GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

Queens Head Yard: gwrqhy2642

View of the travelling crane loading one of the GWR's mechanised tractor and trailer at Queens Head yard in the early 1930s. In 1926 five mileage sidings capable of holding 198 wagons were constructed on the up side of an extensive marshalling yard on the Birmingham side of Handsworth & Smethwick station. The mileage sidings were arranged in two pairs and one single line which was closest to the running lines. To facilitate unloading two double width roadways were provided between each group of mileage sidings and this electrically operated ten ton Goliath crane bridged the central pair of sidings and half the roadways on each side. The crane was operated from the cabin within one of its steel framework supports and could could travel almost the full length of the sidings.

Great Western Railway four plank open wagon No 63330 can be seen loaded with coal on one of the mileage sidings behind the tractor (it was unusual for a mineral load to be loaded in a general merchandise wagons). This open wagon is from lot L 98 for 200 ten ton, four plank wagons constructed around 1895. The adjacent open wagon No 152 with round ends is a private owner (PO) wagon. In front of this is a fitted NE covered goods wagon with wooden bonnet vents in the end. The inside of one of the open doors of this covered wagon is chalk marked with the destination ‘Glasgow’. The flatbed lorry is being manually loaded with steel bar. The letter prefix of the registration plate AC7353 on this lorry indicates that this was allocated to the Warwickshire area between December 1903 and April 1921. See gwrqhy2642a for close-up and detail of the Fordson tractor No 2304.

Robert Ferris

back