BillyBoyTheBig

I spent many happy days as a child in the early 1970s around Mitre Bridge with my father. On a normal weekday afternoon there would often be 3 or 4 coal trains headed by a Class 73 or 74 that would have struggled up the West London line from Clapham Junction using their sparsely powered diesel engines. Until about 1977-ish they would almost always have at least one, if not two, brake tenders behind the loco although I swear that on one occasion a Class 74 did propel a brake tender while hauling a coal train down towards Acton yard (despite this not being standard practice on the Southern, where the train would have originated). After hearing the inevitable screeching of the train as it slowed down on the downward incline to the signal, I then used to run the short distance from the single 'parking space' on the corner (the 'parking space' was gravelled whereas the small access road that lead down to Old Oak Common 'power box' was poorly tarmac'd), up the road about 25 yards and there was a clear view of the locomotive waiting at the signal just before the short tunnel that lead out onto the Paddington Main line. It seemed to be quite rare for the train to be cleared straight out across the Paddington lines and most were held at that signal. You could then walk back down and eventually see the train snaking across the Paddington main line's crossovers to gain access to the slow lines that went down to Acton yard. Happy days!

Many thanks for that. A good picture, too.

I spent many days at Old Oak Common depot in the 1970s, first as a rail enthusiast and then because my late father worked for BR at the depot. I am seeking information and photographs of the boiler house that was located between the carriage and wagon repair shop and the adjacent carriage sidings. The boiler house was located on a raised mound adjacent to the sidings where the Pullman Sets (Class 251) were dumped and stored after withdrawal in the early 1970s. There used to be a single siding that went up a fairly steep slope to the upper part of the boiler house, on the right hand side as you look towards the buffer stops of the carriage sidings. The siding would usually have a single tank wagon stabled at the top, with its handbrake on and wheel-chocks present to prevent it rolling back down. If I remember rightly, there was a catch point at the bottom of the slope, just before the siding joined the main trackwork below, but I am a little fuzzy on that. The tank wagon contained fuel (heavy fuel oil, or possibly diesel?) for use by the boiler house to produce steam to pre-heat carriages across the depot. When walking around the carriage sidings, many of the buffer stops could be seen with clouds of steam from leaking and poorly maintained steam connection pipes. I remember the odd occasion when a Class 08 shunter could be seen swapping the tank wagon over and to see a shunter of that size going up an incline that steep was quite something! The boiler house was demolished sometime in 1977/78 as steam heated carriages began to be phased out. I would really appreciate any further information about this small but important part of the depot and in particular, any photographs of the tank wagon or shunter in use. Many thanks, Richard

Hi. I'm new to this forum and got here because of an interest in TPOs. Regarding the turning round of the TPOs on the LM at the London end of things, this was done as follows: two Class 25s were normally used to turn the TPO rake, one coupled at either end. The train would come from Euston early morning and stop at Brent sidings. Then it would reverse up the freight line towards Kensal Green on the North London Line (the line that first passes behind the BOC unloading facility at Willesden and then alongside Willesden Low Level station on the Watford DC lines). Once clear of the points at Kensal Rise, the train would then back move up and through the Willesden high level station and take the branch off the Richmond side of the high level bridges over Willesden Junction and onto the West London line. Once clear of the level crossing by Mitre Bridge, the TPO would then reverse again back onto the freight lines that first curve back towards to the LM main line at Willesden and then run alongside (the now defunct) Freightliner terminal, then use the fly-under, under the main lines at Brent sidings and back up on the far side alongside the Stonebridge Park carriage sidings. On occasions, this whole process would be done in reverse. I definitely saw the whole process work in both directions/circuits but have no idea which was the more usual/normal. Either way, I guess a lot of work was involved but it achieved the aim of getting the stock with the doors all on the correct side again. The procedure took place mid-morning and I do not remember seeing it occur later than about 11.00 a.m. I have a picture somewhere of a TPO train reversing at Mitre Bridge Junction and if I can find it I will post it here.