Those would be drays then?!

shunt horses
 

hi John H T &48111 Hope I can be of some help. Horses were like locos,even when they werent working they had to be looked after so they were ready for their next duty.they where kept mainly in stableyard areas under the charge of a head horsekeeper,he cared for all their welfare needs.Feeding was stricktly controlled 3 times a day working twice on rest days.Main feed consisted of a mix of chopped hay crushed oats & bran. Horses were allocated to a carter (driver) who was directly responsible for its general wellbeing, grooming and keeping harness clean & servicable also the actual working of the animal pulling heavily laden wagons in all sorts of locations spoke volumes of the calibre of these men.It was said in 1920 railway companies across the UK employed 19500 cartage horses.Regarding shoeing some companies had their own farriers and some used contractors.Horses were shod (new shoes) about every 3 weeks,and each shoe averaged aprox 4 lbs each. I dont know if the they still do it but Severn Valley railway used to have a railway horse weekend during the summer. Jim d

Many thanks jimdc.

We tend to forget how recently horses were in everyday use in this country. When I moved to Birmingham in 1954 most milk carts were still horse drawn. The local Dairy had stables in its depot. It was not until the mid 50's that the horses were replaced by electric milk floats.

Anyone who was watching Countryfile last night will have seen that a horse drawn brewer's dray is still used to make deliveries to local pubs within a two mile radius of the brewery in, I think, Devizes.

As has already been mention horses continued to serve the railways until the mid 1950's. They were very much part of the railway scene.

Best wishes,

John H-T.

Now see horse shunting at work.

Newmarket, Suffolk 1964.

British Pathe colour film

http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=1745

Good old Charlie and Butch I liked that one :D :D :D

ccmmick.

It seems strange to see this on color film, as if it should've vanished earlier. But really, though if I think "horse pulling train cars", it seems strange, when I actually see it, it looks downright normal.

Thanks Philip for film details,read about Charlie great to see him in action he really has to dig in to get them moving. Horse Power! Jim

If you would like to become the proud owner of this name plate, it has been put up for auction by DB Schenker with several others. Biding starts 17th February through to 21st.

Details at: www.railwayana.net

Happy bidding.

Best wishes,

John H-T.

They all look very nice John but i think i would have to take a trip to the building society :eek: :eek:.

ccmmick.

Thanks for info John lots of money I would think, Ill just watch. Regards Jim