SED Freightman

What was Blockplan ? Was it just a WR thing or was it a national scheme ?

Eurotunnel figures for 2017 show 2,012 freight trains passed through the Tunnel, which equates to approx. 6 per day, that will sadly be why Dollands Moor does not feature.

The initials S.S. and T.C. after location names (eg. Hoo Jn S.S. and Chatham T.C.) first appeared in the Southern Freight WTT commencing 01/05/1984, I have always understood them to mean Section Siding and Terminal Complex although the abbreviations are not explained in the WTT preamble. The only Sorting Sidings I am aware of on the South Eastern were at Herne Hill, but they closed many years ago.

Of the former Southern Region Yards, I would guess order of useage is now :- Eastleigh Hoo Junction Tonbridge West Yard Hither Green Dollands Moor Woking

Following services on the South Eastern Division appeared in the SR Mandatory WTT, Section M, commencing 01/05/1972 :- Saturday afternoons 6O93 0425 Bristol to Northfleet arr.1510 - Ety cement tanks 6Y32 0945 Earley to Hoo Jn arr.1245 - Ety oil tanks for Grain 7K69 1035 Queenborough Yd to Faversham arr.1201 - Called Ridham Dock & Sittingbourne, conveyed traffic as required 6K35 1154 Dover Marine to Faversham arr.1238 - Ld ferry wagons 6K41 1306 Richborough Power Stn to Hoo Jn arr.1455 - Ety oil tanks for Grain 8C93 1315 Grain to Hoo Jn arr.1405 - Ld oil tanks for 6K37 plus traffic as required 6K36 1318 Faversham to Dover Marine arr.1406 - Conveyed traffic as required 8R91 1328 Paddock Wood to Tonbridge W Yd arr.1340 - Ety ferry wagons ? 7R70 1404 Tonbridge W Yd to Ashford Yd arr 1517 - Conveyed traffic as required 8C83 1505 Hoo Jn to Grain arr.1554 - Ety oil tanks off 6K41 plus traffic as required 6M36 1515 Northfleet to Handsworth arr.? - Ld cement tanks 6K37 1530 Hoo Jn to Richborough Power Stn arr.1721 - Ld oil tanks 6O36 1755 Dunstable to Crayford arr.2159 - Ety cement tanks for Northfleet forward on 6O36 (Sun) 6K38 2006 Richborough Power Stn to Hoo Jn arr.2152 - Ety oil tanks for Grain Sundays 8C89 0840 Grain to Hoo Jn arr.0930 - Ld oil tanks as required 7K62 1020 Dover Marine to Chatham Goods arr.1230 - Called at Faversham, conveyed ld ferry wagons 8C80 1430 Hoo Jn to Grain arr.1519 - Ety oil tanks as required 8C90 1605 Grain to Hoo Jn arr.1655 - Ld oil tanks as required 6V93 1856 Northfleet to Bristol arr.? - Ld cement tanks 6R43 2220 Dover Marine to Hither Green Continental Depot arr.0005 (Mon) - Loaded ferry wagons 6O36 2345 Crayford to Northfleet arr.2358 - Ety cement tanks ex Dunstable (Sat)

Sorry, no drawings but one photo which may be of interest. Waldenburgbahn G3/3 No.5 'G.THOMMEN' being prepared on a wet Sunday morning at Waldenburg prior to working a special service on 16/06/1991.

Weedfree Ltd were still operating the train on the Belgium rail network in 2007 and it could often be seen stabled between trips in Melebeke Yard (Gent) although I believe it has now been replaced with continental sized stock. Weedfree Ltd weedkilling train top and tailed by SNCB 6295 & 6317 while reversing at Bruxelles Nord on 25/08/2007.

The Railfreight livery on 60010 was very short lived and may perhaps have only been applied on one side for the photoshoot on Kingsferry Bridge. The photo appeared on the July / August page of The Railfreight 1991 Calendar which stated that the photo was taken on 12th August, but failed to mention which year.

After a quick look through my photos I have only found the locos already mentioned by Phil, although at least 33063 & 73107 have been adorned with the oast house plates when in private ownership / preservation. The same oast house symbol was also used on documents and publications by the Trainload Freight (TLF), Area Manager Freight South organisation which controlled Hither Green Depot in the TLF era. Although I am not sure who used the symbol first, the AM organisation outlasted the allocation of locos to Hither Green as they transfered to Stewarts Lane when maintenance activity transferred there.

I would guess the location is within the Eurotunnel Maintenance Depot at Cheriton for three reasons, firstly there would be no problem using Berne gauge wagons, secondly there are OHLE structures visible on both sides of the sidings, and finally there would be no Network Rail involvement.

Minor point regarding the photo taken from Dodman's Bridge looking towards the Gaywood River Bridge. The photo shows employees of Grant Rail (Railtrack's contractor) undertaking spot resleepering on the section of Dock Branch that was to become the Shunt Neck for a new loop on the Branch formation to allow removal of the loop in Kings Lynn Yard. The photo would have been taken in November or early December 1999.

A quick look in the WTT commencing 06/05/1974 shows the following double headed MGR services between Brent (Cricklewood) and Northfleet, all of which have a maximum load of 2059 Tons :- 6O85 0832 (SO) Boughton Jn to Northfleet - booked 1 x 45 + 1 x 47 6O98 1436 (TThFO) Boughton Jn to Northfleet - booked 2 x 47 6O85 1036 (SX) Welbeck to Northfleet - booked 1 x 45 + 1 x 47 6O33 1718 (SX) Welbeck to Northfleet - booked 1 x 45 + 1 x 47 6O59 2350 (SX) Welbeck to Northfleet - booked 1 x 45 + 1 x 47 As mentioned by the Fat Controller, a slow speed fitted 47 was added to the trains at Cricklewood, not only did this help to keep the train moving on the Southern but the slow speed fitted loco was used to haul the train around the discharge circuit at Northfleet. Another factor to consider when attaching a second loco to move more tonnage is the coupling strength of vehicles within the train. I believe that this is one of the reasons for locos being distributed along high tonnage American freight trains where positioning all the locos at the front would simply result in the coupling being wrenched out of the leading wagon.

Dover Priory.

You may have seen the last train as I have (somewhere) photos of a train being loaded for Chichester on 31/01/00, but I do not think they ran for much longer after that.

Sometime after the UKF traffic had finished, Andover saw its final consignment of fertiliser arrive on 02/12/98 comprising wagons hired to EWS from VTG/Cargowaggon/? loaded with half tonne bags of fertiliser ex J&H Bunn Ltd of Great Yarmouth. The wagons arrived on the Eastleigh to Ludgershall trip hauled by 58027 and were placed in two of the sidings adjacent to the Switch Transport (ex UKF) warehouse. Switch unloaded the traffic with a forklift and then delivered the bags to local farms. Although a number of trial loads were despatched from the former Great Yarmouth Carriage Sdgs to such destinations as Carmarthen and Chichester, and Bunn's were very enthusiastic, I believe the traffic proved to be a financial basket case for EWS and is therefore likely to have been the last fertiliser conveyed by rail in the UK. Unfortunately due to a camera failure I have no photos of the Andover operation.

Your memory was fine, the oil siding was also at Portfield, on the opposite side and a little to the east of Bartholomews. Not sure there was anything at Portslade in recent times.

I think the yoghurt was loaded in Bartholomews Depot at Portfield on the outskirts of Chichester, they also used to receive the odd ferrywagon loaded with fertiliser (from Norsk Hydro?).

Having not, as far as I recall, seen a container with the blue, rather than red stripe, I got in touch with a former colleague who in times past, worked for Freightliner in Ireland and BR at Southampton, he responded as follows:- "The blue striped ISO containers were prevalent on the Lo/Lo (lift on/lift off) service between Albert Johnson Quay, Portsmouth and the Channel Islands. The service was operated by BR's Shipping & International Services Division, it commenced in 1972 when BR's conventional cargo service from Southampton Docks and Weymouth ceased to operate. I believe the containers had full S&ISD lettering and BR symbol in white on the blue stripe, but cannot be 100% certain. The containers were used on a Marine Service Circuit and probably did not see much use on the Freightliner rail network although they were fitted with ISO fastenings. The Lo/Lo service was very much a roadbourne related activity and was short lived with the containers being stored out of use by 1977 prior to the creation of Sealink as a BR susiduary in 1979. I do not know how the containers were disposed of post 1977. With regard to the Irish Container Service, this was a Freightliner operation as most of the traffic used the Freightliner rail network at some stage of its journey, as far as I am aware the containers used all bore the red stripe livery. Note that Freightliner was part of the National Freight Corporation from 1968 to August 1978 when it returned to BR control, whereas the S&ISD remained part of BR throughout." I'm not sure how much this information helps to answer the original query, but it appears that, at least until 1977/8, containers with the blue stripe livery belonged to BR, whilst the far more numerous red striped versions belonged to the National Freight Corporation (Freightliner). Is it possible that the BR containers were used on services other than to the Channel Islands, could they have been used for road/sea deliveries to the Scottish Isles for eaxmple ?

They are definitely both still there, athough much easier to see in the winter when the vegetation dies back.

Hope this diagram of Mitcham Goods Yard is of interest. Unfortunately my set of old control diagrams are undated, however Olddudders has previously suggested that they date from around 1960.

Rochester photo J6023 shows the former Isle of Man Steam Packet Co. Ltd ship 'King Orry' moored at Strood, awaiting breaking by M Lynch & Son (Metals) Ltd. The photo was taken from the Rochester side of the River Medway.

Gravesend photo C5619 is a view looking downstream with the end of the PLA's Royal Terrace Pier on the right and a collier unloading at Tilbury Power Station over on the north bank of the Thames.

Mr G R Newlyn was the Divisional Manager, South Eastern Division in November 1980.

Ooops, apologies you are absolutly correct. If I had looked at some of my own photos it would have been obvious that the footbridge was a later addition.

Thanks for providing a clue as to the date of my Control Diagrams. Could the Up Receptions be the electrified lines at the bottom right hand side of the diagram shewn as No.1 & 2 Goods Loops ? Any idea how the Pickle Road in the Down Yard gained its name ?