HGT1972

That track machine at Doncaster is a Plasser & Theurer machine but it's a liner rather than a tamper. Before they were introduced lining was done by eye after the tampers had done their work. These Plasser & Theurer AL203 machines were built from 1964 with the later machines built at Shrewsbury by Rolls Royce (in the old Sentinel works). They (and the slightly revised AL250s) soon became redundant as later machines were able to tamp and line. The photo nicely illustrates the relative small size of these earlier machines compared to the giants of today. Nice photo! Hywel

A lovely atmospheric photo of what looks like Track Relaying Unit No.6 (the LMR had three of that design - 6, 7 and 8). These were built by Thomas Smith, who built two for the ER, three for the LMR and four for the SR, in TRU terms almost a standard design. Built from 1964-6 they later carried the identities of DRS78202-10 with this one becoming DRS78204. When new the LMR units at least carried a rather nice rich red (bodywork) and off-white (hoist arms) livery rather like the old crimson and cream coaching stock colours. Later they were all yellow. Hywel

The SR example, TRU1 (DRB78008) was the very first TRU and, yes, was developed pre-Nationalisation. It was built by the Southern Railway during late 1947 on a 40ft American Warflat and was designed initially for a relaying job within the confines of Polhill Tunnel near Shoreham. The two hoist beams were positioned at 40ft centres and, as mentioned earlier in the thread, the cranes were counterbalanced using a moveable ­platform loaded with 17-tons of rails that ran across the width of the wagon to suit the lift. The Waterloo film is great! That was filmed during July 1948 during the relaying of Platform 5 at Waterloo. The 'Watford Tunnel Job' (sounds like an Ealing film!) was over two weekends during February 1949 between Watford and Kings Langley and the TRU was actually the SR one lent by them to the LMR for the work. The first ER example dated from 1951 with the LMR getting their first three machines TRM1/2/3 (later DRB78004/5/6) in 1951, all built on Warwells. Great thread! Hywel

Behind the USP5000C is one of Plasser & Theurer's 06-32 SLC tamper/liners. There were 20 dating from 1968/9 and were 50ft long but did the job of two of the older machines in that they could both tamp and line. Numbered DX73000-19 they were impressive machines. I never saw a real one as none were based on the WR - they'd make an impressive model for someone! Hywel

....or even the CORGI Coles crane rather than Oxford! I should know - I have one on the workbench awaiting some work! I think the Airfix Coles is a much earlier and lighter version so might need more work to modify as one of those two SR TRUs. Hywel

The five WR TRUs were built by BR at Swindon in 1953. There was a huge variety of TRUs - the first was built in 1947 on an American-built Warflat for the SR and was, unsurprisingly, numbered TRU1 (later DRB78008). The Coles-based pair as mentioned by Brian were also SR-based machines but dated from 1962. TRU6 (later DRB78117) was built on Warwell DM721234 and TRU7 (later DRB78118) was on Warwell DM721282. They had modified cabs to fit within the loading gauge so a tweaked Oxford Coles crane might work? Another nice model might be DRB78112, built in 1970. This was once TRM13 on the LMR and again based on a Warwell (Hattons or Oxford?) DM748306 but used a pair of British Hoist & Crane Iron Fairey Saphire cranes just like the old Matchbox models that crop up regularly at Swapmeets going cheap. The former wheel wells featured very obvious plating too. Hywel

Hello, I built one of these for my EM layout Morfa Bank Sidings. There were five of these interesting machines. Somewhere on Kier Hardy's EM Gauge 1970s site is a number of photos of the building sequence if that's any use. The three WR examples were DW274 (later DRB78114); DW275 (later DRB78115 and DW276 (later DRB78116). All were built at Swindon in 1953 and they also built one for the ScR (TRM1/10, also numbered DB965311 and later DRB78100) and another for the ER (78/002, also numbered DB966480 and later DRB78104). They lasted until the mid to late 1970s. I never found any drawings and worked out the measurements form photos and the length of the track panels they worked with. Hywel

There were still 22 former LMS Post Office vans with offset gangways in existence by 1976, three of which were stowage vans (one of those having a brake compartment). They'd all gone by 1978. I'm sure there must be a TPO expert out there to tell us more?! The well-known old Triang Hornby mail coach, of which we all seem to have had one once upon a time, was a similar shape and had offset gangways too. Hywel

Isn't that a former LMS TPO van? I'm sure someone who knows their Royal Mail coaches will tell us for sure? I didn't know the blue and grey wrapped around the ends though. Hywel

I came across some photos on the NRM website (and may be well known too!) that may be useful for showing the loading and variety of colours on the earlier new car trains: http://www.nrm.org.uk/ourcollection/photo?group=British%20Transport%20Commission&objid=1996-7038_BTF_10285 http://www.nrm.org.uk/ourcollection/photo?group=British%20Transport%20Commission&objid=1996-7038_BTF_10288 Hywel

The wagon apparently used parts from a viaduct inspection unit – the cab and power unit (a Ford six-cylinder petrol engine). Reports suggest the inspection unit had been scrapped in the mid 1960s and also that the donor was DR82001 (built on a former BR, LNER designed, Dolphin). But the peaked roof cab bears no resemblance to the one on DR82001, which was reported as scrapped in 1974 or 1976 (depends what you read!). Other references mention a ballast cleaner (DR76003) which also ended its days at Lowestoft with the remains given IU number 041398 – the Grampus was 041399 (later renumbered as 041707 for some reason – anyone know why?). The cab from the ballast cleaner ended up as a grounded store at Lowestoft but the cab on the Grampus is clearly not from the old ballast cleaner. So what inspection unit was this? It wasn’t DR82002 or DR82003, other early ones, but there was a 1950-built viaduct inspection unit numbered DS3188 (using a former SR 4RES EMU) that had gone before the introduction of CEPS numbering in 1974 – anybody know anything about that one? Or any others of these elusive machines? A nice little mystery! Can anyone solve it?! Hywel

That rake probably were still Shochood Bs in the earlier picture. They were commonly used as a fitted head on the unfitted coil trains between Llanwern and Newport Docks, often Coil C, Coil J and some of the unfitted bogie conversions, generally carrying the smaller coils. The 45 Coil Ls had been converted for traffic from Ravenscraig and Gartcosh and were, at that time, still mainly working out of Scotland. They did occasionally escape and some did indeed make it to South Wales with Scottish steel and a few certainly made it to Newport Docks with export steel in the earlier 1970s. Of course, even the Shochood Bs wouldn't last much longer heading either for scrap or conversion to Dace ballast opens within a few years. Nice wagons! Thanks to Rivercider for a great selection of pictures...brings back many happy memories! Hywel

One possibility for the raised building is the checking of incoming wagons. Mineral wagons could often arrive at collieries with the remains (or sometimes all!) of their previous load and it was customary to check that they were empty. Any remaining scrap metal, for example, in a wagon would contaminate (potentially dangerously) the coal load, which would then get rejected by the customer and be returned to the colliery. Hywel

I suspect the Cornish examples were mainly, if not all, in NCL traffic. An RCTS note states that 33 were branded 'NCL Company Train - Return to Paddington' by 1972, all with W prefixes. I've never seen a picture of the brand, possibly it was just on a small Darvic plate or similar? This seems to have continued for a good few years and certainly ties in with The Stationmaster's recollections. Hywel

Hi Adam - a most useful diagram indeed! Perhaps a few Coil Rs might move up the 'to-do' list sooner rather than later...it nicely illustrates the steep peak of the hood too. Thanks for that! Your Coil C is looking good - if you need any details of any other coil wagons please pm me and I'll help if I can as they've always been a favorite. The Morfa Bank rebuild has reached the end of the dismantling stage and the bits and ideas for the rebuild are well advanced...hopefully something shall soon be rising, phoenix like, from the ashes! Hywel

The only decent view I know of with the hoods was an early David Larkin shot, but not a published picture. If you find the OPC book 'The Power of the Peaks' by Keith Montague then you can see two with three Coil H at Ebbw Vale in 1975 in plate 165. Although a bit distant you can see the hoods. They really resemble a small ridge tent with quite a steep angle to the peak. They were removed from around 1976 and the stillages sheeted instead. The photo illustrates another type of wagon you can run with them - Shocvans. They were also used for tinplate (in large numbers - 800 were allocated to Ebbw Vale in 1975) but carried flat parcels rather than coils. I'm going to model some Coil R but so far the time has eluded me! Hywel

The Shochood Bs were often used for coil, more usually the thinly sliced stuff, but could be seen regularly with Coil C/J sometimes as fitted heads on Llanwern to Newport Docks export traffic. The Coil Hs tended to hunt either in short rakes of their own kind or with the other tinplate coil carriers like the 20 diagram 1/451 Coil R (later JRV) former Bolster E fitted with three compartments for carrying stillages just like the Coil H. These originally had individual hoods over the compartments rather like steeply peaked tents but lost them in the mid 1970s. Another location for the Coil H I've just remembered - the Reed can factory at Rhymney, and the Coil Rs also worked there. Hope that helps! Hywel

Don't forget the Coil H carried tinplate coil in stillages so didn't head for the same customers as the Coil C/Js. They were common (if you can say common about such a tiny fleet!) visitors to Trostre, Velindre and Ebbw Vale for loading and Metal Box plants, even locally to Neath, for unloading. All three types could be seen together at Ebbw Vale but, as mentioned, in different flows. The wagons, by the way, look great! I'm tempted to add a few more to my Morfa Bank fleet now you've inspired me! Hywel

The old ballast cleaner in J1702 at Loughborough was a Matisa 3B5 (they were DR76000-18 under CEPS). Most of them seemed to use an old Medfit as a runner for the conveyor at the nearest end. I think that LNER van might be in internal use as a store - there's no sign of a number or tare and a number seemed to end up like this around the country in similar condition. A great photo and full of atmosphere! Thanks for sharing it! Hywel

As Mark noted they were indeed trialled in tyre chip traffic to Aberthaw...but failed dismally when the tyres refused to drop out after the hopper doors were opened. In the end an intrepid soul with an iron bar had to prise them out and they were sent off in disgrace! Hywel

Powell Duffryn at Barry Dock received wagonload quantities and then block trains until 1991 from ICI. Trains could stretch to 20 wagons but I had seen as little as ten in a rake. Hope that helps? Hywel

On the 1920 1:2500 OS maps there is a siding heading up the embankment towards the connecting line above the tunnel. By that date it's truncated close to where the later loco shed was built but looks as if it could once have carried on - perhaps it became redundant and the later stretch was tipped on substantially changing the geography? It isn't on earlier maps but have a look on Old Maps online and you can just make it out. The signal could have been connected with that? Just an idea and possibly totally wrong! Nice photos of the period though - I well remember the six-car blue DMUs on the Penarth to Rhymney route....nicer than a 'Pacer' I think! Hywel

...actually it was my 19th...and the DMUs were Canton sets C331 and C335...just checked my notes! Hywel

On my 18th birthday in 1981 I decided to go to Cardiff on the 10.08 train from Penarth. When I got to the station I was told that the train wasn't running (they were hourly back then) but it would be running from nearby Dingle Road, the next station towards Cardiff, and if I ran I might make it! I set off and got there out of breath but just in time...to find the usual two sets of three-car DMUs broken down...with 45037 and 37188 (both powered up!) on the front. Superpower to Cardiff and me hanging out of the front window taking pictures all the way! They ran round at Cardiff and hauled the broken down units off to Canton. What a birthday present!

Hi! I've only just seen this topic and can add a bit about banana traffic from Barry. By the later 1960s the Geest traffic for Warminster left Barry on an evening trip to Severn Tunnel Junction. It regularly conveyed traffic for Taplow (20 vans) and Heathfield (10 vans) alongside 20 vans for Warminster. At Severn Tunnel the Warminster traffic moved forward on the daily departure for Salisbury. On one Sunday during November 1970 three trains ran from the docks, the first for Severn Tunnel Junction with 10 vans each for Spalding, Easton Lodge, Lingfield and Taplow plus 15 vans for Warminster. The third of the trains left very early the next morning with 15 more vans for Warminster and picked up the 15 vans left at Severn Tunnel to form a 30 van train for the depot. The longest train for Warminster I've seen reference to is those 30 vans, the shortest just two! However, the rail traffic from Barry ceased from the end of 1971 so the vans in the post-1973 picture are not bananas. Maybe they were for the military or perhaps fertiliser? Hope that adds a bit to your picture? Hywel