National Carriers Limited - Obscure Good Shed Locations with NCL Sign

[Ben04uk]

Following the picture on 'Dave F's photos - ongoing' thread showing Lairg Goods shed in August 1973 (ref: C1333) with a National Carriers Limited sign on it, it got me thinking what other small goods sheds in England, Scotland, and Wales has the National Carriers Limited plaque on it? I presume there must have been equally obscure small, very old good sheds in remote locations that carried the NCL sign.

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/85326-dave-fs-photos-ongoing-more-added-5th-october/page-38

 

I have also seen a photo of the goods sheds at Kyle of Lochalsh which shows this too probably had the same plaque/sign, as shown here:

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/52554553@N06/10422484173/in/photolist-7LkYou-o8r8Lo-5q2rrF-ifQcET-fLHQ1m-gSZXqZ-a9KQYN-jmGR5V-7owisf-7owiwf-7owiDy-fay1DC 

 

Does anyone know / remember any other  good sheds that carried the NCL sign? It would make a good little scene to model.

 

 

[40044]

Exeter St. David's, Liverpool Huskisson, Warrington Bank Quay. No doubt there are many, many more.

[Fat Controller]

Drump Lane... (it's near Redruth, Cornwall)

[Clive Mortimore]

Bedford Midland Road, Kings Cross Goods are two that come to mind. I think if you were to look at post 1968 goods sheds where rail to road transfers still took place they would have had some NCL signage being as the BR road freight handling became National Carriers Limited. So you banger blue modellers don't forget to put a NCL sign on your goods shed if you still have the goods yard open.

 

Many of these signs remained in place after NCL became Lynx.

[Ben04uk]

St. Austell, Cornwall; the 'new' yard a quarter of a mile east of the station at the end of the up loop.

 

Interesting - do you recall seeing the sign personally or have you seen photos showing it? 

 

Although I suppose technically all goods yards were part of the National Carriers Ltd network during this period, I wonder how many of them actually got the NCL plaque - perhaps all did, who knows.

[floss_4]

Interesting - do you recall seeing the sign personally or have you seen photos showing it? 

 

Although I suppose technically all goods yards were part of the National Carriers Ltd network during this period, I wonder how many of them actually got the NCL plaque - perhaps all did, who knows.

 

I can remember seeing the yellow vans there in the 70's.

[Ben Alder]

Here's one from 1971- Lybster goods shed with its lorry. To be fair, the shed was abandoned by then and I suspect was merely being garaged there, but obviously was still regarded as railway property.

 

[synthnut]

Here's one from 1971- Lybster goods shed with its lorry. To be fair, the shed was abandoned by then and I suspect was merely being garaged there, but obviously was still regarded as railway property.

 

lybster goods shed a-crop.jpg

The more I look at this photo the stranger the scale looks! If you compare the windows and their size to the truck, it looks like the truck is too small. It almost seems as if a person should be nearly as all as the canopy...

Do I need to go to specsavers or des any one else see what I mean? Mixing Matchbox models with the Hornby again kids!

 

I"ll get my coat,

Ben

[Clive Mortimore]

The more I look at this photo the stranger the scale looks! If you compare the windows and their size to the truck, it looks like the truck is too small. It almost seems as if a person should be nearly as all as the canopy...

Do I need to go to specsavers or des any one else see what I mean? Mixing Matchbox models with the Hornby again kids!

 

I"ll get my coat,

Ben

Hi Ben

 

I see what you mean about the size of the lorry and the goods shed but I think we all seem to forget how small 1960s road vehicles were compared with of today. The "lorry" looks like a Karrier Bantam, BR purchased some of these as replacements for the Scammel Scrab and were about the same size but with 4 wheels.

[Merfyn Jones]

Hi Ben

 

I see what you mean about the size of the lorry and the goods shed but I think we all seem to forget how small 1960s road vehicles were compared with of today. The "lorry" looks like a Karrier Bantam, BR purchased some of these as replacements for the Scammel Scrab and were about the same size but with 4 wheels.

Agreed Clive, the Karrier Bantam was small, about the size of an average car, with wheels of similar size. BR bought loads of them, from the early 50s to c1967. I have record of 2333 and that was not all of them.

Merf.

[Dave Scott]

Just as an aside on NCL. When NCL was set up the staff transferred from BR. I met a NCL driver in the 90s at Oxford who still had free travel privelidges on the National Network. He had retained them when he transferred from BR to NCL.

[floss_4]

Just as an aside on NCL. When NCL was set up the staff transferred from BR. I met a NCL driver in the 90s at Oxford who still had free travel privelidges on the National Network. He had retained them when he transferred from BR to NCL.

 

I wonder if this has applied to the subsequent transfers. Are there people working for UPS with such benefits?

[Fat Controller]

I wonder if this has applied to the subsequent transfers. Are there people working for UPS with such benefits?

There was certainly at least one person at Eurotunnel, until he retired a couple of years ago, who had such rights; he'd been with BR, then Sealink, before taking early retirement when it was sold to Stena. Daft old so-and-so never used his allocation of Priv tickets, alas. The retention of rights would have been because of his retired status. I don't think it would have applied, unless specific provision was made during the sale of the business, to those working for UPS, or anyone else who had been employed by a former NCL company. I'm not even sure if such rights were accorded to anyone who joined NCL after it split from BR, or who worked for those bits of NFC (NCL's parent company) which hadn't been part of BR.

[Andy Kirkham]

Exeter St. David's, Liverpool Huskisson, Warrington Bank Quay. No doubt there are many, many more.

 

Exeter seen here https://www.flickr.com/photos/52554553@N06/10068089223/in/set-72157636143031276

[Andy Kirkham]

Drump Lane... (it's near Redruth, Cornwall)

 

You can see plenty of yellow van here https://www.flickr.com/photos/52554553@N06/10419945123/in/set-72157636828119615, although not a sign

[Fat Controller]

You can see plenty of yellow van here https://www.flickr.com/photos/52554553@N06/10419945123/in/set-72157636828119615, although not a sign

That was the photo that inspired my reply, Andy..

[Eggesford box]

Pretty sure I have seen a photo of the goods shed at Barnstaple Victoria road  (the ex GWR station) with NCL branding. The station lasted for many years longer as a goods depot after it closed to passengers.

[Ben Alder]

Slightly out of focus, and looking beyond its best, here is a trailer at Thurso,1970IIR. Not sure if it is originally a Scarab era model or from a Bantam, but not as advanced a version as the Lybster one.

 

[Ben04uk]

Pretty sure I have seen a photo of the goods shed at Barnstaple Victoria road  (the ex GWR station) with NCL branding. The station lasted for many years longer as a goods depot after it closed to passengers.

I think the pictures you are referring to are these (right at the bottom):

 

http://www.cornwallrailwaysociety.org.uk/taunton-to-barnstaple.html

 

An NCL vehicle but no sign of a sign!

[Andy Kirkham]

I think the pictures you are referring to are these (right at the bottom):

 

http://www.cornwallrailwaysociety.org.uk/taunton-to-barnstaple.html

 

An NCL vehicle but no sign of a sign!

 

My word! I never realised that there were still tracks in use at Victoria Road as late as 1975.

[96701]

Blackburn had an NCL goods shed. It's where our vans were serviced and repaired.

[Merfyn Jones]

Slightly out of focus, and looking beyond its best, here is a trailer at Thurso,1970IIR. Not sure if it is originally a Scarab era model or from a Bantam, but not as advanced a version as the Lybster one.

 

Scammel trailer-crop.jpg

A Scammell trailer of 3 ton. Could be from the early 50s, unusual design with side door. Could have been used with a Scarab 3 ton or Bantam as both were around from the same period. Being Thurso, I suspect they may have had Bantams for the 'long distance' work.

 

Merf.

[Ben Alder]

Thurso started out with Scarabs- one of the drivers has hair raising stories of its ice coping capabilities - and later had two Bantams. I must collar him and listen to more of his recollections. As an aside to changes of ownership over the years, he once said that he had a collection of uniforms in his wardrobe as the working title altered- I'm sure he said about six in all.

[Eggesford box]

My word! I never realised that there were still tracks in use at Victoria Road as late as 1975.

I think it may have ceased to be rail served by 1971 when they did a lot of rationalising in north Devon. The signalling diagram of the new arrangements dated 21/05/1971, in the George Pryer book, shows only a spur at Barnstaple Junction which was the remains of the former up line which the connection to Victoria road would have come off of. I think the vans where just left marooned on an isolated piece of track. Regarding the sign on the goods shed at Victoria road it may even have been personal recollection as I lived in Barnstaple but this far away in time I would not like to swear to it.

[LNERGE]

The old Midland Railway loco shed at Hitchin was used by NCL as a maintenance depot i believe..