GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

Soho and Winson Green: gwrsw4025

Internal memo recommending a six month extension to the contract period for construction of the Soho and Winson Green Goods Warehouse. The original contract for the construction of the Soho & Winson Green goods depot (including the transit shed and goods warehouse), plus the construction of the pilot line to Hockley was awarded to Flecther and Co (Contractors) Ltd for completion in August 1932. The extension was due to a change in the foundation requirements. 175,000 cubic yards of earth had to be excavated and removed and four hundred reinforced concrete piles of the West’s Rotinoff design driven to an average depth of fifteen feet were needed to stabilise the soft ground at the site. The West’s Rotinoff Piling and Construction Company’s standard design comprised a series of pre-cast hollow concrete units, which were extended as they were driven to the required depth. Once in place the core would be inspected before being filled with concrete.

The final sentence in the memo relates to this project being financed from the Government’s Development (Loan guarantees and Grants) Act - 1929. This provided support for national infrastructure projects as a means of economic stimulus and employment during the great depression. Individual projects had to be approved in advance for completion within an agreed financial period.

Robert Ferris

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