W.R. Early 1980s London Division freight, - my photos

[brian daniels]

That picture of the 31 reversing round the west curve is indeed going out onto the down main to go behind a ground dummy there. Don't know why that dummy lasted as I would have thought they would have removed it and you just go back a bit further behind the new gantry for the reversible working. It can then gain the up main, not sure if you could get on the up relief from there, so maybe they were doing a drop on the up main?

 

Picture just about showing the dummy on the right of the down main.

 

 

Why has the railways got so overgrown and Network Rail leaving their junk about making it look a right tip these day's.

[Rivercider]

North of Didcot were a number of freight locations active on the 1980s.

 

First on the west side of the line is Appleford with a couple of terminals.

The ARC depot here received stone from Tytherington Quarry in MSVs which were unloaded by grab.

The trains were formed of about 34 MSVs and usually ran in a 'Y' pathway to either Appleford or Oxford Banbury Road.  

Also at Appleford was a Greater London Council waste transfer station handling containerised waste from Brentford.

 

Further north, my Bakers Rail Atlas shows the Abingdon Branch as freight only though what traffic survived into the 1980s,

I am not sure.

 

At Kennington Junction just south of Oxford is the freight only branch to Morris Cowley which served Cowley freight terminal

as well as car traffic from British Leyland. There was also an oil terminal at Littlemore part way along the branch.

 

Then we reach Hinksey Yard, which I think was mostly used for stabling car sets and MGR sets, there being no resident pilot there in those days.

 

Oxford depot still had an allocation of four class 08 shunters until 1974 when they were all re-allocated to Reading.

The 1979 Shunter Duties book shows three Oxford duties.

1  AB -  Oxford Station parcels pilot, also daytime freight trips to Morris Cowley 

1 AB -  Oxford South Yard and NCL, also trips to Hinksey Yard

1 - Rewley Road Coal Yard, (north end of Oxford Station)  

I think the Rewley Road duty was gone by 1980 and a single class 08 covered the freight work.

 

Oxford of course saw a lot of passing freight traffic including MGR coal trains for Didcot, and Freightliner services for Southampton.

The early 1980s still saw some vacuum braked services, though these disappeared to be replaced by Speedlink workings.  

At Oxford South 47338 heads a southbound vacuum braked service, probably a Tinsley to Eastleigh working 10/7/81. 

 

Now at Oxford Station another vacuum braked working, this time a trip from Banbury to Oxford which later worked back north

25308 passes the station on the through line.10/7/81

 

I realise now it must have been the return working I photographed later at Banbury

25308 was returning north with a long raft of 16t minerals of which, B566207, was smoking with a seized brake and the train was stopped by the signalman.

 

edit - thanks to Brian Daniels for corrections and additional information.

cheers

Edited January 24, 2015 by Rivercider

[Rivercider]

Here are another couple of photos from my visits to Oxford from the early 1980s,

both are unidentified southbound tank trains, but  may have been for Littlemore on the Cowley Branch,

though Didcot Power Station also sometimes received fuel oil.

 

First at Oxford Station in pouring rain

47366 heads south through the platform at Oxford with a mix of 2 axle and bogie tanks,

my notes show it as a train heading to Hinksey Yard, 28/3/80

 

This time a tank train is seen at Oxford South

40079 heading south with bitumen tanks for West Drayton 10/7/81

Later that day I saw 40079 again with what may well have been the same tanks heading back north through Banbury,

my notes on the day gave a return destination of Ellesmere Port,

 

edit - thanks again to Brian Daniels for information

 

cheers

Edited January 24, 2015 by Rivercider

[Fat Controller]

MG traffic ceased from Abingdon with the closure of the factory; I suspect the traffic after that would have been coal. It appears the branch remained open until 1984, which would coincide with the great purge of coal depots after the Miners' Strike.

[brian daniels]

Keep em coming.

 

The 47 is more than likely on a Tinsley to Eastleigh freight. There were no freights to Acton through Oxford only the one that started from Oxford in the afternoon. 25308 is on the Banbury to Oxford trip at midday which then returned to Banbury. 40079 was on the bitumen to West Drayton for the branch there.

[Rivercider]

Many thanks for all the positive feedback.

Looking through my old photos and rereading my notes has given me a greater understanding of what I was seeing,

but the additional information supplied has certainly corrected some of my faulty assumptions.

 

 

Here are two photos of the Bicester trip back in 1981.

The first view is from the end of the reel of film, but you get the picture, or most of it.

31304 is heading north through Oxford with a mix of vanfits, vanwides and Cov-ABs with a brake van, 10/7/81

 

Later the return working is also seen at Oxford.

The return working comprises only vacuum vans, is the first a vanfit, with four vanwides behind?, 10/7/81

 

cheers

[Rivercider]

Two more views from Oxford in 1981

 

First an obligatory MGR train

An unidentified class 56 approaches Oxford from the south with an empty MGR set from Didcot, 10/7/81

On the left, I have just worked out, is the rake of 16t minerals with brake van that 25308, seen earlier, later worked back to Banbury

 

For quite a few years there were usually two trains a day Monday to Friday from ARCs Tytherington Quarry to Wolverton,

these trains were worked by pairs of Bath Road class 37s and were each formed of 36 PGAs.

I think Bath Roads first allocation of class 37s, which arrived in the 1970s, were specifically for this work.  

The headcodes I believe were 6M10/6V11 and 6M24/6V55.

Bath Road locos were not generally noted for their external cleanliness, and the 37s were no exception,

and once two were paired up they tended to stay together for some time on the stone trains.

Here 37295 and 37233 are passing Oxford with return empty PGAs from Wolverton, 31304 is in the platform road, 10/7/81

 

cheers

[ess1uk]

another great set of pictures.

Didcot has changed a lot

[rob D2]

Great photos as ever....

FC is spot on abou the Abingdon traffic, it was domestic coal until 1984.

I've seen a picture of a blue 31 in the yard there with those coal wagons that were bigger than 16T and had two doors per side.

 

Photos in this period of both the Abingdon and Wallingford branches are hard to come by

[DavidB]

Blimey Kevin - this thread just gets better and better. Firstly there's 08640, and now another old Didcot/Oxford friend - 31304 - that I also modelled in 7mm back in the 80s. The 56 on Cemetery Curve brings back happy memories too - to hear the turbocharger scream as the 16 cylinders ramped up to full power round the curve, up over the hump of the Botley Road bridge and through the station at 55 mph was an experience in raw power. When I'm on platform 2 tomorrow at 7.30am waiting for my train to Brum (and wishing it was the Glasgow/Edinburgh hauled by one of Old Oak's pet named 47/4s), your photos will bring back very happy memories - cheers!

 

David

[Rivercider]

Great photos as ever....

FC is spot on abou the Abingdon traffic, it was domestic coal until 1984.

I've seen a picture of a blue 31 in the yard there with those coal wagons that were bigger than 16T and had two doors per side.

 

Photos in this period of both the Abingdon and Wallingford branches are hard to come by

Thanks for the extra details,

I expect the larger wagons would be 21t minerals, TOPS code MDO or MDV

 

cheers

[Boco_D1]

Thanks for this fantastic thread, living in the areas photographed and working the Didcot signalling area it's great to see how different it was, the MGR on west curve in particular is a great interest to me as that swamp in the triangle is now TVSC. Keep 'em coming.

[Phil Bullock]

Just awesome!

 

Many thanks for sharing

 

Phil

[Rivercider]

Moving forward a year into 1982 and revenue earning vacuum braked traffic is getting increasingly rarer.

 

One service, that had been running for some years, and was still conveying vacuum  braked stock, was the Oxford Banbury Road stone train.

The stone came from ARCs Tytherington Quarry and normally ran Monday to Friday on a 'Y' pathway from Stoke Gifford

to either Appleford or Oxford Banbury Road, and was formed of 34 MSVs.

6A06 stoke Gifford to Oxford Banbury Road passes Oxford behind 45062, 17/11/82

 

As the Oxford area vacuum braked traffic from the North came via Banbury I will now I will stray slightly off topic, and over the regional border,

with one photo of Banbury Yard on the same day in 1982. This shows vacuum and air braked wagons side by side

a situation that was quite common around BR, but would soon be part of history.

 

I like the idea of a scenic fiddle yard, and as I also like freight trains a yard like this would make a great model, if I had the space!

25286 and brake van is on the left, 33003 heads the short train of cement tanks with two airbraked vans on the rear,

and the yard pilot is 08740. In the yard are new airbraked vans as well as older vacuum vans and some 16t mins of coal. 17/11/82

 

cheers

Edited January 26, 2015 by Rivercider

[Rivercider]

Blimey Kevin - this thread just gets better and better. Firstly there's 08640, and now another old Didcot/Oxford friend - 31304 - that I also modelled in 7mm back in the 80s. The 56 on Cemetery Curve brings back happy memories too - to hear the turbocharger scream as the 16 cylinders ramped up to full power round the curve, up over the hump of the Botley Road bridge and through the station at 55 mph was an experience in raw power. When I'm on platform 2 tomorrow at 7.30am waiting for my train to Brum (and wishing it was the Glasgow/Edinburgh hauled by one of Old Oak's pet named 47/4s), your photos will bring back very happy memories - cheers!

 

David

Thanks David

with 47s and 50s on the Paddingtons and Cross Countrys and a steady procession of MGR trains

plus Freightliners, tanks and DMUs to photograph I probably should have made more visits.

But back then of course there were so many interesting other places to see.

 

From my visit on 28th March 1980:-

47500 Great Western  was on a Liverpool - Paddington service,

though my haulage that day was, HST to Reading, 50024 to Oxford, 47545 to Banbury, 47088 to New St, and 47466 to Bristol.

 

cheers

 

cheers

[Rivercider]

Moving on to 1983 I made another brief visit to Oxford on the way to Banbury.

During my stay at Oxford a couple of loaded MGR services passed through,

as well as a class 08 on a local trip move.

 

At 08.25 a loaded MGR service headed south

47366 was a Crewe Diesel allocated loco working this MGR service to Didcot, 13/4/83

 

Next a local trip came up through the station from Oxford South Yard

Reading allocated 08946 hauls a pair of VTG Ferrwagons through Oxford,

I have no details of the load or destination of these wagons 

In the distance 47462 is on the 06.25 Poole - Liverpool Lime Street, my train for Banbury. 13/4/83

 

It is 09.05 and just time for a quick shot of another MGR train as it heads towards Didcot

Tinsleys 56114 passes southwards through Oxford with more coal, 13/4/83

 

cheers

Edited January 27, 2015 by Rivercider

[caradoc]

Many thanks for all your photos Rivercider, especially those of Oxford, my hometown. In 1983 I still lived in Oxford and worked in Reading, however on 13th April I must have been Rest Day as I did a day trip to Manchester. Checking my records for 1983 (the earliest which survived), I have found that I travelled on the same train as you, from Oxford to New St. I was on Platform 2 at Oxford when you took that photo ! Thanks again.

[Rivercider]

I made my last photographic visit to Oxford in July 1985 arriving a little before midday.

At 12.00 58010 headed south with a loaded MGR train and although I did not manage a photo

such was the traffic back then that by 12.50 another two 58s had headed to Didcot, and I managed pictures of both.

 

First up is the class leader

At 12.29 58001 accelerates away from Oxford with coal for Didcot, 8/7/85

 

Just 21 minutes later at 12.50 another set heads south

58028 passes 3 car class 117 set B429, 8/7/85

 

cheers

 

 

[Rivercider]

From the same footbridge south of Oxford another couple of photos now looking south,

 

It is now 13.04 and a Freightliner service approaches.

47243 heads north past cartic sets loaded with new cars from nearby Morris Cowley, 8/7/85

 

After the three MGR sets had headed south between 12.00 and 12.50 the first of them returns empty.

58010, that I had seen earlier but missed a photo, is now working back north with an MGR set from Didcot Power Station, 8/7/85,

 

cheers

 

 

 

 

[Rivercider]

Here are two more views from Oxford in July 1985.

 

At about 14.20 the Bicester trip headed north.

The train is formed 47217, VDA, VEA, VBA?, then at least five VEAs. 8/7/85

Note how this compares with the same trip four years earlier seen in post 31. 

 

At this time class 58s were most commonly seen on MGR services, though I had earlier that day seen 58025 at Banbury

heading south with a Freightliner working, it now reappeared at Oxford heading back north.

58025 with empty cartic sets seen in the loop to the south of Oxford, 8/7/85

 

cheers 

 

[Rivercider]

Here are the final two freight photos I took in Oxford back in the 1980s. 

 

I had seen 58001 head south through Oxford at 12.29 with a loaded train for Didcot Power Station,

It is now 16.14 and 58001 is seen returning northbound with the empty MGR set, 8/7/85.

 

We have already seen the Bicester trip on the way out, and now it returns.

47217 passes through Oxford with a lengthy rake of airbraked vans from Bicester MOD, 8/7/85.

 

Cheers 

 

 

 

[owentherail]

58013 on empty MGRs out of Didcot PS 26/6/85

31249 at Didcot on a civil engineers on 20/11/84

47374 at Didcot on VDAs on 20/2/84

[owentherail]

56042 on an empty MGR from Didcot approaching Hinksey yard oxford on 29th August 1979.

[Rivercider]

After another extended interlude I have found and scanned another couple of photos.

 

I have very few more photos to add, but here are a couple from the Berks and Hants route on a dull day.

Mike (the Stationmaster) has already helpfully listed the freight locations along the B&H.

 

Theale is the location of the major freight terminals along the route.

 

47134 heads east through Theale with what I believe to be coal empties from Padworth with both vacuum and air braked 

hoppers in the train, 2/11/83

 

Aso near to Padworth at Aldermaston was a civil engineers spoil tip receiving spent ballast from the London Division.

 

I also called briefly at Newbury on that dull November day.

Stratfords silver roofed 47114 heads west with what I think are bitumen tanks,

would they be for Exeter City Basin, Frome, or Cranmore I wonder?, 2/11/83

edit   thanks Nidge for pointing me in the right direction.

 

cheers

Edited March 13, 2015 by Rivercider

[Rugd1022]

More great shots Kevin but 47 114 at Newbury is heading west, away from London, on the Down Main.