New freight flow to Rugby

[dagrizz]

There are plans to partially fill and landscape a disused quarry in Rugby, adjacent to the cement works - also adjacent to the truncated Rugby-Leamington line where two unused sidings remain. They intend to bring spoil from HS2 construction to do this.

 

https://www.rugbyadvertiser.co.uk/news/disused-quarry-in-heart-of-rugby-to-become-a-park-1-8415598

 

This photo was taken in 2010 from the end of the sidings, the quarry is beyond the fence on the left.

 

 

Graham

 

Edited October 6, 2023 by dagrizz
change title

[CovDriver]

That's the old line to Leamington Spa via Southam but there maybe a slight problem it's now only single track and it's been shortened by some length according to that pic from 2010.

 

Cheers

 

Colin

[Trog]

That's the old line to Leamington Spa via Southam but there maybe a slight problem it's now only single track and it's been shortened by some length according to that pic from 2010.

 

Cheers

 

Colin

 

Via Marton Junction where you reversed to get to Southam on the branch to Weedon.

[Rugd1022]

It's just a short run round loop now, stopping just short of Lawford Road which used to be carried over the line by an arched overbridge, now demolished to make way for a much larger road junction.

[dagrizz]

The trackbed had been allowed to become overgrown in the last ten years but was recently cleared - are they going to use it to bring HS2 spoil in? 

 

Picture taken today

 

 

The old quarry is a pretty big hole in the ground. 

 

 

The railway is beyond the fence on the RHS.

 

Graham

[roythebus1]

I used to work on that branch when I was secondman at Rugby in 1974. the "regular service" was a class 25 usually with up to 20 10T mineral wagons and a brake van at each end leaving Rugby at about 1030. The line was operated on the one engine in steam principle with the single line token being a lump of metal with the branch name stamped on it which was kept in the shunter's bunk on the up side.

 

Sometimes we'd have to drop wagons off at Bilton bu pushing the wagons across the Ain road. The signal controlling that movement was a semaphore mounted on an OHLE isolation mast with the isolation gear turning the signal through 90 degrees! the we couldn't see it we could go. the crossing gates were open. What happened at the other end of the train was a mystery , I never got off the loco to find out! I believe the cement works had its own shunter which would take the loaded wagons off us and put empties on. The shunter would advise us when we were ready to go.

 

Then we'd go to Marton Junction, secure the train and Ron round, then off round the branch to Southam. similar thing there, we'd leave the loaded wagons in the siding, collect the empties, run round and back to Rugby.

[Rugd1022]

Voila....!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 24, 2021 by Rugd1022

[roythebus1]

I don't recognise the bods in the photo, any idea who they were and when it was taken? the shunter in those days was either Noddy or Bungee. I heard Noddy passed away a few years ago.

 

There was no guard provided, the shunter was the guard, but always a driver and secondman.

[dagrizz]

The spoil trains to Rugby started recently. I saw this on Monday.

 

 

 

I chatted to one or two of the Freightliner people who were there and it is intended to run two trains a day, one arriving at 0630 and another at 1115. I think this week there is only likely to be one train a day (this one was the 0630). The spoil (it looked like mud) comes from the HS2 tunnel boring near London.

 

The train heads into the loop engine first, the 66 then runs around. There were 22 wagons and unloading takes 3-4 hours.

 

     

The 'dozer just shoves the spoil into the old quarry.

 

 

We walked to the front of the train to see it leave: I was behind a fence when I took this photo.

 

Graham

[roythebus1]

a bit heavier than the 20odd 10t mineral wagons we used to drag up there in 1974!! Where exactly is this pit? The only double track I can remember was at Marton junction where we ran round to go to Southam, and maybe a bit by the Bilton cement works just outside Rugby.

 

The single line token was something like an old fishplate with Rugby-Southam stamped on it. That gave permission to enter the single lne. It was kept in the shunters' bunk on the up side goods yard.

[dagrizz]

The quarry is over the road (Parkfield road) from the cement works. I don't think the double track has ever been lifted at this location because it used to serve the cement works.

 

Graham

[Rugd1022]

On 04/10/2023 at 08:48, dagrizz said:

The spoil trains to Rugby started recently. I saw this on Monday.

 

 

 

I chatted to one or two of the Freightliner people who were there and it is intended to run two trains a day, one arriving at 0630 and another at 1115. I think this week there is only likely to be one train a day (this one was the 0630). The spoil (it looked like mud) comes from the HS2 tunnel boring near London.

 

The train heads into the loop engine first, the 66 then runs around. There were 22 wagons and unloading takes 3-4 hours.

 

     

The 'dozer just shoves the spoil into the old quarry.

 

 

We walked to the front of the train to see it leave: I was behind a fence when I took this photo.

 

Graham

 

Can't quite see who's in the cab in your photo Graham but it's one of our lot at Rugby - some have had the induction at Willesden Euro Terminal already but a few of us have yet to do it. I was due to have it last week but I'm on jury duty at the moment. We work it in both directions between Willesden and New Bilton. I'm looking forward to doing the job as when I first started on the railway way back in September '82 on the YTS course at Rugby, the first job I did was riding shotgun on the Southam tripper.

[dagrizz]

1 hour ago, Rugd1022 said:

 

Can't quite see who's in the cab in your photo Graham but it's one of our lot at Rugby - some have had the induction at Willesden Euro Terminal already but a few of us have yet to do it. I was due to have it last week but I'm on jury duty at the moment. We work it in both directions between Willesden and New Bilton. I'm looking forward to doing the job as when I first started on the railway way back in September '82 on the YTS course at Rugby, the first job I did was riding shotgun on the Southam tripper.

 

You can see him a bit clearer in this shot

 

 

Graham

[roythebus1]

deleted duplicate post

Edited October 7, 2023 by roythebus1

[roythebus1]

As I may have mentioned earier in this thread or on another one, at Bilton we had to propel the train across the main road into the cement works. The loco never actually went across the road, the shunter would unhook the class 25 and the train would disappear, presumably with the works shunter. the movement was controlled by a vey modern rotting banner semaphore signal arm mounted on an OHLE isolating post. When the driver couldn't see the signal arm, it was clear to go across the crossing. It was visible above the tree line in the stop position.

 

What do they use as a single line token these days? It used to be an old fishplate or something similar inscribed Rugby-Southam and was kept in the up side shunters' bunk.

Edited October 7, 2023 by roythebus1
typo

[dagrizz]

I popped down for another look today from the other side of the quarry. 

 

The scale of the operation is better appreciated here;

 

 

Below is the whole quarry, it's a big hole to fill; on the far side you can see a class 350 on the flyover.

 

 

There was a different class 66 on the train today.

 

 

This was the early train; A local chap walked by at this point and said there would be another one at midday so I presume we are now getting two workings a day. 

 

Graham

 

[roythebus1]

Marton Junction?

[dagrizz]

No, it is New Bilton.

The track in the photos is the beginning of the old line to Leamington. 

From the cement works, if you cross Parkfield road going due East, you will get to the where this is happening.

 

The rest of the line to Marton Junction and beyond makes for interesting walking, most of it is now a recognised pathway, though some bits are still a bit rough.

 

Graham 

[Rugd1022]

On 06/10/2023 at 17:47, dagrizz said:

 

You can see him a bit clearer in this shot

 

 

Graham

 

That'll be one of the trainee drivers we have at Rugby at the moment, his mentor Chris will be reclining in the secondman's chair 😉

[Rugd1022]

19 hours ago, dagrizz said:

I popped down for another look today from the other side of the quarry. 

 

The scale of the operation is better appreciated here;

 

 

Below is the whole quarry, it's a big hole to fill; on the far side you can see a class 350 on the flyover.

 

 

There was a different class 66 on the train today.

 

 

This was the early train; A local chap walked by at this point and said there would be another one at midday so I presume we are now getting two workings a day. 

 

Graham

 

 

The little arched bridge behind the train is where my chums and I used to drop banana skins as kids, we'd try to get them to fall into the open exhausts ports of the 25s as they passed beneath us!