Through goods trains on the E&WJR / SMJR

[Compound2632]

This is a question for Simon @Regularity in the first instance. I was reading about the E&WJR's acquisition of Nos. 7-9 in 1892 on your blog, which you say was in response to the demands of the through Midland goods trains. You mention No. 7 being an SDX, with the implication that as early as 1892 there was a fitted goods train via the route. I'm sure the banana traffic didn't start until the early 1900s? I was wondering if you could unpick the chronology a bit more?

[Regularity]

Bear with me: my reference materials are awkward to get to, but J.M. Dunn (Oakwood Press) was quite clear about it. Their purchase coincided with the opening of the ponderously named “Easton Neston Minerals, Towcester, Roade and Olney Junction Raway” (very quickly renamed Stratford upon Avon, Towcester and Midland Junction Rsilway, STMJR, the eastern end of which is a country mile’s walk from my parents’ house). During the first four months, a passenger service was operated with a loco and coaches supplied by the Midland, but a line from nowhere much to somewhere else obscure, passing through the middle of nowhere didn’t generate any traffic. The bill for hiring the stock was never paid... I would love to know what was supplied, but we may never know.

 

The EWJR track was simply too lightweight (and fragile - contractors flat bottom rail!) for MR 0-6-0s, which were originally used over the line for the service: I suppose it was possible that there was some other through goods services, but I can’t see the cash-strapped EWJR coughing up for even three run-down locos unless they really had to: as things stood, their existing loco stock was pretty much fully allocated to rosters: 2 and 3 on freight, 4, 5 and 6 on passenger services - one of the latter pair on the Stratford-Broome service, the other plus #4 on the Stratford-Blisworth double out and back turns. 4, 5 and 6 were Westinghouse fitted (all connecting railways were vacuum brakes) and when more 0-6-0s came from Beyer, Peacock they were dual-braked. The only reason for a special DX was vacuum braking, and the only need at the time for vacuum brakes would have been MR (semi-)fitted freights.

This is a long-winded way of saying the Dunn is the main source: when he wrote the original book, (Oakwood Library 10) these events would have been within living memory and as a railway manager, he would also have had access to official documents, too. I will check the articles which appeared in the railway press at the time, too.

 

How certain are you about the start date of the banana traffic on the Midland? 

The EWJR bought a pair of six-wheeled brake vans from Harrison and Camm in 1903, and these were used on the final leg of the journey over the Midland from Olney to St. Pancras: the appearance of these vans at the latter gave rise to questions about the initials EWJR in the press: maybe this was why you are thinking of early 1900s?

[Compound2632]

3 hours ago, Regularity said:

How certain are you about the start date of the banana traffic on the Midland? 

 

Inference and hearsay.

 

Inference: the Midland built 500 banana vans to three lots raised in 1905/6. (The LNWR started building banana vans in 1904.) It's clear from the diagram reproduced in Midland Wagons that not all were fitted with steam heating, though how many is unknown. Apart from these, 60 covered goods wagons were fitted with steam heating; Essery presumes that these were all fitted vans to D360, of which 50 were built to a lot raised in 1899 and 300 to lots raised in 1903/4 - however its not known when the steam heating was fitted (it's not mentioned in the Lot List) but by Dec 1913 when the surviving list of special wagons was compiled. In 1892, the only ventilated vans available were 60 built to two lots raised in 1887/8.

 

Hearsay: from what I've gleaned from various banana van topics on here, the building of steam heated banana vans was in response to the introduction of refrigerated banana ships, which initially used the Port of Manchester. (LNWR banana vans were labelled "Return to Manchester".) However, in reading up for this post, I've found several references to Elders & Fyffes starting the import of bananas from the West Indies in 1901 and using Avonmouth from the start. This was the start of refrigerated shipping, which led to the use of steam heating to accelerate the ripening process, with final ripening taking place at banana sheds at or near various major goods stations. I also read that Fyffes began importing bananas from the Canaries in 1888 - presumably this was a shorter voyage with ripening in the boat and no further ripening needed during the railway stage of the journey. But I've not found a reference to the port used.

 

3 hours ago, Regularity said:

The EWJR bought a pair of six-wheeled brake vans from Harrison and Camm in 1903, and these were used on the final leg of the journey over the Midland from Olney to St. Pancras: 

 

Were they equiped with AVB?

Edited April 5, 2021 by Compound2632
Typo corrected

[Compound2632]

For convenience, I'm linking a previous post of Simon's on the working of the banana trains overt the E&WJR:

 

 

[Compound2632]

13 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

Were they equiped with AVB?

 

Own question answered - photo here. Hand brake only and Ellis-type grease axleboxes of the standard Harrison & Camm pattern with their roundel motif cast on the front. I note the caption suggests they were for iron ore trains from Blisworth. Of course this might not be one of the 1903 pair...

[Regularity]

5 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

 

Own question answered - photo here. Hand brake only and Ellis-type grease axleboxes of the standard Harrison & Camm pattern with their roundel motif cast on the front. I note the caption suggests they were for iron ore trains from Blisworth. Of course this might not be one of the 1903 pair...

39 and 40 were that pair. There weren't many banana trains: a few paths in the WTT, but to allow for different times. I think it may have been one per week. There wasn't a great deal of iron ore traffic, either - the EWJR were past masters at being somewhat being economical with the truth when it came to putting a spin on their business activities.

They didn't need AVB: I expect there was nothing more than a "fitted head", and the SDX was not fitted with steam heat (well, no connections/pipes show in photos) so although purpose-built banana vans may not have appeared until 1905/6, that may well have been as a consequence of increasing traffic levels.

[Regularity]

A degree of post hoc, ergo propter hoc, or similar, at least on my part.

Managed to check up on Dunn. 1892 saw the commencement of through goods services on behalf of the MR over the various EWJR associated lines, initially using MR 0-6-0s, but these were too heavy, hence the purchase of 3 locos from the LNWR, as there simply weren’t enough locos available to cover this new service. 
The two six-wheel brake vans were bought about 10 years later, and appeared regularly thereafter at St Pancras on banana trains (questions were asked in the Railway Magazine 1903/04), so  banana trains were in operation by then.

Dunn the records the cancellation of through MR goods services in 1912 leading to a significant loss of revenue, particularly from the banana traffic, but also industrial equipment from Bristol.

 

No mention was made of when the banana traffic started. According to Baxter (not always reliable), only one of the DX locos was a “special” with vacuum brakes, which information is repeated in Dunn. However, photos in my possession show this not to the case: 2 of them (EWJR 7 &8) were actually fitted.

[Compound2632]

7 hours ago, Regularity said:

The two six-wheel brake vans were bought about 10 years later, and appeared regularly thereafter at St Pancras on banana trains (questions were asked in the Railway Magazine 1903/04), so  banana trains were in operation by then.

 

So here's my hypothesis based on what I've gleaned about Elders & Fyffes banana imports via Avonmouth, mentioned in a post above. Imports from the West Indies using ships with refrigeration began in 1901 or 1902 (possibly 1901 was the year of building or ordering the ships and 1902 the year imports began). The Midland's ad hoc response to the demands of this traffic was to fit up some D360 covered goods vans with steam heating - these were already fitted with the vacuum brake*. These weren't entirely adequate and were too few in number, so 500 dedicated banana vans were built 1905/6. By this date, the Midland might also have been handling banana traffic via Manchester Docks, as was the LNWR and, I think, GNR. 

 

Were any of the E&WJR engines fitted for steam heating?

 

*There's a bit of a problem with numbers here. The only D360 fitted vans available in 1902 were 50 built as part of Lot 462, ordered in 1899, but the Special Wagon List of 1913 gives 60 numbers. A further 300 were ordered in 1903/4. The Drawing Register records a large number of drawings for steam warming apparatus from 1900 onwards, for passenger carriages. Only one prior to the bespoke banana vans might refer to goods stock, Drg. 1469 dated 9 Jan 1901 "Steam Heater for Vans" - depends what one thinks is meant by "vans"; could well be passenger guards vans. Several versions of this drawing are in the Midland Railway Study Centre collection...

[Regularity]

10 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

Were any of the E&WJR engines fitted for steam heating?

The DX goods, no. But locos 10-13 were dual-braked (air-brake removed later, in SMJR days) and like numbers 14-18, were steam heated.

10 was delivered in 1895, 11 in 1896, 12 in 1900 and 13 (the only 2-4-0) in 1903.