Fat Controller

Didn't some of the Ashford ones end up at Sellinge for a while? I'm sure I saw one in the distance when I drove past once. The site of the former 'Ashford Steam Centre' (Ashford shed, in the fork of the Canterbury and Dover lines) is currently being developed as a housing estate- they will have a magnificent view of the underside of the CTRL viaduct! Not a place to live if you're a light sleeper.

Not just Mk1 stock, either- some Bulleid stock also travelled north, whilst some Thompson stock was sent to Paddington - Birkenhead services to release Mk1 stock.

As a slight aside, I believe NCL/Lynx retained trailers with Scammell couplings into the days when all the Fords and Bedfords had been replaced by Volvo FL7s- they were used for contract-hire deliveries to Woolworths and M&S, who had some very restricted accesses. There were certainly some working in the North-East when we lived there in the 1980s.

I think a few Toad B did last in departmental service until quite late- I'm sure I've seen photos of one somewhere, but I couldn't find one in the usual place.

These are Medfits:- http://gallery6801.fotopic.net/c87052.html Parkside do a model. They're a type that didn't spend long in revenue use, but lasted in departmental use into the 1980s- there were a couple of the 'Pooley' ones rotting away in Pinnox sidings, Longport, until fairly recently. The van looks as though it could be the same length as the wagons, in which case it's probably one of the original design of LNER brake that Mainline used to model. Doing routine work, even when closure was imminent, was a feature of many of the nationalised industries- indeed, the arrival of the painting gang was often regarded as a portent. Part of it was probably due to the principle that, once money was budgetted to a certain project in a given year, then it had to be spent, or the following year's budget would be reduced by a corresponding amount. There was no possiblity of saving that money for the following year, or using it on another project without masses of paperwork.

The traffic was handled at Salkeld Street at the time- when this was closed, it went to Deanside Transit, I believe. The black livery was being applied to former NCL lorries at this time, with rebranding as 'Lynx'; some tractor units for Railfreight contracts were finished in 'Railfreight Red'.

Ian, Just bought 'Heyday of the Hydraulics' which has quite a few photos of 'Hymek' hauled workings:- 10/06/1968 D7046 with 6 on as 09:50 Cardiff- Portsmouth Both end vehicles (BSK?) are maroon, the rest blue and grey, and the train has a RMB as 4th vehicle. 26/10/1971 7007 with 6 on as 09:15 Cardiff- Portsmouth- one end vehicle is a BG, and there is no buffet. 10/04/1970 7096 with 6 on- BG and no buffet.

The late sixties did see Swindon Intercity units on this run. There was also a Saturday working with a 33/0 and loco-hauled stock- this may have worked from further east than Pompey- which I saw at STJ. In the early seventies, it was almost always Hymeks- the train sometimes including a Stanier BG- going over to 31s in 1974/5. Someone with a sense of humour in Control sometimes substituted a DEMU for this- I remember the pained expression on my then girlfriend's face when she alighted after travelling from Soton to Bristol, having used a compartment with no access to a toilet. The 31s were sluggish in the extreme, but this did at least extend the time for fond farewells when the train left Temple Meads.....

Just one caveat. In both the article on modelling the MTV (using the Dapol chassis and scratchbuilt body) in the most recent edition of 'Update', and in the chapter on modifying one of the tanks to represent a Class A one in Geoff Kent's 'The 4mm Wagon; Volume 2', mention is made of the axle-centres not being the same on both solebars. The discrepancy is fairly small, but sufficent that, if left unmodified, the two axles will not be parallel to one another, thus causing problems with the running and trackholding qualities.

Another curious crossing is the one between Cerbere (France) and Port Bou (Spain). Here, there are the following complications:- Different track gauge on the two sides. Different voltages on the OCS. The legacy of Franco's Draconian regime. To deal with the first- trains may have their gauge changed whilst still moving (the Talgo); they may have the axles/bogies changed at one of several points within the border complex; or they may have their loads transhipped- something which is relatively easy with containers, but which had to be done box-by-box in the days of the citrus fruit traffic. At one time, several thousand local women would be engaged on the transhipment of the seasonal fruit traffic. The situation of the different voltages is relatively easily dealt with, in that the Spanish locos run on reduced power on 1500v catenary. Franco's emphasis on strict border controls leaves a legacy to this day. The southbound local passenger trains are run by SNCF, the northbound ones by RENFE. Both return empty, so that the Gardia Civile could control access and egress, and this situation continued well into the 1990s (and probably still does). The SNCF trains shuttle back and fore on the eastern tunnel, and the RENFE ones on the western one. All this activity takes place on a relatively narrow ledge hewn out of the rock- the various freight transhipment activities take place in constricted yards in side valleys, which mean that trains like the Stobart one have to be split to fit the sidings. I haven't had a chance to visit Hendaye on the western coast, or the (currently moribund) site at La Tour-de-Carol, so can't comment on them. The latter had absolutely huge station buildings to accomodate the queues of people filing through frontier controls in the Pyrennean winters.

The buildings to the left are what used to be the old Worcester works of the GWR- the sort of place that often ended up as maintenance facilities for road vehicles.

There's a couple of interesting vehicles in this photo of what I believe is Worcester:- http://erniesunknownrailwaylocations.fotopic.net/p63799151.html The long van trailer is presumably for the large amount of parcels from one of the catalogue operators (was it Kays?) based around Worcester. The 'Railfreight' branded FG is a bit odd- I would have thought it would be either 'Rail Express Parcels' or 'NCL' by this point.

I wonder whether the horse-boxes were being used to convey breeding stock, rather than animals for slaughter? The area was well-known for its pedigree dairy stock, with the MMB later installing one of its AI centres just to the west of Carmarthen (Johnston?)By the time I was old enough to loiter around Llanelli station (late 1960s), most of the Irish traffic was on the hook, not the hoof, whilst Carmarthen's prime bulls sent their contribution by rail in vacuum flasks. Carmarthen used to have different markets on six days of the week, with all-day opening in certain pubs- no wonder Sundays were nominally 'dry' for many years; they needed a breather.

My recollection is that, initially, loads for diesels were based on what they could pull, rather than what they could stop. Certainly, I remember at least three runaways on the Llanelli and Mynydd Mawr during the mid/late 1960s, when EE Type 3s were given loads of about twice that previously handled by a trio of 16xx Panniers. The diesels had been specified on the premise that the vacuum-fitting programme of the Modernisation Plan would have been largely completed by the time they were in general use.

It's in the previous photo- a Stanier 50' BG. There also seems to be some sort of ex-LNER full brake (were there any shorter than the Gresley/Thompson ones?) The short Rail Blue vehicle in the middle of the train intrigues me- it looks as though it could be one of the former Insulfish vans which went over to parcels use (SPV), but I hadn't realised they were converted that early. The mixture of wagon types in the mineral train (presuming you mean the one of Lucania) is a short rake of 13t fitted merchandise opens, presumably marshalled there to increase brake force.

The telephoto does some interesting things to the door-line on the vans- suddenly, my scratch-built ones look quite convincing.....

Wasn't there a great fuss at the time because the vehicles were left in their burnt-out condition, visible from passing trains, for some time afterwards? More recently, when there's been any sort of incident involving locos or passenger stock, the vehicles have been tarpaulined over until they could be removed. There have been two such incidents subsequently involving sleeper trains on mainland Europe, attributable to similar causes (blankets left over heaters, wasn't it, Mike?)- both involved considerable loss of life. The only fatality connected to a fire on Mk3 stock that I can think of is one where a power car fuel tank ruptured and caught fire, somewhere near Reading. A passenger panicked, opened a door, and leapt out in front of another train.

I believe '100 A1' refers to the highest indication of quality or safety given by Lloyds.

Given the load of cable drums shown, I wonder if it would be a St Helens or Warrington vehicle (BICC) or Southampton (Pirelli)?

Thanks for that. BR and NCL trailers would have been yellow; this one might have been 'borrowed' from BRS (part of NFC, like NCL) or another operator.

I couldn't find this in the Corgi list- which bit is it in?

They'd have been used for heavier haulage jobs that TKs and similar couldn't do- anything from delivering railborne steel to loads of bulk fertiliser. There were Seddons used for this sort of work, and possibly also ERFs and Fodens. Until the beginning of the 1980s, the NUR tended to try and stop non-BR staff and vehiccles collecting from goods depots and container terminals, as BR had its own vehicles for this work.

Didn't Securicor's Exel subsiduary take over NCL/NFCs activities? Regarding the later bodies- I do wonder if they were ever re-used on new chassis?

I believe some were made by a company based at Bedwas (near Newport), latterly owned by Securicor- I remember noticing a builder's plate on the rear and remembering that some of my mother's family lived there. Might they have been called 'Star Bodies'? I have seen references to an in-house body-builders for NFC that rejoiced in this name.

I remember the originals being introduced in South Wales, just before the 16xx panniers stopped running past my primary school! You've done a lovely job there, Adam. 'Sound'