Harbours, Quaysides, Docksides and Wharfs.

Viewed side-on, so not very clear (except for the battered buffer stop), but I've a picture of a small dockside-with-branchline at:

Mid-1870s, most likely. The branch was probably horse-worked.

This link has pics of Bristol Docks:

Pete

Might be worth looking at

if you've not already done so.

Stu

This is just cut and pasted into a web page - not formatted at all - needs updating (last tinkered with in 1987 I think), however . . .

HTH

Mike

For what its worth try right clicking on these and selecting save target as . . .

Will form part of the website dealing with docks - These are still rather rough and not suited to use on a web page due size problems hence the links

HTH

Mike

Try and get hold of a copy of "The Weymouth Harbour Tramway" by John Luckin (Oxford Publishing Co)

Loads of ideas, pix and diagrams including some fascinating info on working practices.

Sorry you can't have my copy...I'd be lost without it.

In message , Stu writes

Look at this from the model boating perspective as I have lots of books littered with quayside railway pictures. Also the book 'West Cornwall Mineral Railways' has some nice pictures of wharves and docksides at for example Albert Quay Siding Penzance or Portreath and Falmouth. I suppose it depends on the period that you want to model.

Cheers.

Non enclosed dock (as seen on rivers)

Could be timber faced - heavy (foot square) piles driven into river bed, quite closely set, perhaps six or eight feet appart max, set out from the bank, timber 'planks' added to the shore side and earth in-filled behind. Posts should be fairly closely spaced as you do not want the ships rubbing on the planks.

NO horizontal baulks, these would catch the ship as it rose and fell (tides or loading/unloading), common mistake (see below)

From 1960s interlocking steel strips.hammered into river bed and in-filled with more widely spaced heavy timber vertical baulks, more difficult to model so avoid unless prototypical accuracy required.

Stone faced - Smooth 'ashlar' (rectangular blocks), may be irregular in size but outer face must be smooth (print using computer, if you have access to (a) Teleprinter roll and (b) a program that allows you to define page size you can make long strips that do not require the joints disguising).

Poured concrete - Bit posh and not common on river berths (the only examples I recal were all on post war specialised berths such as oil terminals and container berths - The dock walls of the Royal Albert Docks in London were built using a mass of poured concrete in the

1880s, this was closely followed by the first significant all-concrete building in Britain, the Weaver & Co Ltd flour mill at Swansea in 1898.

To avoid ships rubbing against dock walls one option was to cut a vertical channel into the dock wall and fit a chain into this attached top and bottom. Steel rings run up and down this chain, to which are attached floating timber baulks, typically a foot or so square. More common in enclosed docks.

Common sight is a steep 'slipway' or shallow flight of steps, this was to allow horses that fell in to be got out. Also a recess with a steel ladder set into it might be provided. These were also used by small boats so people could get ashore or back on board at various states of the tide.

From about 1900 common practice to have holes in the top of the dock side into which steel or timber posts could be fitted. These had holes in to allow a chain (usually two) to be run through to stop drunks on their way back to the ship falling in.

Similarly there was often a timber baulk running along the dock edge to prevent barrels rolling into the dock.

On the quay itself you need somewhere to tie up your ships, on older quays they used iron rings anything from six inches to a foot or more in diameter mounted on the dock side. These are technically a kind of 'cleat' and they could hold a small sailing craft or barge safely but they would be too light to take the loads of a steam coaster. To hold larger vessels you need a bollard, which is some form of post, usually with a flared top to hold the rope securely in place. In some places heavy timber beams were set into the quay with perhaps two feet showing above ground level and in the eighteenth century several docks had old cannon barrels buried muzzle downwards into the dock with about three foot sticking up. By the eighteenth century cast iron bollards had appeared, often these were hollow castings but in later years the centre was filled with concrete, at intervals of about fifty feet or so along the dock. Since the war ports handling larger ships have used a system of quick release hooks in place of the bollards, this is basically a labour saving device.

Docks on rivers often fronted onto a street on the far side of which would be warehouses, ships chandlers and the like. If you can get a copy of J H Ahern's 'Miniature Building Construction' take a look at his work on Madderport (you can see the result, but not take photos, at Pendon Museum). This is a lovely little docks at a river mouth.

If near the sea a you would be likely to see customs house (office often with small 'bonded warehouse' attached). This does not apply to small berths used for specific cargo (timber for example).

Coal can be loaded into ships by lifting the wagon with a crane, lowering it down and tipping it via the end or side door (lowered so the drop is reduced and the coal doesn't get broken up, which reduced its value). At canal berths a simple tipping platform could be used as there was no tide.

Coal was often landed using coaling baskets or 'tubs' the latter were cylindrical containers about four feet high and three feet in diameter with a steel lifitng bar attached to pivots on the sides (see the picture called 'coaldrop.jpg' from the earlier post, this shows a Clyde 'puffer' using one of these with its own tackle to load rail wagons).

Cranes are not required as the ships are faster

Ships/boats secured with ropes not chains (you occasionally see chain used in Victorian times and possibly more recently but this was not common and will attract negative comments at exhibitions and the like). Older ropes made of manilla or hemp fibres were brown in colour, modern ropes are often made of man-made fibre and will be light grey or even orange in colour. Steel wire ropes are sometimes used as well as the fibre types but wire ropes are heavy and difficult to haul ashore so some ports do not accept them.

A minimum number of lines for a small coaster would be four ropes, two from each end, one leading away from the ship and up the quay (head and stern lines) and one leading right ashore (breast lines). Anything larger would also have 'springs', which lead back towards the middle of the ship, often crossing each other. Springs are - essential - for all craft in a tidal or river berth.

If it is a tanker have two wire ropes hanging on the outside with the spliced loop just above the water - These are the fire lines so a tug can pull it off the berth in an emergency. Also a tanker (or any ships handling a dangerous cargo should fly the B flag (a plain pillar box red rectangle with a V shaped cut away at the outboard end). Visiting foreign ships fly their national flag at the stern and a 'courtesy ensign' at the mast, small coastal ships in their home country sometimes have no national flag on the stern but most do (or used to) as it is a requirement.

Sailing craft would typically leave the anchor hanging from the cat head to be washed before bringing on board and securing. Ships are normally clean and tidy although when working cargo there is likely to be a bit of clutter about.

Noch offer a waterline model of a 'barge' which serves well for OO, not a canal type more a sort of lighter (but similar in size to the Keels used in the North and sailing barges from the South East, could possibly be modifed to represent one of these but I havent tried it myself).

In N life is comparatively easy as there is the Frog/Novo/Eastern Models Shell Welder which serves as either a tanker, a small bulk carrier or general cargo ship or even a small 'feeder' container ship (although that does require a but of work on the accomodation block to raise it up higher).. You can use the hull of the Revell (?) light ship for a coaster and there is a 'north sea' trawler which can also be used to build a cargo type craft. I built a fair copy of a 60 ton steam coaster from a photo using an Airfix Pontoon Bridge pontoon as a basis, cut down in height and with a bit of a rounded stern added. The old Ertl Thomas the Tank Bulstrode barge is no more though, which is a pity as it had a really useful hull for this kind of thing.

To cut down a kit hull glue it to the supplied stand then find a block of wood of suitable size, lay a set of pointy scisors on to this with one blade out and run this round the hull to mark - cut with razor saw. Or use a set of compasses, or drill a hole in a scrap of 1 x 2 and fit a 6" nail - Anything that will remain at a steady height (not for example a modelling knife with a pointed blade and round handle).

If you do not wish to cut the hull it would be perfectly acceptable to allow the vessel to ground at low tide, coastal craft were flat bottomed to allow this (they often beached on the sands to be loaded from horse drawn carts).

Avoid warships as the basis for a model, wrong hull shape entirely.

For information on how to rig loads for cranes or ships gear see

Go to Wagon Loads & Materials Handling - Down the page a bit you will find Materials Handling - 'Crane Hooks and Lifting Aids'

HTH

Mike

Another book you might find useful is the Oakwood Press book "Rails ToPoole Harbour" by Colin Stone which is brimming with ideas and plenty of photos.

Stu

There is a book called 'Railways of the Manchester Ship Canal' published in about 1984, has some good pics and descriptions, try your local library?

Regards

John Watson