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Hi all. I was looking at the 1955 Modernisation Plan report and it mentioned updating or building 55 marshalling yards. I think I've found most of them after trawling the internet, but I was wondering if anyone could add to my list or correct any errors in it?
Some of these were built long before 1955, for example Cadder and Falkland were built pre-grouping, but Michael Rhodes writes in his book that the 1955 plan was for the modernisation of existing yards and the building of new yards totalling 55, however he only lists 25 major new projects in his book, so I am thinking some never happened
I suppose that it depends what is meant by ‘updating’. Hoo Junction got some limited overhead wiring as part of the Kent Coast electrification in the late 1950s for example but the basic shunting in the yard remained pretty basic.
Some of these were built long before 1955, for example Cadder and Falkland were built pre-grouping, but Michael Rhodes writes in his book that the 1955 plan was for the modernisation of existing yards and the building of new yards totalling 55, however he only lists 25 major new projects in his book, so I am thinking some never happened
I don't know whether Thornton was a 1955 proposal, or if it was built to serve Rothes Pit. Glenrothes new town was certainly built partly to house staff and their families. As it turned out, the pit turned out to be a (very) expensive white elephant!
I don't know whether Thornton was a 1955 proposal, or if it was built to serve Rothes Pit. Glenrothes new town was certainly built partly to house staff and their families. As it turned out, the pit turned out to be a (very) expensive white elephant!
Construction of Thornton yard began in 1953 (so before the Modernisation Plan) in expectation of Rothes Pit putting out around 3000 wagons of traffic per day against a capacity of the existing yards of 900 wagons, in the event the yard never exceeded a weekly total of 10,150 wagons of traffic due to the failure of the Rothes project. If you want to research the development and ultimate failure of the big marshalling yards I would recommend two books, "The Illustrated History of British Marshalling Yards" by Michael Rhodes, published by OPC and his follow up book "From Gridiron to Grassland: The Rise and Fall of Britain's Railway Marshalling Yards" published by Platform 5 Publishing Ltd. Both very interesting reading.
Others such as Willesden Brent and Edge Hill were very well established local yards which had some through workings , but were really there for local workings (I think)
Others were rebuild / reorganisation of existing.
As an example, Temple Mills was originally lots of small yards flanking the route, each with their own name (often based on the commodity that the yard handled), that had been added at different dates.
I used to explore Margam in the mid-eighties on my bike. The tracks had been lifted but the ballast was all in place. Along with the office which looks to be still there.
Some of these were built long before 1955, for example Cadder and Falkland were built pre-grouping, but Michael Rhodes writes in his book that the 1955 plan was for the modernisation of existing yards and the building of new yards totalling 55, however he only lists 25 major new projects in his book, so I am thinking some never happened
I suppose that it depends what is meant by ‘updating’. Hoo Junction got some limited overhead wiring as part of the Kent Coast electrification in the late 1950s for example but the basic shunting in the yard remained pretty basic.
Unfortunately I didn't keep my sources, but I think it was an implementation update report (for the 1955 plan) that mentioned Hoo Junction. I wonder if this was because of traffic coming in from BP's Grain Refinery.
EDIT: Hoo Junction It would seem I got my info from Kent Rail. It mentioned 1956 was when the yard became most important, due to the refinery. No mention is made of the modernisation report, but I included Hoo Junction on my list in absence of any other options. Given it survived when the report mentioned closing most yards, I must have included it on the list pending further investigation.
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Construction of Thornton yard began in 1953 (so before the Modernisation Plan) in expectation of Rothes Pit putting out around 3000 wagons of traffic per day against a capacity of the existing yards of 900 wagons, in the event the yard never exceeded a weekly total of 10,150 wagons of traffic due to the failure of the Rothes project. If you want to research the development and ultimate failure of the big marshalling yards I would recommend two books, "The Illustrated History of British Marshalling Yards" by Michael Rhodes, published by OPC and his follow up book "From Gridiron to Grassland: The Rise and Fall of Britain's Railway Marshalling Yards" published by Platform 5 Publishing Ltd. Both very interesting reading.
Others such as Willesden Brent and Edge Hill were very well established local yards which had some through workings , but were really there for local workings (I think)
Ah thank you for the info. I included Willesden Brent and Edge Hill on my list because they seemed to survive and the report's wording made it seem like all except these 55 would be closed. Maybe I misunderstood the scope of the report.
EDIT: Implementation Report You're absolutely right. This report mentions Edge Hill as a depot, rather than a marshalling yard.
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I have a feeling this was a later depot as part of the Beeching-era updated plan for sundries. It seems to be about the right era though. A bit of a head-scratcher there.
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It certainly could be. My understanding of the 1955 report is that all marshalling yards except the 'chosen 55' would be closed. Wikipedia mentions the yard surviving up until 1965, so it's certainly plausible if my understanding of the report is correct.
79.The plan provides for the construction or reconstruction of some fifty-five marshalling yards, which would result in the total or partial closure of about 150 existing yards. It is broadly estimated that these proposals would cost about E80 million.
I think that it is clear that some new yards would be built and others updated for a total of fifty five yards. All the others would be either completely or partially closed. Which these were going to be was never publicly specified as no supporting documents were ever published and the railways' deteriorating financial position meant such plans as existed were changed.
Gerry Fiennes in his 1967 book 'I tried to run a railway' stated that marshalling yards should only be sited where traffic was generated or close to its destination. By this measure Carlisle Kingmoor, for example, should never have been built and Fiennes managed to ensure that Swanborne - also miles from a source or destination - was cancelled.
I don't know whether Thornton was a 1955 proposal, or if it was built to serve Rothes Pit. Glenrothes new town was certainly built partly to house staff and their families. As it turned out, the pit turned out to be a (very) expensive white elephant!
Glenrothes town was definitely built with the Rothes super pit in mind that as you say failed spectacularly. Was the yard and depot not already there prior to that though?
Glenrothes town was definitely built with the Rothes super pit in mind that as you say failed spectacularly. Was the yard and depot not already there prior to that though?
A look at the maps on the National Library of Scotland’s website, which are just a bit too old to be definite, suggest that there was a moderate sized yard at Thornton Junction, mostly alongside the West to North Curve. Thornton Junction also had a loco depot.
Big yard at Scunthorpe. There was a long concrete bridge* over it that Mum pushed me over in my pram. Later I went to Frodingham Infants School that backed onto the yard. Early memories. We left sunny for Leeds 2 months after I started school.
Gerry Fiennes in his 1967 book 'I tried to run a railway' stated that marshalling yards should only be sited where traffic was generated or close to its destination. By this measure Carlisle Kingmoor, for example, should never have been built and Fiennes managed to ensure that Swanborne - also miles from a source or destination - was cancelled.
Kingmoor is interesting, because in the mid-1950s whilst there wasn't masses of traffic that would be generated in or around Carlisle itself it was a significant hub of lines, a number of which would subsequently close. I imagine quite a lot of wagonload traffic passed through Carlisle, so providing a modern hump yard there possibly made sense. But it was the type of traffic that the lorry was fast gobbling up, line closures wouldn't have helped and by the mid-1970s you also had the M6.
I think that one of the problems at Carlisle was that there four or five yards around the city, but none was big enough to handle even one group of traffic. Trains would terminate in the yard for the line they arrived on and then the wagons would be tripped to whichever yard the train it was being forwarded on started from: there were a lot of trips.
I think that one of the problems at Carlisle was that there four or five yards around the city, but none was big enough to handle even one group of traffic. Trains would terminate in the yard for the line they arrived on and then the wagons would be tripped to whichever yard the train it was being forwarded on started from: there were a lot of trips.
They could have really done with Kingmoor in the WW2 years , as the doubling or more of traffics must have been challenging to say the very least with the need to trip work from the many satellite yards around the city. (thoguh Carlisle had an element of manufactering business such as Carrs and Metal Box etc)
You can see why the management of the early 1950's , when asked about candidate schemes for freight mega marshaling yards , they specified facilities they would have admired to have in those hard days - and they must have rejoiced at having plenty of funding for these plans.
Fiennes himself said that drawers and pigeon holes were ransacked for "schemes" , much of it was to be wasted -as the nature of freight changed drastically (and I suspect no one could have foreseen how much , as society and industry would change in less than a lifetime)
Fiennes had many , many excellent ideas and successes - from the Shenfield electrics and GE timing , to a good appreciation of Inter City and freight. Shame there were not more of his ilk. He also knew how to run a railway punctually and dare I say it, "efficiently" (for the period) - I know people who met him , but they were pretty junior and a bit in awe of him.
Fiennes had many , many excellent ideas and successes - from the Shenfield electrics and GE timing , to a good appreciation of Inter City and freight. Shame there were not more of his ilk. He also knew how to run a railway punctually and dare I say it, "efficiently" (for the period) - I know people who met him , but they were pretty junior and a bit in awe of him.
In the first part of his memoirs, Stan Hall writes: Gerry Fiennes was a big man in all senses of the word and he was a railwayman's railwayman - very popular with the staff, who thought highly of him.
They could have really done with Kingmoor in the WW2 years , as the doubling or more of traffics must have been challenging to say the very least with the need to trip work from the many satellite yards around the city. (thoguh Carlisle had an element of manufactering business such as Carrs and Metal Box etc)
You can see why the management of the early 1950's , when asked about candidate schemes for freight mega marshaling yards , they specified facilities they would have admired to have in those hard days - and they must have rejoiced at having plenty of funding for these plans.
Fiennes himself said that drawers and pigeon holes were ransacked for "schemes" , much of it was to be wasted -as the nature of freight changed drastically (and I suspect no one could have foreseen how much , as society and industry would change in less than a lifetime)
Fiennes had many , many excellent ideas and successes - from the Shenfield electrics and GE timing , to a good appreciation of Inter City and freight. Shame there were not more of his ilk. He also knew how to run a railway punctually and dare I say it, "efficiently" (for the period) - I know people who met him , but they were pretty junior and a bit in awe of him.
I have never been a railwayman, but the history and the business has long fascinated me. I cannot now remember the venues, but shortly after I graduated in 1966 I attended two lectures in London which he gave.
A very impressive speaker with an easy manner - but kept everybody's attention. In more recent times the only person I can remember who had such a commanding stage presence was Sir Roger Penrose who gave a lecture on the origins of the universe at my old college - now in Guildford - some ten years ago. A full lecture hall - and you could have heard a pin drop.
I was working in Chelmsford at the time and occasionally some evenings I saw Fiennes at Liverpool Street waiting patiently in the queue for his train until the platform was opened. This was after his retirement but there was always a senior uniformed member of the station staff talking to him. A tall man with a ramrod pose.
I have never been a railwayman, but the history and the business has long fascinated me. I cannot now remember the venues, but shortly after I graduated in 1966 I attended two lectures in London which he gave.
A very impressive speaker with an easy manner - but kept everybody's attention. In more recent times the only person I can remember who had such a commanding stage presence was Sir Roger Penrose who gave a lecture on the origins of the universe at my old college - now in Guildford - some ten years ago. A full lecture hall - and you could have heard a pin drop.
I was working in Chelmsford at the time and occasionally some evenings I saw Fiennes at Liverpool Street waiting patiently in the queue for his train until the platform was opened. This was after his retirement but there was always a senior uniformed member of the station staff talking to him. A tall man with a ramrod pose.
Fiennes was (one gathers) at ease with all kinds of railwaymen and women , and though not born to the task , encompassed it with utter relish. He became "a doer" as well as a true advocate in higher levels , - the sort of bloke who could put in single line working and clip points , deal with traffic issues and above all , motivate and talk to the staff and customers. Strategist as well. Human even.
If there is an after life and a railway mess room in the other world , I would happily seek him out.
Thank goodness he wrote down his experiences - (maybe a bit embellished one gathers from those who - still alive - worked with him) , - but his adage of the three things a good railway manager needs - " a sense of time , a sense of cost and a sense of humour" remain positive to this day. Especially the latter.
I have come across a few people of his ilk in my "career" , and a good number who were influenced by him.
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Should Hull Speedlink yard be on the list?
Even if it did not last, was demolished by the local caravan dwellers.
Was built in the wrong place, West side of Hull when the traffic was from / to the docks at the East end.
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