Rivercider

Hallen Marsh had become the hub of freight operations for the Avonmouth area after BR closed Avonmouth Royal Edward Yard in early 1978, the local class 08 pilot was withdrawn at the same time. The former TOPS portacabin from the Royal Edward was moved by rail and craned into position at Hallen Marsh for use by the shunters and c&w staff. As well as the spur siding there was a short column road (previously home to a water column?) where the locos on the local trip working would stable between moves or to await traincrew relief which usually arrived on the local passenger service to Severn Beach. 31421 seen in the earlier shot is now leaving Hallen Marsh and is passing 31210 which is shut down on the column road, 5/2/81 The staff accomodation at Hallen Marsh can be seen in this shot Thornabys 31141 is an unusual visitor to the area, it is taking empty HTVs and HTOs to the PBA to await a ship of imported domestic coal. It is passing a train of bogie liquified anhydrous ammonia tanks which are heading to or from ICI Severnside, or Fisons Tank Farm at St Andrews Road. The liquified ammonia could be either dispatched or received by Severnside depending on production requirements and could come from Haverton Hill, Leith or Heysham. Sometimes trains even operated over the very short distance from Fisons Tank Farm at St Andrews Road to ICI Severnside, 26/1/82 Looking the other way at Hallen Marsh we see another train of empty coal hoppers. 31210, a long time Bath Road resident loco, draws empty HTV hoppers out of the Smelting Works past Hallen Marsh signal box. When a ship load of imported domestic coal was expected up to 200 empty 21t hoppers could be ordered by the PBA. Empties were then usually supplied by diverting empty hoppers from Wapping Wharf and Filton CCDs that normally went empty to South Wales. Empty 21t hoppers from the smelting works were also used but not empty 24t coke hoppers. 5/2/81 cheers

Most freight traffic to and from Avonmouth ran via the Henbury route, at the east end there is a 3-way junction at Filton West Junction giving access to Patchway Junction for South Wales, Stoke Gifford Junction for Birmingham and London, and Filton Junction for Bristol. From Filton West Junction to Hallen Marsh Junction the line had been singled under the Bristol MAS scheme (though it has since been re-doubled to cater for imported coal from the Bristol Bulk Handling Terminal). Most of the photos I took at Avonmouth are either industrial, desolate, or industrial and desolate. The first view is taken from Rockingham Bridge looking towards Stoke Gifford, here is a short double track section on the approach to Hallen Marsh. To the left is part of Chittening Industrial Estate. 37233 is approaching Hallen Marsh with a engineers spoil train of grampus wagons for St Andrews Road Tip Siding. For some months at this time Stoke Gifford Tip was mothballed and all spent ballast went to St Andrews Road this was to enable the level of the low lying marshy land to be built up, it subsequently became the site for the coal terminal reception sidings, 11/2/80 The next shot is taken at Hallen Marsh again looking towards Stoke Gifford. 31421 is leaving Hallen Marsh spur with three VDAs and will head via Clifton Down to Kingsland Road, Hallen Marsh spur was a long siding, and the two brake vans standing on it would be used either for the Rowntrees trip to Avonmouth which required a propelling move, or for the liquifed ammonia tanks which required a brake van on the rear for the guard to ride in, 5/2/81 Finally a view from Hallen Marsh signal box. The Severn Beach passenger line heads off to the left, just behind the signal post we can see the flat crossing of the PBA branch into Chittening Estate, and in the distance to the right is Rockingham Bridge. 47286 working local trip 78 is leaving Hallen Marsh Spur with the VDAs for Rowntrees siding at Avonmouth, 5/10/83 cheers

The three hooded opens in Pauls first picture are Shoc-hoods, you can tell by the three white bars (sometimes they were three white rectangles) the springing allowed the body to move which helped prevent damage to the load. There were also shoc-vans with similar markings. The shoc-hoods were commonly used for tinplate traffic from places like Ebbw Vale, cheers

Before we get to Avonmouth I will post another of my hand drawn maps, hopefully this will benefit anyone not familiar with the area (and remind me as well). The Bristol Area MAS resignalling scheme omitted the Avonmouth area so five mechanical signal boxes survived, Hallen Marsh, Holesmouth Junction, Town Goods, St Andrews Junction (my map is wrong), and Avonmouth Dock Junction. There were several major freight customers in the area in the early 1980s notably ICI Severnside and the Smelting Works, traffic from the PBA (Port of Bristol Authority) was less regular, it could be heavy at times depending on shipping arrivals Here is the map, I am once again indebted to my Bakers Rail Atlas (I have 3 editions) for working this out cheers

Many thanks GreedyHarry, the early 1980s with the growth of the Speedlink network with new wagons and traffic flows was quite exciting at the time with plenty of variety cheers

As BRs remaining freight traffic was being conveyed in air braked wagons on the Speedlink Network it was decided that some traffic for the Bristol and Avonmouth area could be better dealt with from Stoke Gifford. Several of the overnight Speedlink services for South Wales had a portion to be detached at Stoke Gifford, this traffic was then delivered as required by the Bristol area trip locos. Later when domestic coal traffic started to be conveyed in HBA and HEA wagons this was also routed through Stoke Gifford. In the early 1980s there was no resident class 08 pilot loco based there though one was later provided shunting on 2 turns only. Later in the 1980s when Severn Tunnel Junction Yard was closed additional trains called at Stoke Gifford to shunt and the yard pilot then became manned 24 hours a day monday-friday. First a look at coal traffic, the two coal concentration depots in the area, Filton and Wapping Wharf, both lasted long enough to receive coal in air braked wagons Bristol area trip 82 loco 45101 is shunting HEAs in the down yard, 10/7/85 edit - here is another photo I have found 6B18 Speedlink service from Severn Tunnel Junction approaches Stoke Gifford Up Loop behind 47315. 47315 will then run-round the train and shunt it across to the down yard, most of the HEAs are for Wapping Wharf and 47315 will work them, and others already in the yard, as trip 77 to Ashton Meadows sidings, In the background a plane can bee seen at Filton, and to the left of the signal are some 16t minerals of spoil on Stoke Tip. 10/7/85 Meanwhile the trip 78 loco 47376 is marshalling Speedlink traffic for Hallen Marsh, in this view looking west Filton airfield can be seen, 10/7/85 47376 has completed forming up the trip which now waits to depart for Hallen Marsh, I will make a guess at the traffic TTA discharged acid tank for ISC Chemicals at Hallen Marsh Ferry wagons either fertilizer from Immingham to Town Goods, or empty to the smelter to load zinc ingots for export Polybulk hopper (?) VGAs imported timber Immingham to Town Goods (?) VDAs either Rowntrees traffic from York to Avonmouth or empty to the smelter to load to Bloxwich We will now follow the trip to Hallen Marsh and next I will look at the Avonmouth area cheers

Here are three more photos of freight trains passing stoke Gifford in 1985 To start off is a train that I have forgotten to mention when referring to Kingsland Road. Kingsland Road was chosen as the Bristol area base for Project Mercury. Concrete channeling was loaded into pipe wagons at Kingsland Road and unloaded at the lineside to create a lineside cable network. I think the trains ran as 7Z01 they were formed of modified pipe wagons with a vacuum piped brake van at each end. Here 31168 is departing Stoke Gifford Down Loop on the way back to Kingsland Road, 10/7/85 Next two photos of trains heading in the up direction. 47274 powers through Bristol Parkway at the head of 6E61 Westbury - Toton with empty HAA hoppers from the Blue Circle Cement factory at Westbury, 10/7/85 The regular power for a midweek ballast drop in the Bristol area was a class 31 hauling a set of 10 sealions. Ex-works 31117 is heading towards the Up Loop at Stoke Gifford, PWay staff are riding on the wagons, 10/7/85 cheers

After a break for the summer it is time to press on with this thread. We have a new laptop but unfortunately my old scanner won't talk to it so I am using the old laptop to upload photos therefore progress will be slow! We are still at Stoke Gifford, when I first knew the yard in the late 1970s the main traffic was stone from Tytherington. Other trains would call into the yard though, either waiting for traincrew relief or sometimes trains for Avonmouth or Lawrence Hill that arrived over night would have to recess as those locations were not open 24 hours a day. First up is a train for ICI Severnside, the signalmen and shunters at Hallen Marsh came on duty at 05.00 each morning so trains arriving at night would have to await acceptance With the easterly morning sun shining in our eyes we see 45023 waiting in Stoke Gifford Down Yard with liquified ammonia tanks from Heysham for ICI Severnside, 7/9/83 And now a quick look at traffic passing through, this train was seen in the background of an earlier shot in the thread 47072 heads onto the Up Loop with a vacuum braked service from Severn Tunnel Junction to Acton, coal traffic predominates, 7/9/83 cheers

Lovely photos of Waterloo, my dad took me and my brother on day trips each year from Exeter to London starting about 1965. I remember standing at the head of the platform watching a Bulleid pacific blowing off steam waiting to depart. Also sitting by the Embankment eating our sandwiches which had been packed in a biscuit tin. Later in the 1970s when trainspotting I was always excited to see what locos might be stabled in the parcels bay, thanks for posting cheers

I have a few memories of the 1962/3 winter in Exeter but I was only 3 and the drifts seemed massive! Since 1971 i have lived in Weston and remember significant snow on only 6 or 7 occasions. I don't have many snow shots but here is one more for this thread from the same winter One of Bath Roads class 31/4s outside its home depot is 31421, they had been mainly used on the Portsmouth Harbour and Weymouth services before the 33s took over, 11/12/81 cheers

Here are three more shots from the 1980s in blue Imminghams 'skinhead' 31111 is stabled at Frodingham 25/6/82 At Weston-super-Mare it is unusual for snow to settle, and even rarer for it to last overnight, 31118, with steam heating boiler in use, waits at Weston with a Bristol service 11/1/82 And finally a pair at York Yard North, 31178 and 31301 roll through heading north with what I think are empty BAA coil wagons , 10/6/83 cheers

On a topical theme for this time of the year how about a toffee apple? One of Stratfords 'toffee apple' 31/0s no. 31015 awaits its fate in the works yard at Doncaster it was one of the last of the sub-class to be withdrawn, 17/8/80 cheers

Even today forces traffic is noticeable in some places, I have just travelled up from Dawlish Warren on an Paignton - Exmouth service, I changed at Exeter St Davids, and there must have been 30 or 40 lads joining heading for Lympstone Marine Commando, cheers PS thanks to Chris and Jonny for this enjoyable thread

Very nice, the shot of the DMUs on the blocks does it for me, cheers

A nice short train with a good variety of stock there, that would fit on lots of layouts. cheers

Steves photo of 31404 at York reminded me I have one from there In September 1981 there are four 31s lined up, 31191 (FP), 31179 (MR), 31200 (MR) and 31290 (TE), `14/9/81 cheers

Taken standing pretty much at this spot on platform 7:- 50031 Hood waits at Plymouth with the 07.40 Penzance - Liverpool 15/11/82 cheers

Last month we had a walk along the route of the Strawberry Line from Sandford (after visiting the small museum there) to Cheddar. It was a very enjoyable day out and quite a few structures remain along the route. Our first station stop was Winscombe where the platform still remains On the surface of the platform the outline of various buildings still remain, I found this one interesting! cheers

Also sometimes referred to as arris rails I don't know about North Camp though cheers

I have just taken my scanner out of summer hibernation, here is another picture of 56070 on the flyash at Llandudno Junction 56070 discharging flyash 7/6/83 And while I have the photos out here is another shot of freight traffic I took that day Llandudno Junction resident class 08 no. 08023 at work in the yard, 7/6/83 cheers

Here are three more shots, this time two for the price of one! 50045 Achilles and 50040 Leviathan restart the 08.30 Paddington - Plymouth away from Exeter St Davids 8/4/80 50006 Neptune and 50016 Barham are approaching Par on a Penzance - Leeds service, 21/4/82 50013 Agincourt blasts through Newton Abbot with the 10.45 Newquay - Paddington passing 50042 Triumph stabled in the upside dock, 3/7/82 cheers

Here are three more unrefurbished in blue from the 1980s 50009 Conqueror waits at Didcot with the 08.23 deprture for Paddington 10/7/81 50020 Revenge is passing the site of Bleadon and Uphilll station with the 07.40 Taunton - Paddington, photo taken from Devils Bridge, 15/6/82 50021 Rodney stands at Newton Abbot, it is working the 06.35 Bristol Temple Meads - Plymouth, I had just got off, it was a train I often caught from Weston when out for the day taking photos, 5/11/81 cheers

I have also greatly enjoyed this thread and the variety it has thrown up. I have been thinking about my railway photography, and about the importance, or absence, of people in photographs. As a kid with my instamatic and its 12 exposure film I guess I would just point and shoot and hope that the subject loco or train was somewhere within the frame. Later in my twenties when most of my railway photos were taken I would try, wherever possible, to keep people out of the shot. I regularly bought Modern Railways and knew that I liked some photos but was not really sure why, then I discovered Les Nixon. I bought his book 'The Art of Railway Photography' and gradually understood what made, in my opinion, a good photo. Earlier this year I had the pleasure of meeting Les when he gave a slide show at my local Railway Society. Nowadays I never go out specifically to take railway photos, but often take a camera on days out so if a shot presents itself I will take it. I do now sometimes wait when taking a photo for someone to move into shot to give more life to the photo, something I should have done more often in the 1980s, cheers

I expect Clive Mortimore will be along when he sees this thread, he has nicely captured the atmosphere I think you are after. In the mean time search for his layout threads on here 'Pig Lane' and 'Hanging Hill' cheers

Bonjour Paul I took this shot looking over the fence at Nouvion at the Culm Valley Show cheers