Rivercider

Would the 44 have come from Etruria with steelwork from BSC Shelton? I seem to recall that was a regular out and back working that would get a 44 home each day. cheers

Taking the Bristol route at Cogload Junction we next arrive at Bridgwater. The yard at Bridgwater was awkward to work with a very short head shunt behind the up platform, I think this stemmed from the fact that a large portion of the north or Bristol end of the yard had been removed to make way for the UKF/Shellstar fertilizer depot that occupied much of the area. Bridgwater yard could be a busy place on weekdays. In the early 1980s a trip left Taunton at 06.55, worked by a class 08 conveying general traffic including discharged flask wagons from Sellafield, this train was booked to carry water containers for the signal box at Cogload Junction. Traffic included occasional wagons of scrap to be weighed on the weighbridge in the yard, also wire from GKN at Cardiff for North Somerset Wire. A Exeter Riverside - London Midland Region freight called to attach the loaded flask later each day apart from Fridays. There was also a lot of traffic for the Royal Ordnance Factory at Puriton, coal in 16t minerals, tanks of acid, explosive materials and empty vanwides for loading with explosives. The UKF/Shellstar siding received a block train from Ince and Elton once a week, and British Cellophane received block trains of caustic soda tanks, and later tanks of heating oil. To start with here are some shots from 1980 when the Taunton trip was still running hauled by a class 08, Bath Road had received two class 09s 09024 and 09025 for this work, but they had gone elsewhere by the time I was taking photos. 08281 has just arrived with the 06.55 trip from Taunton, I think the headcode was 8B04. Traffic today is a brake van, possibly as a front barrier, a discharged flask, a tank of acid for the ROF, a 16t of scrap to be weighed, and unusually a long raft of empty engineers wagons. The engineers empties were backed off and left in the RSD sidings at the west end of the station. 12/9/80 The yard looks deceptively busy, but the grey unfitted 16t minerals, from the ROF, were stored out of use, during the steel strike earlier that year coal traffic dramatically declined and to free up space in yards in the coal fields unfitted coal wagons 16t and 21t were held at various locations around the network, many never saw further use and were scrapped. (Was the RSD sidings the site of the original Bristol and Exeter Carriage and wagon works?) After detaching the engineers wagons 08281 is preparing to get the 16t mineral wagon weighed, the acid tank and brake van are now formed up ready for the trip up the main line to Huntspill ground frame to hand over the acid tank to the ROF shunt loco to take into Puriton, 12/9/80 Later that day 47335 calls with 7M22 09.05 Exeter Riverside - Bescot service, the flask wagon by now loaded with a flask of nuclear waste has been attached to the train. In the formation are 3 empty explosives vans probably from Truro, 3 clayfits, some vanfits and what look like tubes which may be empty from Taunton Fairwater. The loaded flask wagon was always shunted into the spur behind the up platform by the trip pilot 08 ready for the train engine from 7M22 to collect. 12/9/80 cheers

Now moving east from Exeter up the main line into Somerset. Before leaving Devon the paper mill at Hele and Bradninch owned by Wiggins Teape had been receiving coal in 16t minerals until the late 1970s, I am not sure if this traffic lasted into the 1980s the unloading tippler at the paper mill can still be seen from the train today, though the goods loops and sidings went when the Exeter Area resignalling scheme got this far. At Tiverton Junction was an ESSO oil terminal served from Bromford Bridge and Fawley, I photoed a train of tanks that may well have been for this depot leaving Taunton 33003 makes a spirited departure from Taunton with a train of tanks from Fawley. Viewed from Forty Steps Footbridge which has been demolished and a replacement is under construction, 24/8/81. Taunton had a number of freight locations in the 1980s, Taunton Cider, Fairwater PAD, East Yard freight depot, and Taunton Concrete Works From the west Taunton Cider was the first to be encountered, located at Norton Fitzwarren, the sidings came off the start of the West Somerset branch Taunton Cider had a road-rail Unimog for shunting. Traffic started up from here in the Speedlink era and was quite important, the Taunton 08 pilot would deliver and collect traffic, Law Junction in Scotland was one of the main forwarding locations. EDIT - I have just found a photo at Norton Fitzwarren with the Taunton Cider siding in the background. The photo was taken on a summer Saturday of a passing passenger train but behind the train vehicles can be seen stabled the CAR (air piped brake van) used for the propelling move, a Procor curtain sided van and 2 VGA vans are stabled for the weekend. 50048 Dauntless speeds west past Norton Fitwarren with a service for the west country, 23/7/83 Next, just to the west of Taunton was the engineers Fairwater PAD (Pre-Assembley Depot) where track sections would be made up ready for relaying work. Incoming traffic was rails from Workington, concrete sleepers in tube wagons from Dowmac at Quedgeley and wood sleepers from the Ditton creosoting plant. Scrap rail from recovered track sections was also sent out. The site has now been relayed and is currently being used by Freightliner Heavyhaul for their engineering train operations. 37s were very rare in this area unless on engineering trains, 37204 was one of the first 37s allocated to Bath Road and is working 8X06 a 12.00 special from Bristol East Depot with empty wagons and loaded wagons of 'out of gauge' track sections to be dismantled at Fairwater, it is just approaching the yard. On the former up relief appears to be a rake of 21t hoppers, these are probably stored out of use. 24/8/81. Taunton East Yard was the freight yard handling cement from Aberthaw, 21t hoppers of coal in the CCD and various other traffic. In the early 1980s it also acted as the local sorting sidings and the pilot worked across the main line to shunt the Concrete Works on the up side of the main line. In the late 1970s/early 1980s the weekday trip to Bridgwater worked by a class 09 or 08 from Bath Road also started from here. In this view of Taunton East single power car L103 is on driver training duty, 45012 is working 7B54 14.00 Bristol East Depot - Meldon Quarry and the yard pilot is 08955. Presflos from Aberthaw and one of their lorries can be seen in the yard. On the very left of shot are the sidings outside the concrete works. 9/7/85 cheers

Here is the page from the Trip Booklet Section K - St Blazey - Truro - Penzance dated 7th July 1975 cheers

Moving north from Exeter onto former LSWR lines there was still freight traffic on the North Devon line which has been well covered on the 'North Devon line freight in the 1980s' thread, as well as the traffic from Meldon Quarry. Meldon dispatched 4 and sometimes 5 trains each weekday, usually 2 trains going to the Southern Region. Meldon Quarry plant with a selection of wagons in the sidings. To the right are dogfish and sealions/seacows and on the very left of the photo a shovel loader is waiting to load a rake of grampus being shunted by 08668, 9/7/81 50009 Conqueror approaches Crediton with 21 empty sealions/seacows for Meldon, 31/10/83 Traffic to and from North Devon included steel plate and cement to Barnstaple as well as china clay from Marland and Meeth. The driver of 25225 crosses to rejoin his loco ready to work the 17.15 trip to Exeter Riverside. The clayfits had been collected from Marland or Meeth earlier and will be attached to 6M53 clayliner at Exeter, The other remaining traffic was fertilizer from Ince and Elton to Lapford. A block train of about 14 palvans (PWAs) would run once a week or so with portions for Lapford (3 or 4), Plymouth and Truro. The Lapford traffic was detached at Exeter Riverside and tripped to and from Lapford. cheers

Here is a wintry scene at Barnsley in 1981, are these the sidings you are referring to, with what appears to be a solitary 16 tonner? The 14.36 Sheffield - Leeds service calls at Barnsley formed by class 114 set E50003 and E56019, 26/2/81 cheers

Here are two more, from Dawlish and Dawlish Warren in happier times:- 50034 Furious at Dawlish heads west for Paignton with a summer saturday working, 30/6/84 50030 Repulse has just called at Dawlish Warren to disgorge a number of holidaymakers in June 1984, 30/6/84 cheers

Here are couple of mine:- 50014 Warspite at Truro with the 11.05 Penzance - Plymouth, service 11/3/83 50041 Bulwark runs into Salisbury with the 09.38 Exeter St Davids - Waterloo, 9/6/83 cheers

In the local St Blazey Freight Trip Booklet for May 1975 it is trip no. 22. The 08 appears to be outstabled at St Austell and is referred to as St Austell Pilot no.1 It is shown to be manned 7 days a week with varying times depending on the time of year, examples are :- SX (Saturdays excepted) 05.51 - 17.45 but makes two trips light to Burngullow to shunt at 08.45 and 13.00 SO (Saturdays only) 06.15 -17.45 and 20.45 - 21.30 SUN (Sunday) 06.30 - 11.00 from 25/5 - 8/6 and 21/9 and 28/9 SUN (Sunday) 06.30 - 11.00 and 12.15 - 17.45 from 15/6/ - 31/8 cheers

I don't think size matters, weighbridges more likely to be provided for traffic being loaded out rather than traffic being received. Bridgwater and Lawrence Hill both retained working weighbridges into the 1980s. The weighbridge at Lawrence Hill was used to weigh 16t minerals of scrap which were loaded in nearby yards, cheers

I attended the excellent Trainwest on Sunday and enjoyed the exhibition. I had not been following this thread so to see Portchullin was a pleasant surprise. I made a handfull of Scottish excursions in the 1970s and 1980s and the layout captures the atmosphere wonderfully. The uniformity of colour of the landscape and general lack of human activity sets the scene nicely. I am not normally a fan of sound fitted locos but here the sound of the Sulzer engines really worked as the station briefly became busy. The driving of the trains was well executed with slow and steady departures and the loco sounds receding as the trains departed to leave the station to resume its slumbers, and the porter to doze on the bench in the sunshine. It really took me back, I could almost smell the creosote of the wooden sleepers. Many thanks

The former LSWR Salisbury - Exeter route was busy with passenger and freight traffic into the 1960s but as with other areas freight traffic, which included much milk and agricultural produce, was in decline. After the Western Region took over the route much of it was singled, leaving limited capacity for freight pathways, and thereafter very little through freight traffic remained. At the Salisbury end there were local trips to MOD locations serving Dinton and Chilmark as well as fertilizer to the UKF depot at Gillingham. One service which did run regularly over the route for many years was 7V08 the 05.00 Salisbury - Meldon Quarry with empty wagons to collect ballast for the Southern Region. The second empty train each day 7V80 and both return loaded wokings usually ran via Exeter Riverside and Westbury reversing at both places, this also avoided having to bank a heavy train up to Exeter Central. 33019 runs into Exeter Central with 7V08 05.00 Salisbury - Meldon Quarry, towards the front of the train are a number of Dace, former shochoods converted for engineers use, 11/3/83 Edited to put the correct photo here! 7V08 again, this time at Exeter St Davids, and 33021 is the loco, 5/11/81 At the Exeter end of the Salisbury - Exeter route there were a number of locations that survived to see freight traffic into the 1980s. Chard Junction dispatched milk traffic from the Unigate depot on a trip to Exeter each day. At Newcourt on the Exmouth branch was a MOD RN depot which was served as required by a trip from Exeter Riverside, traffic was sparse and after a last hurrah during the Falklands crisis the depot closed, it has recently become a housing estate. PInhoe on the eastern outskirts of Exeter had a couple of sidings, there were silos that received occasional grain traffic and Westbrick also sent out wagons of bricks on the Speedlink network. The final location was Whimple the home of Whiteways cider which had received much rail traffic over the years including coal and apples, by the 1980s traffic was confined to sending out loads of cider in Cov-ABs. The cider factory has also closed and is also now a housing estate. Another of my poor 1970s photos illustrates the Whimple trip, 25057 comes up through Exeter Central with, what my notes tell me, was a couple of airbraked vans, with a brake van if I recall, 15/5/79. cheers

As it is based on a real location it is likely to look right, and in a parallel universe it may have happened, I have used more modellers licence than that! You have done a great job with Pine Road, and the silo is a good start for this one. You can't beat BR blue, it looks like it is the sort of layout I enjoy viewing at exhibitions. cheers

I have just returned from a few days in Glorious Devon and yesterday walked from Dawlish Warren to Dawlish and back along the top cliff path. Although the main north part of the beach and sea wall is out of bounds we were able to cross footbridge at the Exeter end of Dawlish station to access the beach and then walk along the sea wall beneath the down platform and back out under the bridge onto the road in the town centre, cheers

On page two of this mammoth thread I posted a couple of pictures of the beach, one of them, taken alongside the down platform shows the parallel structure, and where the concrete has corroded/decayed you can clearly see the pipe cheers

The 1987 Freight Train Loads booklet I have does not show an assisted load for a class 08. The maximum load for a 08 up the bank is 265 tonnes including loco. The train in the picture appears to have about 10 miscellaneous empty (?) wagons behind the syphon, say average 10 tonnes each (=100) 49 tonnes for the 08, 30 tonnes for the syphon (?), 20 tonnes for the brake van = 199 tonnes, so within weight limit. I only remember seeing the 08 taking crippled wagons up the bank, coal for the CCD was normally worked by 25s or 31s. Though I never saw the early trip to Exmouth Junction myself, it may have taken coal for the CCD, at 32 tonnes for each loaded 21t hopper it would have managed about 6 of them plus brake van. The cement I think was taken up by the loco that brought the train from Westbury with banking assistance, though I never saw or photographed that. cheers

Lovely, I was 9 then, and living within sight of Exmouth Junction, close enough to hear the shunting. Exmouth Junction had closed as a marshalling yard in January 1966 so where would that train be going? Possibly cripples for Exmouth Junction C&W, or could it be the Newcourt trip? cheers

The shunting locos for the Exeter area had been supplied by Newton Abbot until the depot closed in 1980, after that time the class 08s in the Exeter area were Laira allocated locos. There were usually 3 class 08s at Exeter in the early 1980s, the Exeter St. Davids passenger pilot, the Riverside yard pilot which typically worked from 06.00 Monday until 14.00 Saturday, and the local trip 08. The local trip 08 pilot was an important part of the freight scene for many years. This itinerary is from 1975 though would have carried on for years with some variation to timing. It departed St Davids at 05.15 to Exeter Riverside from where it worked booked trips until about 19.00. A typical days work would include a 05.35 morning trip to Exmouth Junction with stores and crippled vehicles for the carriage and wagon shops. After shunting it would return to Riverside, then work a 08.00 trip to City Basin with bitumen tanks, shunt and return to Riverside. Then work 11.30 trip to Exmouth Junction, shunt as required and return to Riverside at 14.45. Next was a 16.05 trip to City Basin to shunt to form up the empty bitumen train. Then run 17.00 light (with brake van) to Exeter Central to shunt the Blue Circle cement sidings, then return at 18.30 to Riverside with cement empties for Westbury, finally going light back to St Davids. Here are three photos from different years that show the local trip pilot in action passing through St Davids. First a trip to Exmouth Junction with traffic for the Carriage & Wagon shops (coal for the CCD was worked up by a class 25 earlier) The C&W shops repaired any defective vehicles in the area and could be a very mixed rake, good for the railway modeller to recreate if you like wagons. Coal wagons, clay wagons, engineers stock, even coaching stock could be seen at times. 08479 on the middle road at St Davids heading for Exmouth Junction with traffic for the C&W shops. Next to the loco is a syphon G(?) with stores, then a mixed rake of crippled wagons for repair with the brake van at the rear. 24/7/80 Next the trip to City Basin Tanks of bitumen from Ellesmere Port are tripped to City Basin by 08955, 9/3/81 And finally the last trip of the day, empry cement wagons from Exeter Central Blue Circle depot. 08792 descends the last few yards of the bank from Exeter Central into St Davids with empty presflos for Westbury, the train is fully fitted, but the brake van was for the guard and travelling shunter to ride in, 9/7/85 cheers

Exmouth Junction Coal Concentration Depot opened in 1967 on the site of the former Concrete Works, The 1 in 37 bank from Exeter St Davids to Exeter Central was a major obstacle to working heavy trains and as a result many trip workings from Exeter Riverside required banking. The 1975 local trip working booklet showed that 8B73 the 09.15 from Exeter Riverside trip no.4 worked by a Laira class 25 was booked to be assisted in the rear by trip no.1 another Laira 25, similar working continued into the early 1980s. I have included this badly faded shot from 1979 to illustrate the point. Although the weight of the wagons is only around 290 tonnes 25223 has the assistance of 25057 to climb up to Exeter Central, 15/5/79 Four years later, and the Laira 25s have gone, local trip locos are now class 31s usually from Bath Road. Judging by the exhaust the driver of 31260 is preparing to make a spirited assault on the bank, the maximum load for a 31 unassisted up the bank was 340 tonnes including loco, which would equate to around only 7 loaded 21t hoppers (HTVs), On the right is 50044 Exeter which was working the 06.35 Bristol - Plymouth, which I had caught down from Weston-super-Mare, 31/10/83 cheers

Here are another couple of views from Exeter St Davids from 1980, though not the best quality I am afraid. 6V53 the empty clayliner from Stoke on Trent would sometimes attach other traffic at Exeter Riverside. 6V53 on the middle road at St Davids hauled by Laira's 46020 seems to have picked up two opens loaded with concrete, possibly tube wagons loaded with cable troughing manufactured at Taunton Concrete Works. It is flanked by 50014 Warspite in platform 1, and 50010 Monarch in platform 3. 24/7/80 At Exeter City Basin there had been a Texaco oil terminal receiving train loads from Avonmouth 2 or 3 days a week but the terminal closed around 1979. KIngs Asphalt at Exeter City Basin received bitumen in tanks from a variety of locations over the years, Ellesmere Port was sometimes the origin of the block train, it also came from Ripple Lane with pairs of Stratford 31s in charge, Later in the 1980s the traffic came on Speedlink and the local 08 trip pilot delivered the tanks to City Basin. This may be 6E33 11.55 Exeter City Basin - Ripple Lane, the locos are 31138 and 31123, 24/7/80 cheers

That is what I was thinking Brian. I have just looked at the Plymouth Cattewater Branch thread, and there is a picture with similar looking tanks in the terminal, cheers

Whilst at Exeter I can illustrate some of the traffic heading to the west country. Although there were never any Speedlink trunk trains to the west country there were a number of important feeder services. 6B39 05.40 Severn Tunnel Junction - St Blazey, and the 6C39 return were the first to be introduced. These services called at Taunton, Exeter Riverside and Tavistock Junction. 47381 heads 6B39 from Severn Tunnel Junction through Exeter St Davids, the first four vehicles are empty clay tigers, then a cargo wagon, a ferry van, another clay tiger. 50023 Howe heads towards the loco spur having arrived on the 06.41 from Salisbury, 31/0/83 Another view at St Davids, this time in 1985 after the resignalling of the Exeter area. 47097 heads the weekday trip from Riverside - Heathfield. Next to the loco are 2 clay tigers to be loaded at ECC Heathfield, these have been added to the front of a set of loaded TTAs from the Gulf refinery at Waterston for the terminal at Heathfield. These wagons all returned to Riverside later that day on a trip behind 33021, 9/7/85. A special airbraked trip from Exeter Riverside to Tavistock Junction passes through platform 4 at Exeter St Davids behind 45034. The first two vehicles look like PAA covhops which worked from Goonbarrow to Markinch with china clay for Tullis Russell. Behind that are TTAs, would they be for ESSO at Cattewater, not sure about the first 3 or 4, those towards the rear look like bitumen tanks. cheers

My next stop is Exeter, where I was born, so have a special affection for the city. St Davids was a great place for trainspotting, there was always something going on. Exeter Riverside was the major yard here, it had taken over the work of the former Southern Yard at Exmouth Junction, all wagon load services, vacuum, and later Speedlink would call to attach or detach traffic. Services westwards went to Newton Abbot, Plymouth Friary St Blazey and Truro. Eastbound services went to Severn Tunnel Junction, Gloucester/Bescot/Warrington/Carlisle, Stoke on Trent, Westbury and Acton. There were four Meldon Quarry services a day, 2 from the Southern at Salisbury, 1 from Bristol East Depot, and 1 starting at Riverside. There were also local trips to Barnstaple, Whimple, Chard Junction, Lapford and Heale and Bradninch, though traffic for most of these locations dried up in the early 1980s. There was also the Exeter Area local trip worked by a class 08 that served Exeter Central, Exmouth Junction and City Basin. Exeter Riverside West End There is a variety of traffic on show here along with the yard pilot 08479. From the left are 21t hoppers empty from Exmouth Junction CCD, a ferry wagon, some clayhoods, more ferry wagons and some clayfits, 21/7/80 Exeter Riverside East End 47110 waits with a Meldon service comprising dogfish hoppers and other empties including grampus., In the middle of the yard the red wagon is probably a SPA which will have delivered steel plate to Barnstaple for Appledore shipyard, 21/7/80 46016 comes up through St Davids with a vacuum braked freight from Newton Abbot. Most of the wagons are clayfits which will mostly be likely for Stoke on Trent and will be attached to 6M55 St Blazey - Stoke on Trent and Longport, the Clayliner, There is also at least one TTF tank in the train, 9/3/81 cheers

Newton Abbot was a location I visited a number of times, but mostly on Summer Saturdays for non-stop loco hauled action. The depot here lost its mainline loco allocation with the withdrawal of the last Warships, but retained a small allocation of class 08s. The 08s carried out shunting duties at Newton Abbot, Meldon Quarry and in Exeter. The Newton Abbot freight pilot shunted at Hackney Yard east of Newton Abbot and worked trips over the Heathfield Branch. On the Heathfield Branch were a number of freight locations, Newton Abbot freight depot and Newton Abbot Clays, Teignbridge for Watts Blake Bearne China Clays and Heathfield ECC and the Gulf OIl terminal. There was also a trip working from Hackney along the main line to ECC Stoneycombe Quarry on Dainton Bank, this was worked by a mainline loco, (in 1975 it was trip.10 worked by a Western). The ballast that came from Stoneycombe was considered inferior to that from Meldon and was mostly used west of Plymouth or on branch lines. Stoneycombe also forwarded material for Taunton Concrete Works. In the autumn of 1980 the depot at Newton Abbot closed and thereafter all shunting was carried out by a trip loco from Exeter, or the train engine of the oil trains or clay trains from Cornwall. In 1981 there were still some vacuum braked services, 47366 of Crewe works westwards through the platforms in late morning. I do not know the identity of the service, but the presence of the presflos indicates it is going to Plymouth Friary, 5/11/81. Apologies for the appalling composition, I seem to remember I nearly missed this shot completely. Bath Roads 31419 is working the trip from Exeter Riverside, it is just about to depart back for Exeter with loaded iron stone hoppers from Stoneycombe for Taunton Concrete Works, In the background is a rake of clayhoods for loading at Heathfield with ball clay for Fowey. These clayhoods were kept in a separate pool from the ones loading china clay to avoid cross-contamination, 5/11/81 47094 gets away from Newton Abbot with a train of 11 Polybulks of export clay on a service from Tavistock Junction to Dover. Due to the weight of this train it had been assisted over the South Devon banks to Newton Abbot by 50030 Repulse. A pair of these trains ran roughly fortnightly, the empties returning as one complete train of 22, 5/11/81 cheers

Possibly I was mistaken about the destination of the coal, it may have been for Ponsandane? I made a visit to St Austell on 15/4/83 and took a couple of photos including from the bridge near the goods yard the connection to the yard is still intact then, though rusty, edit - thanks floss_4 cheers ps here is one of the photos I took in April 1983 at St Austell. The layout is rationalised here compared with PD&SWJRs photos in the 'Kernow Blues' thread. The only freight shot I took that day, it is only another set of clayhoods, but some people it seems can never get enough! 37274 approaches St Austell heading west with empties from Fowey, my notes say it was for Drinnick Mill, 15/4/83 cheers