Bridgnorth Turntable
Following the successful installation of ex-Fort William turntable at Kidderminster in the mid-1990s, SVR News for spring 1997 announced a project to install a second turntable at Bridgnorth. The first turntable purchased by the SVR ex-Whitchurch in the 1970s had been intended for his purpose, but this would have been propelled by hand and was only 60ft in length. The decision was therefore taken to seek a more suitable turntable. Bridgnorth Turntable Fund was established and began raising funds. The difficulty of finding a suitable location at Bridgnorth was noted at the time, possible sites considered including the end of the head-shunt adjacent to Pan Pudding Hill, an area beyond and adjacent to the Boiler Shop, or south of the station beyond the advanced starting signal.[1]
Contents
The turntable
The turntable eventually acquired is a Ransom Rapier 65'3" standard-pattern over-girder turntable, electrically powered. It was originally installed in 1957 as one of two turntables at Bristol (Bath Road) depot[2]. Following the end of steam in 1960 the depot retained one turntable which was later used to turn road vehicles on the cramped site. At least one SVR locomotive also used the turntable after that time, 46443 having been photographed being turned in June 1985 during the ‘GW 150’ events in the Bristol area.[3]
The Bath Road depot closed in 1995. In late 1997 the turntable was placed in the hands of auctioneers for sale by private treaty. It was inspected by the SVR and found to be in excellent condition, while site access would allow its removal by road. An offer was made to the auctioneers in October 1997 and the bid was accepted in February 1998, aided by a successful SVRA (Kidderminster Branch) raffle and fund-raising campaign.[4]
Removal and storage
The turntable was stripped down by a team from Bridgnorth, with help from members of the SVR’s Bristol Branch, during the last week of March 1998. It was lifted by a 160 ton crane on 2 April 1998 and transported overnight by road to Eardington, where it was placed in storage awaiting installation at Bridgnorth.[3]
This film shows the turntable's removal from Bristol and transport to Eardington.
Another report in SVR News for spring 1999 noted that the next phase of the project would require further fundraising. Several sites were still being studied, "none of which would be simple or cheap".[4]
Since that time the turntable has remained in store at Eardington in the station yard. The now-defunct SVR South Eastern Branch had in the past conducted some maintenance to prevent further deterioration.
Planned relocation to Bridgnorth
In November 2016 the SVR published a prospectus for a £2.5m share issue to raise funds for the Bridgnorth Development Project. The turntable is planned to be installed as part of Phase 2 of the Project. The share issue was successful; in addition by November 2017 The Severn Valley Railway Charitable Trust Ltd had raised about £18,000 as restricted gifts for restoring the turntable.[5]
Access and future use
The proposed location for the turntable is shown in the plan below. Part of the site currently forms the exit road from the overflow car park. Phase 2 of the Bridgnorth Development Project includes additional car parking with a re-routed exit road which would need to be completed before the turntable could be installed. Planned access by locomotives would require two reversals, speculating its future use is unlikely to involve regular turning of locomotives between trains during normal service. By Summer 2018 the SVR was looking at "possibly more practical locations".[6]
Site plan showing proposed location of turntable
A project team for the specification of the West side Project is intended to tender for this phase during the summer of 2018.[7]