Aside from the potato railways in Lincolnshire, some of which linked to the main line, does anyone know of any farm railways which had interchanges with standard gauge lines or private sidings? I am thinking of extending my watercress bed railway to a connection with a standard gauge siding (the previous idea to connect to a modular narrow gauge common carrier having not really worked), but realise from my study of local prototypes that no example of this exact situation exists in reality. On a related point, research suggests that prepared watercress from my local watercress beds would have been transported to London by train in the guard's van - did the larger scale of the industry in Hampshire/Dorset cause separate van wagons to be used instead?
Although not perhaps a direct comparison, the Blakesley Miniature Railway (15" gauge) was an estate/farm railway, which interfaced with the standard gauge at the local station of Blakesley. Whilst part of the reason for the line was enjoyment, and the title suggested it was not "serious" it did follow the Heywood tradition of Minimum gauge railways - as did the Eaton Hall Railway near Chester, a which connected with the GWR at Balderton. Both were used for transportation of the local produce out, and bringing supplies in to the estate. Another, which started as "miniature" was the Sand Hutton, and this was converted to 18" gauge, with "true" narrow gauge stock. The interchange station was Warthill on the North Eastern Railway. As far as I know, these each interfaced with the general sidings at the main station. So, I think you could justify a local standard gauge interchange.
The type of vehicle used for onward transportation of the produce would surely depend on the quantity produced daily - obviously watercress cannot be stored once harvested, so it would be more likely that a small quantity would be transported daily, than a bulk less often. I believe that the "Watercress Line" (Alresford in Hampshire) took the produce by express passenger train to get it to Covent Garden market quickly. Assuming your railway is a small scale producer, I suggest that something similar would occur?
Edit - I found this on the http://www.watercress.co.uk/about/watercress-line/ site:
"A Legacy of Transportation
The coming of the railway heralded new prosperity for the south of England watercress industry. The vegetable was too perishable to be transported along poor roads to distant markets, but the development of the Hampshire line in 1865 meant it could be picked in the afternoon, taken by horse and cart to Alresford station that evening and be on sale by the half hundred weight in wicker basket
Thank you for this. It has reminded/informed me about other examples. The problem with individual wagons as opposed to passing trains is that I wanted a standard gauge siding on a mainly 009 layout, rather than a standard gauge station that would consume a lot of space. After starting the thread I looked up a few prototypes and one in Dorset seemed to have a siding in which separate wagons were loaded. The Hertfordshire prototypes I previously worked from were small scale and used cart transport to the nearest mainline station, with onward transport by rail. However, a look at old maps suggests a line on the River Gade in the 50s running tantalisingly close to the Metropolitan Railway, but not appearing to interchange with it. I could perhaps justify the individual wagons by setting it in the late 1960s and using refrigerated vans (i.e. they preserve the watercress for longer). The watercress from the Croxley area was even transported by tube trains via the Croxley Green branch and Bakerloo line, but again in the guard's compartment. A private siding nearby served the Gade Valley waterworks railway (2ft gauge) so there is a sort of prototype.
The Shillingstone Light Railway served a pig farm, http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/grahamallen/Old%20Hardyeans/School%20Dance/School%20Dance%20Part%202/article.pdf
but did not, as far as I know connect with the mainline.
Mac
Quote from: Mac Strong on September 17, 2017, 22:48
The Shillingstone Light Railway served a pig farm, http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/grahamallen/Old%20Hardyeans/School%20Dance/School%20Dance%20Part%202/article.pdf
but did not, as far as I know connect with the mainline.
Mac
I was aware of this one. I don't think it connected even though there was a main station in Shillingstone.
Shillingstone is one of those villages that seems to go on forever along a main road - about a good mile and a half in this case. The Somerset & Dorset Shillingstone station (now a preservation site) is at the north east of the village whilst the site of the 10
The Sand Hutton Light Railway connected the Sand Hutton Estate farms to the LNER. At the local station though I 'm afraid.
Frank