Modelling freight on the Sheerness Branch

[Wyvern]

I have decided to model freight on the sheerness branch as I intend to model Queenborough station and the sidings to the south of it.   The period would be 1983 or thereabouts to permit the introduction of a class 58.   The main freight traffic would be

• steel trains from sheerness steel works
• some pick up goods from the sidings to the south of Queenborough
• coal trains from Swale (16T minerals?)

I am keen to know what freight stock would have been used?   Fitted or unfitted?  I have seen photographs with a number of items of stock 

 

Class 56 - courtesy of train http://www.train-photos.co.uk/

 

 

Thanks

 

Guy

[Fat Controller]

By the period you're looking at, all the freight trains would have been fully-fitted, and using air-brakes. Most of the traffic would have been to and from Sheerness Steel:-

inbound scrap in their own bogie open wagons (http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/sheernesssteelpxa ) and outgoing steel rod as coil ( in SPAs as in your photo) or as long lengths on BDA bogie bolsters.

You might have had block trains of scrap in vac-fitted 16t minerals, whilst the rolling mill at Queensborough used to receive scrap rail from BR for re-rolling. This would probably been on Salmon or Borail wagons.

You could be a bit flexible with history, and have both import and export car traffic, paper/pulp/timber traffic from Sheerness Docks, and inbound plaster traffic.

[Rivercider]

The Southern Region was one of the first parts of British Rail to become fully fitted, I can not remember when that was but I am sure it was before 1983.

Therefore the freight trains in the Sheerness area would have been either fully vacuum braked or air braked Speedlink services.

 

The Speedlink trains serving the area from 17th May 1982 were:-

 

6K47 12.05 SX Hoo Jn - Sheerness (13.36) calls Queenboro 12.55.

6M40 14.25  SX Sheerness - Willesden Brent (19.10) calls Queenboro dep 15.06.

6O44 01.05 MX Temple Mills - Sheerness (08.37) calls Hoo Jn 03.10 - 07.00 Queenboro 07.48

6??? 09.25 SX Sheerness - Hoo Jn (10.23)

 

cheers

[Rivercider]

Have a look on Flickr and try search terms like 'Sheerness 1982' which finds this scrap train 37053 hauling 16t mins of scrap

https://www.flickr.com/photos/raleighwanderer/19969827351/in/photolist-gtfxmR-bKABL4-ddtiAU-ddthDK-ddtjTw-6KZxjt-jJogtF-e65RLE-dwZs1L-4dTViA-ddtmTP-b94Hgp-ddtnqw-pixgJ5-uxpN5-jKodkw-hDfUMw-fUFLrM-mZiFPt-7N51mR-wqEzW8-aiK8kR-aiMWsu-dnSVGi-dnDEqd

 

 

Or a search for 'Queenborough 1983' finds this 73

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rhugo/4240348091/in/photolist-uFRKzf-7sGTKR-bdKX5n-fcMscX-7sMaed-gTaK19

cheers

Edited November 20, 2015 by Rivercider

[Southernman46]

I suggest you enter Sheerness Steel in to the RMWeb forum search - there are lots of threads which contribute on this very subject

BUT I heartily recommend this particular thread for scratch building the steel opens ............

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/56644-0121modellers-workbench/?hl=%2Bsheerness+%2Bsteel

Wonder what happened to 0121 ?? - he disappeared all of a sudden - hope he's been OK !

Edited November 20, 2015 by Southernman46

[hmrspaul]

The Sheerness steel owned bogie bolsters POA remained in 1983 (converted to scrap open in 1985) http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/sheernesssteelpoa

 

I have quite a lot of wagons taken around Sheerness in the 1980s.  A few of which are in http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/queenboroughsheerness

 

Paul

[Glorious NSE]

Suspect that shot of the 56 is at least a decade after your date...

(Edit - more, based on Connex station hardware!)

Edited November 20, 2015 by Glorious NSE

[Southernman46]

Yes - the use of 58's in that part of the world didn't really commence until the early 90's but the mid-morning departure from Sheerness / Queenboro to Willesden (10:40 ?) was a solid 58 during the mid-late 90's

[EddieB]

Suspect that shot of the 56 is at least a decade after your date...

 

(Edit - more, based on Connex station hardware!)

According to the link it was June 1997.

[Rivercider]

Yes - the use of 58's in that part of the world didn't really commence until the early 90's but the mid-morning departure from Sheerness / Queenboro to Willesden (10:40 ?) was a solid 58 during the mid-late 90's

Looking through Flickr I see class 58s were sometimes seen on the Chessington  Speedlink Coal Network working in 1987,

though I dont think there was there was a SCN service that served any coal depots in the Medway area.

 

 

The miners strike from March 1984 to March 1985 meant that many coal trains were cancelled and spare class 56 and 58 locos were used on other workings, including Speedlink.

Might that have brought a 56 or 58 to Sheerness? Of course that is more likely to happen if there was already if class 56/58s already worked locally otherwise drivers traction knowledge wouild rule it out,

 

cheers

[Fat Controller]

Looking through Flickr I see class 58s were sometimes seen on the Chessington  Speedlink Coal Network working in 1987,

though I dont think there was there was a SCN service that served any coal depots in the Medway area.

 

 

The miners strike from March 1984 to March 1985 meant that many coal trains were cancelled and spare class 56 and 58 locos were used on other workings, including Speedlink.

Might that have brought a 56 or 58 to Sheerness? Of course that is more likely to happen if there was already if class 56/58s already worked locally otherwise drivers traction knowledge wouild rule it out,

 

cheers

Were 58s used on either coal workings to Northfleet or from the Kent Coalfield?

[Wyvern]

Thanks to everyone that has taken the time to respond.   You are quite right that the photo I posted was quite a bit out of my period although I had expected wagon types would be similar.   I had originally considered 1983 as it stretched into the introduction of the 58, however it obviously too a while for them to be used on the branch from their introduction on the network.   Really its the br blue era I would like to focus on so I may back date it slightly to around 1981/2 or thereabouts.   There is a nice variety of motive power on the branch as well as the ability to include 3rd rail slam door emus.   We will have to see how this evolves as a project.    

 

Guy

[Glorious NSE]

The wagons would certainly have been around and in steel service (as SPA) - though 1981/2/3 predate the Dutch livery visible, not to mention the former engineers and revenue fleets being rolled back together under EWS which that image points to.

How much loco variety was there at Sheerness circa 1981-3?

Gut feeling is I'd have expected just 33's, 73's and maybe 37s or 47s in terms of 'foreign' exotica?

My memory suggests really different stuff like 56s and 58s didn't start turning up until sectorisation, with privatisation really mixing things up (as in the OP picture!)

[Wyvern]

Interesting, I will check on Kent rail. I certainly haven't seen a photo of a blue 56 on the branch so perhaps it was post sectorisation. I may have to invoke modeller's license.

[Wyvern]

Kent rail explains that it was the privatisation era under the transrail banner that they were introduced to the branch.

[SED Freightman]

I have only just come across this topic whilst slowly working my way through the many interesting old threads on the forum, so apologies for the rather belated comments.

 

The first class 58 to reach the Isle of Sheppey was 58039 on a guaging trip which visited Queenborough Yard (and Ridham Dock) on 19th March 1994, this was prior to the class being introduced on certain Speedlink type services.  Class 56's were used on the MGR trains to UK Paper's Ridham Sidings, but not until the mid 1980's after the miners strike, when they replaced pairs of 33's or 73's.  With a little modellers licence it would have been possible for a loaded MGR train to reach Queenborough in the event of a problem with the groundframe preventing access to Ridham, although under normal circumstancies such trains would have been stabled in the Down Loop at Sittingbourne.

[bigdaveadams1]

I want to model 1998-99 when there were 31s, 33s, 37s, 47s, 56s, 58s, 60s and 73s! It's my layout of a lifetime/dream. I'm going to attempt it in N but would love to build it in P4. Hoo Jn was my happy place when out train spotting in the South East. 

[rob D2]

On 28/02/2020 at 09:30, bigdaveadams1 said:

I want to model 1998-99 when there were 31s, 33s, 37s, 47s, 56s, 58s, 60s and 73s! It's my layout of a lifetime/dream. I'm going to attempt it in N but would love to build it in P4. Hoo Jn was my happy place when out train spotting in the South East. 

There’s some great videos of hoo on YouTube around 96 with fantastic lcoco variety