RISING FROM THE ASHES: A TURNTABLE FOR TODDINGTON
Ashford shed’s former turntable – the continued existence of which had been forgotten by many – is to be restored at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway.
Members of the fledgling GWSR recovered the turntable from the former 73F steam shed at Easter 1982, along with a water tower and the clock that now hangs from Toddington station canopy. However, although the water tower was re-erected at Toddington (initially at the platform end and later moved to the locomotive yard) the 65-foot turntable remained in storage in the yard – where one of its end sections was later scrapped in a tidying-up exercise – and it did not appear on the Vintage Carriages Trust’s register of surviving turntables.
Now, two volunteer groups are being formed to progress its restoration to working order – one to construct a pit and another to restore the steelwork of the turntable. The location of the pit and the cost of the project are still to be finalised.
The railway is keen to hear from any readers who can provide further photographs of the turntable, as no drawings are available.
The turntable was built by Ransomes of Ipswich in 1931 when the Southern Railway erected the new Ashford steam shed. Although the depot closed to steam in June 1962, it remained in use for diesels until 1968 when it became the South Eastern Steam Centre. This in turn closed in 1976, but ‘Merchant Navy’ No. 35028 Clan Line is said to have been the last locomotive to use the turntable. ●● Another addition to the GWSR’s infrastructure has been a steel extension to the Carriage & Wagon workshop at Winchcombe.