Coal trains to Wheatley

[kandc_au]

In the book on station layouts , namely Thame station, there is reference to coal trains for Wheatley, being run to Thame so the loco could run around the train and then drop off the wagons at Wheatley.

My question is: Does anyone know why this was?

Wheatley had a loop, and yard was accessible from both directions so why was there a need to run the train to Thame to runaround?

 

Khris

[Martin]

This may have been because the loop at Wheatley was shorter than the one at Thame (931ft vs 1253ft) and may not have been long enough for the longest coal trains.  Although I don't know how long a coal train might have been on this line, It would only take about 45 wagons for this to be the case.

 

Martin

[caradoc]

I have to admit that I'm somewhat mystified by this topic! Wheatley is a village with no heavy industry and the station was never more than a passing location on a single track railway, with a small goods yard of two sidings. There would not have been any reason to run coal trains specially to Wheatley, it would have been served by the normal branch freights. Certainly in Richard Lingard's book 'Princes Risborough-Thame-Oxford Railway' (OPC, 1978), there is no mention of any such workings.

[The Stationmaster]

This might help - a little bit (but not a lot - it does however note the presence of 3 coal merchants at Wheatley)

 

https://wheatleyarchive.org.uk/2014/09/25/recollections-of-wheatley-gwr/

[Gordon A]

In The Stationmaster's link there is mention of a brick kiln to the north of the station. Could that be a major customer for coal?

 

Gordon A

[caradoc]

Thanks Stationmaster, interesting recollections from Mr Avery, particularly as I attended the school at which he taught ! (although not at the same time, sadly). Given that there was no private siding for the brick kiln, presumably coal would have been supplied from Wheatley goods yard, and I still can't see how this small location could ever have justified dedicated coal trains. I do now wonder whether the working referred to by the OP was simply a normal method of working the line, ie a goods train from (presumably) Oxford to Thame and back, shunting the sidings en route on either the outward or return journey, depending on operational convenience.

[kandc_au]

I asked the question because one of the books I was reading, cannot remember which at the moment but thought it was the Oxford-Risborough one, specifically made mention of coal trains being reversed there for Wheatley.

When I looked at the Wheatley layout I could not understand why.

Yard length would be a reason , but then the question would be why so much coal there.

The way it was written made me think it was a whole coal train!

Not being in the UK or having grown up there is why the questions are being asked!

 

Khris

 

Have since found the reference in Great western stations Illustrated Vol 3 on the page about Thame. Apparently this happened after March 1967 when the Wheatley Box was closed.

 

Edited to add footnote.

Edited May 27, 2017 by kandc_au

[unravelled]

This might help - a little bit (but not a lot - it does however note the presence of 3 coal merchants at Wheatley)

 

https://wheatleyarchive.org.uk/2014/09/25/recollections-of-wheatley-gwr/

Thank you for that link. Robert Avery was one of my teachers, and also ran the school railway society, so he is in a large way resonsible for my photograph collection. I have one of the Wheatley station signs and RA had the other, now at Didcot.

This thread is significant for me in my planning of a "not Thame" station in 00. A coal train to be reversed will be a useful bit of operation to run.

 

Thanks

 

Dave

[caradoc]

Today I spoke to my Mum who lived in Wheatley from 1942 to 1946, and for a couple of years travelled by train to school in Thame. She certainly can't think of any reason for heavy coal traffic to Wheatley. However it was certainly a question worth asking, kandc_au, and has generated some interesting discussion.   

[richbrummitt]

This line has some steep bits 1 in 80 at worst iirc. There was at one time a trip working from Oxford. This was described by an article in GWRJ around 2 years ago. That would not have been the coal working unless something is confused. There was a large sawmill or timber yard behind the platform on the opposite side to the yard.

[kandc_au]

Today I spoke to my Mum who lived in Wheatley from 1942 to 1946, and for a couple of years travelled by train to school in Thame. She certainly can't think of any reason for heavy coal traffic to Wheatley. However it was certainly a question worth asking, kandc_au, and has generated some interesting discussion.   

Caradoc,

I have just re-edited my edited post 7. The info now reads this happened after March 67 when the Wheatley box closed.

This now makes sense as to why your Mother didn't remember it.

It didn't happen then!

 

Khris