Talk:Bower Yard Lime Kilns Siding
There is an article in SVRSevern Valley Railway News 84 (Summer 1987) by Keith Beddoes which mentions the siding. I’ve added information from there. Various thoughts:
Comparing the OSOrdnance Survey Map extract with the map in the Lime Trail leaflet, the area of the siding appears to be right at the far end of the yard, ie somewhere above the word Bower on the OSOrdnance Survey Map. That would tie in with the main lime quarries being on Benthall Edge; the map appears to show tracks from the quarries leading down to that area, which was presumably how rock was brought down pre-1870s (I don't know the date of the inclined plane that Beddoes refers to). Possibly the lime was taken away by river at that stage, given the brickworks owners were also barge operators.
I assume the Brick works is the large building at the near end of the yard, above the G of Iron-Bridge, with the tramway leading to it (the tramway is just visible in the photo on P33 of SVRSevern Valley Railway news 84). In terms of the photo in the Vanns book, the lime kiln siding would therefore be in the far distance, while the sidings this side of the Iron Bridge are presumably just part of the station yard.
The Beddoes article mentions that lime working restarted in the mid-20s after mineral leases were obtained from Lord Forester. He concludes This took place until shortly before the war, when it appears the leases expired and were not renewed, the whole operation ceasing by about 1939. However the later date in the Lime Trail leaflet may well be correct based on subsequent research, so I’m happy not to update the article.--Robin (talk) 16:01, 17 December 2015 (UTC)
- Yes, the sidings are visible at about the word "Bower" in the Vanns photo - it is in the distance, but the track is visible (above and to the right of the brickworks chimney), and there may be some wagons just about visible. I've copied a small area around the siding here, the white house visible to the right is fairly distinctive.
- I have seen another reference to closing c. 1939, though it wasn't very certain (I think it was prefaced with the words "may have"). The fact it never appeared on any OSOrdnance Survey map that I've found certainly points to a short lifetime. --Danny252 (talk) 20:34, 17 December 2015 (UTC)
- Speaking of aerial photos, we can now say the siding was gone by 1949. This photo from the same angle as the Vanns one shows the siding is gone. Perhaps of interest, this photo looks down the side valley, and the limestone workings are clearly visible. --Danny252 (talk) 22:13, 17 December 2015 (UTC)
Note that the Severn Gorge Countryside Trust refer to Bower Yard Limekiln and the OSOrdnance Survey refer to Bower (Not to Bowers, or even Bower's) Yard.--Patrick Hearn (talk) 23:36, 15 July 2021 (UTC)
