Some Wirral Industrials

[flyingsignalman]

Prompted by James Hilton's request in "industrial locomotives in the late 80s to mid 90s" I looked out these pics; they're not the greatest quality though.

I've also found some other that I thought might be of interest too.

These were taken on 24/1/1981 at the MSC loco compound by the Oil Sites Road; this was later used by Marcroft's after they moved from the station goods yard.

The following 2 pictures are from my collection and were taken in the late 1970's

This was taken from the BR East End yard headshunt and is looking over towards the Oil Sites Road. The train has come from the Burmah plant.

This was taken from by Ellesmere Port No2 box and shows a train that has come from the Gulf refinery. the loco will shunt it into the sidings to the left (West End Yard) for later collection by BR.

[flyingsignalman]

Some photos of Reas shunters

firstly, at Bidston Dock also on 24/1/1981

Pepel outside the workshop

Theseus (in front) and Dorothy Lightfoot

Kathleen Nichols left, Labrador middle

Narvik left, Kathleen Nichols middle, Labrador right. The ship is carrying coal for Fidlers Ferry.

 

At Duke Street the Reas locos were hired to a Mrs Lee who used them for shunting there and on the Wallasey side of the docks (where BR 08s couldn't go)

On12/10/1981 Pegasus was resting where BR later put their 03, at the time BR used a spur on the other side of the road.

08078

By this date, the first of the 03s had arrived to replace the 08 at the docks and (because it was considered the spare to the dock loco) at Birkenhead North depot.

Here seen on the same date at Mollington Street depot is 03 189 awaiting fitter's attention after its long trek.

Incidentally, a couple of magazine articles have given the information that the 03s were always at Birkenhead but this is incorrect, from about the late 1960s to October 1981 there were only 08s.

It was the retirement of Mrs Lee and the closure of her haulage business that made BR bring them back.

 

(edit, got my coal and iron ore wagons mixed up)

[James Hilton]

Keith - wonderful, thank you for sharing. Full of the atmosphere I hope to one day create with my P4 Meadow Lane layout

[flyingsignalman]

Another photo taken at Bidston Dock on 20/2/1978.

The cranes are loading stockpiled iron ore from behind the wagons.

 

At Ellesmere Port MSC locos used to bring tanks up to the East End Yard from the Oil Sites Road. The only traffic remaining when I relieved there was from Associated Octel.

The far siding was used by the MSC as a headshunt to gain access to the yard. BR used the next siding as their headshunt.

Very rarely there would be a large number of wagons on that would bring the train up near to the box (usually when my camera was at home) but more normally about 6 - 10 wagons was the load as is the case this day. So I'm sorry the loco is a bit of a spec in the distance

I think it was taken about 1990 ish

[eastworld]

Pardon my ignorance but does the MSC still have any motive power,and if so is it just at Ellesmere Port?

 

Stu

[flyingsignalman]

If the MSC have any motive power left, I think it is in the Manchester area. In the mid to late 1990s freight in the Ellesmere Port/Stanlow area melted away and I think the MSC locos were withdrawn around then.

[Jenny Emily]

The MSC locos that are left would be stabled by Kellogs on Trafford Park. As far as I know they use hired in 08s though there may be still one genuine MSC loco left as a backup.

 

Until around 2002/3 there was an MSC loco parked in front of the gates by the Cerestar plant. It isn't there any more and I understand that it has been scrapped.

 

[Mark Saunders]

Manchester Ship canal and Trafford Park were two different companies.

 

Mark Saunders

[Jenny Emily]

Manchester Ship canal and Trafford Park were two different companies.

 

Mark Saunders

 

Both owned by Peel holdings IIRC since 1991. As the photo was taken in around 2002, that would mean that the locomotive in the photo would have been owned by the same company for over a decade.

 

This picture shows MSC locos at Kellogs back in 2006 on the one part of the system that still sees use. Hired in 08s are now used, with the possibility that the MSC locos may remain either as spares or as unservicable.

 

EDIT: to correct awful grammar

[Coddy]

We have a 03 shunter at Llangollen now, cant remember the number, but that I think was an old E Port or Birkenhead loco, think in fact it is still owned by the Birkenhead transport museum now, but they seem to have forgotton it

 

 

It is suffering with a knackered gearbox at the mo.

[flyingsignalman]

Here are some pics of the Rea's shunters at Duke Street, Birkenhead, taken Ca 1979/80

Pegasus at Mrs Lees usual stabling point

 

Wabana

 

Theseus

 

W.H.Salthouse

 

Wabana, Theseus, W.H.Salthouse

[flyingsignalman]

Pegasus in action (inaction?)

Waiting to enter J.Rank Ltd flour mill to pick up grain wagons on 7/3/1980

 

Whilst waiting 08 078 returned light to Duke St from Birkenhead North after delivering coal wagons there

 

To allow a lorry to enter Ranks Pegasus moved back a little

 

On either the 28th or 29th August 1980 I was lucky enough to have my camera with me when Pegasus took a train of tanks to Pan Ocean on the Wallasey side of the West Float

[flyingsignalman]

A little off area (!) but Ca 1980 I went to Gatewen Opencast depot at Wrexham where I took these pics of the ex BR 03

According to the Industrial Railway Society's "Industrial Locomotives 1976" its BR number was D2182

[beast66606]

A little off area (!) but Ca 1980 I went to Gatewen Opencast depot at Wrexham where I took these pics of the ex BR 03

 

We did indeed

[flyingsignalman]

Back at Stanlow

The other brake van 3/10/1981

 

3001 in its compound 3/10/1981

 

A track maintenance crane (hired in, I think) 11/4/1982

 

finally two not very sharp views of a MSC loco shunting by the compound on the oil sites road. This was taken from the steps of Ellesmere Port No5 box 31/3/1982

[flyingsignalman]

At Port Sunlight Lever's had an internal system to serve the soap factories. The system was much reduced from earlier days. The system was dieselised in the early 1950s with 10 diesels IIRC 9 0-4-0s and one 0-6-0 (looking similar to a BR 08) used for coal traffic to the works power station. By the time I was there (1977), the number of locos was down to two.

One was named "Lord Leverhulme"

and the other "Trenchard"

There was only work for one loco so they tended to work a week about.

Lord Leverhulme waiting for incoming traffic

Grain wagons being shunted

Before I arrived, there had been a third loco in use "Prince Charles" but it been sold by then. It ended up at Rathbone Road coal depot at Edge Hill where it was renamed "Lord Bert"

You can see where the old name has been painted out.

There was a small amount of outwards traffic in the shape of soap for Austria which was conveyed in VTG ferrywagons

When rail traffic ceased in 1984 the locos were sold to Steamtown at Carnforth where they still remain

[garethevans1986]

Interesting pics. Any more?

 

GE

[Fat Controller]

Any idea where those grain hoppers were going to/from, and what they might have been carrying?

[flyingsignalman]

Any idea where those grain hoppers were going to/from, and what they might have been carrying?

 

 

The unfitted grain hoppers brought grain from Cambridge to Silcock's (for animal feed) which was located in the Lever's works complex.

The fitted hoppers and the prestwins brought powder from Whitehaven

 

In this (not quite wonderful) view of the T18 trip being backed into the sidings, having arrived from Ellesmere Port, there is a fitted hopper by the loco and in the siding behind there are some unfitted hoppers waiting collection later in the day.

 

A slightly better view of the ferry wagon

 

This view shows wagons being shunted into the sidings for collection after having been weighed on the weighbridge (the building in the right background partly hidden by bushes)

Please forgive the scratch, I've included the pic to show hopper wagon variations.

[Fat Controller]

Thanks for that, Keith. The Grain hoppers had a lot of variety in them for a comparitively small fleet, didn't they?

Shame there's not a decent model yet....

[beast66606]

Nice shots from Sunlight Keith, happy memories, I also have some photos of T18, including the day 40106 was on it, must dig them out and scan them.

[sir douglas]

does anybody else think that the fifth photo down on the 8th of march post by 'flyingsignalman', looks a bit like a model

[James Hilton]

Keith - just caught back up with this thread - thank you for sharing even more of the area, I've found it incredibly difficult to find photos of the Ellesmere Port and Stanlow MSC lines and these are all a huge help. Downloaded and saved for future reference

[flyingsignalman]

Thanks for your kind comments James and Dave.

Here's a couple more at Ellesmere Port taken August 1990.

As I mentioned earlier the MSC locos didn't come too near to the box very often. here's one occasion when it did

The loco on the freightliner in the loop will unhook and going into the holding sidings (roads 4 & 5 in the yard). the 08 waits for the MSC to finish its shunt.

 

The 08 gets in on the act with it's shunt.

[flyingsignalman]

A couple of photos of Shell shunters in the sidings at Stanlow, taken on 1/5/1991.

Normally I only saw the tops of these locos from the box as they were usually hidden by wagons.

No 5 shunting note the shunter on the leading wagon in the bottom pic

 

No 9

 

The Shell locos were passed to run on BR lines as to get to the Bitumen plant they had to cross from the refinery site (on the up side) to the MSC lines (on the down side). This happened about once a month. It was done to swap the engines around.

 

 

(edited to provide correct date)