Hilsea Gasworks - 1971
Immaculate ‘R4’ Class Peckett 0-4-0 saddle tank (Works No.2100 built in 1949) had been transferred to Hilsea from the Southern Gas Board’s Blackwater Gasworks in Surrey during January 1961. The Hilsea works was rebuilt in 1963 from a conventional gasworks to a naphtha reforming plant, after which only limited rail traffic was handled from the sidings adjoining the B.R. London Waterloo-Portsmouth line. The Peckett was unsuitable for handling such an inflammable product and consequently saw very limited use after the mid-1960s. Rail traffic at Hilsea ceased in 1985, closely followed by the closure and demolition of the works. The gasworks first came into production in 1905 and had extensive supporting rail systems, standard and 2ft 6 in gauges, the latter being replaced by conveyors in 1920. The Peckett is now preserved in full working order on the Helston Railway in Cornwall.
© Gordon Edgar - All rights reserved. Please do not use my images without my explicit permission
Hilsea Gasworks - 1971
Immaculate ‘R4’ Class Peckett 0-4-0 saddle tank (Works No.2100 built in 1949) had been transferred to Hilsea from the Southern Gas Board’s Blackwater Gasworks in Surrey during January 1961. The Hilsea works was rebuilt in 1963 from a conventional gasworks to a naphtha reforming plant, after which only limited rail traffic was handled from the sidings adjoining the B.R. London Waterloo-Portsmouth line. The Peckett was unsuitable for handling such an inflammable product and consequently saw very limited use after the mid-1960s. Rail traffic at Hilsea ceased in 1985, closely followed by the closure and demolition of the works. The gasworks first came into production in 1905 and had extensive supporting rail systems, standard and 2ft 6 in gauges, the latter being replaced by conveyors in 1920. The Peckett is now preserved in full working order on the Helston Railway in Cornwall.
© Gordon Edgar - All rights reserved. Please do not use my images without my explicit permission