Prototype What is this wagon?

[geoff_nicholls]

It looks like a Caledonian Railway buffer shank.

 

[Osgood]

Al very interesting, but are we any nearer to answering the original question - what was this wagon?

Mike

Only in that it seems likely to have been supplied - most likely by H&C - for use at the Royal Navy's fleet refuelling station at Hoy, Orkneys.
Probably used to move around whatever stuff that big crane was out there to lift. It was a naval fleet refuelling station.
An enquiry to the visitor centre might yield more information?

 

[Osgood]

Finally found reference to two steam cranes at the refuelling station and the entire rolling stock fleet of two wagons of 1916:

Orkney's Railways | The 20th Century | Archaeology and History | Scapa Flow Landscape Partnership Scheme

However thee was a great deal of activity at Lyness Naval Base - construction and laying of submarine nets, torpedoe filling, fuel storage and more. Here is a photo suggesting three cranes were in use at the boom yard (net construction):

 

[Osgood]

The info in the Orkney's Railways link above seems to have been taken from this article in IRS, which lists locomotives and cranes but sadly not rolling stock:

ORCADIAN RAILWAYS

 

[Overseer]

Orkney is well worth a visit, plenty to see and do and eat. There are also some narrow gauge survivors, which when I was there in the late 90s were taken outside for display during summer. Not sure how they run the museum now, I should go back and find out.




I am not sure which year these were taken but Britannia was at Thurso/Scrabster on her last tour.