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Pictures of quaint small goods yards in the 70s-90s


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30 minutes ago, Tim V said:

Blaenau Ffestiniog, modellers eye view (!) 1974.

Blaenau_Ffestiniog_July_1974_Zenit_12-003.jpg

Great picture, interesting in that none of the sidings appear to be connected to the line that the DMU is on, and yet there is stock in the sidings! 

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You do not happen to have any of the W.W.ii. Cold Store at Hexham, do you?  Just asked on the off-chance; I doubt it was rail served at all, anyway, but I do love the structures.  Thanks.

 

[Sorry, this was quoting the O.P., but I have messed it up!]

Edited by C126
Error in composition.
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I think it's the darkness in the picture, this one from 1978 shows the pointwork. the 1974 picture was on a Boots Beirette, while in 1978 I'd graduated onto an Olympus OM1.

Blaenau Ffestionig 11 September 1978 151-10.jpg

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2 hours ago, montyburns56 said:

 

Cheers Gibbo. Although even with that information I found it difficult to find any pictures of it which is strange for a preserved coach, but it seems to be this coach pictured here at The Scottish Preservation Society website.

 

http://www.srpsmuseum.org.uk/10060.htm

 

And here's the other coach

 

Breakdown Unit Tool van DE321109 at Inverness - 01/06/1970

 

01/06/1970 - Inverness, Scotland.

 

Hi Monty,

 

Thanks for the links, as interesting as ever. May I ask a favour that you post the breakdown crane related photographs on the below signature linked topic Rail Mounted Cranes.

 

Cheers,

 

Gibbo.

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Truro in 1986. I don't know if the yard was still being used for loading/unloading by then as the train is the cement for Chacewater being stabled overnight for delivery the next morning. 

 

1488741012_47229TruroYard1986.jpg.1a896afc092adaeba337c152e05cc509.jpg

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3 hours ago, johnofwessex said:

So when exactly did 'wagon load' freight stop?  There was 'Speedlink' but that pre dates it

 

I've been wondering that myself as I keep coming across pictures of non-air braked mixed goods trains right into the early 80s. I initially presumed that Speedlink (1977) would have made them redundant, but quite a few carried on for years afterwards it seems.

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The 'Modelling the British Rail Era' book says that in the mid 1970s, traditional unfitted or vacuum braked type wagon load services which ran parallel to the air braked network (which became Speedlink) became known as Other Wagonload OWL. Often feeder services would be mixed air and vacuum stock running as partially fitted trains with a brake van needed. This then became absorbed into Speedlink by 1984 when air braked wagons were available.

Some traditional style wagons hung on in revenue service for some time eg the Clayhoods until 1986, albeit in block train form.

Even then the engineers still used vacuum braked stock for some time after, eg the Turbot wagons were still being rebuilt from Bolster Es until 1984 and in use until the 90s.

There were also still some unfitted block trains such as export coal to Swansea docks (where the unloading tipplers could not accept vacuum braked stock) and Alumina traffic from Blyth; these both ran until about 1994.

Edited by Ramblin Rich
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23 hours ago, Ramblin Rich said:

Other Wagonload OWL. Often feeder services would be mixed air and vacuum stock running as partially fitted trains with a brake van needed.

 

I'm fairly sure that I was seeing such trains on the Water Orton-Walsall (aka Sutton Park) line, hauled by Class 25s, right up to mid-1983. My route to school was parallel to the line for half a mile or so.

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On 15/05/2020 at 14:49, johnofwessex said:

So when exactly did 'wagon load' freight stop?  There was 'Speedlink' but that pre dates it

I believe the traditional vacuum braked wagon load network ceased in May 1984. Remaining revenue earning wagon load traffic was transferred to air braked  wagons on the Speedlink network.

That does not of course mean the end of vacuum braked (or unfitted) revenue earning traffic, but after that date it only ran in block trains, eg vac braked coal to Llanwern BSC, in MDVs/HTVs, or for export via Swansea in unfitted MDOs.

In order to move engineers wagons and repaired cripples around the system a small network of vacuum braked services remained. There was a small network based on Gloucester New Yard with services to Tavistock Junction, Radyr, Bescot, Swindon etc. These ran less than daily eg MWFO

 

cheers

Edited by Rivercider
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4 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

And they have to issue notices asking people to stay away from there??!!!

 

(see seaside reopening after lockdown news)

 

Bridlington's mascot The Jolly Coalman didn't really take off in the same way that Skegness's did.

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I really like the photo of Dumfries. Growing up there in the 1970s and early 1980s I remember that there was a raised single track for discharging a stone wagon on the opposite side of the main line from the goods yard. There was a single PGA wagon there on several occasions, ARC I think. I never found out which working dropped it off and picked up the empty.

 

John

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10 hours ago, 37501 said:

I really like the photo of Dumfries. Growing up there in the 1970s and early 1980s I remember that there was a raised single track for discharging a stone wagon on the opposite side of the main line from the goods yard. There was a single PGA wagon there on several occasions, ARC I think. I never found out which working dropped it off and picked up the empty.

 

John

I wonder if this might have been agricultural lime? Whilst the flows to  the Montrose area are well-documented, there were flows to the south-west as well.

 

Edited by Fat Controller
finger problems with on-screen keyboard
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On 17/05/2020 at 08:03, Rivercider said:

I believe the traditional vacuum braked wagon load network ceased in May 1984. Remaining revenue earning wagon load traffic was transferred to air braked  wagons on the Speedlink network.

That does not of course mean the end of vacuum braked (or unfitted) revenue earning traffic, but after that date it only ran in block trains, eg vac braked coal to Llanwern BSC, in MDVs/HTVs, or for export via Swansea in unfitted MDOs.

In order to move engineers wagons and repaired cripples around the system a small network of vacuum braked services remained. There was a small network based on Gloucester New Yard with services to Tavistock Junction, Radyr, Bescot, Swindon etc. These ran less than daily eg MWFO

 

cheers

There was still an occasional MDV wagonload of reclaimed coal (“reclaimed coal” appeared to include the odd tree trunk and old bicycle frame) running from South Wales to Padworth, Aldermaston into 1985/6 via the Gloucester/Swindon and Reading engineers unfitted/VB service. The wagons would go down to Aldermaston on the Reading trip but because that was an air braked service, and partially/unfitted trains were no longer normally permitted down the Berks and Hants special authorization had to be sought. By the time that came through the wagon would have been to Aldermaston, been unloaded, and be back at Reading.....

Edited by astropsidings
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