Cramlington Colliery chaldron wagon, c 1826

Cramlington Colliery chaldron wagon, c 1826

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Chaldron wagon, Cramlington Colliery, believed to have been built c1826, slatted wooden sides, floor and ends missing, painted black. Height: 6' 3"; width: 5'; length: 10'.

A ‘chaldron’ is an archaic term for a measure of coal; this measure varied regionally, but in the North East was 53cwt. ‘Chaldron Waggon’ as a name therefore has its origins in the North East coal industry. They were the first form of rail vehicle on the above ground coal railways and developed from the pre-railway coal wain.

Well into the 20th Century, waggon / wagon remained a regional spelling difference, with two ‘g’s in Scotland and the North, one ‘g’ in the Midlands and below.

Details

Category:
Locomotives and Rolling Stock
Object Number:
1975-7054
Materials:
wood (unidentified) and metal (unknown)
Measurements:
length: 3048 mm,
height: 1905 mm
width: 1524 mm
type:
railway wagon and chaldron wagon
credit:
British Rail, Historical Relics