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Ellesmere Port Vauxhall Car Trial


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  • RMweb Gold

Went to Helsby for a while at lunch, to catch a trial for Vauxhall cars. Vauxhall are doing well with the Ellesmere Port factory and they are looking at reintroducing a car train from Ellesmere Port - the traffic ceased around 2000 after a serious of failures and problems, including the train being set fire to !

 

A touch of fog !

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175105 on 1D35, 10:50, Manchester Piccadilly - Llandudno (honest !)

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175011 on 1H86, 10:44, Llandudno - Llandudno

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The points changed, signal cleared and out of the fog rolled ...

 

67008 on 4F98, 12:00, Warrington Arpley - Ellesmere Port Manisty Wharf trial for Vauxhall cars

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Shortly after the coal passed the other way

70002 on 6F02, 12:07, Ellesmere Port Manisty Wharf - Fiddlers Ferry Power Station loaded HHA

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Hopefully the trial will be a success and car trains will return.

 

And on video

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tks6r2fE28

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  • RMweb Gold

what did they do in the past, I seem to recall a siding just past jakes that may have had something to do with vauxhall, not been "the port" for about 10 years so dont know whats there now!

 

Cars were indeed loaded at the West Yard, there was also a siding in the dock estate but the connections were removed when the line was fettled for the coal traffic.

 

They must be using a portable ramp of some form, as the area is used for loading coal, I do wonder if "You can have any Vauxhall you like, as long as it's black" :lol:

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  • 4 months later...
  • RMweb Gold

Yesterday, 16 June 2011, saw another trial to ascertain where the loading point could be located.

 

66250 passes Helsby on 4F98, 12:00, Warrington Arpley Sidings - Ellesmere Port WIA

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As it was running early we (my son was with me) decided to follow it to the docks and catch it inside the estate, we decided to try a different crossing from the one we normally use, as we crossed into the estate we heard a rumbling and just managed to catch

 

70011 on 6F02, 12:07, Ellesmere Port Manisty Wharf - Fiddlers Ferry Power Station loaded coal

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We waited for the car trial, as the coal was on the single line it was a while before 66250 appeared

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We were about to leave when a guy from Peel (who I've sent photos to for their use) told us it was running round at Manisty and coming back so we waited ..

 

A through the trees telephoto shot ..

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We followed the train down to the Peel Group siding (ex Cawoods for those who know the area) where the 66 was to propel the wagon back onto the siding

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The gate is opened

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The guys were then kind enough to invite my son and I down to the trial site.

 

66250 was driven by a Mr M Wood from Warrington

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We then had a lift in a land rover to the trial site.

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The canopies on the WIA were lifted

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And the end opened to assess the position of the loading ramp

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And finally it eventually returned to Warrington

 

Helsby

66250 on 4F99, 16:10, Ellesmere Port - Warrington Arpley

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Hi Dave,

 

many thanks for posting these pictures.

 

Lets hope that the trial was sucessful and that there will be even more freight using E-Port - seems that Peel are very keen on increasing freight especially in view of their plans for the whole south bank of the Mersey

 

cheers

 

Mike

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  • 4 years later...

According to the very informative nwrail.org.uk notice board pages, the services may have run a couple of times during January.

 

Realtime Trains is showing a DB Schenker working from Arpley Sidings to Ellesmere Port later tonight leaving at 5am tomorrow morning. I've no idea if this is the Vauxhall train, the Quinn glass train or a 'just in case' path on RT as it hasn't got head code attached. 

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