south wales stabling point

[18B]

Good morning,

 

had a chat with the signalman in Pantyffynnon signal box this morn to enquire about the stabling point that used to be there.

 

He says that the last duties of the stabling point were to man the cut down 08s on the Coed Bach line... I don't doubt him, but those duties were previously Llanelli's?

 

So it begs the questions of when were the south Wales stabling points closed... such Llanelli, Pantyffynnon, Camerthan etc?

[The Johnster]

The cut down 08s were allocated to Landore, and outstationed at Llanelli, then stabled overnight at Pantyfynnon.

[Fat Controller]

10 hours ago, The Johnster said:

The cut down 08s were allocated to Landore, and outstationed at Llanelli, then stabled overnight at Pantyfynnon.

Given the maximum speed of the 08s, I doubt they'd go to Pantyffynnon every day, if at all; the round trip would take the best part of the shift. Rather, I think they would have been parked at Cwm Mawr, a short taxi ride from the Signing-on point at Pantyffynnon. The only facility at Pantyffynnon was a sand hopper (which replaced an old Shockvan holding bagged sand); any fuelling, unless it was from an oil-drum, would have entailed a trip to Landore, as would Exams. 

Llanelli's stabling point lost its raison d'etre once Duport and Llandilo Jct closed; these had kept about half-a-dozen shunters occupied, as well as the BP&GVR ones that were stabled at weekends. There was also a small pool of Class 37s that covered the local coal workings. Facilities were as limited as those at Pantyffynnon.

[The Johnster]

As far as I remember, there were no loco facilities at Llanelli, just the signing on office and a traincrew messroom.  It was all housed in the erstwhile goods shed.  Llanelli traincrews worked the jobs you mention, and also relieved on the oil trains, which they worked up as far as Canton (we reciprocated down to Llanelli) and to whatever oil terminal they used around Milford Haven or Pembroke.  

 

The cut down 08s, and the 03s that preceeded them, could often be found stabled in the goods shed.  I assume fuelling was done from drums 'by hand' and there must have been a supply of sand.  I never went to Pantyfynnon.  Anything more than fuelling, sand, or topping up with coolant, and the loco had to go to Landore.

[Fat Controller]

4 hours ago, The Johnster said:

As far as I remember, there were no loco facilities at Llanelli, just the signing on office and a traincrew messroom.  It was all housed in the erstwhile goods shed.  Llanelli traincrews worked the jobs you mention, and also relieved on the oil trains, which they worked up as far as Canton (we reciprocated down to Llanelli) and to whatever oil terminal they used around Milford Haven or Pembroke.  

 

The cut down 08s, and the 03s that preceeded them, could often be found stabled in the goods shed.  I assume fuelling was done from drums 'by hand' and there must have been a supply of sand.  I never went to Pantyfynnon.  Anything more than fuelling, sand, or topping up with coolant, and the loco had to go to Landore.

Sand was kept in an ex-GWR Mink for many years, then later a small hopper was installed inside the goods shed. As well as the locos mentioned previously, there would sometimes be ER Class 47s from either Stratford or Immingham stabled at weekends.

[The Johnster]

Laying over after working steel traffic to Llandeilo Jc, presumably.  Canton had a Saturday oil train down and back turn that was in my link, but I cannot off hand remember 47s; mind, I was only there every 11th Saturday!

[jonny777]

I ventured out to Pantyffynnon one Sunday in June 1978. There were just two shunters there, 08658 and 08819. 

 

 

[Fat Controller]

27 minutes ago, The Johnster said:

Laying over after working steel traffic to Llandeilo Jc, presumably.  Canton had a Saturday oil train down and back turn that was in my link, but I cannot off hand remember 47s; mind, I was only there every 11th Saturday!

The Stratford ones had probably come in on the Whitemoor- Llandeilo Jct, and any Immingham ones were probably weekend oil workings. 

[Rivercider]

In a not very scientific bit of research using Flickr, and typing in dates, I found pictures of mainline locos and shunters stabled at Llanelli until 1986. Then in 1987 just a couple of mainline locos are seen.

At Pantyffynnon photos of cut-down 08s first appear in 1987.

 

cheers

[The Johnster]

I’d have expected an Immingham loco on the tanks to have worked through to the refinery, and gone back north with the loaded, or stabled coupled to the stock.  I remember oil trains stables in the up and down loops; the down loop was taken out at the time the MAS was put in IIRC. 

[Fat Controller]

14 minutes ago, The Johnster said:

I’d have expected an Immingham loco on the tanks to have worked through to the refinery, and gone back north with the loaded, or stabled coupled to the stock.  I remember oil trains stables in the up and down loops; the down loop was taken out at the time the MAS was put in IIRC. 

Perhaps there were engineer's possessions further west. You're right about the Down Loop; it was severed at the Llandeilo end, and the remaining section slewed to give an easier curve on the line going to Batchelor-Robinsons.

[The Johnster]

Prior to the MAS, it was where we were usually relieved on the oil trains. Relief took place on the down main afterwards, and was always done rather hurriedly so as not to inconvenience other traffic.  The proximity of the level crossing gave an extra level of urgency to proceedings.