Mystery of historic railway plate found at coastal inlet near Wick – real or fake?
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A retired teacher discovered a railway wagon identification plate while beach cleaning near Wick and the jury is out as to its authenticity.
David Shand, a former science teacher at Wick High School, discovered the artifact while on a beach cleaning expedition at a rocky inlet close to Stack o' Brough, known locally as Scorries' Island, just south of Wick. A keen kayaker, Mr Shand was helping clear rubbish from the coast as part of a Pentland Canoe Club initiative – aided by members of the Caithness Beach Cleans group – when he discovered an intriguing object wedged between two boulders on the beach.
Related article:
Thurso-based Pentland Canoe Club helps collect a tonne of rubbish from Caithness beaches
"I found what looks like an old aluminium plate originating from British Railways," he said.
"On the metal plate is the following information 'British Railways' and 'BD 5572 B'. It appears to be made of aluminium or aluminium alloy, as it is a metal of low density. It's definitely non ferrous."
He says that the plate measures 25cm x 7.5cm and appears very weathered as if it had been discarded many years ago. It was also possible, he was told, that the plate could be quite valuable for collectors and may even be worth £200.
Mr Shand then contacted Emily Brunell, a search engine assistant at the National Railway Museum in York, who wrote: "The BD means that it was probably from Birkenhead North TMD. It looks like a wagon plate, except those were nearly always made of cast iron. I am going to tentatively guess that it is actually a cheap replica. Obviously I cannot say for certain."
He then spoke to Watten rail enthusiast Paul Simonite who agreed that railway wagon plates are usually made from cast iron but thought that his find was actually a "container plate" instead.
"I have two of my own but they are neither small nor alloy, like yours," said Mr Simonite. "Take a look at this image and you will see your type of plate at the top [picture below]. Although grouped in a lot with wagon plates, it is in fact a container plate.
"It looks like it is made from an alloy judging by the colour of the metal below the paintwork. I am not convinced that the museum person is correct in saying it is a fake wagon plate – they have been known to be wrong before and Emily appears to be a search engine specialist rather than an engineering department specialist. She may have searched their records and seen your plate in a batch of plates like the one in the photo, under a generic name. I have asked the owners of a BR container for their view and will wait and see what they say."
The Pentland Canoe Club's work was carried out as part of British Canoeing's Big Paddle Clean-up initiative and the team were aided by Caithness Beach Cleans. The joint team removed plastic pollution and other waste from three locations in the county and one further afield. British Canoeing's Big Paddle Clean-up aims to remove plastic and other rubbish from areas that paddlers use or visit.
Dorcas Sinclair, from Caithness Beach Cleans, said: "It is great to have the backing of the club, who can get to beaches that are difficult to access from shore, and together we are able to gather and remove debris from them.
"The club have skills and equipment that mesh well with that of the beach cleans group, this makes it possible to realistically remove beach plastics that were previously unreachable. We hope that there will be many more future collaborative efforts between the two groups.
"Together we will continue to keep our Caithness and Sutherland Beaches beautiful.”
