PHOTOS OF DEPTFORD MEAT DEPOT

Plan of the War Department Supply Reserve Depot showing the 18in gauge internal railway and the standard gauge track.

(London  Metropolitan Archive)

Deptford during WWI showing a destination board on the chimney stack and the original wire mesh spark arrester.

(Imperial War Museum)

Goods Inwards - The large storage buildings were well lit by electric lights, and had concrete floors for easy cleaning of spills and horse droppings. The track is inset and the points are opertated by a simple vertical lever with the mechanism and connecting rods laid flush under a protective cover. The design looks very vunrable in a busy working environment.

Not clear in this print of the photo but some of the boxes are labeled. The crate on top of the wagon is marked 'Joseph Nathan & C Glaxo Trade Mark - 24 2lb tins' The contents was probably butter as the company produced dairy products among other things including powdered milk for babies at this time. The stack on the right are noted ' Bovril Ltd London' on the upper plank and '120 Tins Rations - 48¾lb Nett'.

(Paul Ingham)

The Storage Shed containingboxes of plum jam waiting for shipment to France. The black lines on the rafters is from the loco chimneys passing underneath. The fumes from the oil firing must have been unpleasant in enclosed areas.

(Paul Ingham)

Wagons loaded with sugar for France. Note the first wagon that has it's side lowered and shows how it was held horizontally by chains which appear to have hung free in transit.

Deptford used wagons made by McClellan Ltd. and the Bristol Carriage and Wagon Company.

These shown were made by Bristol C & W and differ slightly from the McClellan ones that were sold to the SHLR. The difference is in the strapping on the sides, it's as if the sides have been rehung inside out.

(Imperial War Museum)

The Road Transit Shed. Not clear in this print of the photo but the boxes the men are moving are labeled 'Keillers Ltd'and would be jam or marmalade.

(Paul Ingham) 

The other side of the Road Transit Shed at Deptford during WWI. Two locos with trains of 12 wagons each wait under the shed roof. Many of the other wagons appear empty while those with tarpaulins over may contain boxed goods that need protection from the elements.

(Imperial War Museum)

The wagon bodies were removable from their chassis to assist loading and unloading. Here a Strothert & Pitt of Bath electric dock crane is transporting a body while its chassis waits in the lower left of the picture. A large civilian force was employed by the Army for the dock side work.

(Paul Ingham)

Goods Inwards - arriving by water on a Thames lighter. The sacks contain Lyle's Sugar weighing 80lb apiece. The end wagon on the LH track is noted 'oat sacks' in chalk. The cranes track are set into the jetty but the railways are raised which may have been a safty hazard. Being oil fired, there was no hot coal or ash to drop, the locos were allowed onto the wooden jetties. Abram Lyle & Sons of Plaistow Wharf were founded in 1881and mage 'Golden Syrup' and sold sugar in jute sacks. In 1921 they mergered with Henry Tate & Sons.

(Paul Ingham)

Deptford in the 1920's showing the Austrian style spark arrester. Convoys Limited leased part of the building at this time and rolls of paper are in the background.

(WJ Potter)

Oil-burning 0-4-0 tank locomotive built in 1915 by the Hunslet Engine Co., Leeds (No 1198) for the War Department Depot at Deptford. Shows the smart finish with paintwork lined out and polished brass dome. Not to become one of Sir Roberts.

from 18 Inch Gauge Steam Railways

Jack a similar 0-4-0WT to the SHLR ones is preserved at Leeds Industrial Museum, seen here in the 1990's

T Heavyside

From Lost Lines British Narrow Gauge

Click the photo for more recent pictures of Jack.HERE