Hereford goods yard

[jonas]

Hello all,

 

I've been dormant for quite a while, but I'm currently mulling over the building of my first N gauge layout, after being shown some of my friend Lee's stock and weathering a wagon or two.

 

I live in Hereford, and can vaguely remember eating sandwiches with my Dad whilst sat in a break van in the goods yard there - at a rail day sometime in the early 90s, probably about 20 years ago at least. Whenever I pass the yard I wonder if it will ever see traffic again - as far as I know it used to have facilities for the loading / unloading of timber (see this link), presumably just the hard standing and the mechanical grab on the lorries, as well of vans full of cider from Bulmers and a ballast loading point. I can't find anything on the early 90s period in the local library catalogue, although there is plenty of information on the days of steam.

 

I'd like to possibly build a layout based on the location - it has a handy over bridge/scenic break -does anyone have any photographs or information that may help? I have found a couple of pictures on google / flikr but not much. I am specifically interested in the yard area for a shunting themed layout (any blue 08s in shot are a bonus), seen on bing maps here).

 

Thanks to anyone who can help with any info, no matter how small the detail!

[rob D2]

I have definately seen a photo late 80s/early 90s of the yard. IIRC it ws a few rakes of VAA/VBA/VDA vans being shunted by a class 08, must have been the cider ?

[Rivercider]

There is one picture in Paul Shannon's 'Rail freight since 1968 - Wagonload'

 

page 75, 09015 shunts a rake of VDA VGA VBA out of the yard on 9 July 1990.

The caption mentions that the yard remained active with steel, timber and cider until the demise of Speedlink.

There is an empty bogie wagon with high stanchions, but no sign of timber.

 

 

In 'The Freight only Yearbook No.1' by Michael Rhodes & Paul Shannon

 

page 80, 56045 passes the yard on 6B51 the 08.55 trip from East Usk with 3 ety PFB flats on September 13 1989

there is timber being loaded in the yard, on bogie wagons with high stanchions, and a couple of VGAs and some engineers (grampus?) in the yard.

 

hope this helps

 

cheers

[Fat Controller]

Hereford handled both inbound and outbound timber at this time, I believe, with inbound timber being unloaded there for the timber yard at Pontrilas- this lasted until the siding off the loop at pontrilas was fettled up.

The steel would have been sections of various sizes for the pylon manufacturer that used to be just north of the station (Painter Brothers?).

My WR Quail, dated 2000, still shows private siding connections for Painter Brothers, Wiggins Alloys, Bulmers and MEB (Hereford power station) off the former Brecon line, though all are marked 'Not In Regular Use'- I think Bulmers was re-activated for the Freight Multiple Unit trials.

[jonas]

Thanks for all your replies!

 

I hadn't thought of Painter Bros. receiving items by rail - but there is a spur now that appears to lead towards their site. Am I right in thinking they built quite a lot of OHLE equipment at one point?

I will have to see if I can get hold of those books. I wonder what wagons were being used for the timber - I'd assumed they would be OTAs but they aren't bogie wagons. Interesting.

The Multiple unit trials sound interesting. I'm assuming these are the MPVs that were also trialled somewhere in Wales on timber.

Thanks again guys - this at least gives me a start at looking at what sort of stock would be suitable as I am aiming to get a flavour of the site on my doorstep!

[Fat Controller]

The bogie wagons were BDAs and BDW, or the timber-carrying version (BTW)- Cambrian do all of these. The MPV was the same one used for the SRA's timber-loading trials in Wales, but with a pair of Megafrets sandwiched between the power car. There was an account of a trip on it somewhere (Rail or Modern Railways, probably).

There had been a bitumen terminal (latterly Colas) between Painters and Bulmers- not sure when this shut. Perhaps at the beginning of the 1990s, when Shell stopped sending product out by rail from Stanlow?

[jonas]

Thanks again - that's really useful. I've since found this shot - the yard area is under the bridge, with what appears to be a long rake of dogfish.

 

Brian, I didn't know about the bitumen - I'm assuming that would use TTA or similar. Do you think this too was part of the speedlink network, or was it served by a block train?

[The Stationmaster]

 

I hadn't thought of Painter Bros. receiving items by rail - but there is a spur now that appears to lead towards their site. Am I right in thinking they built quite a lot of OHLE equipment at one point?

 

Yes, they were definitely despatching stuff for WCML works in the early 1970s. Other traffic about at that time and coming through the BR yard and then by road was orange peel in large hessian sacks for Bulmers, and a firm in Leominster were regularly receiving and sending something in BD type containers which were worked by 'BR' road vehicle from Hereford.

[Fat Controller]

Thanks again - that's really useful. I've since found this shot - the yard area is under the bridge, with what appears to be a long rake of dogfish.

 

Brian, I didn't know about the bitumen - I'm assuming that would use TTA or similar. Do you think this too was part of the speedlink network, or was it served by a block train?

Bitumen was carried in lagged TTAs with 'flame tubes'- they used to have four little chimneys sticking out of the top. They'd have probably arrived via Speedlink- the ones for Elswick, Newcastle used to.

[45584]

I took this photo at Hereford at the event on 5.5.91. The other photos I took were of locos on display which sadly do not show

anything of the yard.

[Swindon 123]

I worked Hereford yard from mid 84 untill I retired from the railway in 2010. Until the mid 80's the main traffic was timber, steel and bitumen although the last two, bitumen for Colas & steel into Painters had become rare. The traffic into Bulmers started in 1985 and was mainly cider out and sometimes Orangina in. Traffic into Wiggins, LPG, had long finished and I never saw a train go into there. The timber and Bulmers traffic picked up in the late 80's. I have known as many as 17 vans come out of Bulmers, this often requiring 2 or rarely 3 trips into the works. The Bulmers traffic was worked in VAA, VBA, VDA, VGA and sometimes continental vans. Bogie vans where never used as they couldn't be used in the loading bay, the same problem afflicted the continental twin-sets that where trialed. The timber traffic was usually in BDW's, OTA and OBA's, but I did see OAA and OCA and BDA wagons used as well. This traffic was not exclusively for Pontrilas but also for BSW at Builth Wells. Another traffic sometimes found in the yard was to and from the MOD at Moreton-on-Lugg and could be almost anything from traffic in opens and vans to coaches and loco's going for training purposes. As well as revenue earning traffic there was a lot of stuff to be found for engineering and PW work as required and the yard was used in the late 80's early 90's for storing surplus wagons. The run down of traffic into the yard started in1990 when a change to the Speedlink network resulted in a dropping off of the timber traffic until by 1991 the Bulmers traffic was all that was left and that was a shadow of its former self, untill the yard effectively closed to traffic in Sept 1991 if I remember right. The only traffic left was the occasional oil traffic that ran into the power station on the remaining stub of the Brecon branch but that had always been an on an "as required" basis depending on the price of waste oil which the power station ran on.

That is what my memory recalls but I did take a fair few photo's which will hopefully show traffic and dates a bit more accurate if required.

 

Paul J.

[jonas]

Hi gents - thanks again for your replies! 45584 - you have justified the purchase of a Farish 08 I made last Saturday

Paul, if you have any pics handy I would love to see them, if at all possible. It's such a shame I can't remember anything first hand being so local - as I was only 2 when you started there your insight is invaluable. So thank you for the info so far, great stuff. it looks like there could be more options for stock than I had originally envisaged.

 

Would I be right in thinking most of the stabling would've been done on the other side of the bridge (looking from the platform edge) but the unloading at the good shed (TGS bowling) end?

[jonas]

Hi guys,

 

I've just been past the yard on my way to Ledbury and it seems all the old sidings near the Bulmer branch (the other side of the road bridge from the platform end) have been removed and a new hardstanding put in place. These sidings have look out of use for years so no real suprise, but the hardstanding is new. It also looks like one of the sidings running right up to the old goods shed has been severed or shortened.

 

Anyone have ideas whats going - is there a future use planned? Seems a bit of a waste of time otherwise?

[Lee m22]

I don't think we could fit an investigatory visit into this weekend....

[jonas]

I hope nobody minds me bringing back this old thread, but what was the purpose of this working I have found whilst trawling the web for pics?

 

http://www.railphotoprints.co.uk/index/detail/5278/47227-Ponthir-130790-RP155.jpg.html

[Rivercider]

I will hazard a guess here, but stand to be corrected, Bristol West Depot was a small Freightliner Terminal, nearing the end of its life at that point.

I think the train conveyed a 2 set, probably for Coatbridge, or Trafford Park, which would have connected into

a service from Cardiff Pengam to the north/Scotland at Hereford. Probably to avoid congestion at Pengam

The traffic was not for Hereford.

 

cheers

[ess1uk]

when i was working down there in February the yard had large wooden gates and all the health and safety signs up and looked like a construction site.

no idea what they are doing but meant i could not drive down the cess how i wanted and i had to go round to Burcott road and go through the level crossing there instead.

would love to know what they are doing

[br2975]

I think the train conveyed a 2 set, probably for Coatbridge, or Trafford Park, which would have connected into

a service from Cardiff Pengam to the north/Scotland at Hereford. Probably to avoid congestion at Pengam

 

More than likely - as this was a 16:30 departure from Bristol, and the Pengam - Coatbridge was an early evening departure also.

 

Brian R

[jonas]

Thanks for the replies! It certainly looks short enough to model as something different.

 

Would I be right in guessing these are FFA flats?

[Rivercider]

Thanks for the replies! It certainly looks short enough to model as something different.

 

Would I be right in guessing these are FFA flats?

 

 

I am not an expert at wagon recognition, but if these are 'original' freightliner flats then it will be a pair of FGA 'outer' flats.

If it is a newer pair of the replacement wagons from the 1980s, they will be a pair of FSA 'outer' flats.

 

Bristol West Depot was only a small terminal and seldom loaded more than 10 or 15 flats daily on a regular basis.

As such it did not justify a regular trunk working, instead relying on a feeder trip to connect into the main network.

I suspect a 2-set would have been common on this service, but sometimes may have loaded a 5-set.

But as you say something of this length is easy to fit on most layouts.

It would give you a bit of variety on a model of part of Hereford yard to have mainline services to call to attach/detach.

 

cheers

[Fat Controller]

I am not an expert at wagon recognition, but if these are 'original' freightliner flats then it will be a pair of FGA 'outer' flats.

If it is a newer pair of the replacement wagons from the 1980s, they will be a pair of FSA 'outer' flats.

 

Bristol West Depot was only a small terminal and seldom loaded more than 10 or 15 flats daily on a regular basis.

As such it did not justify a regular trunk working, instead relying on a feeder trip to connect into the main network.

I suspect a 2-set would have been common on this service, but sometimes may have loaded a 5-set.

But as you say something of this length is easy to fit on most layouts.

It would give you a bit of variety on a model of part of Hereford yard to have mainline services to call to attach/detach.

 

cheers

They look as though they've a headstock at either end of the wagon, which would suggest that they're KFA flats, hired in from Tiphook- a model of this type is due from Hornby this year. Bristol never seemed to generate the amount of traffic one might expect from a city of its size, possibly because the terminal was badly situated in relation to most of its potential client, either east of the city centre or at Avonmouth.

In the mid-1970s, I seem to recollect that the Glasgow train was a joint venture between Freightliner, and what was to become Railfreight Distribution, with a five-wagon set coupled to some air-braked wagons from the Full Load Terminal by Temple Meads.

[Rivercider]

In the mid-1970s, I seem to recollect that the Glasgow train was a joint venture between Freightliner, and what was to become Railfreight Distribution,

with a five-wagon set coupled to some air-braked wagons from the Full Load Terminal by Temple Meads.

 

Quite right, it was a fore-runner of the Speedlink Network. I joined Bristol TOPS in 1978, it was one train much attention was paid to.

A couple of VAAs or similar loaded by NCL for Glasgow & Edinburgh in the old goods depot, tripped from Kingsland Road to West Depot.

Occasionally some other air-brake traffic was on offer, I think from Avonmouth (Docks).

The main train then took that traffic, plus a 5 set for Trafford Park and a 5 set for Coatbridge(?), next stop Bescot.

 

The 16.30 Hereford service, referred to earlier, only ran for a short spell and never loaded heavily, the other traffic at that time was tripped to Swindon en-route Felixstowe.

 

cheers

[40044]

They look as though they've a headstock at either end of the wagon, which would suggest that they're KFA flats, hired in from Tiphook- a model of this type is due from Hornby this year. Bristol never seemed to generate the amount of traffic one might expect from a city of its size, possibly because the terminal was badly situated in relation to most of its potential client, either east of the city centre or at Avonmouth.

In the mid-1970s, I seem to recollect that the Glasgow train was a joint venture between Freightliner, and what was to become Railfreight Distribution, with a five-wagon set coupled to some air-braked wagons from the Full Load Terminal by Temple Meads.

Deinately Tiphook KFAs, although possibly still coded PFA at that time.

[andypops]

Not just a gratuitous "bump"...

 

I would be over the moon if anybody had any photos of the hereford good workings, especially the bulmers traffic or anything to do with this line.

 

All the best,

 

 

Andy

[br2975]

Slightly O.T.

 

Another traffic sometimes found in the yard was to and from the MOD at Moreton-on-Lugg and could be almost anything from traffic in opens and vans to coaches and loco's going for training purposes.

 

During the late 80s and 'in another life' my colleagues and I would attend Moreton-on-Lugg in relation to IED (improvised explosive device) training and refreshers.

 

It was quite strange to find parts of the site littered with bullet riddled cars, some on their sides and rooves having suffered blast damage.

As for what they did to the Cl.47 and coaching stock . . . . . .

 

In fact there is good footage of 47971 and a rake of stock passing thro' Cardiff Central en-route for Swansea Burrows for use in another of our multi-services anti-terrorism exercises during 1998 on the lateste B.N.T. dvd production fo Cardiff central between 1993 and the present (highly recommended) - but as for that exercise, my lips are sealed !

 

Brian R