Farleigh Down Sidings September 2010

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godzilla73

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Having a rare spare Saturday without work, childcare or general DIY duties (does anybody else have a spouse with a built -in "Underemployed Husband" alarm that goes off at a moments notice?) I decided to take up Fluffy on his offer to explore a few of the more interesting bits of derelict Wiltshire. A quick scoot around in the car took us to a number of places including Farleigh Down Sidings and tunnel, which was built to transport munitions from the mainline between London and Bristol to the massive Monkton Farleigh mine complex. A really fascinating site - notwithstanding the mile and a bit one in eight hike up the slope of the tunnel!

First of all the entrance shed, with several remnants of the narrow gauge line that ran down the tunnel
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Inside the entrance to the tunnel is a big yard area with several sidings and the remains of offices
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Further up the tunnel are the remains of the conveyor which used to lift the munitions up to the area known as District 12, which was in the top of the hill.
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There are also some excellent examples of original signage - pity the poor spotter who just had to stand there making sure the conveyor was working properly!
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This was a great visit - so big thanks to Fluffy for acting as guide - really atmospheric and completely deserted. Absolutely fantastic!!
GDZ:mrgreen:
 
The spotters we're kept well occupied. By all accounts the belt broke down CONSTANTLY.

Pitty more the spotters who had to work the overhead tramway which followed the same route but aboveground... they got the wind and rain!
 
Ho!Ho - so I hear! Fluff was also talking about a bad accident with runaway wagons. Can't find anything about this in the books though - do you know anything about it Krela?
 
Nice one its a killer on the legs lol, shame I missed u guys even if it was just for a pint it would of been nice to catch up, we didn't get out till late in the end but did u do anything else in the area
 
Nice one Godzy,was a real good day !! Even though it meant takin' 3 days off work with a strained back and watching you nearly do the comedy trip/run from the top of the tunnel to the first conveyor section !! Oh the pains we face in our pursuit of a bloody good explore !!!:)
 
Nice one its a killer on the legs lol, shame I missed u guys even if it was just for a pint it would of been nice to catch up, we didn't get out till late in the end but did u do anything else in the area

Yeah - it was a shame. Don't worry though, there will be more beer and explores in the near future I am sure. That hike was a killer for Fluff - next time I'll make sure we pack the Diclofenac!
 
Nice one Godzy,was a real good day !! Even though it meant takin' 3 days off work with a strained back and watching you nearly do the comedy trip/run from the top of the tunnel to the first conveyor section !! Oh the pains we face in our pursuit of a bloody good explore !!!:)

Ha - I could trip over an ant though. Hope your back is feeling better! A great day out - are you going to stick your Yatesbury phots up?
 

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