Forum Message

Topic: Disregarding History?
Posted by: Nigel Moore
Date/Time: 31/12/18 16:57:00

It should be a concern for Brentford's history to conserve the Barlow rails alongside Dock Road, many of which have disappeared during the course of demolition and site works opposite Morrisons.

Brunel had used his Baulk rails for the Great Western Railway. I have found no details for the rail used in the Great Western and Brentford spur, but presumably these would have to have matched those used in the main line? In 1849 W H Barlow had invented the Barlow Rail profile to be laid direct on ballast without use of sleepers, and Brunel adopted these for the South Wales Railway.

These latter went out of general use fairly swiftly, owing to maintenance costs, and large amounts of them were being sold off by the mid to late 1850's, when Brunel's Brentford trans-shipment depot was built (opened in 1859). Use of the rail for fencing is characteristic along Brunel's various railway lines, so retention of even a portion of these along Dock Road would preserve at least a small bit of Brentford's fast vanishing history.

Those not so kept should be offered to museums, and hopefully not consigned to scrap metal dealers. I have raised this concern at the last BCC meeting, and councillors have promised to look into this, but I have heard nothing back.

Another, related worry, is the amount of site work, drilling and concreting that seems to progress to the detriment of a proper archeological survey of the newly cleared area. This has never been excavated previously, to my knowledge, so it is vitally important that the planning conditions mandating such a survey should be enforced - and this done quickly, before integrity of the site is further compromised, and the plea go up that it would prove all too expensive now that so much work has already been done.


Entire Thread
TopicDate PostedPosted By
Disregarding History?31/12/18 16:57:00 Nigel Moore
   Re:Disregarding History?31/12/18 19:54:00 Jim Storrar
      Re:Re:Disregarding History?31/12/18 21:22:00 Nigel Moore
         Re:Re:Re:Disregarding History?31/12/18 21:25:00 Nigel Moore
            Re:Re:Re:Re:Disregarding History?31/12/18 21:31:00 Nigel Moore
               Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Disregarding History?31/12/18 23:13:00 Iain Muir
                  Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Disregarding History?01/01/19 10:53:00 Nigel Moore
                     Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Disregarding History?01/01/19 11:12:00 Guy Lambert
                        Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Disregarding History?01/01/19 11:18:00 Nigel Moore
               Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Disregarding History?01/01/19 14:44:00 Nigel Moore
   Re:Disregarding History?03/01/19 15:22:00 Nigel Moore
   Re:Disregarding History?03/01/19 18:32:00 Jim Storrar
   Re:Disregarding History?04/01/19 07:11:00 Nicholas Beard
      Re:Re:Disregarding History?04/01/19 16:11:00 Jim Storrar
   Re:Disregarding History?04/01/19 17:36:00 Nicholas Beard
   Re:Disregarding History?07/01/19 12:09:00 Trevor
      Re:Re:Disregarding History?07/01/19 18:40:00 Guy Lambert
         Re:Re:Re:Disregarding History?07/01/19 19:45:00 Jim Storrar
            Re:Re:Re:Re:Disregarding History?07/01/19 22:47:00 Nigel Moore
               Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Disregarding History?08/01/19 16:36:00 Nigel Moore
                  Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Disregarding History?08/01/19 17:55:00 Jim Storrar
                     Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Disregarding History?10/01/19 17:55:00 Nigel Moore
                        Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Disregarding History?10/01/19 18:05:00 Jim Storrar
                           Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Disregarding History?12/01/19 22:12:00 Nigel Moore
         Re:Re:Re:Disregarding History?14/01/19 21:16:00 Nigel Moore
   Re:Disregarding History?10/01/19 17:55:00 Jim Storrar
      Re:Re:Disregarding History?14/01/19 13:30:00 Nigel Moore
         Re:Re:Re:Disregarding History?14/01/19 17:58:00 Nigel Moore
            Re:Re:Re:Re:Disregarding History?15/01/19 14:02:00 Nigel Moore
               Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Disregarding History?17/01/19 12:41:00 Nigel Moore
   Re:Disregarding History?22/01/19 16:30:00 Nigel Moore
      Re:Re:Disregarding History?01/06/19 23:32:00 Nigel Moore
         Re:Re:Re:Disregarding History?02/06/19 02:04:00 Neil Chippendale
            Re:Re:Re:Re:Disregarding History?02/06/19 20:29:00 Nigel Moore
               Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Disregarding History?03/06/19 07:19:00 Emma Renton

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