# Wharram Quarry Chalk Silo



## TK421 (May 16, 2009)

Decided to pay a visit to the abandoned concrete chalk silo at Wharram today, it was mini TK421's 9th birthday weekend, so decided to treat him (he did get proper presents also, I am not THAT tight).

Bit of history:

Wharram was a station on the Malton and Driffield railway, adjacent to the station was a large chalk quarry operated by a company called Casebourne & Co, who also made concrete, the chalk being ideal for this purpose. The quarry dates from 1916, and closed for a period in the 1930's but production did start again a few years later. The railway line closed on the 20th October 1958, however production from the quarry went on until 1966. A large concrete silo for storing the crushed chalk (then deposited into railway wagons) was built in 1918 and has the original motor house and crushing house made of brick adjacent to the silo. There were many interesting features still to be seen, however we could not get to the upper levels of the silo as the iron staircase had given up the ghost long ago.

Glad we wore trousers and long sleeves for this one, the nettles were damn high and plentiful

The silo:






The motor house:





Remains of railway bridge to the silo:





Blessed with a bit of sun:





Iron window frames have seen better days:





Crusher house:





Base of crusher house, flooded:





Not sure what this concrete bit is for but I liked it:





Window in the bottom of the silo:





Ruined staircase:





Hopper unloading boom and chute for railway wagons, suprised and delighted to see these:





Chain from the boom turning into a stalectite!





Window frame:





Mini TK421:





As you can see, unless I am bitten by a spider in a lab, there's no way I'm getting up there:





Window and sunlight:





One for you brick fans:





One for you coat hook fans 





Brickwork:





Last one, the remains of the limekilns:





I thought I had hit gold with the old cars, garage and tanks last week, but this one really had something about it, a great few hours exploring, even bumped into someone else doing the same!

Thanks for looking


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## klempner69 (May 16, 2009)

Lovely colourful shots there..I am sure there are some here who would do that fire escape!!


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## Foxylady (May 16, 2009)

TK421 said:


> One for you coat hook fans



 State of the art, that! 
Fabulous find and photos, TK. Lots of interesting things to see...just the sort of place for a really good mooch around.


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## woody65 (May 16, 2009)

great pics-did you do the village or the tunnel?


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## TK421 (May 17, 2009)

Thanks for your kind comments. 

Woody, no didn't do the village or tunnel, thats my next outing. I did find a really great bridge and lovely brick water run off further up the line, but I will save that, I am walking bits of the old Malton and Driffield line and hope to post up a report of the best bits soon.


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## Black Shuck (May 17, 2009)

Alright T.K I am liking those shots a lot mate. I am just the same as you, I am terrifid of heights and there is no way on this earth I would have gone up there!


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## Lightbuoy (May 17, 2009)

Cracking set of snaps 

That's one big Daddy of a wall! (the lime Kiln)

Nice to see a Silo that isn't round too!


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## woody65 (May 17, 2009)

TK421 said:


> Thanks for your kind comments.
> 
> Woody, no didn't do the village or tunnel, thats my next outing. I did find a really great bridge and lovely brick water run off further up the line, but I will save that, I am walking bits of the old Malton and Driffield line and hope to post up a report of the best bits soon.



burdale is the best bit


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## TK421 (May 17, 2009)

Thanks for the really kind comments all, really glad you like the pictures it's a really great place. 

Woody, looking forward to Burdale, thanks for the tip. 

Black Shuck, good to see there are others who like their feet firmly places on terra firma mate


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## tweeddale (May 19, 2009)

Thanks for this report. It brings back memories from several childhood visits - the quarry at work with elderly tipper lorries (left at weekends with keys in!) and the railway sidings around the apparently then redundant silo linking it with the rusty branch line. 
For carriage fans the railway demolition crew had a red composite brake carriage as their mess and tool van and this spent a few days near the Wharram Percy track overbridge near the tunnel, presumably as they worked through the tunnel.
I can only guess this was 1959/60 (the church tower at Wharram Percy was still whole on my earlier visits although with a frightenly large crack).


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## TK421 (May 20, 2009)

Hi Tweedale, thats really interesting to hear your memories, are you still local to the area?


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## TK421 (Dec 26, 2009)

Hi all,

Sorry to bump one of my old reports, but I have just found some footage on the British Pathe archive film site of the chalk quarry and silo in action, really chuffed to see it, the silo appeas towards the end of the short clip, in it you can see the wagons being loaded with crushed chalk!

Hope you like it.

http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=19269

Cheers


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## Mr Sam (Dec 26, 2009)

i was about to say the weather looks nice but its dated May 


nice find though


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