Ben Alder Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 I was asked recently by PM about the types of goods wagons to be seen around the Further North Line in the seventies and eighties, and it happens that I had a spell of photography around 1971/2 that concentrated on wagon traffic. About this time I became aware of the gradual changes occurring in the make-up of rolling stock, with the elimination of grouping wagons, so spent some time at the station taking pictures of what was around, and here are some of them. Quality can be varied, but I thought that it might be useful to see what was actually running. So in no particular order- B498837 built Ashford 1954 lot no.256 B768235 built Wolverton 1956 lot no.2707 B495357 built Shildon 1954 lot no.2468 B494579 built Pickering 1953 lot no2397 B764139 built 1954 lot no2541 B766024 built Darlington 1955 lot no. 2422 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 I like the bend in that tarpaulin support. Once again, thanks for sharing these with us. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Mark Forrest Posted September 16, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 16, 2012 Some interesting photos there, thanks for sharing them. Interesting that the majority of the wagons were in pre-64 style livery. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 Some interesting photos there, thanks for sharing them. Interesting that the majority of the wagons were in pre-64 style livery. I recollect, a few years later, seeing vehicles still with 'pre-1964' unboxed livery, with a newly painted TOPS code just above. I like the way the lettering on the Highfit follows the slope of the corner-plate- don't think I've seen that before. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Alder Posted September 16, 2012 Author Share Posted September 16, 2012 I have a future batch of photos to scan taken at Ferryhill Aberdeen taken c1974 when they were applying metric weights to wagons, and there was a steady stream of one-offs being hauled in for conversion, and there were some real gems . Watch this space! More Thurso stuff to come,but I'm all screened out ATM. Thank goodness I don't have to sit at a screen all day! Glad this is proving to be of interest though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben04uk Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 Very interesting, thanks very much for sharing. If you have any more, please post the others. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AberdeenBill Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Hi Ben, Great photos, including the legendary "Lowe's Carta Carna Dog Food" label on the vanfit. Can you make out the lettering above the number? Looking forward to more photos ;-) Bill (edit: typo corrected) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Alder Posted September 17, 2012 Author Share Posted September 17, 2012 Hi Ben, Great photos, including the legendary "Lowe's Carta Carna Dog Food" label on the vanfit. Can you make out the lettering above the number? Looking forward to more photos ;-) Bill (edit: typo corrected) At first I thought it might say "experimental clear roof", but I don't think so- it appears to be canvas, so I cropped it and can make out what appears to be Silcock as one word. If I can lay my hands on the negative, that might help, but if you saw the pile of them thrown in a shoe box you would probably do what I have been doing for the last thirty years- put the job off. Whatever, here is the cropped image- not very clear though. Some more views. B774161 built Wolverton 1957 lot no.2990 E155018 Weltrol 2built LNER Darlington 1929 M 492538 an unfitted LMS 22t open B732556 built Darlington 1956 lot no.2867 B947557 Cambrian 1958 Boplate E lot no. 3046 42t Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 'Empty to BOCM Silcocks, Avonmouth Docks' perhaps? I remember seeing Vanfits so branded in the early 1970s- some were even at Avonmouth.. The variety of traffic is interesting- presumably a lot would be in conjunction with Douneray? That LNER 4-bogie Weltrol is a beauty. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Alder Posted September 17, 2012 Author Share Posted September 17, 2012 And some more. B 486212 5 plank Hybar, but no more details noted. B504126 built by Pressed Steel Co 1955 lot no. 3163 Container BD50151B W112756 built by GWR S5248 built BR 1948 That more or less concludes the B/W shots I took at Thurso- I went to Aberdeen to the University, and four years later the level of freight was declining rapidly, and I lost interest,I'm afraid. Latterly there were a few 16t minerals as the last traffic, and the coal strike saw that off. I do have a few more of here I have to track down, and there are more to post, some of trips round the Highlands and quite a few from Aberdeen, which all need to be scanned, which I'll do soon. If anyone else has any photos of Thurso freight and wishes to post them here, then please feel free to join in! There was some departmental traffic around as well, and I am going to do a seperate topic on these in the next day or so. A quick summary of the types of wagons seen here- There were plenty of the mineral wagons for coal traffic, but I ignored these, stupidly- after all, they would never go away,would they? The vans were by that time nearly all BR built, but often to pre-war designs incorporating BR features, and some of the many varieties can be seen here. Most of the Big 4 stock was being withdrawn, and there is only a couple of these shown- a few years earlier there were plenty around, but I wasn't photographing then. The whole story of these can be found by looking for David Larkin's books on wagons, and Paul Bartlett's site http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/paulbartlettsrailwaywagons is a treasure trove of wagon images. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Alder Posted September 17, 2012 Author Share Posted September 17, 2012 'Empty to BOCM Silcocks, Avonmouth Docks' perhaps? I remember seeing Vanfits so branded in the early 1970s- some were even at Avonmouth.. The variety of traffic is interesting- presumably a lot would be in conjunction with Douneray? That LNER 4-bogie Weltrol is a beauty. That sounds feasible and seems to tie in with the lettering. The station did handle some heavy loads for Dounreay and the reactor test site run by the MoD alongside - no doubt this was for them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 That sounds feasible and seems to tie in with the lettering. The station did handle some heavy loads for Dounreay and the reactor test site run by the MoD alongside - no doubt this was for them. Hopefully, the Weltrol was carrying what they wanted.. A friend worked at a RNSD (supplies depot) at about that time; computers were being introduced, and keying-in errors were not uncommon. One day, a low-loader with a large, thick, piece of plate arrived- it was the next item on the system to the 'plate- equipment box back' that he'd ordered. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Alder Posted September 19, 2012 Author Share Posted September 19, 2012 A few more have turned up- not all great, but for completeness I'll add them in. B720396 a BR built Shock open wagon to an LNER design. B771425 again a BR built version of a late LNER van E314499 an LNER steel open as above but without the absorbent springs to protect fragile loads. A rather fuzzy shot of two Grampus ballast wagons. Another LNER type BR van- this one has a 45mph speed restriction for some reason. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wizard of the Moor Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Lovely photos! Thanks for posting them. Any idea what the lettering inside the diamond marking on that Grampus is? It looks like NE. I've seen similar diamonds with what looks like GN inside on other ballat wagons. It would be useful to know what they stood for. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Alder Posted September 19, 2012 Author Share Posted September 19, 2012 It is NE- it appears on some of the coaches in the dept. topic and I remember it on several vehicles . Never bothered to find out the arrangement behind it, but no doubt someone knows the meaning. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Alder Posted September 25, 2012 Author Share Posted September 25, 2012 A couple of shots to finish off here- some are out of period, but the stock is the same, so ties in, I think... The two vans - early LMS types that sat at the head of the platform and acted as store vans for many years- I have not found clear shots of these,although I did photograph them over the years-DM 120434 and DM 147012. Another colour shot- the wooden van is overexposed, but the other has some wonderful weathering/neglect showing. Some shots of a Class 26 at work just before they were replaced, in 1982. The coaches and engines are the same as twelve years before, so represent the passenger workings. And finally, a pair of bogies in the yard, having delivered some heavy load- this is c1984, IIR. And what might have been almost the very last regular wagons at Thurso- two 16t's dated Winter 1984- just before the miners' strike destroyed the coal traffic. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bon Accord Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 Richard, Have you considered merging all your photos into a flickr site or suchlike? The wonderful menagerie of Far North Line photographs dutifully provided by yourself and the likes of ernie is a joy to behold, and I can only hope you have more to come! I spent many years living on/off in Tain and Balintore, and not once did I take a camera anywhere near the railway, despite being a lifelong enthusiast, I suppose I always thought the modern** scene to be 'boring'! **Type 2s and Type 3s with Mark 1s boring - who would think that now! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Alder Posted September 25, 2012 Author Share Posted September 25, 2012 I'm afraid this is just about the lot- like you I found the late seventies and eighties depressing - retrenchment and a gradual vanishing of the HR infrastructure, so didn't bother much more with photography. I did take a few of the Class 37's, usually on a Sunday, which I haven't scanned yet, but will get round to sometime. As for Flickr-never thought of it, but might be an idea. Perhaps something for the winter. Pleased you like the photos though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastwestdivide Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 And finally, a pair of bogies in the yard, having delivered some heavy load- this is c1984, IIR. They look very much like part of the nuclear wagon, pictures and details in this archive thread: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=24074 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Alder Posted September 26, 2012 Author Share Posted September 26, 2012 Yes, that rings a bell.The RN has a nuclear sub test facility sited next to Dounreay, so that would have been the source of the traffic. Thanks for the link. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmrspaul Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 At first I thought it might say "experimental clear roof", but I don't think so- it appears to be canvas, so I cropped it and can make out what appears to be Silcock as one word. If I can lay my hands on the negative, that might help, but if you saw the pile of them thrown in a shoe box you would probably do what I have been doing for the last thirty years- put the job off. Whatever, here is the cropped image- not very clear though. Some more views. B774161 built Wolverton 1957 lot no.2990 Some interesting wagons, the branding on the van is probably like this http://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/letteringplates/e9a8b964 A good number of vans were used in Silcock's traffic in the 1960s. Paul Bartlett Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 They look very much like part of the nuclear wagon, pictures and details in this archive thread: http://www.rmweb.co....php?f=7&t=24074 Apparently the body, after removal from the rail bogies, would be transferred to a pair of multi-wheel rail bogies for onward movement to Douneray. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingsignalman Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 I paid my one and only visit to Thurso in June 1982 and on the early evening of the 14th I took this photo of these opens in the yard. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Alder Posted October 9, 2012 Author Share Posted October 9, 2012 One of a pair taken from a family archive- a 1936 shot of a diesel generator being unloaded at Thurso for the local electric company that started that year. It's something to ponder about that a town of 3,000 then- fairly large for the Highlands- only got mains electricity then, yet only twenty years later a nuclear reactor was being sited nearby. I do have another shot, but where it is stored has eluded me for the moment- I'll post it up when I find it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Alder Posted October 9, 2012 Author Share Posted October 9, 2012 Found it- a more general view- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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