Marches freight Shrewsbury-Newport

[Gareth Marston]

I've been a regular business traveler up and down the marches for over ten years now - I now see more freight than i recall at anytime. All the freight loops look well used and for example Wooferton had a freight looped in it this morning and on my return this afternoon.

Is this others perception as well?

 

[Twoonthebuzzer]

There has been an increase in coal traffic from Portbury to both Fiddlers Ferry and Rugeley power stations in recent years, along with a twice weekly car train from Portbury to Mossend that are all routed via Maindee curve and up the Marches.

Add the Dee Marsh steel traffic, aggregate from Hereford, the logs to Chirk and traffic from Newport ADJ to the north west and it can be a reasonable freight corridor.

 

[50010 Monarch]

I've been a regular business traveler up and down the marches for over ten years now - I now see more freight than i recall at anytime. All the freight loops look well used and for example Wooferton had a freight looped in it this morning and on my return this afternoon.

Is this others perception as well?

Good to hear that freight on the Marches is holding up.

In my opinion it is one of the most scenic routes in the country. The freight you saw at Woofferton was probably a failed 66122 on the Margam to Earles sidings working. I think its been there most of today.

 

[Proud Salopian]

I particularly like the timber trains we have now travelling up the Marches (to Chirk). Adds a rural/industrial aspect to the railway.

Sadly a lot of loops and sidings continue to be removed on the line. Instead Shrewsbury station is often used to park up a freight train (or two!) which I don't think is ideal.

 

[PHILIPE]

Some of the freights are so long now they won't fit in all the loops along the route. Also there are quite often failures causing havoc with the passenger train service. One Saturday morning some years ago a freight failed near Onibury and the nearest assisting loco was at Newport but no driver available for several hours. As it was an EWS (at that time) train EWS did not want to go to another Company for help. Blow the delays. Fortunately this is the exception.

 

[Gareth Marston]

I particularly like the timber trains we have now travelling up the Marches (to Chirk). Adds a rural/industrial aspect to the railway.

Sadly a lot of loops and sidings continue to be removed on the line. Instead Shrewsbury station is often used to park up a freight train (or two!) which I don't think is ideal.

Northbound
Maindee Curve
Panteg
Abergavenney- though too short and not used
Pontrilas
Hereford Reliefs
Wooferton
Sutton Bridge
Shrewsbury Station/Abbey Foregate Curve

Southbound
Shrewsbury Station/ Abbey Foregate Curve
Craven Arms
Hereford Reliefs
Panteg
Maindee Curve

 

[The Planner]

Train length is becoming a real issue now, any loop less than 300m is becoming pretty redundant.

 

[Proud Salopian]

Shame Sutton Bridge loop was shortened when Shrewsbury's inner relief road (what is now the A5112) was built and in their infinite wisdom a double track (rather than width for three tracks) bridge was built, with the loop now starting shortly after this bridge.

 

[Gareth Marston]

Shame Sutton Bridge loop was shortened when Shrewsbury's inner relief road (what is now the A5112) was built and in their infinite wisdom a double track (rather than width for three tracks) bridge was built, with the loop now starting shortly after this bridge.

Its still 39 chains according to my Track Atlas which I make about 780metres.

 

[D1009]

I think the route is going to lose some of its charm to enthusiasts, sadly the current signalling arrangements aren't really fit for purpose for the traffic on offer. One of the reasons it's seeing an increase in traffic is that it's not cost effective for FOCs other than DBS to maintain banking engine arrangements on the Lickey.

 

[Gareth Marston]

I think the route is going to lose some of its charm to enthusiasts, sadly the current signalling arrangements aren't really fit for purpose for the traffic on offer. One of the reasons it's seeing an increase in traffic is that it's not cost effective for FOCs other than DBS to maintain banking engine arrangements on the Lickey.

NR's signalling plans for the line include the assumption of

2 fast or semi fast passenger paths per hour
1 freight path per hour
1 extra stopping passenger path per hour south of Abergavenney
1 extra stopping passenger path per hour Craven Arms- Shrewsbury.

 

[PHILIPE]

Severe disruption to passengers Thursday 14th and again Friday 15th March due to freight train failures.

 

[The Planner]

I bet the re-signalling only provides 2 aspect aswell....

 

[Michael.Y]

Severe disruption to passengers Thursday 14th and again Friday 15th March due to freight train failures.

Same time, same place, same company - rush hour, Ludlow-Church Stretton, Freightliner. I looked at Twitter this morning and thought it was bringing yesterday's news up. They'll be hit with one hell of a delay bill this week.

 

[tsr]

I bet the re-signalling only provides 2 aspect aswell....

My friends down there may not be happy... and reading between the lines a bit, I am thinking the same. Although, to be fair, it's not my local area, so I haven't thought about it too much.

 

[RichmondCommu]

The problem with refuge sidings is the time taken to reverse into them.

 

[Tomnick]

Indeed, refuge sidings are next to useless for routine regulation nowadays - most freights run fast enough nowadays to mean that they're better off being run to the next regulation point than set back inside. Obviously things were different when many didn't often get above 20mph and there was a man in a van at the back to help them set back! I'm not aware of any refuge sidings currently regularly used to shunt trains clear of the main line for following trains to pass - where this needs to be done, loops are usually provided.

 

[dysonsphere]

Are there many refuge sidings left these days, the only use I can really think of these days is for stabling enginering trains or somewhere handy to leave wagons unfit to run further but I guess the hassle to shunting the damaged stock out would make that use rare.

 

[Tomnick]

There are quite a few remaining, but none that I know that are really used for their original purpose. I did hear (perhaps unreliably!) that a train was recessed at Edale a few years ago - of course, slightly further east, trains from Chinley need to set back to access Earles Sidings. There's still a refuge siding at Bagworth Jn on the Leicester - Burton line, where trains can stand to await the single line eastwards or access to the quarries to the west.

 

[keithboddey]

Took this photo yesterday at Wooferton. (Sat 17th March 2013)
Its a DRS 66 on a Freightliner coal working heading South.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/68546589@N07/8565608862/in/photostream

 

[RichmondCommu]

There are quite a few remaining, but none that I know that are really used for their original purpose. I did hear (perhaps unreliably!) that a train was recessed at Edale a few years ago - of course, slightly further east, trains from Chinley need to set back to access Earles Sidings.

As a case in point, one of the refuge sidings at Edale has had it's point work removed but I can't remember which one. In terms of capacity on the Hope Valley line having to reverse into Earles Sidings doesn't exactly help matters!