Technical drawing showing "Taff Vale Railway Earth Tipping Wagons." Blue dye-line on white paper. [Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales : Item Number : 79.61I/99] No date of issue of this drawing is specified.

Designated as an 'Earth Tipping Wagon' it appeared within the Welsh Railways Research Circle (WRRC) Newsletter No.176 in an article, courtesy of Richard Metcalf. WRCC records state that it was probably used for ship's ballast at Penarth Dock. I am unable to confirm this statement as I do not know the source of the evidence. However, it may have been one of the wagons used by contractor, Mr. Thomas A. Walker, during the Extension of the Penarth Dock in the mid 1880's and perhaps afterwards re-purposed for ballast transportation purposes.

Also there is a statement that the Barry Railway also used this type of wagon. This seems to confirm to my simple mind that these wagons were originally built and intended for use as contractor's wagons for dock building purposes since Mr Walker was also the major contractor in the construction of No.1 Dock, Barry, at around the same date, viz. c.1882 to c.1884.

A black and white photograph of the first wagon to be tipped in the construction of No.1 Dock at Barry in 1884. Mr. Hortop is in charge. The picture was taken at Castleland Point, near No.1 Graving Dock. [People's Collection Wales /Barry Library/Jack Stevens - Reference : VOG01894] [048]

The above photograph is obviously from a newspaper cutting, source not stated, and shows an earth tipping wagon of similar tipping orientation and dimensions at work. I am uncertain if Mr. R. Hortop was a sub-contractor working for Mr. Thomas A. Walker but I feel fairly sure he would be under his close supervision. Perhaps this wagon had been previously used at the Penarth Dock extension works since that opened in 1883 and was completed the following year, this being the same year as the above photographic record!

Manchester Ship Canal - Navvies working on the Manchester Ship Canal which took six years to build. Up to 1,100 are thought to have been killed, mainly by landslides. The Manchester Ship Canal Act 1885 was passed and work began with the first sod cut on 11th November 1887 by Lord Egerton of Tatton. [1296]

These earth tipping wagons appear to be similar in construction and dimension to those used at the works at Penarth Dock Extension and Barry No. 1 Dock. The common denominator was perhaps the contractor, Mr. Thomas A. Walker.

24th December 1896 - Penarth Dock - north-western quay - Upon reading the article in the WRRC magazine, I recalled that I had seen something similar to those earth tipping trucks during earlier chapters/research! I eventually found the above image back in Chapter 1 - Penarth Dock and Ely Tidal Harbour - 1890's  . . . (The image has been lightened to enhance the trucks).

The trucks closest are probably being used for transportation of ballast from the moored up sailing vessel. Maybe the distant trucks are full of 'stiffening coal' awaiting loading to the vessel, that is an equal mass and distribution in the holds, of ballast in the form of coal which is required to trim and stabilise the vessel prior to being relocated to the coal tips on the southern side of the dock and loaded with her cargo of Welsh Steam Coal.

The original photograph is held within the archives of the National Museum of Wales and is reproduced with permission. [629] [Museum item number : 1993.86/8]