2018
TQ2550 : Inside Barons' Cave, Reigate Castle (5)
taken 6 years ago, near to Reigate, Surrey, England
Inside Barons' Cave, Reigate Castle (5)
This photo shows a display of tramway equipment which was used when digging for sand inside these caves. The items on display in the back row have the following wording from left to right:
What was carried on the tramway?
Dung & Manure
Coal
Ashes
Building Stone
The rear notice has the following wording:
The tramway was laid on a firm bed of crushed and rolled chalk, with a layer of gravel on top which formed a path for the horses to walk on.
The front notice has the following wording:
How was a tramway built?
On a modern railway, the wheels run on the top surfaces of the running lines. Flanges on wheels keep the trains on the lines.
Tramways had L-section iron plate rails. The upright part of the L-section acted as the flange to keep the wheels on the rails. The wheels were just ordinary cartwheels, with no flanges, and ran on the flat surfaces. Modern railway lines are laid on timber, steel or concrete sleepers laid at right angles to the line.
Tramways were supported on stone blocks about a foot square and ten inches thick, set into the ground. So the space between the lines formed a good pathway for the horses, with no sleepers laid crossways to trip them up!
Barons Cave is located in the Castle Grounds, in the centre of Reigate. It is said that the name "Barons Cave" originated from the barons meeting there to discuss the details of the Magna Carta in 1215, before meeting King John at Runnymede. However, that story is very unlikely to be true.
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