Date of LAST cattle train in UK

[TheQ]

11 hours ago, russ p said:

Can you imagine today a vet giving an animal anesthetic for a ride in a box ???

They are often given tranquilisers to travel in crates on airlines. The difference between tranquiliser and anaesthetic is small.

[adb968008]

Totally off topic, but I once had a flight out of Thailand, with a Lion / Tiger of some kind in the hold, and mid way through the flight we all heard it come round and roar !

Edited September 25, 2019 by adb968008

[caradoc]

13 hours ago, russ p said:

Can you imagine today a vet giving an animal anesthetic for a ride in a box ???

 

In a word......no !

 

I also recall the traffic in day-old chicks, packed into boxes piled high on Brutes at Oxford station waiting to be put on a train, with pitiful cheeping coming from inside.

 

[Fat Controller]

6 minutes ago, caradoc said:

 

In a word......no !

 

I also recall the traffic in day-old chicks, packed into boxes piled high on Brutes at Oxford station waiting to be put on a train, with pitiful cheeping coming from inside.

 

I do hope they give something to the various beasts that are sent from the captive breeding programme near here to Africa and elsewhere...

[PatB]

13 hours ago, Edwin_m said:

The items being carried in the leading van of the train involved in the 1969 Morpeth derailment included "a live pig in a crate".  The Inspector does not record whether it was amongst the casualties, but judging by the damage sustained to the van it probably was.  

http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/DoE_Morpeth1969.pdf

Tough beggars, pigs. I wouldn't be at all surprised if it got out and lived feral in the area. 

[Steamport Southport]

3 hours ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

Pigeons were still being released at Chesterfield in my spotting days in the early 1970's.

Knee deep in sh!t and feathers afterwards.

 

Mike.

 

I have a feeling they kept the LNER "Pigeon Vans" with the fold down shelving because they still used them for pigeons. I'm pretty sure the one at Llangollen which is now the Sunshine Coach was bought directly from BR in the late 1970s. I don't think it was a departmental vehicle.

 

Some info on pigeon traffic here. No date on when it ended though.

 

https://www.steve-banks.org/prototype-and-traffic/128-pigeon-traffic-historical

 

 

 

Jason

[The Johnster]

This is brilliant stuff, and very informative; many thanks Jason.  I may include a brake 3rd in my pigeon trains for the officials in future!  I think only the LNER built vans specifically for the traffic, and any NPCCS with fold down shelves could be used.

 

I witnessed a release once as a child at Cardiff General, from the 'fish dock' loading bays, a spectacular sight that made a permanent impression.  My viewpoint was from platform 3 on the down side, though, and I wasn't close enough to observe in detail.  This would have been about 1959/60, on a Saturday lunchtime.

 

As for pigs, on my return journey from a volunteering holiday on the Ffestiniog in '69, which occasioned a change at Shrewsbury, I observed a rake of 3 BR standard GUVs in  one of the bays, loaded with loose pigs which stank and were making a terrific noise!  Glad to get upwind of the swine...

Edited September 25, 2019 by The Johnster

[Andy Kirkham]

This is Milford Haven on July 31st 1973. Are those pigeon baskets on the platform?

 

SEP 73 09. 6884 waits to depart from Milford Haven with the 07:15 to Carmarthen, July 31 1973 by Andy Kirkham, on Flickr

[Simon Lee]

52 minutes ago, Andy Kirkham said:

This is Milford Haven on July 31st 1973. Are those pigeon baskets on the platform?

 

SEP 73 09. 6884 waits to depart from Milford Haven with the 07:15 to Carmarthen, July 31 1973 by Andy Kirkham, on Flickr

 

Yes they are pigeon baskets.  They were still used in East Yorkshire until the early 80's maybe longer but I had moved on by then. We had on railman who hated the birds, he would always release them under the overall roof at Beverley in the hope that they would not make it home.

 

As well as greyhounds we once had 2 parrots in cages on transfer from a Tyneside pub to a pub in Hull, othey had quite a colourful vocabulary which kept us entertained waiting for the owners to collect them.

 

On the subject of loaded coffins, deceased railwaymen could be bought home by train either FOC or at a reduced rate. Whilst working at Dover we had several bodies bought back from Spain, usually unfortunate souls who had passed away on holiday.