Cattle Docks-What Happened?

[edcayton]

Talking about late 50's/early 60's here. I know that a lot of the traffic had gone by this period, but how did it work? I presume that the cattle were held for a mimimum time on the dock, so was the operation of loading/unloading as quick as a passenger train, or were the cattle left for an extended period in the wagons before moving.

I gather that the lime washing of the wagons was banned by this time, but presumably there was sufficient water supply for hosing down of dock and wagons?

 

Were other animals loaded in the same way? (pigs, sheep, horses?) and was there more traffic coming in or going out? or did this depend on whether there was a market in the town?

 

Any information gratefully received, and I would be delighted if this "question" could become a "discussion".

 

Ed

[byron]

Cattle were transported by rail well into the 70's - Holyhead was a major despatch point. Freight trains were advised as carrying cattle with the telegraph code "loot" (if my memory is still working). Time of Feeding & Watering was passed Control to Control on the train ticket (though actual tickets had long gone!). Signalmen were instructed to watch out for cattle that had fallen down in the wagons - which is where the fun started. The train was stopped at the next suitable point and an Inspector & vet called to attend, wagon(s) were detached as required and the beasts off-loaded for attention.

Pigs were conveyed as "parcels" in crates.

 

Mike

[Rivercider]

Cattle were transported by rail well into the 70's - Holyhead was a major despatch point. Freight trains were advised as carrying cattle with the telegraph code "loot" (if my memory is still working). Time of Feeding & Watering was passed Control to Control on the train ticket (though actual tickets had long gone!). Signalmen were instructed to watch out for cattle that had fallen down in the wagons - which is where the fun started. The train was stopped at the next suitable point and an Inspector & vet called to attend, wagon(s) were detached as required and the beasts off-loaded for attention.

Pigs were conveyed as "parcels" in crates.

 

Mike

 

My July 1958 copy of Telegram codes gives all whole section devoted to Livestock

including :-

LOOT

Undermentioned wagons of live ............ left here on

train named. Work forward at all speed.

 

There were several codes applicable to outbreaks of Foot and Mouth.

 

My Father was in the SR District Office at Exeter Central from 1951-1958

he worked for spells in most sections including the Control Office.

There was sufficient cattle traffic passing from the west country to justify

a specific Assistant Controller post 'the cattle man' which I think was an afternoon shift.

I remember my Father telling me about phone calls reporting "one down",

and how a vet would be called, and the arrangements to forward vehicles thereby delayed.

 

cheers

[90211]

Pigs were most definitely sent by train in cattle wagons.

The Western Region Calne branch in particular received pigs for the local bacon factory by this means.

Although quite often in there own trains, the cattle wagons were often attached to an autocoach train and usually the pigs outnumbered the passengers!

I can remember these workings but I think they ceased in about 1964 when DMUs arrived.

After that the wagons were always conveyed in there own train.

 

I can also remember cattle being loaded, the empty wagons were shunted into the loading dock line and left until the lorry arrived with the cattle. They were unloaded into the dock and then were loaded into the empty wagons. This happened very quickly and cattle were only in the dock for a short time. The train left very soon after.