Freight flows at Bradford Interchange Station ?

[Simon Moore]

For some time now i have been planning to build a some what scaled down version of Bradford Interchange station. i've spent the past 12 months gathering units & locos from both the late 80's / early 90's & the latest diesel traction from the past 5 years.

 

I've spent a good bit of time trawling the internet to find any evidence of freight trains appearing in the station without any results. I understand that with it being a terminus station anything that might happen to arrive in the station would be a diversion & would only be a chance arrival.

 

Could anyone help me out with any evidence that freight might have used the loop there to run around stock, or am i going to possibly pull out the modeling license on this occasion & do a '' what if '' scenario?

 

Cheers

 

Simon

[Fat Controller]

Looking at the track arrangements in Quail, there would appear to be two possibilities:-

Scrap traffic from EMR, Laisterdyke going eastwards to Leeds would seem to have to work into the station to return whence it came.

Scrap traffic (or any other traffic) heading westwards, or any traffic from the west, would have to use the station to run round in, as the 'avoiding line' has been removed.

I have a recollection of reading of some scrap traffic from Laisterdyke to Liverpool running via the station in relatively recent times.

[Simon Moore]

Would i be right in thinking that the scrap train would be operated by the now defunct Advenza ??? I know i have a big freight dvd that shows it coming out of the yorkshire area.

 

Thanks for the info Brian.

 

Simon

[Fat Controller]

Would i be right in thinking that the scrap train would be operated by the now defunct Advenza ??? I know i have a big freight dvd that shows it coming out of the yorkshire area.

 

Thanks for the info Brian.

 

Simon

Not sure on that one- if you've got access to 'Railway Observer', it might be worth having a trawl through back numbers.

[Simon Lee]

Hi,

 

The scrap traffic wa indeed Laisterdyke to Liverpool or Cardiff. Due to restrictions in the scrap yard train was worked in portions initially from Healey Mills and then Neville Hill. Once loaded the portions were worked via Bradford Interchange back to the Mills or Neville Hill for reforming into a block working to destination. Advenza did dabble in the traffic, but the dominant operator has/is EWS / DBS.

 

 

If your looking for a "just suppose" Bradford used to be a major center for catalogue mail order traffic Grattons had a large set up there. So I guess you could have vans bringing in goods, and a revitalised parcels network taking traffic away.

 

HTH

Regards

Simon

[Simon Moore]

Cheers Simon yeah that helps a lot thats.

 

My initial idea was that i would have the Preston Docks - Lindsey bitumen tanks on divert through the station on a '' what if '' but with the added scrap & freightliner light movements thats the modern era sorted. I think maybe the odd departmental working & loco hauled passenger / parcel workings are going to cover the 80's.

 

Simon

[mcowgill]

The Laisterdyke scrap train definitely ran round at Bradford Interchange, there are reports of this with EWS class 66s so it has continued until fairly recently. There are a couple of shots of 37716 on the scrap train running round in 1998 on this page: http://www.railbrit.co.uk/location.php?loc=Lancashire%20and%20Yorkshire%20Railway I've even found some here on RMWeb: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/24429-bradford-stations/

 

Advenza worked the Shipley traffic for a while so that went a different route out of Leeds and wouldn't have been seen in Bradford Interchange,

 

I'm also fairly sure we used to get a short coal train through on a regular basis (just two or three 16 tonners) in the early 80s.

 

This photo shows a class 47 on a ballast working: http://www.flickr.com/photos/manofyorkshire/5342464175/

 

Not a freight train but this one caught me by surprise, I don't remember seeing a class 120 DMU on any of my many visits. http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5203/5280306968_9c5a126677_m.jpg

 

HTH

Martin

[Bomag]

I commuted most days Leeds to Bradford (at different times of the day) from 1987-1992 I can never remeber any freight 'in' Interchange station although I did pass the occasional scrap working (POAs) comming up the out of Bradford while we were going down the hill from Laisterdyke. My assumtion was that occasionally they ran the scap train into Bradford to run round rather than heading directly east.

 

I am not certain when the Bowling curve was disconected but AFAIK it was mid 80's up to then any through frieght would have used that rather than reversing.

[rodshaw]

 

Not a freight train but this one caught me by surprise, I don't remember seeing a class 120 DMU on any of my many visits. http://farm6.staticf...c5a126677_m.jpg

 

HTH

Martin

 

The retaining wall looks to be the same as flanked the old Exchange station, would I be right?

[Edwin_m]

IIRC the line was cut back by about 100 yards when Interchange replaced Exchange, and they probably also part filled the cutting to level (part of) the platorms. So it's probably the same wall but you may not see as much of it as before.

[bennyboy]

I don't know if you aware of this, but there was an article in the May 1984 issue of Practical Model Railways all about the modelling potential of Bradford Exchange in the 70s/80s. While it doesn't mention any freight trains actually in the station it does give some info about the freight at the nearby Springside Goods Yard.