Steelworks Workings

[jonny777]

27 minutes ago, luckymucklebackit said:

 

My first question would be - which Uddingston box?  The Uddingston signalbox on the WCML was Uddingston Junction, a busy Junction for the Bellshill line and the Main line to Motherwell which would definitely have been open 24hrs, but the former NB/LNER box at Uddingston East was on the a line that was on the brink of closure, the station closed in 1955 and the line completely in 1961, think that is the box you have the register for.

 

Edit - here is the timetable for that line in 1955 https://timetableworld.com/ttw-viewer?token=66d160cc-d943-40f6-be38-842d1602845c  still a few trains off-peak as well as peak so the box must have been opened to allow the small goods yard there to be shunted.  Due to the sparse service it would have been "switched out" for the rest of the day

 

Jim

 

Thanks Jim. 

 

The register just says Uddingston; it doesn't specify a suffix or a junction. However, on Oct 7th between 0613 and 0805 the workings are 0644 from Glasgow, loco 46222; 0709 from Glasgow, loco 70051, 0718 from Maryhill, loco 40152; 0726 to Hamilton Goods, loco 90386; 0734 to Hamilton Goods, loco 57407; 0743 to Motherwell light engine, loco 76002.   

 

And then it closed until 4:45 pm. 

[luckymucklebackit]

49 minutes ago, jonny777 said:

 

Thanks Jim. 

 

The register just says Uddingston; it doesn't specify a suffix or a junction. However, on Oct 7th between 0613 and 0805 the workings are 0644 from Glasgow, loco 46222; 0709 from Glasgow, loco 70051, 0718 from Maryhill, loco 40152; 0726 to Hamilton Goods, loco 90386; 0734 to Hamilton Goods, loco 57407; 0743 to Motherwell light engine, loco 76002.   

 

And then it closed until 4:45 pm. 

 

Ah! so definitely not the NBR line and not Uddingston East, 46222 being a Duchess Pacific and 70051 being a Britannia!  These were the Caledonian Railway signalboxes in the area. and I am thinking that it could have been Viewpark Colliery https://signalbox.org/~SBdiagram.php?id= 446 as this only controlled the lines into the colliery and might only have been required a these times.  For comparison - this is Uddingston Junction - much more complicated https://signalbox.org/~SBdiagram.php?id= 450

 

EdIt - nope - that box closed in 1938, so possibly Haughhead Colliery, which closed in 1960, otherwise I am stumped

 

Edit Again: Bit more sure it was Haughhead now, as the 07:18 is shown on the 1955 timetable as a through train from Maryhill to Shotts which stopped at Newton at 07:16, sow it would probably passed Haughhead at 07:18

 

Jim

 

Edited June 28, 2021 by luckymucklebackit

[jonny777]

Thanks again, Jim. 

 

This goes a long way to explaining why the box was switched out for such long periods during the day. 

 

Looking on the NLS website https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=18&lat=55.82298&lon=-4.10773&layers=168&right=171  there were loops on either side of the line and junctions to both Haughley and Blantyreferme Collieries. 

[jonny777]

Anyhow, I have begun the slow process of transcribing the register details onto the 1954 page on my spotting log site. I like to add shed allocations where possible, to give a more complete picture. 

 

https://spottinglogs.co.uk/1954-2/ 

 

If anyone wishes to have a look, you will need to scroll right down to the bottom of the page for October as everything is in date order. Any comments regarding the entries/workings/destinations would be welcome; as my knowledge of services for anywhere in 1954 is sparse, let alone the specific Hamilton/Uddingston/Motherwell area.