Morris Cowley car trains

[Rugd1022]

In the bottom picture the Minis have presumably come from Longbridge although I didn't realise they also made them there (presumably when Cowley was concentrating on 1100s and larger?).

 

Mike - the vast majority of Minis were built at Longbridge, usually badged as Austins, while the Morris badged versions (though not all of them) were built at Cowley.

[Michael Delamar]

going by what ive seen so far, I think an easy way to identify would be by what way the cars are facing on the train, the Morris ones seem to face backwards while the Austin cars face forward.

Edited March 6, 2013 by Michael Delamar

[Rugd1022]

going by what ive seen so far, I think an easy way to identify would be by what way the cars are facing on the train, the Morris ones seem to face backwards while the Austin cars face forward.

 

It'd be handy if we could see the Minis a bit more clearly... the bonnet badges and front grilles are dead givaways...

 

Mk1 Austin Mini 1959-67... 'shield shaped' badge and 'wavy' grille...

 

Mk1 Morris Mini Minor 1959-67... elongated 'winged' badge and pressed metal grille, sometimes painted on very early cars...

 

Not as powerful as dear old 'Evening Star', but just as pretty all the same..!

 

Edit ; and to confuse matters further, the Mk1 Austin Cooper and Morris Cooper grilles and badges were also different!

Edited March 6, 2013 by Rugd1022

[Merfyn Jones]

could this be one of those workings? great info by the way, thank you.

 

 

 

 

 

D1715 Lancaster 10.7.68 by George of Dufton, on Flickr

 

My dad is interested in this topic too, being a mechanic and a classic car enthusiast,I showed him the pics and the article posted earlier, he said " 1100's, had loads of them, the back end used to always fall off them"

 

I think this shows the products produced at Adderley Park, Birmingham,  rather than Cowley which was a car only production facility.

Merf.

[Michael Delamar]

and the wolseley Hornet and Riley Elf Nidge, looks like there is one of those in front of a morris minor in the article Johnall posted.

Edited March 6, 2013 by Michael Delamar

[southern42]

Hi All.

This is all interesting stuff which keeps me popping back.  Grandad had a Morris Minor and on a fine Saturday morning in the summer we'd all pile in

 

Photos are brilliant, but I must express my bias towards Dave's pic of Willesley Hall 6967 which was allocated to 81C in the 60s.  Superb.

 

Polly

[PhilJ W]

could this be one of those workings? great info by the way, thank you.

 

 

 

 

 

D1715 Lancaster 10.7.68 by George of Dufton, on Flickr

 

My dad is interested in this topic too, being a mechanic and a classic car enthusiast,I showed him the pics and the article posted earlier, he said " 1100's, had loads of them, the back end used to always fall off them"

The first vehicle on the train is an A55/60 pick-up, the others are mostly JU(250?) vans, a lash up of the old J2 vans in an attempt to compete with the Transit.

['CHARD]

could this be one of those workings? great info by the way, thank you.

 

 

 

 

 

D1715 Lancaster 10.7.68 by George of Dufton, on Flickr

 

My dad is interested in this topic too, being a mechanic and a classic car enthusiast,I showed him the pics and the article posted earlier, he said " 1100's, had loads of them, the back end used to always fall off them"

 

If that's going to Bathgate, under headcode 3S49, in 1968, then there's every chance that loco is staying on and taking the whole ensemble over the Waverley Route....

[Rugd1022]

and the wolseley Hornet and Riley Elf Nidge, looks like there is one of those in front of a morris minor in the article Johnall posted.

 

Ah yes forgot about those - I think both models were built at Longbridge... the joys of 'badge engineering' and all that!

[Michael Delamar]

but there is one in the Article picture on page 1. unless that pic isnt a Cowley train?

[Rugd1022]

So there is... I'll have to dig the Mini books out of hibernation!

[Michael Delamar]

ive got an excellent pink hardback book on mini's somewhere.

 

one thing, the models of them, I dont really like any that are available, my dad however has collected many minix 1100's among others which I think are a good representation with a bit of detailing.

but whats interesting with the BMC trains is the mix of different cars on them compared to say Ford.

[TheSignalEngineer]

could this be one of those workings? great info by the way, thank you.

 

 

 

 

 

D1715 Lancaster 10.7.68 by George of Dufton, on Flickr

 

My dad is interested in this topic too, being a mechanic and a classic car enthusiast,I showed him the pics and the article posted earlier, he said " 1100's, had loads of them, the back end used to always fall off them"

 

With the mixed load on it I would guess that was probably from Kings Norton, which loaded cars from Longbridge and Morris Commercial at Adderley Park. Following a strike of shuttle drivers a loading facility was put in at the Longbridge factory.

Rovers and Land Rovers were loaded at Dorridge, later transferring to Bordesley when the Dorridge yard was sold for housing.

[Fat Controller]

ive got an excellent pink hardback book on mini's somewhere.

 

one thing, the models of them, I dont really like any that are available, my dad however has collected many minix 1100's among others which I think are a good representation with a bit of detailing.

but whats interesting with the BMC trains is the mix of different cars on them compared to say Ford.

BMC/British Leyland had a half-dozen (perhaps more) plants around the Midlands, so it was quite easy to run a train with at least that many types of vehicle on board. Apart from the block trains to ports and major regional distribution centres, it was not uncommon to see one or two Carflats in a mixed freight to somewhere like Cornwall, with several different types of car and light commercial on board. Until the end of Leyland, the trains to Italy would have portions from Longbridge, Bordesley and Cowley, loade with different types of vehicle.

Ford, on the other hand, had just two car-manufacturing sites, each specialising in a small range of vehicles, along with imports via Purfleet, so the scope for a variety of vehicles in any one train was much smaller.

[Michael Delamar]

interesting Brian.

 

Im going to see if my dad will let me have some of his prized minix cars,I think he has enough to do something a realistic train of either 1100's, ford anglias or Imps.

 

trains of Imps are out of my area, but Fords where built round here and there are recollections of seeing them, I can actually see myself building a Morris Cowley train and also a Ford train, would take a few years mind.

my dad remembers trains of Anglias but on individual 4 wheeled wagons and strangely, heading away from Liverpool docks towards Halewood.

 

Ive been rummaging out old lima mk1s among other things to see if I can use them for converting.

 

my Dads got loads of those triang Tierwags too, he just likes collecting them and ive only just seen a photo of the real thing. I think he hunts them out for the cars moreso.

 

pics from a few years back, hes collected more since

 

 

Edited March 6, 2013 by Michael Delamar

[bigherb]

With the mixed load on it I would guess that was probably from Kings Norton, which loaded cars from Longbridge and Morris Commercial at Adderley Park.

Most likely. Most commercial vehicles where made at the old Wolseley plant except the A55's where made on a track at Longbridge, know to crush the occasional body shell.

[bigherb]

trains of Imps are out of my area,

Not far out, I expect they would have come down the east coast from Linwood to Coventry.

[Fat Controller]

Not far out, I expect they would have come down the east coast from Linwood to Coventry.

West Coast, surely?

[bigherb]

West Coast, surely?

Yep that's what I meant. (It's an age thing)

[bob hughes60]

I have an interest in the Oxley-Kingswinsford branch and the "car trains" rang some bells.

Not found any pics yet but timetable copy from "By Rail to Wombourn"-Ned Williams

 

 

I am sure there is a picture of a 9F with one of these loadings waiting just to go onto mainline at Oxley Junction.

As earlier poster has indicated train took the branch. Track was lifted in 1967? so route would have changed then.

 

This one shows diesel working type 4 just after branch closed

http://www.flickr.com/photos/71592768@N08/8099732526

 

Cheers

Bob Hughes

Edited March 6, 2013 by bob hughes60

[The Stationmaster]

going by what ive seen so far, I think an easy way to identify would be by what way the cars are facing on the train, the Morris ones seem to face backwards while the Austin cars face forward.

As the train is just north of Oxford North Jcn and heading south I doubt it would be likely to have any Cowley built vehicles aboard - in fact it might even have been heading for MosCow with vehicles to go into stock for distribution from there?).

[mikeh]

With the mixed load on it I would guess that was probably from Kings Norton, which loaded cars from Longbridge and Morris Commercial at Adderley Park. Following a strike of shuttle drivers a loading facility was put in at the Longbridge factory.

Rovers and Land Rovers were loaded at Dorridge, later transferring to Bordesley when the Dorridge yard was sold for housing.

3S49 in 1968 was the 1515 TThSO Kings Norton-Bathgate, the loco coming light from Saltley and workimg through to Bathgate - for Chard it was booked 2046-2048 at Carlisle No.12 for relief.

The Saltley men worked to Basford Hall and it also had relief at Carnforth.

 

The return was 3M45 1145 MWFO Bathgate-Kings Norton, Carlisle Recess Sdgs 1522-1645.

 

Regards

Mike

[TheSignalEngineer]

.

 

Ive been rummaging out old lima mk1s among other things to see if I can use them for converting.

BR Diagram Book 240 covered NPCCS and has a couple of drawings of carflats. Many at Kings Norton were pre-nationalisation underframes of various parentage.

[Michael Delamar]

I think carflats would be a popular kit for someone like Cambrian.

 

Im sure ive got some old Hornby 57ft LMS coaches and some old Hornby GWR collets somewhere if they could be made use of.

 

I like the one in the first shot of the article posted earlier, with the cut down tops of the buffers, doesnt have a handrail along the side either.

[Fat Controller]

I think carflats would be a popular kit for someone like Cambrian.

 

Im sure ive got some old Hornby 57ft LMS coaches and some old Hornby GWR collets somewhere if they could be made use of.

 

I like the one in the first shot of the article posted earlier, with the cut down tops of the buffers, doesnt have a handrail along the side either.

The one in the first shot is a Carflat (as opposed to a Carflat A). It's on an ex-GWR chassis, and has two parallel shallow U-channels fixed to the floor for the wheels to run in. These were fine whilst all the vehicles being carried had roughly the same track-width, but once the range included everything from Minis to small lorries, their limitations became evident. I'm not sure how long they lasted, and whether they were rebuilt with plain floors.