BR Riddles Standard Class 5MT 73116 (8255953496)

John Cashmore Ltd (also known as J Cashmore, or simply as Cashmore's or other derivations) was a company operating largely in Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales. It became best known for

ship breaking Ship-breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for either a source of parts, which can be sold for re-use, or for the extraction ...

and scrapping redundant British railway locomotives.

History

The company was founded in 1872 by a member of the Cashmore family in

Horseley Heath Horseley Heath is a residential area of Tipton, in the West Midlands of England. It is situated around the main A461 road which links the major townships of Dudley and Walsall, and stands on the banks of the River Tame. Tipton was one of the most ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

. While eventually the large part of the business was in Newport, with a business address at the Old Town Dock, the headquarters was in Great Bridge, Tipton. Scrapping of steam locomotives from the LMR, ER and WR, also took place at Gold's Hill, Great Bridge. The shipbreaking business was closed in October 1976, and the remaining business was incorporated into the Gynwed Group.

Ship breaking

It ran a

business on the banks of the

River Usk The River Usk (; cy, Afon Wysg) rises on the northern slopes of the Black Mountain (''y Mynydd Du''), Wales, in the westernmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Initially forming the boundary between Carmarthenshire and Powys, it fl ...

, which had a very high tide enabling large vessels to be moved upstream. It scrapped many ex-Royal Navy ships including the following: * (Destroyer - 1914) * (Destroyer - 1922) * (Submarine - 1922) * (Submarine - 1922) * (Submarine - 1922) * (Submarine - 1922) * (Light cruiser - 1922) * (Light cruiser - 1923) * (1923) * (Light Cruiser -1923) * (Dreadnought battleship - 1923) * (Submarine - 1926) * (Submarine - 1926) * (Submarine - 1926) * (1927) * (Destroyer - 1928) * (Submarine - 1928) * (Submarine - 1928) * (Submarine - 1935) * (Minesweeper - 1935) * (Sloop - 1938) * (Submarine - 1946) * (Submarine - 1946) * (Light Cruiser - 1946) * (1947) * (1947) * (1948) * (1948) * (1948) * (1949) * (1949) * HMS ''Leamington'' (1951) * (1954) * (1956) * (1958) * (1958) * (1959) * (1964) * (1965) * (1965) * (1967) * (1970) * (1970) * (Submarine - 1971). * (1972).

Civilian vessels

* MV ''Reina del Pacifico'' (1958) * (1968)

Contributions to railway preservation

Thousands of vehicles were sent for scrapping with no chance of being rescued for preservation. Their fates were sealed the moment they arrived. However, a few were able to escape scrapping for preservation; GWR 6400 Class No. 6430, which is now owned by the Dartmouth Steam Railway, being one of the most famous examples. BR Standard Class 8 No. 71000 ''Duke of Gloucester'', which was the only member of its class built and was eventually preserved years later, was towed to this area in 1967 and due to be scrapped here. However, a man named Maurice Sheppard, who was a former fireman for British Railways, realized that this locomotive was delivered to the wrong scrapyard. It was supposed to go to

Woodham Brothers Woodham Brothers Ltd is a trading business, based mainly around activities and premises located within Barry Docks, in Barry, Wales, Barry, South Wales. It is noted globally for its 1960s activity as a scrapyard (hence its colloquial name of Bar ...

in South Wales instead. In October 1967, No. 71000 was moved out of Cashmore's and into Barry Scrapyard where it was exposed to the elements until it was rescued in 1974.

BR Standard Class 4 4-6-0 The British Railways Standard Class 4 4-6-0 is a class of steam locomotives, 80 of which were built during the 1950s. Six have been preserved. Background The class was introduced in 1951. They were designed for mixed traffic use on secondary ...

No. 75014 was also sent to Cashmore's scrapyard along with No. 71000 ''Duke of Gloucester'' before being sent to Barry, No. 75014 remained at Barry scrapyard until 1981.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cashmore Ltd, John Tipton Defunct companies of Wales Companies based in Newport, Wales River Usk Ship breaking Railway scrapyards in the United Kingdom