If anyone has any ideas please cc to Louis Heath
<[log in to unmask] (not list member).
C.
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Prosser's Guide Wheels
Date: Sat, 19 Jan 2008 11:19:03 -0000
From: Louis Heath <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Professor,
You were kind enough to help the Clay Cross Model Railway Society attain
Charitable Status. Since then we have prospered and erected a new meeting
room in Clay Cross.
I wonder if you could help us with a question relating to Prosser's Guide
Wheels and The Guilford and Woking Railway. .
A friend has been to New Zealand looking at their railway heritage. Having
little or no steel industry in NZ much has survived from the Victorian
period, complete locos can be dug out of river banks where they were dumped,
and beautiful working restorations exist.
This is a summary of the information that has been gleaned from the net.
Early railways, particularly horse drawn wilderness railways or bush
railways were built with wooden rails because wood was cheap and traffic was
light. Those new fangled iron or steel rails were expensive and had to be
imported from Europe. The cost of iron rails must have seemed prohibitive in
NZ at that time and seemingly lacking sound advice, they opted to use wood
for a long distance railway with steam locomotives.
A chance detour to visit a birdwatching site near Invercargill lead him to
discover the full size replica of the original Lady Barkly locomotive shown
here: http://www.prov.vic.gov.au/images/12800/12800-00001-000043-100.asp.
An investigation has revealed that this was the first locomotive to operate
in New Zealand. You will note the peculiar flangeless carrying wheels
resting on wooden rails with guide wheels front and back angled at 45
degrees. I do not wish to release my friend's photos of the replica Hunt
and Opie loco, but I have found these which show more clearly how the guide
wheels were arranged.
http://www.trainweb.org/loggingz/replica.html
It seems that came a goldrush in 1863 and the Province of Southlands decided
to build their Southlands Railway from Invercargill to Kingston with wooden
rails.They bought this loco from Australia and ordered two more larger ones
in the Crampton style. The railway was extended only 8 miles from
Invercargill before the track quickly wore out. They realised their mistake,
by which time they had invested £100,000 of public money and the Province
went bankrupt. The neighbouring Province took them over and the line was
finished in steel rail to their standard 3'6" gauge.
We were intrigued to know more and a contact in NZ was asked if he had any
more information. He came up with Prosser's Guide Wheel System, which when
Googled, turned up a reference to the Guilford and Woking Railway, and this
picture, which quite clearly shows the same system of wooden track and guide
wheels.
http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?image=10419778&wwwflag=2&imag
We can find no other reference to the Guilford and Woking Railway being
built to this system. So the question is: can you please confirm whether the
railway was built to this system? If so, how long did it last?
If not, we have to assume that the picture was an artist's impression to
illustrate a proposal, and the Science and Society web site will have to be
advised accordingly.
We believe that a demonstration railway was built on Wimbledon Common in
1844.
Louis Heath
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