Put on your mac and grab your lamp… 

Thomas the Tank Engine always worried about the ‘Troublesome Trucks’.  We have many such trucks in the wagon hall, so we can explain what they were really like, what they did, and why they were so important.

Goods wagons (or waggons)

Actually, railway staff didn’t didn’t talk of ‘trucks’ but rather of goods wagons (or, in Scotland, often ‘waggons’).  In 1948 the fleet owned by the newly nationalised British Railways amounted to 1.23 million

Inside the wagon hall

Our display shows what a wide variety of shapes and sizes existed, for although the vast majority carried coal for homes and industry and were simple, others were designed for particular traffics only, from milk to night soil, and from oil to nuclear flasks. One way or another, they delivered the goods for everyone living in Britain. 

Nowadays train loads of containers bring colour to the railway and one jumbo freight train can replace up to 129 heavy goods vehicles. We feature the last century, when the railway network stretched into most corners of the country.  

The sounds and the skills of shunting

Wagons were supplied from centres called marshalling yards to stations and factories, then collected later.  Some of these yards were huge, handling (shunting) a thousand wagons or more each day. The sounds of shunting as it used to be are heard as you walk around our display, and you can listen to Goods Guard McLaren explaining his tough, demanding, and skilful job of keeping a goods train safe. He had to assist the driver with controlling the speed of the train on hills using his Brake Van.

A vital part of his job was ensuring the weight of this train was correct for the locomotive pulling it and for the route it was taking. He or a Shunter would have to couple up all the wagons to form a train, maybe of 70 or sometimes 100 wagons. You can see the different types of couplings and why they changed, but it remained a job needing skill and judgment to avoid injury. It would be done day or night, rain or shine, heat or snow. Not easy.

Transshipment

Getting goods where they needed to be was important work.  Without it, factories would shut down, and shops would run out of stock. Inside our wagons you will see the range of goods carried, for we have represented a transship shed, where goods would be transferred between wagons to make a full wagonload for stations. It was said that a skilful man with a sack barrow could beat any machine in this work.  You will also see the mechanical horses and trailers which delivered the goods to the shops or your luggage to and from your holiday accommodation.

The wagon hall tells the story of a complicated business, run without the aid of computers by people who knew their geography and their jobs. Now known as logistics, the same processes go on in modern railways and other transport modes, though lacking the people, the sounds, the visibility and the sheer excitement of an older era on the railway.

Yard Master’s tours

We do regular Yard Master’s tours of the wagon collection and transship shed exhibit and can tailor the experience to suit all ages and interests.  Talk to the team to find out more or see our What’s On page.