Our wagon was seven planks high, which gave it a carrying capacity of 13 tons of coal. In the context of the water tower it did rather dominate the scene and partially blocked the view from some windows. Having consulted with the Strathspey Railway who donated the wagon we have decided to re-build the wagon body to roughly half its original height.
Four plank wagons were quite normal and still looked the part as this picture shows:
They had a capacity of 10 tons.
Besides being more in keeping with the site at Settle it will enable us to make better use of the surviving ironwork of the wagon body. We shall keep the unused components so that anybody who wants to restore it to full height in the future can do so.
Four or five plank wagons were common in this area as they matched the height of the loading platforms at the local lime kilns and quarries.
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