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Every picture tells a story.........


br2975

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You might remember those black & white days (only 40 years ago after all).

 

You can see what it is, but the interesting part is where is it, where is it going and what, of special interest, might it pass over on the way? And as a little bonus why on earth is it so clean?

 

post-6859-0-04119900-1351617086_thumb.jpg

 

I know the answer to none of the above... but are those briquettes I spy in the bunker? Surely that means it's not going far - even if it's diagrammed! :)

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I know the answer to none of the above... but are those briquettes I spy in the bunker? Surely that means it's not going far - even if it's diagrammed! :)

They are ovoids - usually known as 'eggs' to the footplate fraternity of that time - and if they were considered good enough for a 'Castle' running between Worcester and Paddingtn I'm sure they'd be ok-ish for this particular job (even tho' most older footplate men regarded them as awful things - I think the Western must have got a few thousand tons of them at a knock-down price).

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Mike,

 

I can't tell you where that photo was taken, but 6673 was an Aberdare loco, and Aberdare shed had a reputation for keeping their passenger locos in good nick.

 

Was this the loco that hauled the last passenger train along the Vale of Neath line and therefore over the Crumlin and Quaker's Yard viaducts?

 

Regards

 

Richard

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Right Richard - you're doing well, the station is indeed Pontypool Road and the loco was one of Aberdare's 'passenger pets' - a small link of 56XX that they kept as clean as they could for passenger work. The train is actually a service train to Neath which I was about to join to travel as far as Quakers Yard (HL of course) there to change to the LL station fora train to Pontypridd.

 

And yes, again, it would be passing over various features the most spectacular of which was without a shadow of doubt Crumlin Viaduct which seemed to creak & groan a bit as we crept over it. What a smashing way to spend the last few days of a school holiday!

 

I shall clearly have to try harder - so how about this one? (taken in 1973 and as a clue the smoke you can see is from rather overheated wagon brake blocks).

 

post-6859-0-18706600-1351640123_thumb.jpg

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The site of LLancaiach station on the old Vale of Neath route. You've just dropped down the ex GWR/RR joint line (steep hill) from Aberbargoed to Bedlinog (In the old days you'd have stopped at Ffaldcaiach sidings just short of the station to unpin the brakes) The two routes merged at the station.

 

I think it's the platforms that are the clue.

 

Regards

 

Richard

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The site of LLancaiach station on the old Vale of Neath route. You've just dropped down the ex GWR/RR joint line (steep hill) from Aberbargoed to Bedlinog (In the old days you'd have stopped at Ffaldcaiach sidings just short of the station to unpin the brakes) The two routes merged at the station.

I think it's the platforms that are the clue.

Regards

Richard

More or less right - only difference being the train had come from Cwmbargoed. I did wonder if the platforms might give it away, and the brakes are about to be unpinned; everything pinned down all the way from the top with about 1,000 tons of train and definitely a 'real railwayman's strong nerves' bit of working with the Incline Instructions saying that the train should be capable of being stopped anywhere on the descent by means of the loco brake and the reality being that if you were doing lass than 40mph past Bedlinog you would stop in the right place at the bottom. That day we went through Bedlinog with the speedo needle just nudging 40 and the only power that had been applied was to get the train onto the gradient at the top, then the controller was shut and sensible Drivers just did not touch the loco brake because they knew that if they did there would be no brakeblocks left in a very short time, they just let the train role until it was approaching the junction.

 

Here we are leaving Cwmbargoed - notice the very unusual weather!

 

post-6859-0-62866700-1351679387_thumb.jpg

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Thanks Mike,

 

To be fair it was a pm you'd sent me about incline working that pointed me in this direction. Still, wrong Bargoed!(Aber/Cwm/Upper/Lower/North/South, not forgetting the sheep's favourite, Baaagoed)

 

I always get them mixed up. I should have written what I'd originally planned which was ex GWR/RR joint line from Llancaiach to Dowlais Cae Harris.

 

Out of curiosity, who did the pinning/unpinning of the brakes? Was it purely done by the guard, or was it a more general tasked shared between the whole train crew In the interests of quick and efficient operation?

 

Regards

 

Richard

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Thanks Mike,

 

To be fair it was a pm you'd sent me about incline working that pointed me in this direction. Still, wrong Bargoed!(Aber/Cwm/Upper/Lower/North/South, not forgetting the sheep's favourite, Baaagoed)

 

I always get them mixed up. I should have written what I'd originally planned which was ex GWR/RR joint line from Llancaiach to Dowlais Cae Harris.

 

Out of curiosity, who did the pinning/unpinning of the brakes? Was it purely done by the guard, or was it a more general tasked shared between the whole train crew In the interests of quick and efficient operation?

 

Regards

 

Richard

Officially, I believe it was the guard's responsibility; from frequent observation of the unpinning at Sandy Road bridge on the Llanelli and Mynydd Mawr, the Second Man would assist. The driver would stay in the cab.

The trains would descend from Cynheidre with a proportion of the brakes pinned down from the beginning; there was a stop before the descent to Felinfoel where more brakes would be applied. On several occasions, insufficent brakes were pinned down, and the train ran away- at least one ended up stuck in the cutting side by Old Castle. I witnessed three from our back bedroom window- the horn would sound as a continuous monotone, audible some time in advance.

The van brakes would also be screwed hard down; I remember seeing one van whose shoes were glowing red when it stopped by the Stradey Park crossing. Within seconds, the fire had spread to the lubricant around the bearings, and thence to the bottom of the van sides.

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Thanks Mike,

To be fair it was a pm you'd sent me about incline working that pointed me in this direction. Still, wrong Bargoed!(Aber/Cwm/Upper/Lower/North/South, not forgetting the sheep's favourite, Baaagoed)

I always get them mixed up. I should have written what I'd originally planned which was ex GWR/RR joint line from Llancaiach to Dowlais Cae Harris.

Out of curiosity, who did the pinning/unpinning of the brakes? Was it purely done by the guard, or was it a more general tasked shared between the whole train crew In the interests of quick and efficient operation?

Regards

Richard

It varied but invariably the Driver stayed put because of the way the Incline Instructions worked (in summary sufficient wagon brakes had to be applied so that the train would not move on the incline unless the Driver applied power). Some of the South Wales AWB (Apply Wagon Brakes) inclines were staffed. Thus at Cwmbargoed the Guard did one side and the Cwmbargoed Chargeman did the other. At Penrhos and Taffs Well there were Bank Guards for the big hill - the Penrhos man helped the train Guard put brakes down and the Taffs Well man helped the train Guard pick them up once the train had arrived at the bottom.

 

One important feature of all the inclines where the Instructions applied was the presence of suitable paths at both top and bottom of the incline for staff applying/releasing wagon brakes.

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Brian, are you sure that the stop at Felinfoel was not so much to put on extra brakes, but to stock up from the local brewery of the same name? :)

 

On THIS day in 1971 it would have been to sample the delights of "Feelin' Fowl" - the day that 'all roads led to Stradey, with the All Blacks here again" - the day Carwyn James' Scarlets beat New Zealand 9-3.

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On THIS day in 1971 it would have been to sample the delights of "Feelin' Fowl" - the day that 'all roads led to Stradey, with the All Blacks here again" - the day Carwyn James' Scarlets beat New Zealand 9-3.

Oh, yes- 'twenty thousand in the ground', and a few more standing on our back garden wall and even on the shed roof. I shall be down to stock up next week, Brian...

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Twas on a dark and dismal day in a week that had seen rain,

When all roads led to Stradey Park with the All Blacks here again,

they poured down from the valleys, they came from far and wide,

There were 50,000 in the ground and me and Dai outside.

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Round by Castle Works then?

 

More or less...... yes

.

The shunter was running light along the ' Queen Alexandra Dock Lock to Stonefield Jct' line, near the site of Stonefield Jct.

 

By the time of the photo the line ran from Q'A Dock to the GKN Castle Works.

.

The location would now be at the top of the ramp that leads down to the Butetown Tunnels at the south end of the A4232.

Brian R

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Twas on a dark and dismal day in a week that had seen rain,

When all roads led to Stradey Park with the All Blacks here again,

they poured down from the valleys, they came from far and wide,

There were 50,000 in the ground and me and Dai outside.

 

And we all 'ad doctors papers, And they all said just the same

We all 'ad scarlet Fever.......................and we caught it at the game

 

Good old Max Boyce.

 

Regards

 

R

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Whilst 'house hunting' in 1979 I found myself here . . . . . . . .

It's very different now.

Brian R

I hardly realised I was passing it going down to Swansea on the train back in September - there are certain modern giveaways of course but virtually no hints at all of what it was once like, even in the 1970s. And I even had a week 'working' there when I was on the Management Training Scheme in the early 1970s.

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Whilst 'house hunting' in 1979 I found myself here . . . . . . . .

.

It's very different now.

.

Brian R

 

Brian,

 

I assume the picture was taken with a telephoto lens given the perspective compression otherwise that point on the left looks as if it's Setrack!

 

Regards,

 

Dave

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