Canvey Railway and Model Engineering Club.
Waterside Railway
The raised section, its construction, history and Technical Specification
The club's dual gauge track, for 3 ½ and 5 inch gauges is situated at waterside farm sports complex.
It is a continuous circuit 1500 feet long comprising two parallel straights linked by two 55 foot radius loops incorporating transition curves and super-elevation. Construction spanned a four year period, work started in 1979. September 5 th 1981 saw the official opening of the first 700 feet during the club's first gala day at waterside. The track had become a continuous circuit by 1982 and September 5 th , 1982 saw the official linking up of the track at the clubs second gala day. In 1983 all the track work was completed, including eight 18 foot steaming bays and a mechanical traverse.
Constructed entirely of steel, the supporting legs and longitudinal 5 inch gauge rails are made from ex British rail channel section point rodding collected from Southend East, Sawbridgeworth and Northhampton when the material was dug out from snowdrifts about 2 feet deep. The 3 ½ middle rail is of 25mm x 6mm steel bar and the spacers from ¼ “ gas barrel. 3150 lathe cut gauge spacers, located by 1575 custom machined tie bars, manufactured by club members for use in the fabrication of the track. The legs were cut to length and using a specially made jig, welded by members over a two year period at local night school courses. During this time two teams fabricated the track off site, drilling and assembling the rails using the specially made spacers and tie bars, these being secured with 3150 nuts and washers. The curved sections were achieved using a purpose built, hand operated bending roller machine, adjustable to enable the transition curves to be formed; final detailed bending being done using a large Jim Crow and working to a “master curve”. During this bending process one of the machine's drive train snapped, with a breaking strain of over 1 ton it gives some indication of the forces involved in bending the rails. 330 holes 10” diameter, 21” deep were bored and filled with over 35 cubic yards of concrete, which included four rafts necessary to span an underground gas pipeline. The track was suspended in position by temporarily built trestles, each trestle being surveyed and adjusted for height to compensate for local undulations of the ground. The 35 cubic yards of concrete and a similar quantity of displaced spoil were hand barrowed and shovelled by site working parties of almost every able bodied man in the club. On site dressing of the running surfaces was achieved by portable arc welding and grinding equipment. During the construction of the railway almost the entire club membership were deployed to form working parties to handle the different stages of the four year programme. The financial cost to the club, of materials alone was calculated to be approximately £1.50 per foot of track laid (1982 prices) The track is generally level with gentle gradients in each loop and is a minimum of 10” above the ground. Subject to this clearance it is suitable for any type of rolling stock.
(notice, no tree's in the middle of the field?) There is also a portable 7 ¼ “and 5” gauge ground level track with its own rolling stock which is taken to fetes and summer shows. The track, rolling stock, station and the new clubhouse (construction starting shortly) have been built entirely by members, and financed entirely by members donations and fund raising activities.
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