The lost wagon works in the woods 

You were right those large screw & 2 links are called "Screw Link Couplings".. One end was fixed perminenently to a wagon and the other end was placed over a hook on the adjacent wagon. The threaded bar was then turned to take up any slack and prevent the loop jumping off the hook. 😎

Great video. Love your enthusiasm and passion for this stuff. They knew how to build stuff back then. Everything was grandeur no matter what the use

What is interesting for me is that this building was built so close to water and has no roof, but everything that still stands seems structually sound to me. With these full stone arches and the very nice fire brick that hall was built for the end of time and if nothing happens, it will still stand when our children die of old age...

I could see screw couplings a 3 link coupling brake blocks and some brake rigging on that pile of scrap metal. The pin could be brake related too. The wagon repair shop would have re white-metalled axle box basses where they had been run hot and lost the whitemetal facing which was the actual bearing surface. They would probably have repaired leaf springs for the wagons and repaired brake gear. The brake blocks I could see were quite modern ones which were easy to change by knocking out the tapered wedge that held the onto the brake gear. Looks as if the metalwork was piled up to go for scrap but never got collected! Some of the rail chairs on that crossing timber looked like old Midland Railway pointwork. Quite an interesting little video and interesting to me as some of my relatives who passed on many years ago worked in wagon repairs at Melton.

I have researched this area, where I lived between 1970 and 1978 for a long time but knew nothing about this. In the seventies, wagons for Pedigree Petfoods were unloaded at the good siding adjacent to the station. They contained animal offal. Back then, environmental standards were not quite as high as they are now and the smell of boiling offal would often spread over the whole town. The length of line immediately east of the station used to have water troughs, or at least the middle two running lines did. This was because the line here is dead straight and dead level. I have also read reports that there were two water towers to feed the troughs but I have never found any photographs of them.

Pile of screw couplings & various scrap metal. The long bar with plated ends might be a wagon sheet support bar. I also noted wagon plates used to reinforce wooden bodied wagons. Presumably it all exists due to access problems. Great shame about the wagon couplings & plates, i know a heritage line very close to me that have a very active wagon restoration dept!

Fantastic Steve, Melton was my old stomping ground for around 20 years, so it was fantastic to see this video. What a wonderful find, not only the building but also the 'furniture' laying around the site, you could build another railway with what you found there!!!!

Just wonderful stuff. I love exploring like this. The thrills of discovery and learning tinged with a slight touch of trespassing. The old photo is a treasure for scale modelers like me.

A great explore and a lovely history lesson. The small rusty cylinder looked like a regular fire extinguisher.

6:00 That is the track into Pedigree Petfoods There used to run a train to Manchester (I think) Affectionallly known as the "Pet Liner" Not sure when it stopped (Early 90's?) I certainly remember the sidings to the wagon repair depot as I went to King Edward VII Upper School at the top of the hill (1969-71) Left Long Clawson at the end of 1975

Very interesting video. I love your enthusiasm, and like you, I love those side by side maps. I can spend hours looking at different locations to compare with what used to be there as opposed to what remains today.

Really cool! The first photo (17 mins) is giving off Little House on the Prairie vibes - love it!!

Eh up young Steve, that were a good ‘un! I love a railway noseh! 👍🏻🤗

22:01 Aye! Screw link couplings with the chain still attached. Lovely! It makes me wonder - with the wheels and axles lying around and those sitting on a heap on the floor, do you think that they were scrapping old wagons there? Your pic from 1971 shows some very old wagons that would not have been much use on the railway anymore.

Unless they need the land the buildings get left, as in this case. Too expensive to knock down and get rid of the scrap. Only do it if you're going to reuse the land. Great video, as usual.👍

Good Video Steve, I live in the town and I can remember seeing this building when I used to go fishing. As somebody else has mentioned, that bit of track with the gates was installed by Pedigree Petfoods. It was for wagons to be filled with product and transported to various sites around the country instead of by road. They did use it for a short while, but for some reason it did not really take off. There used to be the North railway station as well up until the 1960's at the opposite side of town. In the summer you could catch a train all the way to Skegness, Sutton On Sea or even Mablethorpe...😃👍🏻

the bars with the plates riveted on would be for holding a tarpaulin above the open wagon body to protect goods.the bar went from one end of the wagon to the other and was pivoted so it could be swung to one side or the other so the wagon could be loaded/unloaded.

Nice one Steve, lovley old building, shame it's been let go,

A great video, what a interesting place it is. The Pictures really helped to see it in all it glory.. Cheers Steve

What a brilliant noseh that was Steve, right up my track that one. Anything railway related and I'm chuffed 😅😅. Nice on Steve me ode😊😊

Subscribed. 🙌 Cant wait to catch up with your older videos. 👍👍👍👍👍

That brings back memories I lived just up Burton road on the Wimpey estate and remember looking round it as a kid. Some say the siding into Petfoods was some sort of tax offset as it was barely used.

Might have to check that out, great to see you in melton

Plenty of good stuff there.

@20:55 you are looking at a wagon tarp hoop. The riveted plates were at the ends of the hoops, they had around a foot of tube sticking out of the bottom which located in iron sockets on the end planks of the open wagons. When in place it would have a tarp draped and secured over it which would offer the load inside protection from the elements without the need of the tarp being draped directly over the load being carried, maybe a big lathe machine from a manufacturer on it's way to a new owner, craned into the open wagon, you would not want the tarp scratching the paintwork or damaging controls so it would travel in a wagon with one of those hoops fixed.

Unbelievably, I was down on holiday from Scotland and was at the station on the same day around 1pm and later on was heading for the railway bridge over the river where you were at the start of the video. My Mrs was getting her hair done and called me to get picked up just before reaching the bridge. Missed opportunity lol

pack those gubbins out for preservation too cool to leave and rust away.

A very interesting noseh Steve.

Great video mate 🧲👍⚓️

I’m just guessing and using my imagination but it could be an Old world inland waterway power plant. Thanks for your work 🤗

my assummption would be that the building was for light wagon repairs where planks,metalwork and running gear could be repaired to get faulty wagons back in service a.s.a.p.there would have been scores of these sites all over the country.

it might ba a listed building but none registed for melton mowbray

Steve that siding goes into pedigree petfoods, also further into their site sits a siding now unused with a container lift on it.

Great explore Steve. Looking at the old maps it seems there was one building there on the 1884 map another one appears on the 1902 map, another one on the 1928 map and a further one appears to the left, from above, on the 1950 map. Maybe these were those sheds and disappeared years ago. Amazing that piece of land has been left abandoned seeing its close proximity to the town.

I used to play there as a kid and fish on that section of the river right up into my mid 30s

I thought for a bit that it might have been a pump house, given it's position between a river and a steam railway and also because of the vaulted floor structure but I'm sure you'd have found more pipework etc. What direction were the concrete pads going? Some great bits and bobs to find though. Imagine the men who worked there and then walked away from it all one day...

Leicester's very own Indiana Jones 👍

Excellent really interesting video subscribed your channel

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THAT THING WITH A SCREW IS A COUPLER I HAVE SEEN THEM ON MK1 PASSENGER CARIAGES THERE IS A HOOK ON THE CARRIAGE YOU HANG THE LOOP OVER THE HOOK THEN WIND IT UP TIGHT !

Pumping house for water to refill the steam trains maybe?

No entrance big enough for a loco or carriages to go in or out. You would also need rails for either. The OS where accurate so no rails going into it on the map means there was no rails going into it. Whatever it was used for it involved the use of water. I'll stick my neck out and say maybe it was a pumping station which took water from the river to supply the water towers for the railway. Trains used to use huge amounts of water until steam vanished. I rely should watch entire videos before commenting I'm always doing that sorry.

Secret pork pie works.

It could have been where they repaired the bogies.

It’s me Jack Harkins and I love you more than your friend mathew aka my dad 😅😅

That's water board not railway

That later map you showed us had a pump close to that structure, I reckon the structure was connected to that description. You mentioned and showed us evidence of water infrastructure, the rails set into the walls would likely have held up block and tackle for maintenance of pumps etc. There may have been a steam engine in the building but it would have been a static engine. In later years converted to electric power. (But the later part of your video proves me wrong). Great vid!