West Park Dairy In Bude

[Jasper Greene]

Do you think it’s feasible that a light dairy train with a pannier or something alike would have run to the Bude area in 1947/48? Just wondering as I really want to run GWR dairy trains and this is really the only one of my 3 layouts I could get away with it. I’m particularly looking at West Park Dairy wagons from Dapol as they appeal with my 94xx, which by the way may or may not have done shunting and freight on the Bude line. I suppose they needed to get the milk there somehow. Cheers all and thanks from Jasper

[Oldddudders]

Bude was LSWR, not GWR. Panniers didn't often get any sort of look-in on that line. 

[Jasper Greene]

9 hours ago, Oldddudders said:

Bude was LSWR, not GWR. Panniers didn't often get any sort of look-in on that line. 

Yes, but it’s set 1947/48, after grouping so a handful of GWR locos are known to have operated on the line as a lot of the LSWR stuff was transferred to busier areas. I’ve realised a 94xx probably didn’t run but my layout isn’t really that much like Bude, just based off it. Ignore the Bagnall and Railcar in the image I’m just using them for testing. Thanks for replying though. 

[JohnR]

1 hour ago, Jasper Greene said:

Yes, but it’s set 1947/48, after grouping so a handful of GWR locos are known to have operated on the line as a lot of the LSWR stuff was transferred to busier areas. I’ve realised a 94xx probably didn’t run but my layout isn’t really that much like Bude, just based off it. Ignore the Bagnall and Railcar in the image I’m just using them for testing. Thanks for replying though. 

 

I'm not aware of any ex-GWR locos on the Bude line, and the infiltration of ex-GWR types on the former Southern lines didnt happen until after the Western Region takeover in 63 (although a couple of Panniers did go to Exmouth Junction in 1959 for some reason). The Southern lines west of Salisbury pretty much kept the same motive power they had in Southern days, with the exception of the Bulleid Pacifics, of course, and the arrival first of the Ivatt tanks and later some standard types, mainly replacing older LSW tank engines. 

 

Freight on the Bude line would have been handled by a ex-SR 2-6-0, either and N or U class, and was so almost right to the end. 

 

[KeithMacdonald]

Just out of curiosity, where was West Park Dairy?

[Oldddudders]

4 hours ago, Jasper Greene said:

Yes, but it’s set 1947/48, after grouping so a handful of GWR locos are known to have operated on the line as a lot of the LSWR stuff was transferred to busier areas. 

 

Grouping occurred in 1923. Nationalisation took place in 1948. No way did pannier tanks - or any other GWR locomotive - have any duties on the Bude branch. Plenty of books and other publications show that branch through the years, and nothing GWR appears on regular services. 

 

Now that is no reason not to make a model that pleases you, and includes GWR - or any other prototype - locos on the layout. We model for the fun of it, but some people choose to restrict their models to those types seen at a real location. 

 

Just don't confuse fact with your choice of fiction. 

[Karhedron]

On 26/02/2024 at 11:01, KeithMacdonald said:

Just out of curiosity, where was West Park Dairy?

 

West Park Dairy operated just a single creamery at Market Lavington in Wiltshire. They were taken over by Express Dairies in 1937 so would no longer be operating in 1947/48, although the tanks were still in existence and may have still been in their original livery.

 

Assuming there was a dispatching creamery somewhere on the Bude branch, I can see the tanks being tripped to Oakhampton and then worked through to Exeter. The following dairies were in operation around nationalisation and making use of rail tanks:

 

United Dairies

Cow and Gate

CWS

Express Dairies

Ambrosia

MMB

 

There was still some churn traffic at this date so it would not be out of the question to see GWR Siphons full of churns (or even a mix of both types of vehicles).

[Karhedron]

On 26/02/2024 at 08:57, JohnR said:

Freight on the Bude line would have been handled by a ex-SR 2-6-0, either and N or U class, and was so almost right to the end. 

 

Technically milk vehicles were not classed as freight but as NPCCS (Non Passenger Carrying Coaching Stock). This means they would have operated more like passenger trains and indeed were  often tacked on to the end of passenger trains, particularly on branch lines.

[JohnR]

10 minutes ago, Karhedron said:

 

West Park Dairy operated just a single creamery at Market Lavington in Wiltshire. They were taken over by Express Dairies in 1937 so would no longer be operating in 1947/48, although the tanks were still in existence and may have still been in their original livery.

 

Assuming there was a dispatching creamery somewhere on the Bude branch, I can see the tanks being tripped to Oakhampton and then worked through to Exeter. The following dairies were in operation around nationalisation and making use of rail tanks:

 

United Dairies

Cow and Gate

CWS

Express Dairies

Ambrosia

MMB

 

There was still some churn traffic at this date so it would not be out of the question to see GWR Siphons full of churns (or even a mix of both types of vehicles).

 

IN the case of a fictional dairy (or more likely creamery) at Bude, it would probably be similar in operation to that at Torrington, which moved over to tanks in the 30s. You definitely wouldnt have seen ex-GWR Siphons anywhere on the Southern!

 

I would imagine that there would be attached to the Milk train to Clapham at Exeter Central

[Karhedron]

3 hours ago, JohnR said:

IN the case of a fictional dairy (or more likely creamery) at Bude, it would probably be similar in operation to that at Torrington, which moved over to tanks in the 30s. You definitely wouldnt have seen ex-GWR Siphons anywhere on the Southern!

 

I was following the OP's request for a GWR-ish light dairy train. I do agree that SR stock would seem more likely There is a nice shot here of milk churns being unloaded at Clapham Junction in 1926. Not quite sure what vans they are in. I know the SR often favoured Van Bs and Cs for milk churn traffic.