SED Freightman

Yes, the sand was mainly used for glass making, I was thinking of the glass works which used to be served by a steeply inclined siding from Harlow Mill yard. The glass works is still active but the rail connection is long gone. Holmethorpe also despatched glass making sand to Queenborough (and Angerstein Wharf ?), the final rail traffic was 8 PGA's per day to Unilever at Warrington Bank Quay for use in detergent manufacturing.

Looking at the SR WTT of Mandatory Train Services, Section M (Freight) commencing 01/05/1972 reveals two return services to Temple Mills using CD resources and one using ER resources as follows:- 6E63 1301 SX Brighton to Temple Mills, calling at East Croydon 142-1439 and Streatham Common 1451-1542. 7O42 1856 SX Temple Mills to Norwood arr.2053 8E37 2303 SX Redhill to Temple Mills arr.0102 Company Train. Presumably conveying sand traffic (for Harlow Mill ?) 7O36 0220 MX Temple Mills to Norwood arr.0410 7O43 1000 SX Temple Mills to Norwood arr.1206 8E29 1312 SX Norwood to Temple Mills Marshalling Instructions for 6E63 Formation : Temple Mills, Willesden, Severn Tunnel Jn, Hither Green. Detach Severn Tunnel Jn and Hither Green traffic at East Croydon (forward 1453 to Norwood). Detach Willesden traffic at Streatham Common (forward 1518 Bricklayers Arms to Willesden). Attach Temple Mills traffic at Streatham Common. Maximum load 676 tons between Brighton and East Croydon. Length Limit 45 SLU's between Brighton and East Croydon.

For what its worth the BR London East District Timings for Light Engines Supplement No.1 commencing 02/07/1951, shows Tonbridge Duty 326 as follows :- 3.45pm SO Paddock Wood to Hawkhurst arr.4.15pm, thence freight shunting. 9.12pm SO Paddock Wood to Tonbridge MPD arr 9.27pm, after working 5.35pm freight from Hawkhurst.

But as far as the LM were concerned the trains were running onto the SED.

Reading this reminds me that in the early 1980's the Divisional Terminals Inspector (Basil Wilson) used to visit Metal Box at Cuxton every couple of months to inspect tinplate coils that had allegedly been "damaged in transit". I had to forward his reports to the BR Claims Office which I think may have been in Store Street, Manchester.

As others have already mentioned, the bulk BR parcels business was Collected and Delivered (C&D) Parcels which operated a network of rail connected parcels concentration depots (PCD's) from which deliveries and collections were made by an extensive road fleet provided under contract (with drivers) by National Carriers Ltd. The latter being a constant source of friction as it meant BR had no effective control over an important part of the operation. BR announced in October 1980 that it intended to end the C&D Parcels service from 1st July 1981 due to losses running at about £38M per annum. The closure of the business affected around 6,000 BR staff and over 2,000 at National Carriers. BR estimated that its remaining parcels business was worth about £113M pa and included PO Letters & Parcels, newspapers, periodicals and other station to station business inc. Red Star. As far as the SED operation went, Bricklayers Arms was the nearest thing we had to a parcels sorting office. Whilst there were direct vans between PCD's where the volume of traffic justified it, most flows could only justify the odd BRUTE (BR Universal Trollying Equipment) or two, so these were sent to B Arms where complete van loads were made up. Parcels for low volume destinstions were sent in mixed BRUTE's for resorting at B Arms where full BRUTE's would be made up.

A bit earlier than requested but this extract from a control diagram dated December 1959 may be of interest.

I do not recall any M&EE activity at Angerstein Wharf in the early 80s, although wagons and materials may have been stored in the CCE's Angerstein Works. There was also an area of wasteland between the works and the Deptford line which was used to store material from time to time. Evidence of the M&EE activity at Keylands Sdgs at Paddock Wood, mentioned by Lyddrail, remained for years in the form of many abandoned cable drums which were only cleared away in more recent times.

The Handbook of Stations issued by the Brtish Transport Commission in 1956 gives details of two sidings owned by Road & Rail Wagons Ltd. Firstly on the Yniscedwyn Branch at Gurnos and secondly between Upper Bank & Six Pit.

Very sad to discover that Mike will no longer be sharing his extensive knowledge on several of the subjects discussed on RMWeb. I don't recall meeting Mike during his time on the SED but may well have communicated with him during his time at Sittingbourne. RIP Mike

The SR WTT (section WK) commencing 13/05/1985 included the following services :- 8O55 1230 Y (MTThO) Tinsley Yd to Betteshanger 8O55 1234 Y (MTThO) Treeton Exch Sdgs to Betteshanger 8O55 1540 (WO) Tyne Yd to Betteshanger 8O55 1540 (FO) Tyne Yd to Hither Green - fwd to Betteshanger 0545 (MO) 6M18 1150 (SX) Betteshanger to Cricklewood Recess Sdgs 8E25 1440 (MWO) Betteshanger to Treeton Exch Sdgs 8M25 1440 (TThO) Betteshanger to Cricklewood Recess Sdgs 8M25 1440 (FO) Betteshanger to Toton Down Sdgs LL The above suggests that we were still despatching HTV's to NSF in the Tyne area and MCV's to Orgreave in block loads in mid 1985.

By 1985/6 the supply of VB wagons from CCD's would have ceased and the wagons would have been effectively in circuit working between National Smokeless Fuels and their suppliers. Whilst there may have been a timetabled service from Tyne Yd to Betteshanger it is unlikely to have run beyond Hither Green Yd as the daily requirement for VB wagons was fed from there. The daily class 73 hauled service thence was formed of 27 HTV's or 30 MCV's, an impressive train when at times formed of 27 HTV + 30 MCV. Northfleet BCI received coal from Butterwell Open Cast for a while, but latterly was served by up to three trains per day from Toton. Worked by LMR resources throughout, these coveyed traffic from Thoresby, Silverhill, etc. which worked to Toton on separate services.

Generally MGR wagons from Ridham Sdgs were sent empty to Betteshanger, in latter times they tended to work Oxcroft - Ridham - Betteshanger - Scunthorpe - Oxcroft, a very profitable circuit. Use of empty Northfleet MGR's were avoided where possible as they tended to be fitted with canopies. Without delving into my files I think we did receive blocks of empty HTV's from Tyne Yd to Hither Green Yd after the local supply of empties from CCD's had dried up with the switch to HEA's. I cannot remember the Kent Pits loading any HEA's.

ADS56303 (now preserved on Dean Forest Rly) was still in commercial use on 30/07/2001 as I travelled in it at Wolverton where it arrived on a trial movement of the Redland Self Discharge Train.

6E25 was the forward working for traffic off 6M18 1142 (SX) Betteshanger Colliery to Cricklewood Recess Sdgs. The booked load for 6M18 was 23 loaded HTV's, conveying coking coal for National Smokeless Fuels at Derwenthaugh or Monkton Bowes. Literally coals to Newcastle as iands suggested. The trains ex Betteshanger were combined at Cricklewood into longer rakes (46 ?), with the wagons presumably being tripped from Tyne Yd to whichever coking plant required them.

I was there on 14 & 15 April 1993 for what my diary notes as 'Performance Review Programme'. I have no recollection of the course, only travelling by taxi from Watford Junction and the lack of any decent beer in the bar (only bottles of Newcastle Brown ?).

Paul, thanks for posting your RhB photos, I have not been able to visit Graubunden since 2014 having been a regular visitor since the mid 1980's, so it has been interesting to see how much things have changed whilst much is still recognisable.

Not worn this for a few years, but I did see the driver of 33202 on the K&ESR still wearing one recently !

With regard to the former Southern Region, initially Trainload Freight contracted with Network South East to deal with all operational matters, including train planning, the relevant NSE Area Managers being responsible for both freight and passenger activities in their respective areas whilst dedicated short and long term freight planning teams existed in the General Offices at Waterloo. Train planning and diagramming was undertaken by the general NSE train planning and diagramming sections at Waterloo (one for each former division of course), whilst there was also a Regional Freight Managers organisation to deal with various residual matters and ensure the requirements of Trainload Freight were addressed by NSE. This all changed from Monday 29/04/1991 when the Area Manager Freight (South), led by Area Manager Jon Hunting, commenced activities, initially based at the Network Technical Centre, Croydon (formerly Southern House). AMF(S) was one of three areas overseen by Trainload Construction, it took over the day to day operational aspects of all freight activity on the former SR except for Freightliners, with outbased Freight Service Managers located at Dover (Ernie Puddick), Eastleigh (Peter Horne) and Hoo Junction (Eddie Creighton) along with a Traincrew Manager at Hither Green (Stuart Griffin). The area symbol was an Oast House as it was thought to be recognisable across the former SR, this appeared on AMF(S) documentation and also on locos allocated to Hither Green Depot. AMF(S) staff relocated to Friars Bridge Court in Blackfriars Bridge Rd on Wednesday 18/03/1992. Upon completion of the remodelling of Willesden Yard for Channel Tunnel Traffic this was transferred from the control of Anglia Freight at Stratford to AMF(S) and gained its own Freight Service Manager (Jon Boucher). Around this time the train planning and control resources dedicated to freight (by now located at Friars Bridge Court) were transferred from NSE to TLF as detailed by The Stationmaster and the former Regional Freight Manager organisation became the Freight Routes Manager, again located at Friars Bridge Court. The AMF(S) organisation continued until Thursday 31/03/1994 when the shadow freight company, later to become Mainline Freight, took over day to day TLF operations and the three former Areas became one based at Westbury, allegedly at the insistence of Foster Yeoman despite it being remote from a lot of freight activity.

Prior to the creation of the shadow freight companies (Mainline, Loadhaul and Transrail), Trainload Freight had three area managers covering the South of England based at Friars Bridge Court near Waterloo (initially at the Network Technical Centre, Croydon), Stratford LIFT and Westbury. When the shadow freight companies were set up RfD took its operations in house and set up its own area managers covering the north and south of the country, based at Euston and Saltley.

In more recent times when operated by the Rover Group, the body pressings for Cowley were received by road from Swindon with the latter receiving steel coil by rail. I have no knowledge of the history of the Swindon and Cowley plants, but unless Cowley had a press shop in earlier days it would not have received bulk steel traffic, only pressings which I suspect would have been loaded in vans.

When the BP Isle of Grain Refinery closed, part of the site was purchased by British Gas and it was my understanding (perhaps from looking through old Divisional files) that they intended to develop a modern gasworks on the site, presumably a scaled up version of the Westfield plant. The gasworks never appeared, but the site is now occupied by the National Grid LNG import and storage facility.

C.T.C extinguishers appear to have been still been in use in the early 1970's as part of the cab equipment in EMU'S and SR DEMU's. Extract from the BR General Appendix dated 01/10/1972 below. By the time Supplement No.1 to the General Appendix was issued on 24/08/1974 (see extract below) the C.T.C. extinguishers had been replaced with BCF extingushers.

OT but in 1978/9 Keith Apps, who lived in the station house at Borough Green, was Assistant Station Manager at Maidstone East, presumably he was Paul's father. At that time Keith used to work a split shift covering the morning and evening peaks and would regularly call into the office at West Malling at around 1130, en route to the Swan Hotel where he worked behind the bar at lunchtime ! Happy days.

Prior to the end of town gas production, Sevenoaks Gasworks had a Meter House which is presumably where the gasometer was located.