Hereford goods yard

[Steven B]

You could bend reality if you want a bit more traffic. The Cadbury plant at Leominster was/is served by road from Bournville. Given the location of both plants it wouldn't be unreasonable for trains to reverse at Hereford after travelling via Worcester.

 

There were plenty of through trains at Hereford too - steel trains were regular occurrences with a wide range of wagons in use. The Railfrieght Today DVDs might have a few more pointers for you.

 

Happy modelling.

 

Steven B.

[jonas]

Thank you for everyone's input on this thread, plenty of food for thought!

[Melly]

Hi Jonas - as a Hfd lad born and now left it was good to read your thread about the old 'stomping ground'. Indeed it was an interesting place, well in the early 80's when I was interested in the railways and collecting numbers.

 

We were driven to school each day (77-80) along the Burcott Road (under the narrowest bridge in christendom!) and remember there being activity at Colas and getting stuck (quite often) behind BDA's being propelled into Painter Bros. There was often steel deliveries into the yard that was tripped around to Wiggins by the local BR arctic (A yellow Bedford with a longer the normal trailer).

 

Brian, I didn't know about the bitumen - I'm assuming that would use TTA or similar. Do you think this too was part of the speedlink network, or was it served by a block train?

 

I remember there being a double headed south-bound class 25 bitumen working each evening circa 1830. This used to stop and collect wagons from the Bars Court sidings and then head off. http://www.flickr.co...ds1/2325173588/ http://www.flickr.co...ds1/2324359175/

 

Blimey!!

25235_25213,Hereford,15-6-1984 by railhereford, on Flickr

 

- i have this picture - probably know who took it !!! Same with the circa 1800 parcels working, single 25, collect 2XGUV from the Bars Court Sidings and then head off south again.

 

25268,Hereford,24-12-1984 by railhereford, on Flickr

 

A few on the Bulmer’s branch

 

08932,Hereford,4-3-1988 by railhereford, on Flickr

 

08932,Hereford,4-3-1988 2 by railhereford, on Flickr

 

The branch leaves the sidings just in front of the 40!!

40122,37308,Hereford,8-7-1985 by railhereford, on Flickr

 

Notice that the signal box has been demolished.

 

As well as revenue earning traffic there was a lot of stuff to be found for engineering and PW work as required and the yard was used in the late 80's early 90's for storing surplus wagons

 

I've been searching for ages for pictures and details of the small PW C&W repair depot (ahem shed!) that was situated just to the north of the College Road bridge near the timber yard on Burcott Road. I remember seeing a wagon on jacks there once, on the small concreted section, having an axle change. Would love to model it as a small cameo. Please - if anyone has any pictures please let me know.

 

Moving on - I remember watching a Class 47 reversing a long train of 100ton tanks up the Branch to the Power Station at Bulmer’s (as Swindon 123 mentions). Buy was there a lot of flange squealing around that 'checked rail' curve! Other memories include the Class 33 Crewe Cardiff / Cardiff Crewe trains. The circa 2115 north-bound postal; Class 47 hauled (usually returning a non CF or BR machine up north) a TPO with a BSK and BCK (?)

 

Favourite working was the Mossend - Severn Tunnel Junction Speedlink that was sometimes Class 40 hauled plus numerous north and south bound steel trains - BBA / BAA wagons. The 2 London trains were Class 50 (occasionally Class 47) hauled. The first at 2000 hrs would run around in the platform and then reverse down to the carriage sidings. The second 2100 hrs would run round and stable in Platform 2 overnight.

 

Normally we would wait for the Pengam - Crewe freightliner (Class 56 hauled) go north at 2145 before heading off home. Always Class 37's stabled during the week and weekends. Unfortunately I sent all my good photo's off to Rail Express many years ago and they haven't returned them :-(.

 

A good photo here:

 

47286,Hereford yard,11-4-1988 by railhereford, on Flickr

 

and here

 

47150,Hereford Railyard,16-8-1988 by railhereford, on Flickr

 

And there are lots of good shots in his album: http://www.flickr.co...s/railhereford/

 

An interesting rail town - might be worth getting to the library for an old map / plan of the track layout

 

Edited to show embeded picture after approval by picture owner!

Edited September 1, 2011 by Melly

[jonas]

Melly - thank you so much for all that info! The last 2 pictures especially are going to need some serious studying. Quite a mixed rakes the 47s are shunting - also interesting there appear to be MGR hoppers stabled too.

 

Thanks again, and if you have any more memories please keep posting them.

 

Lovely stuff everyone, thank you!

[ess1uk]

 

A few on the Bulmer’s branch http://www.flickr.co...ord/5771045864/ http://www.flickr.co...rd/5771047586/. The branch leaves the sidings just in front of the 40!! http://www.flickr.co...157621920225199 Notice that the signal box has been demolished.

 

is that where it swings round and then crosses Burcott road?

[jonas]

is that where it swings round and then crosses Burcott road?

 

 

Looking at google maps, it would seem so, yes/ Quite a curve on the Bulmer's branch! I have another vague childhood memory of riding a bubble car up to the steam centre, during a rail day - anyone got any idea what year that may have been?

[ess1uk]

 

 

Looking at google maps, it would seem so, yes/ Quite a curve on the Bulmer's branch!

it certainly is, it almost doubles back on itself

i'd wondered where it went on the few times i've been down there to work, now i know

[Melly]

Jonas that is correct - the line swings through a tight curve to the left (with a check rail on the left side), straightens out under the road bridge and then turns right again toward the entry to the Bulmer’s complex. I seem to remember that there was a triangle of track left (installed) next to the Bulmer’s complex circa early 80's in order to let the Steam engines turn around; King George VI and Princess Elizabeth were often out on the Marches Line. Seem to remember Clan-Line being around as well. My Dad has a few books on the railways around Had; I'll have a look and see what plans etc I can find!

 

I've draw on the Google Map of Hfd showing where I remember the lines went. The blue line was the branch with the red where the dual sidings for the Power station fuel lines were; this was also the entry to the Bulmer’s Steam centre. The green line shows roughly where the steam centre tracks were and the pink the turning triangle that was laid outside the steam centre.

 

Postscript - on the old fotopic site was a guy modelling Hfd in N gauge - had made the most fantastic replica of the impressive station building. Never saw the layout represented in any other form though.

 

Best of luck

 

Melly

[Melly]

Ahh - just browsing Railheads photo's and was reminded of the UKF Fertiliser trains!!

 

47628,Hereford,20-4-1985 by railhereford, on Flickr

 

Ah another great picture - 40046 used to be based in the sidings at Moreton-on-Lugg (the old logistics Depot) for training purposes for the secret Hfd regiment. In the background is the shunter on the head-shunt for the sidings.

 

37431+40046,Hereford,16-7-1986 by railhereford, on Flickr

 

It's amazing what you find a http://www.flickr.co...N07/4633003867/ and http://www.flickr.co...N07/4633436308/ had completely forgotten about the old railway bridge until I saw that last photo!!

[andypops]

In an act of shameles bumping, does anyone else out there have anything to share about this place?

 

 

I still want to model this in OO guage...!

[jonas]

I was talking to a guy I know the other day who was telling me how Bulmers' used to receive VDAs back full of shards of glass and dripping wet...!

[andypops]

Haha! Might be a bit hard to model that detail in OO!

 

Do you know how many were taken in a trip from the yard, or from Bulmers to the yard?

 

 

Andy

Edited May 15, 2012 by andypops

[jonas]

I'm afraid I didn't get a lot of detail - it was more an anecdotal tale that came up in larger conversation. I will try and get some details of him next time though.

 

Looking at the pic below, originally in Melly's post above, I can count 7 mixed VDAs/VGAs - and they are disappearing round the curve, so there could be more!

 

 

Taken from the excellent railhereford Flikr page.

[Devonbelle]

After the end of Speedlink, Summer 1991, oil traffic to Moorfields remained until 1994/95. I once went into Moorfield in a brake van on a Bulmers open day, propelled bu 0-6-0 saddle tank Shropshire (not sure we should have gone right into oil sidings but there we are!)

 

Then in 1998 there was log traffic in OTA wagons unloaded in the yard at Hereford until the method of working and trial took place at Pontrilas in June 1998 (I wrote the MoW and was in charge of the trial), the EWS class 47 Roy Castle hauled the trial.

 

Summer of 2001 saw the Railtrack MPV run for a few weeks from Bulmers to Willesden but this did not use the Yard.

 

IIRC the Burn Naze to Barry VCM bogie tanks and loco (normally a class 56 in the mid nineties) used to recess in the yard.

 

Paul

[jonas]

Thanks for some more input! I remember going to a rail day around the same time - and riding a bubble car from Hereford station to the Bulmer's centre - I must ask my dad if we took a break van ride (as I would've only been 9!)

 

I take it the MPV idea just wasn't feasible. I seem to recall someone trialling them on timber traffic too somewhere.

[Fat Controller]

Thanks for some more input! I remember going to a rail day around the same time - and riding a bubble car from Hereford station to the Bulmer's centre - I must ask my dad if we took a break van ride (as I would've only been 9!)

 

I take it the MPV idea just wasn't feasible. I seem to recall someone trialling them on timber traffic too somewhere.

The MPV trials were sponsored by the Strategic Rail Authority, using a pair of MPV powered vehicles and three(?) IKA Megafret flats; the same initiative also produced the MPV/OTA timber trains and the MEGA3 piggyback cement wagon trials- none were conspicuous successes for various reasons.

[Mallard60022]

Some staff in the Hereford Model Centre may be able to come up with some info re this area?

P

[rob D2]

Just seen a picture in one of my books of a railfreight grey 56 and 3 warwells going to moreton on lugg, about this time scale.

[jonas]

3 Warwells eh? I'd be interested to see that!

[Brake Compo]

The MPV trials were sponsored by the Strategic Rail Authority, using a pair of MPV powered vehicles and three(?) IKA Megafret flats; the same initiative also produced the MPV/OTA timber trains and the MEGA3 piggyback cement wagon trials- none were conspicuous successes for various reasons.

 

Thought that the three winners of the SRA trials were the MPV trains, the MEGA3 pigyybacks and the Minimodal (10' containers) - I remember going to the launch of the Minimodal scheme at the NRM c2001 - was a really good knees-up, might even have some photos somewhere, but it was in my pre-digital photgraphy era, and I would need to find them in my chaotic photo "filing system".

 

As you say all three schemes were doomed - indeed it was pretty obvious that all were hopelessly uneconomic from the outset - I remember being at a conference where the three winning schemes were launched by the SRA and each gave a presentation, I turned to the ops director of one of the FOCs who was sitting next to me and said "I don't see how any of these can possibly be viable", and he replied "They can't"! The fact that there was considerable competion (was it 17 entries?) for the pile of cash that was found under the doorstep and some quite good ideas, but the SRA chose these three says all that one needs to know about the SRA.

[matt-b]

I was at Hereford the other day and walked over the bridge Ludlow end of the station.

Both sidings have been treated to new track and ballast under the bridge.

The 2 sidings run into a caged around (guess to stop vandals if anything decent is stabled over night?) and a rather large single storey Network Rail office has been built along side the sidings with car parking infront.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37468455@N07/7652628818/

[jonas]

I see the Colas timber come past my house a couple of times a week!

 

I've yet to see anything stable in the new sidings...

[Eggesford box]

Hi,

 

I was a signalman at Hereford for all of a year in I think 1990. Apart from the trip there was also a freight in the early hours of the morning on the down road that conveyed traffic for Hereford. The traffic was at the front of the train. On arrival at Hereford the wagons where uncoupled from the front of the train and the train engine pulled them forward and then set them back on top of the pilot which was stabled on the siding known as 'under the wall' next to the island platform.

 

Just before I went there they had a derailment with the tanks for the yard. The train was stood on the down relief. The crossover and connection to the yard north of the station are controlled from a GF released from the box. The signalman gave the shunter the release for the GF and told him it was OK for him to get the train of tanks to set back. As soon as he had done this he realised the motor worked points for the down relief where still set normal from the last move, that is for the down main. The signalman managed to get hold of the shunter and got him to stop the move. The following is just my interpretation of what they where thinking as to what happened next. The signalman asked the shunter if the train had passed over the points fearing he had run through the relief points but did not say which points. The shunter had just pulled over the crossover points so I presume that those points would be the ones he was thinking of so he said no. The signalman then got the shunter to wave the train back onto the down relief. Since two of the tank wagons had actually run though the relief points when the set back move began the end result was that they derailed as they passed back over them in the facing direction. The signalman should have looked at the point indication on the block shelf and he would have seen he had lost detection when the points had initially been run through. Hopefully, I am humble enough to know that it was a case of there but for the love of God go I. Hereford box could be a really busy and hectic place to work. The sort of place you could be literally running from one end of the box to the other to keep traffic moving for an hour or so at a time. Afterwards, when you had time to catch your breath, you would look at the train register and wonder how you could have been so busy as there had not been that great number of trains. On that particular morning it had been really busy. I know I made more of my share of mistakes in the short time I was there, fortunately without such consequences.

[andypops]

This thread has been dormant for quite some time now, but is an absolute treasure trove for those interested in Hereford.

 

Does anyone have any more interesting facts / stories / workings / pictures to add to this?

 

Thanks!

[jonas]

I would also love to hear more - I'm thankful of everybody that's contributed so far!