Horse shunting.
 

I see a photo in the gallery mentioned the use of horses for shunting.

Was this a widespread practice ? I have read that Diss (GER - LNER) used horses for shunting wagons but can't remember where I read it.



Philip.

Like you i have read that horses were used at Bradford Exchange many years ago for shunting wagons and stables there as well for them.
I wonder how much they were paid.
ccmmick.

I found this little snippet


"Quote
Shunting was an activity
which was carried out a lot in
railway goods yards. It
involved moving wagons
around, the purpose being to
get them into the right
position for loading or
unloading, or to assemble a
group of wagons ready for
picking up by a passing
freight train.
In busy yards shunting
was done by small locomotives,
but at quiet country
stations
horses did the job.
Horse shunting continued
until as late as 1967 when
Charlie, the last railway
horse, was retired from
Newmarket station.
Unquote"

And this.

http://www.newarkadvertiser.co.uk/fe...r/warner84.asp

Well in the early days it was used everywhere.
At least on lines in existance before 1850 to my knowledge.
The horse was tried and tested and was used on industrial sites up to the 1950s in some areas before steam and diesel finally took over.

There was branch in North Wales which used horses until its closure in 1964. What's more, it was four foot gauge ( I think) and was part of British Railways!

Shunting tractors were also used instead of horses or locos at many locations.

They used them in Bedford I have a girth strap somewhere in my loft that I found when I worked there and the shunter told me they used them

horses, trains and cats
 

interesting how we have changed from horses to trains. obviously i love them both (and cats). yes i know cats don't have much relevance but they are cute. :D

Station cats were always an essential part of the railway system,
Did we hear about the results regarding a book or film about railway cats, must have been last year or the year before?
John (G)

Strange but I have never come accross a shunting tractor before.
Saw a pic on google and it looks like a 'one waggon at a time' machine.

When i lived in St Blazey the Depot was right across the road from me and many a time my cat would walk with me to work at anytime of the day and walk right into the booking on point with me i used say to him go home you stupid cat.
ccmmick.

I have a picture from the Great Eastern Album by R.C. Riley of 2 horses drawing a bogie bolster with a brakeman in tow. Taken at Woodbridge in October 1956.

A few years ago EWS (as it was then) named a Class 60 loco "The Railway Horse" to acknowledge the contribution that horses have made over the years both shunting and hauling road vehicles. The naming took place on the Severn Valley Railway.
Attachment 876Attachment 877

There is a chance that the horse-drawn feature may be re-enacted at the Mangapps Farm Museum. A very old carriage is being moved across the farm yard on a temporary track to its new plinth in a new part of the extensive museum and it may just be possible to find suitable shire horses to make a demonstration 'train' which I would like to video for Youtube if it actually happens!!

Can i recommend a fantastic book by Bryan Holden "THE LONG HAUL"which covers the complete history of the thousands of horses employed by railway companys across the country. Heavy horses sometimes working in pairs catered for heavy cartage while all parcel type traffic had lighter horses called vanners(I once heard the definition of vanner was a horse that could trot 1 mile with a ton).Many horses were used as shunt horses and had their shoes made in a particular way to stop them getting caught in sleepers rodding etc.. The book covers all aspects of horse management by various companys. Jim D

horse shunting
 

At a gala quite some years ago the Festiniog had a welsh cob demonstrating slate waggon shunts at Harbour Station between trains, The weekly notice had an instruction to the effect that drivers of iron horses were requested/required not to frighten the live horse, there was a model (glass fibre I think) in the horse dandy as well, you see!

(Also, the empty slate waggons went back up to the quarries by horse haulage before The Prince and The Princess arrived)

Although the filing system has failed, ie I can't find my copy at the moment - it may be on loan to a friend, I remember reading a little while ago a book about Railway Horses, in which a 'Charlie' was mentioned as one of the two last shunters and his honhourable retirement was noted.

On the video FREIGHT, which I have mentioned before on this site, and which I have in front of me as I type, there is a piece of film of Horse shunting.

Very interesting.

48111

I think you are all Horsing Around.

ccmmick.

Don't saddle them with that, you'll get them all bridled - they're just jockeying for position. You'll be for the high jump, and that might leave you feeling flat. It's just a hurdle you'll have to jump. Dead cert! :)

There are some capstans in Wirksworth Yard which I believe were used for horse shunting.

Best wishes,

John H-T.

In the film "Forward to first principles" there is a scene on horse shunting and the horse is pulling quite a rake considering weight.
The film was made in 1966 by BTF

"Neigh lad, "Neigh" :D

48111

Very good

You say about horses i have only been on one once and never again the dam thing took off over a gate how i stayed on god only knows if scared the s??? out of me never again.

ccmmick.

Thanks lads for that. Can we please bring this thread back on topic: i.e. The use of Horses for shunting!

Best wishes,

John H-T.

Same topic different animal. Shown on a TV Documentary about India several years ago they showed a Sugar Factory where railway wagons were moved by an Elephant!

Ok, well Horses for shunting were widely used in British Railways days, and there was food for the horses and water left at a couple of places in the goods yards.It would be interesting to find out who looked after the horses shoes etc, did BR have their own Farriers ? I really dont know.
The horses were the SHIRE HORSE and stood many hands high, the shire horse is a big muscular horse, and it was chosen not only for shunting in railway yards, but also for pulling draymens carts loaded with beer, and no doubt for other very physical jobs.

I dont think there is a lot more that can be written on this thread, mainly because the employment of these horses by the railway was not a subject which was widely written about in railway history. There are one or two references to them, but not really a lot.

Perhaps a member somewhere will have more information ???????

48111

Well John if you can find a shire horse it could be a nice addition to gala.

48111- Horses were used extensively at the cromford and high peak railway right up until closure.

They shunted the wagons in place as there was not enough work for a locomotive.
What we would see as a shunting loco would be used as first rate locomotives.
The horses were mainly used where it met the main line.
There was a record of a horsepulling carts of coal around at Middleton top winding station which still stands today and so does too the engine which runs off hot air. There is a museum here with much more info that I can give you.

I assume that was Orissa Cement:
http://india97780.yuku.com/forum/viewtopic/id/1084
http://forum.pakistanidefence.com/lo...php/t5274.html
This practice was once common in India, but I don't know if any other locations still use it.

:D:D I might get banned if I made a comment on this ? ;)

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