Report - War Department 63063- Forgotten History - Train/Crane 1540

[westernsultan]

Here's some information which might help your research

1917 England: Bramley .
. Jan 1918: First consignment of ammunition arrives .
. 1922: Royal Army Ordnance Corps School of Ammunition is established .
. 1974: School of Ammunition moves to Kineton .
. 1 Sep 87: British Army leaves the ammunition depot, which is taken over by the US Army.
. Feb 87: US Army leave

. Crane 63063 – as far as we know
- built by Grafton 1914 – works number 1540 – built as a steam crane for a ship
- missing information including name of ship - believed to have sank, crane removed at some stage
- converted from steam to diesel, and mounted for rail use – missing any more details
- with MOD – no more information
- last depot believed to be ammunition site at Bramley
- with ESR by 1991
- at current location by 2013

Although I have visited the preserved railway I have never seen the crane and wagons - so cannot comment about the generator. Very few pictures exist - only one is easily found and that is at

https://flic.kr/p/jqwPas

 

[Steevgee]

I completely agree with keeping the location under wraps to preserve the train and if you do manage to find the location there is a footpath next to the nearest bridge which will take you straight to it and we spoke to a few guys restoring the line nearby and they were cool with our sensitive exploration!