LMS Route: Nuneaton to Birmingham New Street

LMS Route: Birmingham New Street to Tamworth

Saltley Shed: mrsalt110c

Close up of image 'mrsalt110' showing Saltley shed's newly erected mechanical coaling tower and ash disposal plant with several open wagons standing awaiting to be filled. The mechanical coaling tower was a modified design of the LMS 'No 1' type plant and was electrically operated and built of reinforced concrete. This type of plant was provided to depots of importance and was equipped with two 150 ton bunkers, twice the capacity of the No 2 type. This variant of the type 1 plant had the coal raised by wagon on the outside of the tower similar to the practice adopted for the type 2 design.

According to Hawkins and Reeves the coal was raised to the top of the plant via a wagon 'capstanned onto and secured to a hoist table' which 'was lifted up and emptied into the bunkers'. The operation of loading and discharging the coal was under the control of an attendant in the cabin located at the base of the plant (see image 'mrsalt106a'). The normal practice of loading the coal in a No 1 type plant was for the coal to be tipped into a 20 ton hopper at the base of the tower with the hopper then being raised to the top of the tower to be discharged.

The ash plant seen above was steel framed and with a winch room clad with metal corrugated sheeting. The locomotive being disposed would stand on either side of the structure as the centre road was where the wagons removing the ash were placed. The ash would be emptied into hoppers that were then hoisted on rails until it was positioned above the wagon for discharging. In the view above the rails carrying the hoppers can clearly be seen on either side of the structure, first rising at about 80 degrees and the at 45 degrees above the centre road.

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