Norwegian ballast via Lowestoft to Whitemoor - traffic commenced 27/07/2023

[ruggedpeak]

Read a short thread on another forum that there was a trial run for Norwegian dredged ballast trains behind a Colas 56 in 2022. No more detail than that but might be what this is.

[beast66606]

On 10/08/2023 at 13:16, ruggedpeak said:

Read a short thread on another forum that there was a trial run for Norwegian dredged ballast trains behind a Colas 56 in 2022. No more detail than that but might be what this is.

 

Eccles Road
08/03/2022 (Tuesday)
56302, PECO, The Railway Modeller, 2016 70 Years, on 4L37, 13:38, Chaddesden Sdgs - Lowestoft RECP. (18:02) - 12 empty blue JNA, first empty working of a 12 week trial (turned out to be the only working)

 

 

Eccles Road
09/03/2022 (Wednesday)
56302, PECO, The Railway Modeller, 2016 70 Years, on 6M35, 12:13, Lowestoft ISU (CE) - Longport LR Colas (21:28) - loaded spoil from Norway (12 blue JNA), first loaded working of a 12 week trial

 

[beast66606]

Back to the modern workings, as it's the same working, loco aside, it's going to look very similar to other workings.

 

Eccles Road
10/08/2023 (Thursday)
66708, Glory to Ukraine / Слава Україні, on 6P52, 12:13, Whitemoor Yard L.D.C GBRF - Lowestoft RECP. (14:35) - empty stone (20 IOA)

 

66708, Glory to Ukraine / Слава Україні, on 6H52, 19:30, Lowestoft RECP. - Whitemoor Yard L.D.C GBRF (22:45) - loaded stone (20 IOA)

[beast66606]

Attleborough
11/08/2023 (Friday)
66789, British Rail, 1948 - 1997, on 6P52, 12:13, Whitemoor Yard L.D.C GBRF - Lowestoft RECP. (14:35) - empty stone (20 IOA)

 

Didn't go for the loaded return, it was held to time and it was dark at Eccles, we've had the kids and their partners home for the last couple of weeks and finally got a break so the Mrs and I were finally able to relax and watch sh1t on the TV.

[beast66606]

Another day another interesting loco on the working, it seems to have settled to ThFO at the moment but ..

 

Eccles Road
17/08/2023 (Thursday)
66302 on 6P52, 12:13, Whitemoor Yard L.D.C GBRF - Lowestoft RECP. (14:35) - empty stone (20 IOA), ex DRS with GBRF logo

[beast66606]

Another working and another loco - at this rate I'll get all GBRF locos in around 1 year.

 

Eccles Road
18/08/2023 (Friday)
66766, Gail Richardson, on 6P52, 12:13, Whitemoor Yard L.D.C GBRF - Lowestoft RECP. (14:35) - empty stone (20 IOA)

[Davexoc]

Stumbled on this on the Railway Herald photo site

 

https://www.railwayherald.com/imagingcentre/view/654813/TW

 

17/08 ready to depart....

[beast66606]

GBRF kindly continued using different locos on the working

 

Eccles Road
24/08/2023 (Thursday)
66707, Sir Sam Fay / Great Central Railway, on 6P52, 12:13, Whitemoor Yard L.D.C GBRF - Lowestoft RECP. (14:35) - empty stone (20 IOA)

 

25/08/2023 (Friday)
66711, Sence, on 6P52, 12:13, Whitemoor Yard L.D.C GBRF - Lowestoft RECP. (14:35) - empty stone (20 IOA)

[Leicester Thumper]

Hello folks,

 

Been reading through the thread,  it's very good to see new freight flows, no matter what the cargo is.  Freight expansion on the railways should always be seen as a positive thing, the more freight services there are the less lorries are on the road for the bulk of a distance. Good for many differing reasons. 

 

Leicestershire was mentioned for it's aggregates output. We have two main places where this happens with a rail interface, that being Stud Farm and Mountsorrel. We also, until last year (perhaps 2021, cannot remember), had croft quarry which was located between Narborough and Hinckley on the Leicester to Birmingham line. With that now shut down, I do often wonder what impact that closure had on the availability of aggregates output from Leicestershire? 

[beast66606]

14 hours ago, Leicester Thumper said:

Leicestershire was mentioned for it's aggregates output. We have two main places where this happens with a rail interface, that being Stud Farm and Mountsorrel. We also, until last year (perhaps 2021, cannot remember), had croft quarry which was located between Narborough and Hinckley on the Leicester to Birmingham line. With that now shut down, I do often wonder what impact that closure had on the availability of aggregates output from Leicestershire? 

 

I believe Mountsorrel quarry changed hands a few years ago and is no longer a source for Trowse stone, although Barham still receives deliveries from there. 

Croft had not been a source for Anglia stone since my time down here (12+ years) , and I can't remember any other flows nationwide, although no doubt there were some but they didn't cross my path. I assume it was no longer viable hence it's closure to rail. Tunstead and Briggs are able to send out thousands of tonnes each day so I guess they are more than able to cope with demand and I suspect Mountsorrel could step up and fill at least some of a gap if required so Croft is not missed.

Croft is a granite quarry rather than limestone, it's still open for (road based) quarrrying of course but hasn't seen rail traffic for 10 years or so.

[Gordon A]

On 21/08/2023 at 22:12, Davexoc said:

Stumbled on this on the Railway Herald photo site

 

https://www.railwayherald.com/imagingcentre/view/654813/TW

 

17/08 ready to depart....

The ballast is adjacent the railway, but how do they get the ballast from the ships to that location?

[Leicester Thumper]

46 minutes ago, beast66606 said:

 

Croft is a granite quarry rather than limestone, it's still open for (road based) quarrrying of course but hasn't seen rail traffic for 10 years or so.

 

There was a train that always ran on a Saturday morning, 6F56 comes to mind, sometimes it was a class 7, that went from croft to Humberstone Road sidings. The wagons being deposited there until collection at some unearthly hour a few days later. 

[beast66606]

After a couple of weeks without a train, it commenced running again on 07 Sept, another 2 different GeeBees at the helm.

 

Eccles Road
07/09/2023 (Thursday)
66777, Annette, on 6P52, 12:13, Whitemoor Yard L.D.C GBRF - Lowestoft RECP. (14:35) - empty stone (20 IOA)

 

 

 

08/09/2023 (Friday)
66725, Sunderland, on 6P52, 12:13, Whitemoor Yard L.D.C GBRF - Lowestoft RECP. (14:35) - empty stone (20 IOA)

 

[beast66606]

I haven't updated this thread for a while, little interest judging by the small number of likes but as yestreday - 16/02/2024 - was an interestig day I'll add one more working - see next post.

 

For info - to date (17/02/2024) there have been 49 workings with 38 different locos used.

[beast66606]

All photos taken on Friday 16 February 2024

 

The train had run on 15/02/24 with 66707 in charge, the same loco was allocated for the 17/02/2024 run so I left my favoured Eccles Road, checked out a road overbridge where the view was limited and settled on Harling Road

 

Harling Road

 

While waiting I noticed that the train had taken 25 minutes for a normally 7 minutes between Brandon and Thetford so my interest was piqued. The train passed me at the usual fair clip, with friendly toots and a wave from the driver.

 

I took the above photo and then headed home to wait for a Freightliner hauled empty stone off Trowse. While at home a mate messaged me telling me he was in his usual position awaiting P52, "Surely it's passed by now" I thought and I checked the signal maps and it was still showing between Harling Road and Eccles Road so off I went. As I rounded the corner on the approach to Eccles I saw the barriers were down, and decided to head to a foot crossing not far away, as I parked I head the loud whistle of a 66 and thought "thats it restarting", jumped out of my car and caught it a second time.

 

Eccles Road

 

 

Without any knowledge about the problem I ambled back to the station as the Freightliner had left Trowse, chasing a Cambridge bound passenger train along the line. As I waited I checked the diagram and P52 had again come to a stand just outside Attleborough. The passenger and the empty stone passed and as P52 had been at Attleborough for a while I was watching for a rescue and sure enough 1Z99 was on the way, with 2 passengers in the way which had to be reversed at Thetford it took a while but eventually it passed me, 66792 being the "volunteer"

 

 

Between the train and myself is an AHB, I noticed an "orange dude" had arrived there so I was sure (fairly certain anyway), the train was going to be dragged back to Eccles Road and crossed over there, 66792 paused for a while at Fowlers Lane barriers before dropping onto the back of the failed P52.

 

 

A wait ensued but then - the sign I was going to get a wrong road move - EN8158 cleared. (UM = Up Main via the crossover)

 

 

A further wait ensued, and darkness was rapidly approaching, while Hargham barriers were put on local control and the barriers at Eccles were dropped and finally a white light appeared in the distance - the train is about 1.25 miles away in the photo, I had a 400mm lens with a doubler fitted.

 

 

Travelling at a steady, but slow, pace the train eventually reached me at Eccles Road where lots of tooting - for the crossing - woke the neighbours.

 

 

 

And off (back) to Whtemoor

 

 

 

The fault on 66707 was intermittent brake applications.

 

trains ;

66707, Sir Sam Fay / Great Central Railway, on 6P52, 12:13, Whitemoor Yard L.D.C GBRF - Attleborough (13:32) - empty stone (20 IOA), vice Lowestoft RECP. (14:36), failed due to brake issues

66792, Collaboration, on 1Z99, 14:45, Whitemoor Yard L.D.C GBRF - Attleborough (15:45) - light engine to assist 6P52, failed just West of Attleborough, no schedule

66792, Collaboration, and 66707, Sir Sam Fay / Great Central Railway, on 6P52, 16:50, Eccles Road - Whitemoor Yard L.D.C GBRF (18:10) - empty stone (20 IOA), returning to Whitemoor after failing, no schedule

 

Edited February 17 by beast66606

[Steadfast]

Lucky catch there Dave, thanks for sharing. Although a pain to deal with professionally, it's interesting to see these things as an enthusiast.

 

Jo

[billbedford]

Is this Norwegian ballast spoil from their ship tunnel?

[beast66606]

4 hours ago, billbedford said:

Is this Norwegian ballast spoil from their ship tunnel?

 

Not sure I'm afraid Bill - could be but I don't know