W.R. Early 1980s Freight Photos - South Wales Severn Tunnel Junction to Pantyffynnon.

[Ian Smeeton]

Are these the same type of wagons, Coil B or Coil J. The only time I got any photos of them. They had the TOPS code OUV when I took these.

B726256, B726437,  B726489 [CBR8-006] by Paul James, on Flickr

 

 

 

That 16T mineral in the background is at a bit of an angle.

 

End door tippler, perhaps,

 

or in need of the hand of God?

 

Regards

 

Ian

[Mark Saunders]

That 16T mineral in the background is at a bit of an angle.

 

End door tippler, perhaps,

 

or in need of the hand of God?

 

Regards

 

Ian

 

Looks like a wheelex to me given that there is a crane sat next to it!

 

Mark Saunders

[Melly]

Its a small wagon repair site - probably having an axle changed.

 

DB983188, DB983246 [CBR 7-028] by Jamerail, on Flickr

[Ian Smeeton]

Looks like a wheelex to me given that there is a crane sat next to it!

 

Mark Saunders

 

 

Its a small wagon repair site - probably having an axle changed.

 

DB983188, DB983246 [CBR 7-028] by Jamerail, on Flickr

 

And there is the evidence.

 

Regards

 

Ian

[Rivercider]

Some more photos at Newport on a grey day in 1980, another day when I suppose a lot of photographers would not have bothered

but usually if I had planned to go out somewhere I still went and tried to make the best of it.

On checking my notes I see this was a day when I went with my dad who was on duty visiting locations in the Newport area including Maesglas Tip.

 

Three trains hauled by class 37s, two of these workings would have been an every day sight in 1980, but the first one with class 37s working an iron ore set was unusual, class 56s having taken over the work the previous year. 

 

37247 and 37274 haul an empty iron ore set westwards through Newport, whether this pair had earlier brought the set up loaded or were retrieving a set left at Llanwern I do not know, 15/7/80

 

37222 passes Newport with a loaded coal train heading west, 15/7/80

 

 

37301, one of the specially adapted class 37s that formerly worked the iron ore trains, works a train of empty 21t HTVs through Newport, 15/7/80

 

cheers

[Fat Controller]

And there is the evidence.

 

Regards

 

Ian

Along with a lovely photo of the LMS-designed Cowans Sheldon hand crane that Hornby have had in their range, on and off, since the year Dot. TWY had a similar one. Despite being hand-worked, they weren't that old, being built around the beginning of WW2 to provide additional cranage for locations that had suddenly become busy as a consequence of military activities.

[Rivercider]

Another view of Newport from the same day in 1980.

 

One of the large Ebbw Junction allocation of class 08s passes Godfrey Road Sidings at Newport with a trip from A D  Junction,

behind 08587 appears to be a grampus, a lamprey, then two more grampus.

Class 101 Met-Cam set B804 in Godfrey Road sidings had earlier arrived at Newport on the 14.28 Gloucester - Newport service, 15/7/80

 

On another dull day at Newport is a passing Speedlink feeder service, almost certainly 6C42 16.50 Cardiff Tidal - Severn Tunnel Junction.

 

47199 is a visiting Midland Region loco from Crewe Diesel Depot, then comes a long raft of BDAs loaded with steel bar from the GKN works at Cardiff

which was a regular traffic on 6C42. 17/9/81

 

cheers

 

[Rivercider]

Finally at Newport for now yet two more class 37 locos.

 

Cardiff Cantons 37223 was still a vacuum only loco at this time and is seen working a trip from BSC Llanwern to Newport Docks with steel coil for export,

it is an unfitted train I think formed of coil C and coil J wagons including coil J B380100 as I took a wagon number to enable me to check the destination of the train in Bristol TOPS on my way home, 3/11/81

 

Besides the steel, coal and oil trains that frequently passed through Newport there were also the ballast trains running between Severn Tunnel Junction and the ARC quarry at Machen. Of the three South Wales quarries still supplying track ballast at the start of the 1980s, Machen, Tintern/Tidenham and Hirwaun, my dad told me that Machen produced the best quality ballast.

37158 heads west through Newport on the Down Relief line with 17 empty sealions and seacows for Machen, 6/11/81

 

cheers

 

[balders]

Loving these photos, many thanks. Reminds me of a couple of visits during 1982 to Cardiff. As a kid from the Midlands the endless procession of 37's was manna from heaven! It still staggers me that even in the early 80's there were a good proportion of them were still vacuum brake only, although it was totally changed in short order in the mid 80's

 

Regards

 

Guy

Edited February 9, 2017 by balders

[Rivercider]

Continuing westwards from Newport towards Cardiff the four running lines almost immediately enter a pair of tunnels,

the South Wales Sectional Appendix refers to Newport Old Tunnel for the relief lines with Newport New Tunnel for the main lines,

though my Baker Rail Atlas refers simply to Hillfield Tunnel.

 

A walk over the hill brings us to a footbridge with a view of the western portal of the tunnels on a sunny December morning.

45034, a Toton allocated loco, exits the west end of Newport Old Tunnel with a vacuum braked working on the Down Relief line, 1/12/81

 

A little later that morning and more of the cutting is now in sunshine.

Cardiff Cantons 47233 slowly exits Newport Old Tunnel on the way to the nearby A.D Junction yard with an engineers train of spoil for Maesglas Tip, 1/12/81 

 

cheers

 

[ess1uk]

Another great thread

[Rivercider]

Turning the other way on the footbridge to look west we can see Gaer Junction where the route to the Western Valleys branches off to the right.

My 1980 Baker Rail Atlas shows a number of freight locations most of which were active until well into the 1980s most notably BSC Ebbw Vale Tinplate Works.

There were collieries at Rose Heyworth, Celynen North, Celynen South, Marine and Oakdale, the ARC quarry at Machen and Bedwas Coliery and Coke Works

though I am not sure if the latter was still dispatching rail traffic.

 

First a general view of Gaer Junction

37204 is on the Up Relief with a local trip of unfitted steel coil empties from Newport Docks to BSC Llanwern. To the right of the photo

37224 is about to disappear into Gaer Tunnel with a train for BSC Ebbw Vale comprising steel carriers of coil and empty VBAs(?), 7/5/85

 

The export coil traffic from Llanwern to Newport Docks was one of the last traffic flows to use unfitted wagons, here is another train in 1981.

37176 passes Gaer Junction with coil loaded on coil C and coil J wagons, 1/12/81 

 

Early morning mist still hangs in the cutting as 56041 and 56043 pass Gaer Junction on the Up Relief with a loaded iron ore train

from Port Talbot to Llanwern, 1/12/81

 

edit - to amend wagon type in first caption, -  thanks John.

cheers

Edited February 14, 2017 by Rivercider

[Rivercider]

Moving a little further to the west we reach the bridge seen in the distance in the first photo of post 137.

 

37176 seen earlier with the steel coil for Newport Docks has come to a stand on the Down Relief at the signal and is awaiting acceptance into the yard

by the shunters at A D Junction Yard. This section of the South Wales Main Line was very busy for freight traffic and behind 37176 we can see 37184

descending down to Gaer Junction with loaded MDVs of coal from one of the Western Valley collieries, possibly heading for Llanwern,  1/12/81

 

56041 and 56044 get to have a run on the Down Main at Gaer Junction with an empty iron ore set heading back from Llanwern to Port Talbot, 25/1/82

 

Now another train which had been stood at the signal at Gaer Junction waiting acceptance into A D Junction Yard.

 

37232 restarts a train comprising an air braked SPA wagon and a miscellaneous assortment of engineers wagons loaded with spoil for Maesglas Tip, 19/5/82

 

cheers

[Wayne 37901]

Another excellent post Kevin.

 

Having only been born near the end of 1982 it's nice to see how things were with many locos still in corporate blue livery and many freights still using vacuum fitted or even unfitted wagons and brake vans.

 

Cant wait for the next one.

 

Wayne

[andy stroud]

Another fine set of photographs just oooozzzzzzing with atmosphere! You can almost hear the sound of the locos and clanking of the wagons as they trundle past.

 

andy

[JohnH]

More brilliant photos Kevin - please keep posting  

 

Not wishing to be a pedant(!) but aren't the vans in the Gaer Junction photo VAA's or VBA's? The doors are different on VCA's.

[Rivercider]

Thanks for the comments and likes.

Whenever I get out my old prints to scan they bring back happy memories, I spent quite a few hours at Gaer Junction in the 1980s.

 

Some more views at Gaer Junction taken in July 1985.

 

In the first view we can see that the route from Gaer Junction to Park Junction has been singled and the former up line which was seen disconnected and disused in 1981 in post 137 has now been recovered.

47140 passes Gaer Junction with tanks from Llandarcy to Severn Tunnel Junction 12/7/85

 

Now a train of coal from one of the Western Valley collieries comes down from Park Junction

37240 approaches Gaer Junction with a mixture of loaded 21t MDVS and 21t HTVs. 12/7/85

Later in the  mid 1980s I noticed several trains formed of a mixture of MDVs and HTVs, by this time most domestic coal was loaded in HBA and HEA wagons and conveyed on the Speedlink Network and later Speedlink Coal Network, this left the surviving HTV wagon fleet for industrial coal.

Am I right in thinking that Llanwern was capable of unloading HTVs and that this train could have been for Llanwern?

 

37240 swings across the Main Lines onto the Up Relief and is about to enter Newport Old Tunnel 12/7/85

 

cheers 

Edited February 16, 2017 by Rivercider

[Rivercider]

More brilliant photos Kevin - please keep posting

 

Not wishing to be a pedant(!) but aren't the vans in the Gaer Junction photo VAA's or VBA's? The doors are different on VCA's.

You make a good point there John, I typed the caption without checking as I remember Ebbw Vale used VCA type vans a lot.

Looking at the door arrangement, and lack of ventilator on the end of the rearmost van are they VBAs?

 

cheers 

[hmrspaul]

You make a good point there John, I typed the caption without checking as I remember Ebbw Vale used VCA type vans a lot.

Looking at the door arrangement, and lack of ventilator on the end of the rearmost van are they VBAs?

 

cheers 

No one knows why BR used both codes VAA and VBA for the same wagon design, it wasn't anything to do with the small batch which had the addition of a ventilator.

 

Lovely photos, and interesting to be reminded how intensly the fleet of unfitted coil C and Coil J were used.

 

My father was involved with the movement of oil on rail during the later 1960s and when I went to work in Cardiff for 6 months commented that line capacity through Cardiff was limiting the development of traffic along the south coast.

 

Paul Bartlett

[Fat Controller]

You make a good point there John, I typed the caption without checking as I remember Ebbw Vale used VCA type vans a lot.

Looking at the door arrangement, and lack of ventilator on the end of the rearmost van are they VBAs?

 

cheers 

They could be VAAs or VBAs; only twenty vans were fitted wwith end ventilators, out of several hundred constructed. I've never been entirely certain what the difference between the vehicles bearing the two codes was. The bodywork was identical (apart from the 20), so it must have  been something to do with running gear.

On the subject of coal to Llanwern; I have seen trains composed of a mixture of MDVs and HTVs- I wonder if the coal tippler was like the one we had at Landore, where hopper wagons could discharge between the rails?

[Rivercider]

A few more photos from Gaer Junction on a sunny morning in May 1985, all class 37s.

This was another day when I took some wagon numbers of some of the trains I saw,

and later called in to Bristol TOPS office on my way home to make enquiries to check the destination of the trains I had photographed. 

 

 

37217 exits Newport New Tunnel heading down the Up Main and is about to branch off at Gaer Junction with empty HTVs. 7/5/85

My notes say the train included HTV B427769 and the destination was 76655 Abertillery New Mines, which is not in my Baker Rail Atlas,

I think this was another name for Rose Heyworth colliery.

 

Among the steel trains that run in South Wales there were many services between different British Steel Plants, here is one passing Gaer Junction. 

37176 heads away from Gaer Junction with a service from Llanwern to Margam, behind the loco are two loaded BAA steel carriers of coil for Trostre

including 900294, followed by a long rake of empty BDAs, 7/5/85.

 

Track ballast from Machen Quarry was supplied to all three Divisions of the Western Region, the trips that served Machen normally ran from Severn Tunnel Junction.

In the 1980s  ballast from Machen was loaded out in either sealion, seacow, or dogfish hoppers, or occasionally in side tipping mermaids.

Here 37208 joins the main line at Gaer Junction on a train from Machen with 13 loaded dogfish hoppers 7/5/85

 

cheers

Edited February 15, 2017 by Rivercider

[JohnH]

More cracking photos - great stuff!

[The Johnster]

Great series, Rivercider, keep 'em coming; a lot of memories being revived here!  'Abertillery New Mines' can only be Rose Heyworth, as the only other colliery in the vicinity, Six Bells, was only used at that time for manning the galleries at that end of what was a continuous underground system between there and Cwm in the next valley, and no coal was raised there.  

[cheesysmith]

If you look at the photos in post 137, you can see that the branch line has already been singled. you even have a photo of a train coming off the branch. In the photos the redundant line has been left in place but by the later photos it had been recovered.

[br2975]

Two youngsters born within 11 months during 1981-1982 severely curtailed my local jaunts, so Kevin's excellent photos are depicting a couple of years during which my wings were clipped.

.

Brian R