Roskear Branch Freight 1970’s

[RateTheFreight]

Evening all,

 

I’d been reading through a book on the Westerns and noticed a great pic of ‘Western Renown’ on the branch with a wagon and brake van. From the pic it looked like the loco was propelling the service.

 

It seemed odd to use a Western for such a trip working but were they common? Who was the coal for?

 

I’m building a micro inglenook on a door in O gauge which will utilise a Western to shunt (as I like them!) so seeing that it wouldn’t be that unprototypical has been a real boost.

 

Thanks in advance for any info.

 

Greg

[brianusa]

The Cornwall Railway Society has information on this branch probably including the train you mention.  Any coal was most likely for Holman's works.

 

Brian.

[HillsideDepot]

Is it this shot?

Roskear Junction.1976 1071. by Stephen Burdett, on Flickr

 

From the Flickr comments it seems that the coal was for Holman's, and that the use of a western was very unusual, possibly unique.

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/roskearjunction produces another photo of the Western, and a short class 47 hauled train a couple of days earlier.

[kernowtim]

There is some information here

http://www.cornwallrailwaysociety.org.uk/roskear.html

Nothing now remains of the branch line although the signal box is still there and in use!!

Holmans site was cleared for housing and a tesco supermarket.

The location of the photo of the western crossing foundry road is now a car park, only the wall behind the parked cars remain, the roads being diverted around the tesco site.

[LBRJ]

Would it have been that uncommon to use a thousand on a trip working from (I guess) Drump Lane in 1976?

It seems to me as just the thing they were used for at that time.

[Rivercider]

Hi Greg,

 

in addition to the above information I have a copy of the local Freight trip booklet:

 

Local Movements and Shunting Locomotive Notice

 

Section K - ST BLAZEY - TRURO - PENZANCE

 

Re-issued Monday 7th July 1975, until further notice.

 

This shows that the Roskear shunt was part of Trip No.1, and was worked by loco diagram Laira 13, which was a dual braked class 47.

With traincrew from St Blazey and Penzance. The loco arrived each day at St Erth off the 19.18 FSX from Acton then did local trip work including

 

from 07.50 to 11//50  'Q' trips to Roskear and Dolcoath   (that is trips as required)

 

and

 

7B70 14.00 Drump Lane to Roskear (14.10)

7B70 14.30 Roskear to Drump Lane ((14.42)

 

 

edit - Roskear also gets mentioned on trip No.15 which was diagrammed to diagram Laira 33, a class 52.

 

 

 

 

cheers

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 13, 2018 by Rivercider

[Fat Controller]

Andy Kirkham's Flickr site has a 'Peak' on the Roskear trip:-

https://www.flickr.com/photos/52554553@N06/10419699265/in/album-72157636828119615/

If anyone wants to know what pig-iron looks like, there's a stack to the right of the loco.

I would suggest the mineral wagon in the view with the Western is carrying coke for Holman's foundry, rather than coal.

[keefer]

i'm sure I've read of a similar looking branch that used a Peak for a trip - it was only noticed afterwards that Peaks weren't cleared for the branch!