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Blue Circle Cement rail served depots in the 1970's and outbuildings


Ben04uk
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I am researching Blue Circle Cement rail served depots in the 1970's.

 

So far I am aware of the following:

 

  • Chacewater, Cornwall
  • Lawrence Hill, Bristol
  • Exeter Central
  • Barnstaple.

Anyone suggest any others that I've missed out?

Edited by Ben04uk
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From a 1978 TOPS Location Handbook, some of these locations will be quarries/works/factories:-

 

02105 Aberdeen Craiginches

81411 Avonside Wharf Bristol (Lawrence Hill was Aberthaw Cement)

83221 Barnstaple Yard

87991 Beeding Sdg

55211 Beeston

74601 Bletchington Cement Works

47003 Brookfield Fulbourne

07411 Cambuslang

85531 Chacewater

75352 Chippenham Goods Yard (supplied from Plymstock)

49022 Claydon

44324 Cotham

18432 Dewsbury Railway Street

03043 Dundee Camperdown Junction

62501 Dunstable

34006 Earles Sidings Hope Works

15811 Eastgate Works

83432 Exeter Central

68108 Gloucester Llanthony (BWB) - edit

05073 Grangemouth

51316 Grays West Thurrock

69401 Greaves Siding

86953 Hamworthy

65203 Handsworth Queen Head Sgds

12711 Heaton Yard

89304 Holborough Sdgs Snodland

01104 Inverness

08403 Irvine

26005 Kirton Lindsey

17127 Leeds Marsh Lane

86505 Mulfords SIdings Southampton

32401 Northenden

88712 Northfleet New Works

88703 Northfleet Swanscombe Sdg

08431 Oxwellmains Works

84132 Plymstock Works

86934 Poole

14126 South Dock Sunderland

59022 Syston

74704 Theale

07421 Uddingston View Park

82091 Westbury Works

48219 Whitlingham 

35627 Widnes Tanhouse Lane

 

cheers

Edited by Rivercider
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There was one just outside Norwich near Thorpe st Andrew  of the Norwich -Gt Yarmouth -Sheringham -Lowestoft line.Just a single siding  on the Down line probably the Whitlingham  mentioned above .

Edited by alfsboy
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Ben,

 

Picture on my website of the Barny cement terminal below - with one silo and a road tank lorry, sans wheels. Barny cement terminal closed to rail traffic in May 1987 and Lawrence Hill finished just under 3 years later. And just a stones throw away was Avonside wharf - I'd reckon cement traffic had petered out by about 1988/1989.

 

 

http://northdevondiesels.webs.com/exetertobarnstaple.htm

 

Of course BC dispatching terminals had their own locomotives - in the 1970s the ex BR class 14 was still at Westbury Cement works, later replaced by a smart Thomas Hill 0-6-0 in BC Blue/Yellow. Greaves siding has a 4 wheel Sentinel loco and Aberthaw had John Fowler 0-4-0 diesels having lost their 0-6-0 saddle tank (built by Peckett) in the early 1970s going to what's now known as the Avon Valley Railway.

 

Paul

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I am researching Blue Circle Cement rail served depots in the 1970's.

 

So far I am aware of the following:

  • Chacewater, Cornwall
  • Lawrence Hill, Bristol
  • Exeter Central
  • Barnstaple.

Anyone suggest any others that I've missed out?

Here is a picture of Bristol Temple Meads High Level Sidings.

In the background, on the other side of the River Avon, you can see part of the Blue Circle depot on Avonside Wharf.

It was at the end of a freight only line from Lawrence Hill and served by the Lawrence Hill pilot loco,

a class 03 in the 1970s, (03121 or 03382), and later worked by a class 08.

 

post-7081-0-43781600-1385922681.jpg

31258 and a BG stand on the High Level Sidings at Bristol Temple Meads, 24/6/80

 

cheers

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Dunstable was still active for a time into the 70s.

 

See http://www.cementkilns.co.uk/cement_kiln_dunstable.html

 

The branch (Luton - Dunstable. The rump of the old GNR line to Leghton Buzzard) also served a local fuel distribution depot and I remember Peaks there in the late 70s. I worked nearby.

 

Type cement and dunstable into google and quite a lot of info turns up.

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With regards to the cement terminal at Exeter Central and Chacewater, I notice there are small brick buildings located adjacent to the main cement silos. Does anyone know if these are boiler houses or just simply an office or stores builidng?

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Dewsbury was active at that time and still is.  I'm not sure when it moved from Railway Street to its current location a little bit further down the branch where it is now.  Railway Street also had a traffic of redland Building products up to closure.  Served by a trip from Healey Mills.

 

Jamie

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With regards to the cement terminal at Exeter Central and Chacewater, I notice there are small brick buildings located adjacent to the main cement silos. Does anyone know if these are boiler houses or just simply an office or stores builidng?

No reason for a boiler house; they might have served to house the compressor for the air supply required to discharge the tanks, or as weighbridge huts/ offices.

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The Beeston depot used the old station goods yard on the Down side at the Nottingham end of the station. The old goods shed was used for offices I think and ther was a cement holding tower. The tower and a rake of wagons can be seen in the left background in this photo of 25270 taken from "Boots Bridge"

 

25270 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/8412452547/

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While looking through my old photos I realised I made another visit to Exeter Central, in 1985.

 

post-7081-0-51040600-1386779310.jpg

A mixture of vacuum fitted and air braked stock in the yard at Exeter Central,

also a ferryvan in the Premier Transport siding, 17/7/85

 

cheers

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The Beeston depot used the old station goods yard on the Down side at the Nottingham end of the station. The old goods shed was used for offices I think and ther was a cement holding tower. The tower and a rake of wagons can be seen in the left background in this photo of 25270 taken from "Boots Bridge"

 

25270 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/8412452547/

Another view in the background showing the Goods shed

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pics-by-john/7968616492/

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Cheers Rivercider, do you know what that brick building immediately next to the cement silo is?

Sorry no idea about that.

I have tried to look through old pictures of Exeter Central goods yard to see when it was built. 

It appears to be present in summer 1964 when the yard was still handling general goods traffic.

It is in the background of a photo of 35025 Brocklebank Line,

 

edit - but I can not see it in a 1959 view of the yard

 

cheers

Edited by Rivercider
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Sorry no idea about that.

I have tried to look through old pictures of Exeter Central goods yard to see when it was built. 

It appears to be present in summer 1964 when the yard was still handling general goods traffic.

It is in the background of a photo of 35025 Brocklebank Line,

 

edit - but I can not see it in a 1959 view of the yard

 

cheers

I'd suggest that it might well be a compressor house; the various cement wagons relied on a supply of compressed air which both made the powder behave like a fluid, and also moved the resultant 'fluid' into storage silos or road tankers.

What's the wagon in the foreground of the right-hand siding, next to the Premier Transport building?

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Was there a cement depot at Kings Cross? Yes, it was on the "railway lands" next to the North London incline, between KX and STP.

Edited by roythebus
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