Slimbridge Munitions Store

In 1915 it was decided to construct a store in Slimbridge for gun propellants (Gunpowder and Cordite) to supply National Shell Filling Factory 5 at Quedgley. The store was located west of the Moors and was served by a railway which ran from Sidings on the Main Line at Gossington to the Black Shed. Two different rail profiles were used, one matching the Main Line and a more modern profile for the store. The store was dismantled between 1921 and 1924 with 9,000 tons of propellant being burned. Little visible evidence remains, but it seems the rails found a use supporting fences at the Patch and Cambridge Arms Canal bridges. At Patch Bridge both rail profiles can be seen. The Gloucestershire Society for Industrial Archaeology provides full information: https://gsia.org.uk/sites/reprints/1995/gi199513.pdf