Return of the Minehead Turntable

Return of the Minehead Turntable

A few years ago the thought of having a turntable at Minehead would have been unbelievable. We had the 55 turntable rescued from Pwllheli stored at Minehead for many years, some of our visitors thinking it was a bridge! And now we have a 65 turntable in new surroundings - a major attraction to the WSR, yet something that was commonplace in steam days. Preparation for this booklet has taken many hours with over 600 photographs to choose from, and it has been a while since Paul Conibeare, thewsr General Manager, asked me to prepare this publication. It hasn t been a one man job though, special thanks go to Justin Kerr-Peterson, Steve Martin,Andy Forster and to all those who kindly supplied photographs, too many to list here. Our new turntable, coupled with the soon to be completed triangle at Norton Fitzwarren will reduce the tender-first running on the West Somerset Railway. I firmly believe that turntables are an essential part of present day Heritage Railway operations. Our turntable will soon become part of the railway furniture at Minehead, and will help re-inforce the reputation of the West Somerset Railway as one of the leading Heritage Railways in the UK. Richard Derry, Minehead. Summer 2008. Minehead Turntable Project beginnings (Researched from the West Somerset Railway Journal) First purchased in 1974, the Pwllheli turntable was not generally known that the company had owned a turntable for five years as reported in 1979. The WSRA committee decided to undertake the cost and movement of the turntable from North Wales some three hundred miles away. It was a GWR 55 Foot St. Blazey type with the main girders above the ground; built to an 1894 design and delivered to Pwllheli sometime in the 1930 s. Permission was obtained to move the turntable intact. The article by Hugh Perrett has been cited in this company booklet about our turntable. Wednesday 28th March 79 a group set off for Pwllheli goods yard. The association lorry had a compressor, cutting equipment, timber and hand tools. At 8 o clock on site at Pwllheli. The entry castings were removed by cutting the retaining studs and jacking the sections up of the remaining stubs. 240 kerb bricks were broken out with the aid of the compressor and breakers. Corner wheels, centre ladders and locking gear handles were all removed. The centre pin was removed by breaking a hole to force the pin out of the concrete. The weather was nasty and by 6pm they returned to the rented cottages.

Friday saw Mike Lawrence, the haulier, on site plus a forty ton crane, with a second due to arrive which had been delayed by a puncture. It arrived seven hours late though the lift only took 40 minutes. The cranes properly positioned lifted the turntable clear of the pit and high enough for the tractor unit and bogie to be placed for the turntable to be lowered and secured with chains. The artic trailer was loaded with all the loose equipment and the Association lorry carried the centre pin. The turntable came by road to Minehead on a three axle tractor and a four axle steerable so the load could be steered from both ends. It arrived in Minehead at 2pm on the 3rd April 1979. The association intended to start construction of a pit immediately and the only suitable location was in the corner of the yard next to the Strand café. How things have changed! By 1987 when the 7F 53808 returned to steam the turntable would have been awkward to use. But I must mention all the efforts of those involved back in 1979 ensured we have a turntable to use in 2008. Ray Lee, John Wood, Mike Grimauldby, David Butcher, Ron Prickett, Mark Stanistreet, Barry Malcolm, John Griffiths, Paul Sayce, Steve Martin and of course Hugh Perrett. Pictures taken prior to development Top left:turntable site Top centre: Station & car park Bottom left: Bay platform tracks Bottom centre:turntable detail

Soon we will be through to Blue Anchor with its pebble beach and beach huts. On over the level crossing at Blue Anchor now in a straight line ahead beyond Dunster with its castle high on the hill overlooking the Bristol Channel and Minehead, our journey s end. The station at Minehead, which is right on the promenade, has extra long platforms to accommodate the holiday traffic and the new Butlin s Holiday Camp. The engine is once again detached from the train;it is over to the sidings to turn, ready for our return. But first, there is a problem, our engine with its tender is about 47 feet long and the turntable on which we have to turn our engine is only 45 feet long - we are too long. But the Great Western Railway has devised a means of turning engines that are too long by fitting the table with extension ramps. The rails have to be put in place, so that the table can now take the extra length of the engine. First the engine passes to the far side of the table, the ramps are put in place, and the engine reverses up the extension ramps. To place the extension ramps into position they have to be lifted up and over by means of a heavy round bar about six feet long, put into a hole in the side of the ramp. With much strength and brute force, the ramp, hinged at one end, will fall in line with the rail of the table acting as another length of track. Once over the vertical position the ramps crash down on to the table rail with force. To stay healthy and alive is to let go of the bar as it goes over the top. This is when it is brain over brawn, the brawn to lift the ramps in place, and the brain to know when to let go of the bar. Failing to let the bar go in time can mean a trip over the nearby garden walls, or a visit to Minehead hospital. Once one is in place there is still the other one to be done. Both in place, the tender goes up the ramps and with my driver one end and me the other end it is all hands to the pumps to turn on Minehead turntable. Minehead turntable in BR days

There are two mangle-like handles to drive the table around, and 105 tons of engine and tender, plus the weight of the turntable, is now moved by my driver and me. The table itself is in a pit and consists of two inverted bow-shaped girders with the flooring on which the running rails are fixed. On the ends of each girder is a heavy cast steel wheel running on a rail which goes around in the pit bottom to carry the wheels,and thus the weight of the turntable. In the middle of the pit under the table is a thick block of concrete on which a steel pillar supports the table. This is really the support for the table, being carried on a large ball bearing in an inverted cup under the table,most of the weight being taken by the ball bearing. It is this that makes it possible for only two of us to turn the weight of the table and our engine. Turned the right way for home, the next job is to take the engine up to replenish our water supply but those killer ramps have still to be turned back into their storage position, ready for the next time. Strength and stamina are by now in short supply. But still the cunning of the ramps can be matched. Once done, it is up to the shunter s cabin where there is a boiling kettle of water ready to make a nice cup of tea. Being a warm day we sit outside, the sun now in full bloom with a cloudless sky. We look over the bay towards SouthWales, as we enjoy our tea and the sea air of Minehead. The turntable and its perilous ramps are forgotten until tomorrow. By Ron Davies. Reproduced from ReturnTicketTo Minehead, by Alan & Christine Hammond and Richard Derry.

During the intervening years between arrival of the Pwllheli turntable at Minehead and the installation of the restored turntable, the West Somerset Railway had numerous and more urgent projects to deal with. It wasn t until the turntable site became available, along with available grants and many donations, that the project could move forward. Steelway Fensecure of Brierly Hill carried out refurbishment of the turntable. Before that the turntable was prepared at Minehead with all the wasted metal being removed with only the sides and the centre being sent by road on 21st July 2007. The remains were completely refurbished and new brand new parts added including

a 5 foot extension at each end to bring the table to 65 feet as per the original GWR standard pattern to allow the turning of all but the biggest steam locomotives in preservation. The turntable was returned to Minehead by Road on Sunday 10th February 2008 and was lowered into position the next day at around 3.00pm to much interest from local people and enthusiasts alike. As the turntable arrived in the outskirts of Minehead and proceeded the wrong way round a roundabout comments such as Is that it? and I don t think much of the colour and I thought it was meant to be round were heard.

Designed & produced by Meridian Print & Marketing Ltd 01395 568380 Accompanying photographs show various stages of the restoration ands installation of the turntable, including historical artefacts unearthed during the excavation of the site.