SCRCA Location Type: Platelayers' Hut

Location Type Code
PH

Platelayers' huts are small buildings constructed beside railway lines at regular intervals (typically every 2 or 3 miles) that were designed to:

  • store the tools and equipment used by permanent-way workers; and to
  • provide those workers with somewhere to shelter during meal breaks and periods of bad weather.

For more than a century, each team or 'gang' of track workers was assigned to a specific length of track. The members of these teams were known as ‘platelayers’, 'gangers' or ‘lengthmen’ and each team was based at a platelayers’ hut located close to its 'length'.

Platelayers' huts fell out of regular use in the 1970s, when more flexible working practices were introduced. Regional teams now use vans and other road vehicles to reach locations where maintenance work is required. In many cases, the same vans also provide shelter, personal 'conveniences' and storage, although for larger scale works, portable cabins and chemical toilets may be provided.

For the purposes of the SCRCA Project, all line-side huts displaying evidence of windows and chimneys or flues have been classified as platelayers’ huts unless there is substantive evidence that the structure had a different primary use (e.g. the structures labelled as 'naptha stores').

The design of platelayers' huts varies significantly, as does the nature of the construction materials used. The latter includes stone, brick, concrete and timber for the walls and either concrete or timber for the roofs. The timber roofs were usually overlain with slate tiles, thin stone slabs, or felt.

Examples

The following examples from the SCRCA Project database illustrate this location type. Locations are only displayed here if they have been 'assessed' and if a default image is available.   Show / hide tips

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SCRCA Location Variant: Exterior walls - Stone

Location ID: 237800

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 238800

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 239800

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 240450

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 240990

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 243200

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 244630

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 245650

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 251430

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 255890

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 256230

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 257300

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 262630

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 263370

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 268100

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 279080

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 289880

Platelayers' Hut

SCRCA Location Variant: Exterior walls - Brick

Location ID: 246530

Platelayers' Hut (Salt Lake 3)

Location ID: 259120

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 281530

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 300650

Platelayers' Hut

SCRCA Location Variant: Exterior walls - Timber

Location ID: 232130

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 232615

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 235400

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 237150

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 242400

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 250800

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 252080

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 254010

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 255280

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 266510

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 269820

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 286340

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 287510

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 290450

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 293180

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 297490

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 299780

Platelayers' Hut

SCRCA Location Variant: Exterior walls - Pre-cast concrete

Location ID: 254920

Platelayers' Hut

SCRCA Location Variant: Exterior walls - Mixed-materials

Location ID: 258340

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 260200

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 286950

Platelayers' Hut

Location ID: 297960

Platelayers' Hut

 

Errors and omissions
Reasonable efforts are being made to ensure the accuracy of the information obtained and uploaded as part of the SCRCA Project. However, it is possible that a few errors will have crept-in. If you notice any such errors, we would be grateful if you would bring them to our attention using the SCRCA Project Contact Form. The Friends of the Settle-Carlisle Line and the members of the SCRCA Project Team do NOT guarantee the accuracy of the information contained in this database. If you intend to use and / or act upon any of this information, you are advised to verify its accuracy BEFORE doing so.

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