Malago Vale Carriage Sidings, Bristol

[Peter Kazmierczak]

Just wondering if anyone has a plan of the former carriage sidings at Malago Vale?

 

Doesn't need to be to scale as long as it shows all the roads and approach lines. Thinking of the post-steam diesel-hydraulic period, so 1965-1975 in particular.

 

My edition of Quail doesn't show these sidings at all.

Thanks in anticipation.

[Blackthorn]

PM sent to you.

 

Mark.

[Rivercider]

I think the layout would have changed significantly with the progressive introduction of the Bristol MAS scheme

which reached the Malago Vale/Parson Street area in 1971.

 

After the re-signalling the former down relief line became part of Malago sidings and it continued as a through siding

to Bristol West Depot Downside which was also used for stabling stock, particularly npccs.

From that time there was no connection from Malago sidings onto the down main at Parson Street,

though there was still groundframe access from West Depot Downside to the down main right down at South Liberty Junction,

 

cheers

[Joseph_Pestell]

Old-maps.co.uk has a suitably dated map (with usual caveats about revision of OS maps).

 

The west end (using the footbridge as a scenic break) looks like a very suitable layout project.

[Andy Kirkham]

Repeatedly posting a picture that most people have seen before risks becoming tiresome, but just in case you didn't see this, Peter, it might show some detail that is of interest.

NOV 72 12. 820 Grenville passing Malago Vale carriage sidings. Monday, October 30th,  1972. by Andy Kirkham, on Flickr

Edited February 24, 2017 by Andy Kirkham

[Joseph_Pestell]

Repeatedly posting a picture that most people have seen before risks becoming tiresome, but just in case you didn't see this, Peter, it might show some detail that is of interest.

NOV 72 12. 820 Grenville passing Malago Vale carriage sidings. Monday, October 30th,  1972. by Andy Kirkham, on Flickr

That neatly illustrates Rivercider's post. The down relief is now just a loop as part of the carriage sidings and no connection from Malago Vale to the main line.

 

Not so interesting as the earlier layout.

[The Stationmaster]

The double line access to the east end of Malago Vale sidings was taken out of use in early April 1970 being replaced by a series of single leads forming a  ladder crossover between the former Down Relief and right across the layout to the Up Relief - thus ECS trains retained access to/from all the running lines at the Bedminster end.  At the same time the section of the Down Relief line between, basically, Bedminster and Parson Street was reduced to a siding subsequently running through to West Depot.  A couple of weeks later the former Down Relief was reinstated as a bi-directional through Carriage Line west of Bristol West gantry signals.

 

From what i can recall the layout at Malago Vale was then fairly simple consisting basically as a series of double ended sidings looped off  the through siding with simple turnouts and all the fancy double and single slip connections at the east end abolished.  I only had one occasion to go there - in order to try and resolve some carriage cleaning problems in 1984 and to be honest I didn't pay much attention to the track layout as I was there overnight; empty stock working in & out was a very simple affair with virtually all (if not all) movements coming in and leaving at the Bedminster (Temple Meads) end.  There were a number of restrictions on the working of the through siding at the Parson Street end.

 

Overall it was not a particularly pleasant place to work especially at night - Old Oak Common was definitely far better and Maliphant Sdgs at Swansea was somewhere between the two. 

[Rivercider]

This was the track plan at the Bedminster end which I think remained pretty much the same from when Mike described it until closure,

http://bristol-rail.co.uk/wiki/File:Bedminster_Track_Plan_1988.jpg

 

cheers

[Peter Kazmierczak]

Thanks for all the comments thus far. Much appreciated.

 

That old-maps now charge £9.99 to view the images....

Looked at the National Library of Scotland website, but they don't have anything modern enough - the GW still being double-track on their large scale (OS 25") maps.

 

Still searching......

[Peter Kazmierczak]

Just found some good images from 1950 on "Britain from Above", so I might be able to get a plan out of that.

[Joseph_Pestell]

I managed to look at it on old-maps.co.uk without paying anything.

[Peter Kazmierczak]

Thanks Joseph.

 

Just tried a different browser and indeed one can view them freely.

[Peter Kazmierczak]

Managed to work out the track layout prior to the Bristol MAS Scheme. Attached below if anyone's interested.

 

For some reason I thought the sidings were larger than they actually were.

 

Surprised that locations like carriage sidings and the like aren't modelled more often.

[Captain Kernow]

I only ever spent one night there and that was enough.

[Peter Kazmierczak]

Both Mike and Tim seem to have found Malago Vale rather inhospitable.

 

Any particular reason?

[Fat Controller]

Both Mike and Tim seem to have found Malago Vale rather inhospitable.

 

Any particular reason?

It wasn't the nicest of areas; I had a friend at Bristol Poly who lived nearby, and sometimes walked her home if it was after the last bus. I found the area more unsettling than St Pauls, which I had to cross on my way home.

[Phil Bullock]

Hmmm....5B73 was Malago Vale - Worcester vans

 

Anyone know what 8B73 was please?
 

Phil

 

[37114]

Managed to work out the track layout prior to the Bristol MAS Scheme. Attached below if anyone's interested.

File2240.jpg

 

For some reason I thought the sidings were larger than they actually were.

 

Surprised that locations like carriage sidings and the like aren't modelled more often.

 

Thanks for sharing this, I have a version of Malago Vale on my "to do list", I wish you well with the layout construction. I am currently building one of the muck wagons that took the waste to Kingsland road for onward disposal:

 

[Downendian]

Hmmm....5B73 was Malago Vale - Worcester vans

 

Anyone know what 8B73 was please?

 

Phil

 

I'm sure Rivercider will be along to confirm this but it was a Portishead-Marsh ponds or return trip 4 working, not in the WTT

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/115122-a-few-warship-pictures-date-information-welcome/?p=2441653

Neil

[The Stationmaster]

Both Mike and Tim seem to have found Malago Vale rather inhospitable.

 

Any particular reason?

 

Bl**dy awful place to be at night (like Tim I only went there at night - because that was when the bulk of the work was done).  It was not a nice place to work with poor ground conditions in places, a cramped layout, and various kit not in readily accessible places - which was probably why the standard of cleaning (which what I was meant to be trying to sort out) was not very good although its lack of attractiveness as a workplace in a grotty area probably contributed to that as well.  For some reason they seemed to have difficulty in achieving a lot of the Standard Times for various cleaning tasks although I presume in reality a lot of that was down to the shortcomings I've mentioned.

 

I know I'm almost inevitably biased but the standards of carriage cleaning at Old Oak were a world away from Malago Vale and even the frightening assemblage of females who cleaned the dmus at Canton did a better job with not much better conditions to work in than those at Malago Vale.

[br2975]

• The Signalling Record Society site has an image showing the 'box diagram'
•  
• http://www.s-r-s.org.uk/html/gwb/S593.htm

          Brian R

[br2975]

Managed to work out the track layout prior to the Bristol MAS Scheme. Attached below if anyone's interested.

File2240.jpg

 

For some reason I thought the sidings were larger than they actually were.

 

Surprised that locations like carriage sidings and the like aren't modelled more often.

 

Me too Peter.

.

If you can't model them in full, and employ the 'bitsa' principal as espoused by Iain Rice, there is no need to have full rakes of coaching stock.

.

There is an excuse for breaking down, or reforming rakes,  in line with 'carriage working notices' and similar publications,

e.g.

taking out a restaurant or buffet car as the train didn't have one on Saturdays.

adding an extra TSO or two for Fridays, due to people going home for the weekend.

.

And, if modelling carriage sidings, there's no need to worry about the lack of passengers in your stock !

.

All this before we get to NPCCS.

Then we have BRUTE circuit vans, parcels vans, newspaper vans you name it. 

.

Incorporate a CWM and the pilot (or train engine ) can propel the stock slowly thro' the washer.

 

Plenty of operational scope, and different to the current crop of stabling points and diesel depots.

 

 

•As for Malago Vale,  Signalling Record Society site has an image showing the 'box diagram'

•

•http://www.s-r-s.org...ml/gwb/S593.htm

        

 

  Brian R

Edited March 2, 2017 by br2975

[muddy water]

Repeatedly posting a picture that most people have seen before risks becoming tiresome, but just in case you didn't see this, Peter, it might show some detail that is of interest.

NOV 72 12. 820 Grenville passing Malago Vale carriage sidings. Monday, October 30th, 1972. by Andy Kirkham, on Flickr

Is that first van a 'shock van'? With the white markings on the side. Where they still in use at this time, or was the shock springs isolated?

[Andy Kirkham]

Repeatedly posting a picture that most people have seen before risks becoming tiresome, but just in case you didn't see this, Peter, it might show some detail that is of interest.

NOV 72 12. 820 Grenville passing Malago Vale carriage sidings. Monday, October 30th,  1972. by Andy Kirkham, on Flickr

 

Cliche alert! I just noticed there's bus on the bridge in the background!

[HillsideDepot]

Cliche alert! I just noticed there's bus on the bridge in the background!

And what's more, it is possible to identify it!

 

It is Bristol FLF number 7133, registered 826SHW, identifiable as that was the only Lodekka painted in the "more cream" livery which was intended for One Man Operated (or OMO) vehicles. In model form, EFE's 14017 represents that bus.