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Waverley Route Freight Flows


Guest Max Stafford

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this is from a Liverpool DVD, just outside Halewood, the commentator says its heading to Bathgate, I imagine because its class 40 hauled rather than electric,although can never rely on that alone.

its 1968 and the loco is D244 with a train of new mk1 escorts. Im guessing the 40 would come off at Carlisle?

 

will have a look im my Eric Treacy books to see if he recorded any on the west coast mainline.

 

Michael, what a fantastic find - those shots belong on the Waverley's Most Wanted thread. I have never before seen any indication (despite knowing it should be possible) that Escorts were worked over the route. Those are simply fantastic. And all the more reason for me to get those Carflats built. Need to research contemporary colours for the baby Fords. And get hold of trainload quantities. What else were the last new models to traverse the line I wonder?

 

EDIT: those 40s worked the train throughout as Dave says. I've hordes of NW Division (Preston) EE Type 4s recorded as going all the way. But GSYP with Ford Escorts is about as frothy as it gets for this pundit.

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glad its useful :)

 

Mk1 escorts are one of my favourites, although they didnt make the sportier RS models at Halewood.

 

quality of that cinefilm isnt very good, although it is better when played on a dvd player, however its the proof content as you say, there is plenty of shots of the wagons and escorts about.

 

they are available as die cast now arnt they?

 

little bit late for my period, tell tale sign of an earlier Halewood train would be that of Anglias and Corsairs. not sure if the corsair is available as die cast yet?

 

my dad collected dozens of minix anglias to model one of these trains before the diecasts became available.

 

Mike

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Mike, you and your dad are I think the first father/ son combo we've got in the Waverlite crew, so that's excellent in itself.

 

Corsairs aren't available yet, and along with Anglias they are signature payload for the last steam-worked car expresses. I've accumulated sufficient Anglia vans* for a rake of eight carflats, plus sundry Cortinas, Transits and Anglia saloons, but Escorts are really my target market for the last few months of the line's existence. These trains are going to be pretty weighty by model standards!

 

* EDIT: Anglia van was also known as the Ford Thames 307E. Manufacture ceased in November '67, but where - was the van built at Halewood too?

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Anglia vans at Halewood..

 

anglia_vans_halewood.jpg

 

I think any other such as cortinas. thames and transits would be on a seperate train from London, ie dont think you'd see them mixed with anglias?

 

theres a great clip at the end of the Brtitish transport film forward to first principles of an electric hauled train of about 22 bogies full of cortinas and zephyrs with the cars facing backwards.

 

also found out the mystery of the pic I posted a few posts back of the zephyrs with the class 85, they where being reversed on Garston triangle as the cars where the wrong way round to be unloaded at Halewood.

 

I wonder if any of the Dagenham to Bathgate trains the cars would be facing backwards aswel?

 

Mike

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Super photo, thanks for that. My uncle spent the latter part of his working life on the Ford lines at Halewood, from when it opened in 1963 (?) until his retirement in 1988 or thereabouts (my folks are Scousers in exile, you see). I hadn't thought about it until today, but vehicles he worked on would have been on the WR car expresses as long as they traversed the route. This has taken things to another dimension where the 'Cars' is concerned. I need to revisit some of the published photos to get my head around the context. B)

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was it only the Halewood trains that went to Bathgate via the Waverley, or did Dagenham trains go the Bathgate too?

Splitting your question and answering the first half only, the answer is 'No,' because certainly in Summer '68 there was a Kings Norton (Birmingham) - Bathgate flow as well. I suspect this was a BMC flow from Longbridge, albeit to its truck facility counterpart in the Central Belt.

 

I'm attempting to find out the answer to part 2. :blink:

 

and here are some ambiguous photos post '69:

http://www.railbrit....e2.php?id=28802

 

Dagenham ran via the East Coast, like this Brush 4 in '70?

http://www.railbrit....e2.php?id=28551

 

B6357 with a pair of B1s, Corsair and Anglia:

http://www.railbrit.co.uk/imageenlarge/imagecomplete.php?id=29084

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I love that last shot.

 

I was having a flick through all our books, one on class 40s by Murray Brown has a great colour pic by Derek Cross of a 40 on a car train at Dalyrmple jnc, whilst not the Waverley, its a very clear colour picture which could be useful for wagon painting weathering etc.

 

also been flicking through our past n present books of the Waverley to try and learn about it, I can see the fascination with the line.

 

Mike

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  • 2 months later...
Guest Max Stafford

While perusing some video last night I caught sight of an interesting working heading south behind 60041 in 1965. It was an uncommonly short consist with a van and steel open behind the loco, followed by six buff coloured ICI four wheel tanks and a 20T brake. I'd be interested to know more about the service and also how modellable the tanks would be.

 

Dave.

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While perusing some video last night I caught sight of an interesting working heading south behind 60041 in 1965. It was an uncommonly short consist with a van and steel open behind the loco, followed by six buff coloured ICI four wheel tanks and a 20T brake. I'd be interested to know more about the service and also how modellable the tanks would be.

 

Dave.

 

Is it possible to point to a reference for the ICI tanks with any thing on Paul Bartlet's site?

I have come across references to at least one rail served oil depot. You don't find much photographic evidence of any dedicated traffic.

I reckon there must have been several regular services such as the one in your video.

Another little known aspect.

Bernard

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Guest Max Stafford

I couldn't find an exact match Bernard. I'm quite sure they were buff in colour whereas all the chlorine tanks appear white with a yellow band. I remember the wagons appearing to have a longer wheelbase. I'll have another look tomorrow but I need to get to bed now.

 

Dave.

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If so that would add to my 'theory' that EE Type 4s from the likes of Springs Branch may have handled a similar traffic, working throughout, after early '66. I stress this is only a supposition based on flimsy circumstantial evidence.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Failed loco and left on the spur until a replacement could be brought in?

V2 seems a bit over the top for the load.

The interesting bit is what happens/takes over at Carlisle!

A bit off route but Oxwellmains would make a good modern layout. Nuclear flasks, cement wagons and a host of industrial shunters in varying degrees of decay. Oh, and a rather large digger.

Bernard

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Seems that's one working that's conjured its own conundrum wrapped in a Riccarton riddle... It's one of those operating mysteries that has the power to fascinate nearly 50 years after the event.

 

PS: and Matt's new avatar is awesome!

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  • 4 weeks later...

It's 1964, and thanks to Derby Sulzers for this snippet:

 

"Despite its declining importance the Waverley route gained a new train, the thrice weekly Kings Norton - Bathgate & return car carrier, diagrammed for Peaks, but occasionally worked by Saltley Type 2's. This train often carried as many as one hundred cars with a journey time of twelve hours. A car carrier working over the S&C early in December had several Vauxhall cars blown off the train as it crossed Ribblehead viaduct, the strong gales causing many other delays as well."

 

I'll do an allocation analysis of the so far reported 43 Class 25s to traverse the Waverley Route over on my Best of British Haymarket Diesels blog at some early future stage.

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