Oigawa railway turntable

[marknewton]

I found this photo of an Oigawa Railway loco on a turntable. My question is, where is it - Senzu?

 

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[Nick_Burman]

Yes, Senzu. Neither Kanaya nor Shin-Kanaya have turntables.

 

 

Cheers NB

[stevenh]

Definitely Senzu, see more images from the area here... half way down:

 

 

 

[Barobutt]

Unrelated question, but I've always wondered what those "horse blinder" type things at the front of some steam engines are.  You don't see them in north american engines I dont think, but I remember seeing them on a lot of German engines.

[marknewton]

Thanks for confirming that, Nick & Steve. Great photos, too! Interesting that the 'table has no decking or walkways... can't help wondering how many other Ransome & Rapier 'tables still exist in the world, particularly working ones!

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[westfalen]

I've always called them elephant's ears but a more technical term is smoke deflectors or as UP called them smoke lifters, their purpose is to stop the smoke blowing back around the cab and obscuring vision.

 

Back to the turntable, it has an impeccable lineage, Ransomes and Rapier, London.

[marknewton]

Unrelated question, but I've always wondered what those "horse blinder" type things at the front of some steam engines are.  You don't see them in north american engines I dont think, but I remember seeing them on a lot of German engines.

 

They're smoke deflectors, and yes, they were common on German steam locos. A lot of modern North American engines had them too - NYC Mohawks & Niagaras, NKP 4-6-4s, D&H 4-8-4s, UP 800 class 4-8-4s and 3900 class 4-6+6-4s among them.

 

 

Without going into a long and involved rave about the theory and practice of steam loco front-end design* they're intended to lift the smoke and steam from the funnel/chimney/smokestack up and over the boiler, and prevent it from drifting down into the cab and obscuring the view forwards.

 

(* But I can if you really want...  )

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[marknewton]

Back to the turntable, it has an impeccable lineage, Ransomes and Rapier, London.

 

Impeccable lineage alright! One of the traversers at Eveleigh was made by them, beautiful old thing too. IIRC, QR had a few of these, didn't they Alvin?

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[Nick_Burman]

Thanks for confirming that, Nick & Steve. Great photos, too! Interesting that the 'table has no decking or walkways... can't help wondering how many other Ransome & Rapier 'tables still exist in the world, particularly working ones!

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

 

There is an electric railway some 200km from where I live which has 3 of them, all second-hand and slightly different from each other. They are used to turn the electric cars which are (mostly) single-ended.

 

The Port of Santos has Ransomes & Rapier dock cranes. Some of them are over 80 year old...and work!

 

Cheers NB

[westfalen]

Back to the turntable, it has an impeccable lineage, Ransomes and Rapier, London.

 

Impeccable lineage alright! One of the traversers at Eveleigh was made by them, beautiful old thing too. IIRC, QR had a few of these, didn't they Alvin?

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

They certainly did, turntable makers to the world. Next time I get the chance I'll have to see if the one at Ipswich station still has its builders plate, turntables are getting scarce up here, Caboolture's is now out of use (the pit was close to an adjacent track and they partly filled it so no one would fall in) leaving Ipswich and Redbank in the Brisbane area, unless you count the new ones at Acacia Ridge and Moolabin. There was an old Ransomes and Rapier road crane rusting away in the weeds in an equipment dealers yard beside the track near Beenleigh until a few months ago.

[marknewton]

There is an electric railway some 200km from where I live which has 3 of them, all second-hand and slightly different from each other. They are used to turn the electric cars which are (mostly) single-ended.

 

Nice photo, neat looking car and yard. I see that this table doesn't have any decking or walkways, either. Perhaps they weren't a standard feature of R&R tables. What railway is this?

 

The Port of Santos has Ransomes & Rapier dock cranes. Some of them are over 80 year old...and work!

 

Doesn't surprise me. They'll probably outlast you and me. We had two R&R overhead travelling cranes in the workshop at my old depot which were built before WW1, both are still working. Marvellous bits of gear they are!

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[marknewton]

They certainly did, turntable makers to the world. Next time I get the chance I'll have to see if the one at Ipswich station still has its builders plate...

 

I remember seeing that table years ago, I photographed a single 2000 class railmotor being spun on it. Good to know that it's still there.

 

turntables are getting scarce up here, Caboolture's is now out of use (the pit was close to an adjacent track and they partly filled it so no one would fall in) leaving Ipswich and Redbank in the Brisbane area, unless you count the new ones at Acacia Ridge and Moolabin.

 

Sounds familar. Our table at Waterfall has had a bridge and walkway built over one side of it for the same reason. It's bullshit, IMO. Have you EVER heard of anyone falling into these pits?

 

There was an old Ransomes and Rapier road crane rusting away in the weeds in an equipment dealers yard beside the track near Beenleigh until a few months ago.

 

Hopefully it went to a good home. There's a local contractor in Helensburgh who still uses a 1950s built R&R raod crane, it's apparently indestructible.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[Nick_Burman]

There is an electric railway some 200km from where I live which has 3 of them, all second-hand and slightly different from each other. They are used to turn the electric cars which are (mostly) single-ended.

 

Nice photo, neat looking car and yard. I see that this table doesn't have any decking or walkways, either. Perhaps they weren't a standard feature of R&R tables. What railway is this?

 

Mark.

 

This is the Estrada de Ferro Campos do Jordão which runs from a connection from the Rio de Janeiro - Sao Paulo broad gauge main line at Pindamonhangaba (a mouthfull even for the natives... which is why everbody knowns it just as "Pinda") north up the Mantiqueira escarpment to the mountain resort of Campos do Jordão. It was built in the early 1900's to help open up the region on the summit of the escarpment for TB sanatoria development. The Sao Paulo state government took over the line in the 1920’s and electrified it with English Electric equipment. Until TB treatments became available the railway was an integral part of the Sao Paulo state health system. Today the railway lives off tourists and has commuter operations both in Pinda and in Campos do Jordão. The road is a kind of Brazilian Hakone Tozan, with grades up to 10.5% (adhesion only) on the mountain section which means that only single railcars can climb that part. The original cars were double-ended but modern cars are single-ended so as to permit one end to be given over to a small galley. The turntables were put in much later.

 

Don’t be fooled…under that  modern body and over the “Fiat” trucks there is a 1920’s Metropolitan Carriage & Wagon underframe… like the turntables, these were built to last…

 

Cheers NB

[westfalen]

turntables are getting scarce up here, Caboolture's is now out of use (the pit was close to an adjacent track and they partly filled it so no one would fall in) leaving Ipswich and Redbank in the Brisbane area, unless you count the new ones at Acacia Ridge and Moolabin.

 

Sounds familar. Our table at Waterfall has had a bridge and walkway built over one side of it for the same reason. It's bullshit, IMO. Have you EVER heard of anyone falling into these pits?

Cheers,

 

Mark.

 

They probably did but in the days before lawsuits and having to report every little accident you have they would have been too embarrassed to say anything and just brush themselves off and climb out.

[westfalen]

They certainly did, turntable makers to the world. Next time I get the chance I'll have to see if the one at Ipswich station still has its builders plate...

 

I remember seeing that table years ago, I photographed a single 2000 class railmotor being spun on it. Good to know that it's still there.

 

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

 

Was scanning some old slides yesterday I found during some spring cleaning and found this shot of PB15 No.732 taking a spin on the Ipswich turntable on 22/11/81. And for comparison, a shot I took from the same spot this afternoon.