Berry Hill Quarry Sidings, Mansfield
The town of Mansfield dominates the skyline on my photo, taken from Windsor Road on 8 November 1978. The Mansfield Town Football Club (The Stags) Stadium can be seen in the middle background. Fisher Lane Park is in the right.
Two Class '20s' with a brake van are just about to go under the Windsor Road bridge. The single lever ground frame can be seen to the right of the leading locomotive. This gives access to the Berry Hill Quarry sidings of the Mansfield Standard Sand Co.
There have been at least three separately accessed intermediate sidings between Mansfield East Junction and Mansfield Colliery Junction for the Mansfield Standard Sand Co, the first of these being not far beyond Nottingham Road. There was a second just before reaching Forest Road.
However, this was the third. This is the one latterly visited ‘as required’ by the trip train that also serviced Metal Box at Oddicroft Lane, Sutton-in-Ashfield.
The points were operated by a single lever stage, which worked both the main line end, with the Midland Railway economical Facing Point Lock, and the trap end. Despite this, plus being open to the elements, apparently it was surprisingly easy to pull.
To unlock it you lifted a cover at the top of the casing, inserted the single line tablet and then closed the cover (gravity fit). This, via tumbler interlocking, then released the lever.
There's a photo of a 2-lever ground frame with top loading tablet here www.flickr.com/photos/192151030@N08/52066128019/in/album-...
There was no intermediate tablet instrument there, so although a short train could theoretically be shut inside, this wasn’t operationally possible.
On arrival at Mansfield South Junction, (after running round at Sherwood Colliery South), the ‘Metal Box’ drew forward of the junction, then propelled to Berry Hill Sidings.
The train was propelled to just beyond the siding, where the brake and sometimes the vans for Metal Box were first detached. The loco/train then drew clear of the points, before shunting into the sidings, after the guard had operated the ground frame.
It varied from one visit to another as to whether empty wagon(s)/van(s) were delivered, or loaded wagon(s)/van(s) were collected, or both.
Once any shunting was completed, the train drew out clear of the points, then once the guard had restored the ground frame, and given the token back to the driver, the train set back to collect the brake etc, before heading back to Mansfield South Junction.
There is a photo and description of a side entry Tyer's Tablet Lock. Although the lock at the Berry Hill ground frame was top loading the link may help to understand the principles involved www.flickr.com/photos/pwayowen/49825096178
The row of houses running almost parallel to the line are on Fisher Lane and they can be seen in this Oct 2009 view on the interactive Google map www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.1380846,-1.1831268,3a,30y,259.0...
Berry Hill Quarry Sidings, Mansfield
The town of Mansfield dominates the skyline on my photo, taken from Windsor Road on 8 November 1978. The Mansfield Town Football Club (The Stags) Stadium can be seen in the middle background. Fisher Lane Park is in the right.
Two Class '20s' with a brake van are just about to go under the Windsor Road bridge. The single lever ground frame can be seen to the right of the leading locomotive. This gives access to the Berry Hill Quarry sidings of the Mansfield Standard Sand Co.
There have been at least three separately accessed intermediate sidings between Mansfield East Junction and Mansfield Colliery Junction for the Mansfield Standard Sand Co, the first of these being not far beyond Nottingham Road. There was a second just before reaching Forest Road.
However, this was the third. This is the one latterly visited ‘as required’ by the trip train that also serviced Metal Box at Oddicroft Lane, Sutton-in-Ashfield.
The points were operated by a single lever stage, which worked both the main line end, with the Midland Railway economical Facing Point Lock, and the trap end. Despite this, plus being open to the elements, apparently it was surprisingly easy to pull.
To unlock it you lifted a cover at the top of the casing, inserted the single line tablet and then closed the cover (gravity fit). This, via tumbler interlocking, then released the lever.
There's a photo of a 2-lever ground frame with top loading tablet here www.flickr.com/photos/192151030@N08/52066128019/in/album-...
There was no intermediate tablet instrument there, so although a short train could theoretically be shut inside, this wasn’t operationally possible.
On arrival at Mansfield South Junction, (after running round at Sherwood Colliery South), the ‘Metal Box’ drew forward of the junction, then propelled to Berry Hill Sidings.
The train was propelled to just beyond the siding, where the brake and sometimes the vans for Metal Box were first detached. The loco/train then drew clear of the points, before shunting into the sidings, after the guard had operated the ground frame.
It varied from one visit to another as to whether empty wagon(s)/van(s) were delivered, or loaded wagon(s)/van(s) were collected, or both.
Once any shunting was completed, the train drew out clear of the points, then once the guard had restored the ground frame, and given the token back to the driver, the train set back to collect the brake etc, before heading back to Mansfield South Junction.
There is a photo and description of a side entry Tyer's Tablet Lock. Although the lock at the Berry Hill ground frame was top loading the link may help to understand the principles involved www.flickr.com/photos/pwayowen/49825096178
The row of houses running almost parallel to the line are on Fisher Lane and they can be seen in this Oct 2009 view on the interactive Google map www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.1380846,-1.1831268,3a,30y,259.0...