edcayton Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 Most stations seem to have had an end loading dock, usually served by a dedicated siding-sometimes only one wagon long. I appreciate that originally these were installed for the gentry to take their carriages by rail, but what about around 1960? I have seen photo's of tractors and other farm machinery being loaded or more usually being unloaded as new, but these seem to have been on flat wagons. I presume that the JCB type diggers (as supplied by Airfix) woud use the end loading dock too. I know that Abingdon sent out trainloads of new MG's, but don't know if they end loaded and then drove along the whole train, but what about the small country stations? Would road vehicles and the like have been end-loaded, and what type of wagon was used. I think the GW had vans with end doors (Mogo?) but what about the other companies? Any thoughts and information gratefully received. Ed Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted July 14, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 14, 2012 Side loading/unloading was also used - for instance we received quite a lot of agricultural machinery at Westbury in the 1970s and it was all side unloaded. In some cases cranage could be used and even - on the western an SD Freightlifter could be used for small vehicles. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stuartp Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 Funnily enough, I was looking at some photos a couple of hours ago of Sir Someoneorothers' special train from Tetbury to Dunragit (south west Scotland) taking his herd of pedigree cattle and all his farm machinery on BR's last ever move of an entire farm. (Chris Leigh's article in a recent-ish 'Steam Days'). Directly relevant to your question is that his tractors and an estate car were conveyed in a GWR Damo B and unloaded via the end loading dock. Most if not all companies had Covered Carriage Trucks with end doors, lengths vary from 20-odd feet to 50-odd. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmrspaul Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 BR built a large number of CCT and GUV capable of end loading, as well as the Lowfits, Carfit and Carfit C (ferry wagons). Oh and I nearly forgot the bogie Carflats. They also inherited numerous vehicles suitable for end loading. If anything the GWR was unusual in that the DAMO A & B, ASMO and MOGO were all relatively small - and mostly considered to be freight rolling stock. They had very large car factories on their patch. The other companies appear to have preferred to consider the stock as Non passenger carrying carriage stock - the numerous 4 wheel CCTs of the SR, 6 wheel CCTs of LNER, bogie and 6 wheel CCTS of the LMS. Thinking about it, I am really surprised how many vehicles had this facility - an end door will have been an expensive addition, and will have weakened the body, so additional strengthening will have been necessary in some of the designs. Having operated a layout with an end loading dock, it is a very simple way of adding a lot of interest to a model layout; positioning the vehicle for loading and reattaching to either freight or passenger train as appropriate. Although usually to larger stations, by the early 1960s BR was trying out Motorail services at some unusual destinations. [Motorail has been discussed in several RMWeb topics] Paul Bartlett Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
D1059 Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 I know that Abingdon sent out trainloads of new MG's, but don't know if they end loaded and then drove along the whole train, but what about the small country stations? Would road vehicles and the like have been end-loaded, and what type of wagon was used. Any thoughts and information gratefully received. Ed MG's at Abingdon were end loaded - a fellow club member at Abingdon MRC is building Abingdon in OO (and another member in N) and has hundreds of photos collected while researching the line. Many show the MG car trains and/or vehicles awaiting loading. STEVE Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Lewis Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 Coldstream had an end loading dock, and I have a photo (from about 1962 IIRC) of a pickup freight with a small Lowmac in it. Sadly the Lowmac is empty, so I don't know what might have been on it, but I would guess a new tractor. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Kazmierczak Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 Here's the one at Penzance. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
edcayton Posted July 16, 2012 Author Share Posted July 16, 2012 Here's the one at Penzance. When was that taken please? It looks recent, is it still used, and what for? Thanks Ed Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozzyo Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 When was that taken please? It looks recent, is it still used, and what for? Thanks Ed looking at the photo I'd say it was OOU, look at the concrete bollards. It use would have probable have been for the motor-rail traffic in the 1960s until the 1980s. OzzyO. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
D1059 Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 looking at the photo I'd say it was OOU, look at the concrete bollards. It use would have probable have been for the motor-rail traffic in the 1960s until the 1980s. OzzyO. Are they concrete ? or the metal, removable variety ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted July 16, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 16, 2012 looking at the photo I'd say it was OOU, look at the concrete bollards. It use would have probable have been for the motor-rail traffic in the 1960s until the 1980s. OzzyO. They look like the fold down variety of bollards but in any case that is - I'm reasonably sure - the new dock which was provided after all the short (non-passenger) platforms were altered and rationalised. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
John C Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 Definately look's like the removable kind Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozzyo Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 Hello all, just from the first quick look the bollards looked like concrete ones, now I've had a better look at them they are removable ones. looking at the track it doesn't look like it's been used for a while. Note the old rail used for the "platform" edging. OzzyO. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 Odd that they should use an end-loading dock when the most recent 'Great Western' Motorail wagons were side-loading... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozzyo Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 Odd that they should use an end-loading dock when the most recent 'Great Western' Motorail wagons were side-loading... Maybe it's because of all that old rail thats in the way of driving on from the side, I did also say that it looked like the type from the 1960s until the 1980s. OzzyO. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Kazmierczak Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Photo of PZ loading dock taken in 2010. Peter Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Saunders Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 End loading Docks were retained at locations for MoD traffic on to Warflats and Wells examples include the more recent one at Redmire and abandoned ones at Thirsk (lost the rails when electrified) and Morpeth. Mark Saunders Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porcy Mane Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Here's the one at Penzance. And prior to it being moved to as photographed, the end loading dock was at the end of the bay platform on the extreme right of pic. Watched many a CCT being loaded and unloaded there. 1960's, 70's 80's and 90's. Porcy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silurian Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 The GW's use of single-vehicle carriers like the MOGO dates back to period before the war when car distribution arrangements were very different than those of the late fifties onwrads. Vehicles were not built/delivered to dealers "in bulk" back then so that it made sense to have vehicles sized for the delivery of a single car. Later one sees at first old passenger stock used for end loading as car flats and later the double-deck cartics and so on. don't forget also that traffic to the ports for export was a 50s/60s phenomenon. prior to that most exports went overseas as crated "CKD" kits not finished vehicles. Motorail use apart, I don't recall ever seeing a photo of a BR GUV used for vehicle delivery/other end loading. Likewise the 4w BR CCT. All that said I absolutely agree that such an end loading dock adds a lot of operational interest. Nick F Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffalo Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 The GW's use of single-vehicle carriers like the MOGO dates back to period before the war... Not to mention the many earlier generations of carriage trucks, both open and closed. The earliest with a GWR diagram number (P1) was a CCT with end loading doors built around 1870, and that was far from being the earliest carriage truck. Interesting that the name CCT survived into BR days. Nick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stuartp Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Motorail use apart, I don't recall ever seeing a photo of a BR GUV used for vehicle delivery/other end loading. Likewise the 4w BR CCT. Now you mention it, both types appear in 1960s photos of the early morning Stranraer - Glasgow goods, a popular subject of Derek Cross and others as it was usually double headed. One of the features of the photos that as well as a few ordinary goods vehicles, the bulk of the train appears to have consisted of BR GUVs and CCTs, possibly a dozen or more at a time. I always assumed they were for car traffic to Ireland although I don't actually know. There seem to be far too many for anything more mundane such as parcels traffic, and the make up of the train is consistent in that no no-end door vehicles are visible in any of the photos I can think of. (I'm going to have to go and check them now aren't I !). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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