Stone traffic through Olympia mid 1980s

[guzzler17]

14 minutes ago, acg5324 said:

Just one more says the man!..........

Polybulks at Old Oak Common my mind suggests from somewhere in Switzerland to St Blazey?

 

 

Sounds right.

 

Do you have a date for this?  Says he who's just put his SR freight WTT's away again.

 

 

[Fat Controller]

4 minutes ago, guzzler17 said:

 

Sounds right.

 

Do you have a date for this?  Says he who's just put his SR freight WTT's away again.

 

 

Initially ran to Biberist (Switzerland), later to Sezzadio (Italy) loaded with china clay; outward working was as two trains on consecutive days, which became one from Dunkerque. Started running in the mid-1970s, and finished sometime in the years of this century. Sometimes, in later years, it conveyed ferry vans for bagged clay. 

[acg5324]

2 hours ago, guzzler17 said:

 

Sounds right.

 

Do you have a date for this?  Says he who's just put his SR freight WTT's away again.

 

 

Slide mount is date stamped July 1984.

[guzzler17]

33 minutes ago, acg5324 said:

Slide mount is date stamped July 1984.

 

There is this path shown in the Southern freight WTT effective from 14 May 1984

 

6Z00 (runs when required) 08.15 Dover Town to St Blazey

 

Latchmere Jn was passed at 10.40 so entry onto the Western Region would be around 11ish

 

A runs when required service could be subject to short term changes but without the right documents to hand.........

 

HTH

[Fat Controller]

7 minutes ago, guzzler17 said:

 

There is this path shown in the Southern freight WTT effective from 14 May 1984

 

6Z00 (runs when required) 08.15 Dover Town to St Blazey

 

Latchmere Jn was passed at 10.40 so entry onto the Western Region would be around 11ish

 

A runs when required service could be subject to short term changes but without the right documents to hand.........

 

HTH

It used to run on a weekly (possibly fortnightly) basis, I believe. It would work as two separate trains from Devon and Cornwall (running Wednesday/ Thursday). This would cross to Dunkerque, where they would be combined into a single train, that would run to Basel on Sunday, then to the destination terminal on Monday. On the return journey, the empties ran as a single train. Two rakes of wagon seem to have been used.

[SED Freightman]

15 hours ago, lyneux said:

Fairly certain RMC didn’t have any PGAs. Redland or Tilbury.

 

Guy

I think the Tilbury Roadstone hoppers may have appeared occasionally at Bat & Ball.

[SED Freightman]

44 minutes ago, guzzler17 said:

 

There is this path shown in the Southern freight WTT effective from 14 May 1984

 

6Z00 (runs when required) 08.15 Dover Town to St Blazey

 

Latchmere Jn was passed at 10.40 so entry onto the Western Region would be around 11ish

 

A runs when required service could be subject to short term changes but without the right documents to hand.........

 

HTH

Retimed in Supplement 1 also commencing 14/05/1984, to depart Dover Town at 0830, still Latchmere Jn 10/40 though.

[Rivercider]

3 hours ago, Fat Controller said:

It used to run on a weekly (possibly fortnightly) basis, I believe. It would work as two separate trains from Devon and Cornwall (running Wednesday/ Thursday). This would cross to Dunkerque, where they would be combined into a single train, that would run to Basel on Sunday, then to the destination terminal on Monday. On the return journey, the empties ran as a single train. Two rakes of wagon seem to have been used.

The two trains up from Cornwall were normally formed of 11 vehicles each generally hauled by a class 47, with the trains assisted as far as Newton Abbot. The return empty train was normally therefore 22 wagons, though there seem less in the above photo.

 

cheers

[acg5324]

I can clearly count 18…so not to far off…and there looks like more.

[muddy water]

On 13/11/2021 at 19:16, SED Freightman said:

I would suggest that 56051 is working 6V90 1048 Chislehurst ARC Sdg to Acton Yard where the wagons would be attached to a jumbo train back to Westbury / Whatley Quarry, this was due past Latchemere Jn at 11/29 heading for Kensington O.  56039 (not 56059 as captioned) as would be close behind on 6V17 1000 Allington ARC Sdg to Stoke Gifford Sdgs (for Tytherington ?), which was due past Latchemere Jn at 11/36 heading towards Kensington O.

 

I would hazard a guess the 47621 is working an additional service for Chislehurst, the short length being due to the need to run round in Swanley Stn.  I believe Chislehurst was the only SED /CD location where ARC handled grab discharge wagons at this time.  Finally 56059 is almost certainly heading an additional service to Bat & Ball Redland Sdg with traffic originating from Whatley or Tytherington.

Reversing at Swanley? Was this a regular activity. What years did it happen. My club is modelling Swanley and is always looking for unusual workings.

 

[guzzler17]

17 hours ago, muddy water said:

Reversing at Swanley? Was this a regular activity. What years did it happen. My club is modelling Swanley and is always looking for unusual workings.

 

 

Happened on 21st and 24th January 1986 if an internal BR document is to be believed.

 

The working was a Tuesday and/or Friday only additional service from Acton Yard which was arranged at short notice, usually only a week in advance.

Edited December 12, 2021 by guzzler17
removal of 1 sentance

[guzzler17]

Looking at old timetables the main Acton to Chislehurst working also reversed at Swanley.  That service had more wagons than the additional did so reversal took longer, more time to recharges the brakes etc.

 

The main train was safely tucked up in Chislehurst siding well before the morning peak but the additional had to be pathed into the normal off peak service.  A half load of tipplers probably struck a good balance between getting extra stone to Chislehurst once or twice a week without disrupting passenger services too much, if at all.

[SED Freightman]

On 12/12/2021 at 09:02, guzzler17 said:

Looking at old timetables the main Acton to Chislehurst working also reversed at Swanley.  That service had more wagons than the additional did so reversal took longer, more time to recharges the brakes etc.

 

The main train was safely tucked up in Chislehurst siding well before the morning peak but the additional had to be pathed into the normal off peak service.  A half load of tipplers probably struck a good balance between getting extra stone to Chislehurst once or twice a week without disrupting passenger services too much, if at all.

11 Tipplers would have been pretty much the maximum load (I don't have a load table to hand) as the train had to be accommodated within the signals at each end of Platform 2 at Swanley, (ie. 12 coach lengths).  On arrival there had to be room between the rear of  the train and the signal for the crossover at the London End so that the loco could fit in after running round via Platform 1.  The key to timing the service at Swanley was to find a sufficient gap in the services using Platform 2 that allowed time for the run round and then co-incided with a gap in traffic on the Up Fast so that the train could proceed to the Chislehurst Up Loop, where it could loiter awaiting a gap in traffic before a crawl along the Up Fast and set back into Chislehurst Sdgs.  It was possible to run around longer trains at Swanley but this would prevent moves from the Down Slow (Platform 4) to the Down Branch whilst the run round took place

 

Following further investigation with much assistance from guzzler17 the normal load for a Class 56 appears to have been 15 PTA's.

Edited December 18, 2021 by SED Freightman
Additional info