FFF 34 Friday 17th March 2023
Newport West Block 2 road.
When you walk in the door of 2 road in West Block WB and see a rail right up the middle of the 5’3″, you might think I know what that is. This is where the 15 2’6″ gauge Na (Puffing Billy) locos were built. 5’3″ minus 3″ top of the railhead leaves 2’6″ gap either side! Close but not correct. Number 5 road in WB was where Na locos were built. That centre rail in 2 road is one of the indicators of the main use of this section of WB for many decades.
This section of West Block at the workshops was built as a metal machine shop/turnery which included the wheel shop. It had metal working machines of all kinds which originally were powered by overhead line shafting. As the machines were upgraded, many had individual electric motors, so the line shafting was unnecessary and was gradually removed.
That one track rail up the middle was to provide crane access to lift heavy castings and wheel sets onto machines. It had another rail along the rafters directly above to keep it stable. It could lift a casting or heavy completed job (up to 5 tons) on or off the machine, travel thru the machine shop and deliver the job to a trolley on the central track which cut right through all bays right through the centre of WB. This travelling crane was a ‘one of’ designed and built at the workshops in 1924 to speed up delivery of castings and the delivery of parts after machining. It has somehow avoided scrapping and is currently stored right up the southern end of its track of 2 road in the WB southern extension.
Here is the crane doing its job in the machine shop, and currently as stored in the WB southern extension. You can also see the original timber floor in the shop.
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