RMweb Gold Metr0Land Posted October 29, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 29, 2020 Overnight Tue/Wed this week we had 6C42 Crewe-Clarbeston Road TnT 56.094/56.302 on a rake of ballast hoppers. I've been here since May 2014 and we've had no 56's save for a LE working to/from Carmarthen once. Looking on the interweb there doesn't seem to be any photos of 56's west of Carmarthen but I've been told they did work oil trains to/from the Milford Haven area. I thought the trains were 2 x37 until the 60's arrived but took less interest in this far away place at that time. So the questions are: a/ Did 56's work down here on a regular basis? b/ If they did, does anyone have a definitive answer as to when they finished? (There may have been a charter with a 56 to the area since the finish of normal workings but I'm principally interested in when regular working stopped, though confirmation of a charter date would be useful - it's difficult using 6 Bells Junction without something to home in on) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 There's a photo of 56035 on a westbound oil train at Pwll (between Llanelli and Burry Port) on the 'Railways in South Wales' Facebook group. The photo was taken in the mid-1980s Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Metr0Land Posted October 29, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted October 29, 2020 Tks, am not on FB so can't see it unless it's public. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivercider Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 I thought that class 56s were quite common on oil traffic from the Milford Haven area in the 1980s, they regularly worked from Robeston to the Murco depots at Westerleigh and Theale for example, cheers 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Metr0Land Posted October 29, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted October 29, 2020 Thanks. Do you know when they finished? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivercider Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 4 hours ago, Metr0Land said: Thanks. Do you know when they finished? Sorry no. I took a few photos of the train in the 1980s, but looking on Flickr Carl Brunnock (the Cwmbran Creature) regularly photographed the Murco tanks with a class 56 passing the Newport area in 1984/85/86. The latest photos I could see after a quick look were June 1986. cheers 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Metr0Land Posted October 29, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted October 29, 2020 I've found this pic Aug87, latest one so far 56 035, Cardiff Central, 12-08-87 by afc45014, on Flickr 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Metr0Land Posted October 29, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted October 29, 2020 And this just in! July 2003 a 56 subbing for a failed 60 'Grid' replacement for Westerleigh tanks by Stuart Riley, on Flickr Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Metr0Land Posted October 29, 2020 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted October 29, 2020 6 minutes ago, Metr0Land said: And this just in! July 2003 a 56 subbing for a failed 60 though it MAY have been ripped at Margam? 'Grid' replacement for Westerleigh tanks by Stuart Riley, on Flickr Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivercider Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 I have a copy of the WR Freight Train Loads book dated May 1987 which includes Milford Haven. It seems that the use of class 56s was mostly on the Robeston-Theale service, the only other loads quoted for a class 56 at that date are for Langley and Micheldever. Note the load to Theale including loco is:- 1240t for cl.47, 1576t for cl.56, 1638t for 2 x cl.37. I think the Westerleigh terminal did not open until 1988 or thereabouts, (I went to an opening ceremony there as a representative of Bristol AFC), cheers 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted October 30, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 30, 2020 (edited) I'm fairly sure they'd finished on the Theale tanks by 1989 because when we were having reports about problems in the Severn Tunnel the train was being worked by pairs of 37s in order to get the heaviest possible load. the complaint was they were down to walking pace climbing out from the bottom of the tunnel and I had a Traction Inspector ride the train several times to get a proper assessment of what was happening. The train was indeed down pretty near to walking pace once it was all off the falling gradient and had lost impetus but it wasn't causing a problem for the locos and it wasn't losing time to any noticeable extent so we didn't reduce the load. Edited October 31, 2020 by The Stationmaster Typos corrected (thanks WA) 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Pilotman Posted October 30, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 30, 2020 2 hours ago, The Stationmaster said: The train was indeed down pretty near to walking pace once tit was all off the falling gradient Good to see you were keeping abreast of developments, Mike 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now