North Devon line services in 1980s

[Cowley 47521]

16 minutes ago, Rivercider said:

As you say coal to East Yelland was mostly by sea, but there were a couple of spells when coal came by rail, once possibly very early on just as the power station opened. I think there are details in some of my books, now I have to remember which ones!

 

cheers

That was very much the kind of thing I was hoping to find out about, thanks Rivercider!

[Rivercider]

51 minutes ago, Cowley 47521 said:

That was very much the kind of thing I was hoping to find out about, thanks Rivercider!

Lines to Torrington by John Nicholas has a lot of detail of the freight traffic. 

He mentions that during the early period some deliveries were by rail. 'Apparently, the last year when this occurred was 1971

when 14,229 tonnes of coal were delivered by train, in comparison with 325,667 tonnes delivered by ship.'

 

Elsewhere I read that when the East Yelland shunting loco was under repair a Grafton steam crane from Fremington

was supplied to do the shunting. The three Grafton cranes at Fremington were withdrawn from service in 1969 and the quay closed 

to commercial traffic at the same time.

 

cheers

 

[Cowley 47521]

41 minutes ago, Rivercider said:

Lines to Torrington by John Nicholas has a lot of detail of the freight traffic. 

He mentions that during the early period some deliveries were by rail. 'Apparently, the last year when this occurred was 1971

when 14,229 tonnes of coal were delivered by train, in comparison with 325,667 tonnes delivered by ship.'

 

Elsewhere I read that when the East Yelland shunting loco was under repair a Grafton steam crane from Fremington

was supplied to do the shunting. The three Grafton cranes at Fremington were withdrawn from service in 1969 and the quay closed 

to commercial traffic at the same time.

 

cheers

 

Well that’s really interesting. I’ve seen a photo of the jetty and the conveyor system now too so it’s all making a little more sense.

[Rivercider]

18 minutes ago, Cowley 47521 said:

Well that’s really interesting. I’ve seen a photo of the jetty and the conveyor system now too so it’s all making a little more sense.

We had a short break in North Devon earlier this year, and had another walk along the lovely Tarka Trail which mostly follows the route of the former railway between Braunton and Torrington and beyond. From Instow we took a diversion out along the sea wall, and by chance caught the dredger DEO GLORIA just sailing from the jetty at East Yelland. She had been delivering sea dredged aggregates as there is a large house building project currently under way on the former power station site.

 

 

DEO GLORIA sails from East Yelland jetty.  30/1/2023

 

 

The dredger had been grab discharged with lorries taking aggregate to a stockpile. 30/1/2023

 

Aggregate being moved from the jetty. 30/1/2023

 

The aggregate stockpile on the power station site. 30/1/2023

 

Mrs Rivercider just loved watching all this activity - though we also saw a kingfisher in one of the outlet culverts nearby.

 

cheers

Edited November 19, 2023 by Rivercider
spelling

[Rivercider]

I am not sure if it has been shown before, here is a photo from Flickr by Gordon Edgar. This was the loco at East Yelland Power Station, No.3 a 4-wheeled diesel mechanical 'Simplex' rebuilt in 1939 from WWI 60cm gauge.

 

 

 

From Flickr - photo by Gordon Edgar,

 

cheers

 

 

[Cowley 47521]

27 minutes ago, Rivercider said:

I am not sure if it has been shown before, here is a photo from Flickr by Gordon Edgar. This was the loco at East Yelland Power Station, No.3 a 4-wheeled diesel mechanical 'Simplex' rebuilt in 1939 from WWI 60cm gauge.

 

 

 

From Flickr - photo by Gordon Edgar,

 

cheers

 

 

I didn’t realise it had been rebuilt from a WW1 narrow gauge loco.

[KeithMacdonald]

3 hours ago, Cowley 47521 said:

I was chatting to a friend about Yelland power station yesterday and it made me realise that I know very little about how it was fed? 

 

East Yelland power station operated from 1955 to 1984 and had its own jetty for coal from South Wales.

https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16.3&lat=51.07218&lon=-4.16870&layers=10&b=1

 

As a derelict industrial site, you would think any plans to do something better with Yelland would be welcome. But, sure enough, some NIMBYs have objected.

https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2022-04-25/what-does-the-future-hold-for-old-north-devon-power-station

 

People sometimes conflat Fremington Quay with the coal traffic for the power station. Yes, it did handle coal shipped from South Wales, but not neccessarily for the power station. It also exported ball clay.

[Cowley 47521]

3 hours ago, KeithMacdonald said:

 

East Yelland power station operated from 1955 to 1984 and had its own jetty for coal from South Wales.

https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16.3&lat=51.07218&lon=-4.16870&layers=10&b=1

 

As a derelict industrial site, you would think any plans to do something better with Yelland would be welcome. But, sure enough, some NIMBYs have objected.

https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2022-04-25/what-does-the-future-hold-for-old-north-devon-power-station

 

People sometimes conflat Fremington Quay with the coal traffic for the power station. Yes, it did handle coal shipped from South Wales, but not neccessarily for the power station. It also exported ball clay.

Yes this one seems to be generating quite a bit of local opposition!

 

As a separate question, does anyone know if any more modern wagons were trialled to Meeth? Someone’s suggested to me that HAA’s might have been up there once but that seems implausible to me.

[Rivercider]

2 hours ago, Cowley 47521 said:

Yes this one seems to be generating quite a bit of local opposition!

 

As a separate question, does anyone know if any more modern wagons were trialled to Meeth? Someone’s suggested to me that HAA’s might have been up there once but that seems implausible to me.

Do you go on Facebook?

The North Devon Railway group has plenty of photos from the 60s 70s and 80s.

I know I have seen a photo of a trip conveying a variety of air braked wagons for trial or clearance test. I have not found that picture again yet, but there is a photo dated 12th Nov 1979 of a HAA MGR wagon 354437 and a brake van at Torrington, posted 4th March this year by Rob Dark. The caption says the plan to take the HAA to Marland and Meeth was abandoned due to concerns about clearance at Meeth, and the HAA returned to Exeter on 20th November 1979.

 

 

Edit - I have found another post by Rob Dark on the FB group from 27th Jan this year.

On 13th August 1981 31159  hauled a trip from Barnstaple to Torrington comprising a VIX (BR ferry van), a bogie flat Cargowaggon, and a bogie Cargowaggon van, another BR ferry van and then ordinary clay empties and brake van.

 

 

cheers

Edited November 19, 2023 by Rivercider
Additional info

[Cowley 47521]

1 hour ago, Rivercider said:

Do you go on Facebook?

The North Devon Railway group has plenty of photos from the 60s 70s and 80s.

I know I have seen a photo of a trip conveying a variety of air braked wagons for trial or clearance test. I have not found that picture again yet, but there is a photo dated 12th Nov 1979 of a HAA MGR wagon 354437 and a brake van at Torrington, posted 4th March this year by Rob Dark. The caption says the plan to take the HAA to Marland and Meeth was abandoned due to concerns about clearance at Meeth, and the HAA returned to Exeter on 20th November 1979.

 

 

Edit - I have found another post by Rob Dark on the FB group from 27th Jan this year.

On 13th August 1981 31159  hauled a trip from Barnstaple to Torrington comprising a VIX (BR ferry van), a bogie flat Cargowaggon, and a bogie Cargowaggon van, another BR ferry van and then ordinary clay empties and brake van.

 

 

cheers

I must admit that I don’t really use Facebook (although I do have an account). I’ll try and take a look at that though. The thought of a bogie Cargowaggon at Torrington might have just pushed me over the edge!

[Ramblin Rich]

4 hours ago, Rivercider said:

Do you go on Facebook?

The North Devon Railway group has plenty of photos from the 60s 70s and 80s.

I know I have seen a photo of a trip conveying a variety of air braked wagons for trial or clearance test. I have not found that picture again yet, but there is a photo dated 12th Nov 1979 of a HAA MGR wagon 354437 and a brake van at Torrington, posted 4th March this year by Rob Dark. The caption says the plan to take the HAA to Marland and Meeth was abandoned due to concerns about clearance at Meeth, and the HAA returned to Exeter on 20th November 1979.

 

 

Edit - I have found another post by Rob Dark on the FB group from 27th Jan this year.

On 13th August 1981 31159  hauled a trip from Barnstaple to Torrington comprising a VIX (BR ferry van), a bogie flat Cargowaggon, and a bogie Cargowaggon van, another BR ferry van and then ordinary clay empties and brake van.

 

 

cheers

That's really interesting Kevin. Thanks for the Facebook group suggestion. I only joined recently for some local information but that's worth a look.

A long way back in this thread I found a picture in the 'Cyberheritage' site of 2 modern hoppers at Barnstaple,  possibly for trial to MMeeth. I'll see if I can find it again.

PS thanks all for reawakening the thread, always glad of more info 😀

 

[Ramblin Rich]

Having backtracked,  it looks like that site is no longer working, but my copy of the caption said possibly HAA and HBA so ties in with what Kevin pointed to.

[ChrisB]

Rob Dark's photos of HAA at Torrington as mentioned above.

[ChrisB]

Rob Dark's other photo of the train with the assortment of stock for trials to Meeth. 

[brushman47544]

13 hours ago, ChrisB said:

 

Someone couldn’t spell…

[Cowley 47521]

On 20/01/2024 at 11:34, brushman47544 said:

Someone couldn’t spell…

Lucky it didn’t end up in Neath. 😉

[slow8dirty]

Stumbled across this on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/p/C3VZEHUsn-v/?igsh=eXN6YXVwMXpjMzY1

Caption is "142025 about to bounce through Lapford."

What caught my eye is the loco and wagons in the loop, forming the left periphery of the shot. Something large logo or RF grey with PWAs?

Any opinions on the loco class? What I mean to ask is, is that a 37 at Lapford, or am I going mad?

Edited March 6 by slow8dirty

[Cowley 47521]

On 06/03/2024 at 19:04, slow8dirty said:

Stumbled across this on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/p/C3VZEHUsn-v/?igsh=eXN6YXVwMXpjMzY1

Caption is "142025 about to bounce through Lapford."

What caught my eye is the loco and wagons in the loop, forming the left periphery of the shot. Something large logo or RF grey with PWAs?

Any opinions on the loco class? What I mean to ask is, is that a 37 at Lapford, or am I going mad?

It is a 37. I’d love to know which one and what the year was though? They were fairly frequent visitors in the early 1990s but not so much in the Skipper era.

 

 I must admit that it’s quite unusual to find photos of two trains at Lapford at the same time in that era. I’m not sure if I’ve seen any actually.

[slow8dirty]

Indeed. It's early enough to put forward a contender in the style of a radio show tenuous link however.

The same collection has an image, again undated, of 37175 bringing clayhoods into Newton Abbot yard.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C3Czs7qswwk/?igsh=MXRsOXlpdjc0MjB2Mw==

A search on class37.co.uk has her being transferred from north o the border in full West Highland LL regalia to Laira in May 86.

Displaced by the 37/4s and unsurprisingly a bit of a china clay beastie throughout much of 86/87 according to that site's sightings page. The photos show she lost her Eastleigh terrier somewhere between Sept 86 & April 87.

The same sightings page list her as being a regular performer on the Barnstaple branch mid August 87 - mid September , returning North in October that year. No other photo's or submissable evidence unfortunately.

Edited March 9 by slow8dirty
Can't spell

[KeithMacdonald]

@slow8dirty - great detective work!

 

From class37.co.uk, a screengrab of the relevant trips.

 

 

Ref : https://www.class37.co.uk/fleet.aspx?strnumber=37175

 

Just wondering, if it only worked as far as Barnstaple, where did the clay originally come from? Was it Marland or Meeth clay? I thought that the line from Meeth and Marland carried ball clay, but not passengers, until 1982, five years before these events.

 

[Ramblin Rich]

28 minutes ago, KeithMacdonald said:

@slow8dirty - great detective work!

 

From class37.co.uk, a screengrab of the relevant trips.

 

 

Ref : https://www.class37.co.uk/fleet.aspx?strnumber=37175

 

Just wondering, if it only worked as far as Barnstaple, where did the clay originally come from? Was it Marland or Meeth clay? I thought that the line from Meeth and Marland carried ball clay, but not passengers, until 1982, five years before these events.

 

The workings on the Barnstaple line are class 1 and 2, so passengers not freight.

[Ramblin Rich]

16 hours ago, Cowley 47521 said:

It is a 37. I’d love to know which one and what the year was though? They were fairly frequent visitors in the early 1990s but not so much in the Skipper era.

 

 I must admit that it’s quite unusual to find photos of two trains at Lapford at the same time in that era. I’m not sure if I’ve seen any actually.

Great photo. Likewise i havent seen anything from thst era with 2 trains at Lapford.

I do remember discussions about there being a  short token for Crediton to Lapford, with a "lock in" facility on the Lapford loop ground frame so that other traffic could pass through. Presumably it would have to get to Crediton or Eggesford before the Lapford frame could be released.

[Ramblin Rich]

On 19/01/2024 at 22:20, ChrisB said:

Rob Dark's other photo of the train with the assortment of stock for trials to Meeth. 

Backtracking a bit - that's very different!  Not sure what a Cargowaggon flat would be used for and there's no hopper wagons in that lineup.

Struggling to think where this would be though. 4 track section of line?

[LBRJ]

1 hour ago, Ramblin Rich said:

The workings on the Barnstaple line are class 1 and 2, so passengers not freight.

Was 1C07 not some sort of postal or parcels working at the time?

Could be wrong there of course.....

[Ramblin Rich]

2 minutes ago, LBRJ said:

Was 1C07 not some sort of postal or parcels working at the time?

Could be wrong there of course.....

Fair point and I don’t know the actual headcode working, but definitely not freight. The main point being the line to Torrington and Meeth closed in 1982 so the clay workings in the table were not from the North Devon line.

There are other photos of  Dutch liveried split box 37s at Lapford with the UKF fertiliser vans, and also rescuing a DMU at Barnstaple.  I'll have a search later.