was, e.g. re-used, sold for scrap etc.

Nevertheless, thanks all of you.

 

[Fenchurch SP]

I have read that much of the disused former horse drawn Plymouth and Dartmouth Railway track was lifted during the 1914-18 war.

 

[D Williams]

I have read that much of the disused former horse drawn Plymouth and Dartmouth Railway track was lifted during the 1914-18 war.

As was the Redruth and Chasewater Railway.

 

[Rescars]

IIRC the track laid beyond Laxfield to Cratfield on the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway was reclaimed for war use as early as 1914.

 

[bristolianre]

The NER's 'Collywell Bay' [Seaton Sluice] branch was completed during WW1 but never operated. Track was taken up and used elsewhere. During WW2 part of the branch was relaid as an isolated line for rail-based artillery to move the length of the available track as it was close to, and parallel to, the North Sea coast. This track was removed post-WW2.

 

[Spartacus]

A heck of a lot of the railings went into reinforced concrete, both for defences and other uses, from foundations for AAA mounts to general use. All would otherwise have needed new metal which would have been quite wasteful resource-wise.
I've little doubt some would have been dumped but even with production of defences being scaled back after the threat of invasion receded they'd still have been great for smelting down and recycling. I even wonder if them being dumped at sea was a misinterpretation of some form of beach defences, often started with materials being strategically placed away from shore.

The NER's 'Collywell Bay' [Seaton Sluice] branch was completed during WW1 but never operated. Track was taken up and used elsewhere. During WW2 part of the branch was relaid as an isolated line for rail-based artillery to move the length of the available track as it was close to, and parallel to, the North Sea coast. This track was removed post-WW2.

This brings up a good point that many of the previously disused sidings would likely be potentially more useful put back to use in some form, from railway guns and D-Day build up to just the general increase in wartime traffic, so they'd probably have been left in place until after the war, unless they were urgently needed to used elsewhere, but still as tracks, such as repairs or new sidings.