Pyewipe Cottages or Railway Cottages, Skellingthorpe

[a-l]

That is amazing and unbelievable it is still there in good condition. Sounds a most enjoyable venture of discovery . The last time I walked around there was in the sixties when visiting at the cottages.

[smithy77]

Sadly the cottages have long gone. I probably walk down there 2 or 3 times a week so over the years have come across different things. I would have liked to have seen it in the 60s. One of the old guys i knew said the canteen did a lovely breakfast (he was a engine driver), i have never seen a picture of the canteen in it's hey day sadly. There are still some old signals down there, red and white ones, lots of LNER insulators 1940s dated. Now when i first started going down there there were lots more items from the railway days but slowly things just disappear. It's surprising how much was left after the main parts of it closed. It's only when you see some of the things there you realise how big the place must have been in it's day.

Odd really there are more LNER items down there than BR. Really was a huge yard in it's day.

[Geoff-E]

A map of the yard may be seen here.  Choose (on the right) the 1932 1:2500 map http://www.old-maps.co.uk/maps.html?coords=495085,372092

[a-l]

If anyone here is ex diesel shed staff I have a few photos from 50's  60 's 70's . Sadly I don't know who most of them are but remember meeting the older ones as a child. I must see what else I have actually and check the book of memoirs too.

[Redroger]

Not too odd Smithy. Things were and are used on the railway until they are no longer serviceable. "Chairs" which the rail rests in when it is attached to the sleepers are a well known case in point. Much of the rail in Lindsey Oil Refinery was laid in the 1960s on chairs which bore the logo of the MS&LRy. dated to around 1850. So far as I know they are still in service. Locks on "slam door" coaches were often over 100 years old having outlived the original coach they had been installed in. etc. etc. Much of the 3rd rail conductor rail on 3 rail electric systems is over 70 years old. Though technically obsolete and inefficient it is still in service.

[smithy77]

Ah Redroger, that explains that then, most things that turn up down there are LNER. The old fire buckets they were all mostly LNER, just a few BR ones.
Still lots of reminders of it's railway days, back of the turntable you have 4 or 5 inspection pits all about 40 yards long, then there are the large wells. There was a water tower back of the inspection pits but they pulled that down about 5 years ago for some reason or other. Oddest things i have found down there were 40 gallon drums of grease,,full with wooden tops on, and the grease/lube inside looks perfect, wooden tops though they must be donkey years old, lots of BTC crockery mostly broken but a few good ones turn up. Most of the engineering stuff that was used down there is dated from about 1939 up until about 1953.

As i said you don't really get a lot of people down there as it's not east to reach really. But it's former railway days are everywhere.

[smithy77]

One of the old lamps that stands in the old pyewipe goods yard, the actual lamp was in the top of that about 25 years ago when i first went down.

[smithy77]

again the old pyewipe goods yard. Concrete posts are part of the old goods shed.

[Redroger]

The saplings look about the right age to fit with the closure. No sign of vandalism in the photos which is encouraging and suggests the site is really isolated or as I know difficult to reach. Any chance of a picture of the turntable?