Freight in Cornwall in early 2000s

[aictosphotos]

I've looked on Flickr, here and the Freightmaster Spring 2003 book but I'm getting nowhere with the consists of what formed specific trains:

 

6V70 Cliffe Vale to Burngullow EWS 66 Empty China Clay

6M72 Burngullow to Cliffe Vale EWS 66 Loaded China Clay

 

6V20 Earles to Moorswater FL 66 Loaded Cement Tanks

6M37 Moorswater to Earles FL 66 Empty Cement Tanks

 

The cements seem to be both PCAs or JPAs, anyone know what type of wagon was used on both and roughly how many wagons one could expect please as the formations of said services isn't something I'm familiar with, I'm having a estimate of about 18 to 36 wagons per service? 

 

Appreciate any help as I'm more familiar with the passenger side than the freight side of the industry.

[The Fatadder]

From memory the capacity of the Moorswater branch was a limiting factor on the length of the cement trains, so they would split the train at Exeter and run in two halves to / from Moorswater.  Running a combination of Metalair PCA (the Bachmann type) and Cargowaggons (including those which were liveried in Blue Circle yellow).

 

I think a typical set was 10 PCA and 2 Cargowaggon, though I have seen other combinations (eg 4 Cargowaggon + 6 PCA)  The majority of the PCA were in plain grey, with a small number finished with Blue Circle branding 

[aictosphotos]

10 minutes ago, The Fatadder said:

From memory the capacity of the Moorswater branch was a limiting factor on the length of the cement trains, so they would split the train at Exeter and run in two halves to / from Moorswater.  Running a combination of Metalair PCA (the Bachmann type) and Cargowaggons (including those which were liveried in Blue Circle yellow).

 

I think a typical set was 10 PCA and 2 Cargowaggon, though I have seen other combinations (eg 4 Cargowaggon + 6 PCA)  The majority of the PCA were in plain grey, with a small number finished with Blue Circle branding 

 

I didn't know they ran them with the cargowaggons, I always thought that they were mostly used on Channel Tunnel services so why would they have been needed in a freight consist that handled cement?

 

As to splitting them, would that have been in Riverside Yard near Exeter St Davids or Hackney Yard near Newton Abbot?

 

Is this why Freightmaster has the cement trains as running over two days in both directions?

 

Appreciate the help so far, my experience of Cornwall is limited to a Down Night Riveria, a crazy day doing all the various branches and a day or two to Plymouth that's it.

Edited July 21, 2023 by aictosphotos

[The Fatadder]

A little before your period, but the 1999 video linked below in shows the operation at Moorswater when haulage was still an EWS 37

 

 

 

[Halvarras]

I didn't know cargowaggons went to Moorswater either, until a week ago while reading Bernard Mills' book 'Backtracking Around Plymouth, Liskeard, Looe, Bodmin, Wadebridge and Padstow' (still reading it, got as far as Bodmin so far!) Page 37 shows 66616 at Moorswater with only cargowaggons visible behind it in May 2004. I'm wondering whether that (or those) directly behind the 66 are 2-axle twins, as sold by Kernow (IZA from memory.....)

 

I'd also recommend a trawl of the appropriate sections of the Cornwall Railway Society website, if you haven't already - a fun way to spend an hour (or three 😉!)

[The Fatadder]

15 minutes ago, Halvarras said:

Page 37 shows 66616 at Moorswater with only cargowaggons visible behind it in May 2004. I'm wondering whether that (or those) directly behind the 66 are 2-axle twins, as sold by Kernow (IZA from memory.....)

I guess its possible (I dont have a copy of that book to check the photo) however it would be very unlikely I suspect.  Every photo I have seen of the Blue Circle traffic shows the same type of bogie Cargowaggon (the type Heljan released in the 2000s).   I think (but may be misremembering) that the Moorswater branch has a limitation on wheelbase given the tight curves, and that VGA / 2 axle Cargowaggons are banned.