Rail Freight Flows and News UK

[high camera]

Thanks Mark, no distruption then for freight

 

[AndrewE]

Thanks Mark, no distruption then for freight

but some shocking track occupation times! I looked and it seems to be 30 mins Stalybridge to Marsden, whereas a fast passenger train takes 10 and a stopper 20!

 

[billh]

but some shocking track occupation times! I looked and it seems to be 30 mins Stalybridge to Marsden, whereas a fast passenger train takes 10 and a stopper 20!

"life is just a slow train crawling up a hill"
I've seen the Drax going up to Standedge a few times, they seem to struggle up past Greenfield and through Saddleworth

 

[ExRes]

Not sure if it's for a new flow or not, DCR have a couple of days routes Thursday & Friday on Willesden - Tilbury RCT - Hoo Junction - Willesden

 

[Adrian Barr]

Coal trains have resumed running from Immingham Bulk Terminal (IBT) to Scunthorpe Coal Handling Plant (CHP) this week, for the first time since May I believe.

The coal trains to the CHP are now running in addition to the coke trains, which run to a discharge facility on the opposite side of the line, somewhere in the vicinity of Anchor sidings.

The coke trains had started running earlier this year, sometime around the end of March. Both flows use HTA wagons. The coal is used in the blast furnaces, while the imported coke is required due to the closure of Scunthorpe's own coke ovens last year.

Departures of these trains from IBT on Monday were 6C71 02:39 coal, 6C74 07:52 coke, 6C78 14:27 coal, 6C81 20:44 coke

 

[WessexEclectic]

Anyone know how long will trains be running to Santon Foreign Ore Terminal?

From the Charlwood House website, looks like only one wagon set is in use at the moment (1st wk of Aug '24)?

 

[Adrian Barr]

Anyone know how long will trains be running to Santon Foreign Ore Terminal?

About 890 feet...

But seriously, I've just been looking for news on Scunthorpe steelworks, and British Steel have plans to replace the two blast furnaces with two Electric Arc Furnaces, one at Scunthorpe and one on Teesside. The one on Teesside would presumably supply the steel for Teesside Beam Mill, which is currently railed twice a day from Scunthorpe to Lackenby (along with steel for Skinningrove, and sometimes Dalzell, detached at Tees Yard).

https://britishsteel.co.uk/news/bri...llion-proposal-to-decarbonise-its-operations/
https://britishsteel.co.uk/news/bri...anted-for-electric-arc-furnace-in-scunthorpe/

It says the new electric arc furnaces "could be operational by late 2025" which seems a bit ambitious but gives some idea of the timescales they are looking at. They also say that, unlike Tata at Port Talbot, the existing blast furnaces at Scunthorpe won't shut down until the new EAFs are are operational.

So the Santon trains will be running for a while yet. The number of trains planned to run each week varies, and trains are sometimes cancelled at short notice due to "plant problems" (a description which covers a multitude of situations where some type of equipment used to load or unload trains is experiencing problems).

Looking at the workings for last week, on 1st August, gives a better idea of a full programme of trains. There were 9 iron ore departures from Immingham Bulk Terminal at regular intervals through the day. I think that normally involves 2 locos and 3 sets. Santon terminal uses slip working, with an arriving train bringing in a set of loads and picking up a different set of waiting empties. I vaguely remember being told there is some sort of mechanical system for pulling the wagons through the rotary tippler, meaning they can be discharged without a loco present.

A RAIL article on the steelworks from 1990 mentions 13 ore services per day (compared to the 9 running on 1st August) which makes an interesting comparison.

Nice moody shot of an ore train on the line into Santon with the steelworks in the background: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jjm2009/53583285592/
And back in the days of class 60 haulage: https://www.flickr.com/photos/railcam/31709619731/

 

[BRX]

Not sure if it's for a new flow or not, DCR have a couple of days routes Thursday & Friday on Willesden - Tilbury RCT - Hoo Junction - Willesden

Looks like it's a 56 on this today!
I'd also be interested to know if this is a new flow or not.

 

[ExRes]

Looks like it's a 56 on this today!
I'd also be interested to know if this is a new flow or not.

Due through Cambria Jct at 1853, it is a route learner of course .........

 

[Malaxa]

On the negative side, 4L08 Wakefield - London Gateway and 4E08 return stopped running a couple of months back.

The London Gateway to Coatbridge flow has also ceased to run, I'm not sure how long ago. It always carried a good few refrigerated containers.

 

[Freightmaster]

The London Gateway to Coatbridge flow has also ceased to run, I'm not sure how long ago. It always carried a good few refrigerated containers.

It's still running, but not five days a week at present due to lack of demand.


Here is yesterday's train:

Realtime Trains | 4S83 1540 London Gateway Frghtliner to Coatbridge F.L.T. | 13/08/2024

Real-time train running information for 4S83 1540 departure from London Gateway Frghtliner to Coatbridge F.L.T. on 13/08/2024. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

(on other days, the train starts from Crewe at 01.14)



MARK

 

[Adrian Barr]

A couple of trial workings (and a digression into the recent history of gypsum trains):

GBRF ran a couple of interesting services (likely one-off trials) in August using 66779 "Evening Star" and the same set of box wagons. On 9th August they formed 6D23 00:53 Tees Dock - Gascoigne Wood, which conveyed gypsum from what I can gather (Tees Dock is the regular loading point for trains of imported gypsum to Kirkby Thore). As 6D23 ran during the night, the only photo I can find of the working is a snap of the 6D16 empties heading from Doncaster to Tees Dock the previous day: https://www.flickr.com/photos/122599534@N05/53916661266/

In previous years, Gascoigne Wood was a receiving point for trains of desulphogypsum from Drax Power station, which was stored in the gigantic former coal preparation plant building for onward road movement to a British Gypsum plasterboard factory at Sherburn-in-Elmet. The empties returning from Gas Wood back to Drax are seen passing Milford back in 2013: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mick_page/8703222322/
I believe the Sherburn factory is now normally supplied by road from Tees Dock, so the movement from Tees Dock to Gascoigne Wood looks like a trial of rail movement as an alternative.

[Edit: more information on the gypsum trial from Freightmaster in this post: https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/gascoigne-wood-ongoing-developments.228538/post-6910351 ]

Due to the closure of UK coal-fired power stations (or conversion to biomass), there is no longer a domestic source of desulphogypsum, leading to a requirement for imported material. Modern Railways has a photo of the final Drax desulphogypsum loading, heading to Kirkby Thore in 2021: https://www.modernrailways.com/article/last-gypsum-drax
Apart from the Tees Dock - Kirkby Thore service, other regular gypsum services run from Hull Docks to Ferrybridge (serving the Siniat plasterboard factory there) and from Southampton Western Docks to British Gypsum's plasterboard factory at Mountfield.

While trying to find photos of the Gascoigne Wood working, I stumbled across an old picture of 66779 on a gypsum working at Gascoigne Wood back in 2016: https://www.flickr.com/photos/vincemiddlebrough/29794092161/
Evidently this was the loading of a service to Portbury, with desulphogypsum which had presumably originated at Drax and been stored at Gas Wood. It ran as 6V80, pictured here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/16645820@N06/29738814501/

A GBRF news post from 2020 (about the contract renewal of the Ferrybridge gypsum trains) mentions that "when the initial contract commenced in 2015, the operation was for flow from Cottam and West Burton Power Stations to EBP’s plants in West Yorkshire [i.e. Ferrybridge] and Portbury."

EBP (Etex Building Performance) is the parent company of Siniat. The Portbury site was chosen with imported gypsum in mind, but also received trains from Cottam / West Burton / Gascoigne Wood around 2015/2016. It appears the flow stopped at the beginning of 2017. This gypsum service snaking through Bristol Temple Meads behind 66731 in 2016 looks particularly incongruous: https://www.flickr.com/photos/66321254@N08/27343065376/

The other regular source of gypsum in recent years was Fiddlers Ferry, which until closure in 2020 seems to have sent most of its output to Kirkby Thore, as seen here in the final weeks of operation, with 66763 about to tackle the Settle & Carlisle route: https://www.flickr.com/photos/whosoever2/49561944967/

=================================================

The other unusual working for 66779 was a loaded service from Hunslet to the aggregate depot at Boston, running as 6M69 Hunslet - Doncaster Down Decoy on 12th August and then forward as 6M70 to Boston the following day. The train is seen in the sidings at Boston: https://www.flickr.com/photos/60628514@N02/53926917566/
The return empties are pictured working 6E71 to the GBRF sidings at Wellingborough: https://www.flickr.com/photos/77404552@N07/53922935689/

Given that both Hunslet and Boston are terminals that normally receive aggregate, I wasn't quite sure what commodity was being conveyed here, possibly some kind of secondary aggregate, or perhaps the relocation of some material which had previously been delivered to Hunslet. The Hunslet East branch is rarely photographed and looks fairly inaccessible on Google Maps, but I found a couple of good recent drone shots.

The first is at the entrance to the terminal, where single track branch splits into two and then three sidings. Box wagons that arrived from Ribblehead behind 66793 are being unloaded : https://www.flickr.com/photos/108896493@N04/53037305618/

The second shot is closer to the end of the branch, where empty charter stock has arrived from Leeds for stabling behind 57306: https://www.flickr.com/photos/chris_davis_photos/53812279137/
Above the rear loco, the discharge shed for hopper wagons is visible, with its associated conveyer system to the right. There are twin cement silos supplied by the pipework used to discharge cement trains on the siding furthest from the camera.

 

[Freightmaster]

=================================================

The other unusual working for 66779 was a loaded service from Hunslet to the aggregate depot at Boston, running as 6M69 Hunslet - Doncaster Down Decoy on 12th August and then forward as 6M70 to Boston the following day....

Given that both Hunslet and Boston are terminals that normally receive aggregate, I wasn't quite sure what commodity was being conveyed here, possibly some kind of secondary aggregate, or perhaps the relocation of some material which had previously been delivered to Hunslet.

It's 'new to rail' traffic for this company:

Sustainable Construction Products - OCO Technology

O.C.O Technology is able to valorise thermal residues as construction products. In the UK, O.C.O Technology has three commercially operating plants producing carbon neutral aggregate, which is being supplied to the construction industry as a sustainable construction material. Our aggregate is...

oco.co.uk

Basically it's residue from EfW (Energy from Waste) incinerators which is processed
at their Leeds facility into sustainable aggregate.




MARK

 

[Gaz67]

A couple of trial workings (and a digression into the recent history of gypsum trains):

GBRF ran a couple of interesting services (likely one-off trials) in August using 66779 "Evening Star" and the same set of box wagons. On 9th August they formed 6D23 00:53 Tees Dock - Gascoigne Wood, which conveyed gypsum from what I can gather (Tees Dock is the regular loading point for trains of imported gypsum to Kirkby Thore). As 6D23 ran during the night, the only photo I can find of the working is a snap of the 6D16 empties heading from Doncaster to Tees Dock the previous day: https://www.flickr.com/photos/122599534@N05/53916661266/

In previous years, Gascoigne Wood was a receiving point for trains of desulphogypsum from Drax Power station, which was stored in the gigantic former coal preparation plant building for onward road movement to a British Gypsum plasterboard factory at Sherburn-in-Elmet. The empties returning from Gas Wood back to Drax are seen passing Milford back in 2013: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mick_page/8703222322/
I believe the Sherburn factory is now normally supplied by road from Tees Dock, so the movement from Tees Dock to Gascoigne Wood looks like a trial of rail movement as an alternative.

[Edit: more information on the gypsum trial from Freightmaster in this post: https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/gascoigne-wood-ongoing-developments.228538/post-6910351 ]

Due to the closure of UK coal-fired power stations (or conversion to biomass), there is no longer a domestic source of desulphogypsum, leading to a requirement for imported material. Modern Railways has a photo of the final Drax desulphogypsum loading, heading to Kirkby Thore in 2021: https://www.modernrailways.com/article/last-gypsum-drax
Apart from the Tees Dock - Kirkby Thore service, other regular gypsum services run from Hull Docks to Ferrybridge (serving the Siniat plasterboard factory there) and from Southampton Western Docks to British Gypsum's plasterboard factory at Mountfield.

While trying to find photos of the Gascoigne Wood working, I stumbled across an old picture of 66779 on a gypsum working at Gascoigne Wood back in 2016: https://www.flickr.com/photos/vincemiddlebrough/29794092161/
Evidently this was the loading of a service to Portbury, with desulphogypsum which had presumably originated at Drax and been stored at Gas Wood. It ran as 6V80, pictured here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/16645820@N06/29738814501/

A GBRF news post from 2020 (about the contract renewal of the Ferrybridge gypsum trains) mentions that "when the initial contract commenced in 2015, the operation was for flow from Cottam and West Burton Power Stations to EBP’s plants in West Yorkshire [i.e. Ferrybridge] and Portbury."

EBP (Etex Building Performance) is the parent company of Siniat. The Portbury site was chosen with imported gypsum in mind, but also received trains from Cottam / West Burton / Gascoigne Wood around 2015/2016. It appears the flow stopped at the beginning of 2017. This gypsum service snaking through Bristol Temple Meads behind 66731 in 2016 looks particularly incongruous: https://www.flickr.com/photos/66321254@N08/27343065376/

The other regular source of gypsum in recent years was Fiddlers Ferry, which until closure in 2020 seems to have sent most of its output to Kirkby Thore, as seen here in the final weeks of operation, with 66763 about to tackle the Settle & Carlisle route: https://www.flickr.com/photos/whosoever2/49561944967/

=================================================

The other unusual working for 66779 was a loaded service from Hunslet to the aggregate depot at Boston, running as 6M69 Hunslet - Doncaster Down Decoy on 12th August and then forward as 6M70 to Boston the following day. The train is seen in the sidings at Boston: https://www.flickr.com/photos/60628514@N02/53926917566/
The return empties are pictured working 6E71 to the GBRF sidings at Wellingborough: https://www.flickr.com/photos/77404552@N07/53922935689/

Given that both Hunslet and Boston are terminals that normally receive aggregate, I wasn't quite sure what commodity was being conveyed here, possibly some kind of secondary aggregate, or perhaps the relocation of some material which had previously been delivered to Hunslet. The Hunslet East branch is rarely photographed and looks fairly inaccessible on Google Maps, but I found a couple of good recent drone shots.

The first is at the entrance to the terminal, where single track branch splits into two and then three sidings. Box wagons that arrived from Ribblehead behind 66793 are being unloaded : https://www.flickr.com/photos/108896493@N04/53037305618/

The second shot is closer to the end of the branch, where empty charter stock has arrived from Leeds for stabling behind 57306: https://www.flickr.com/photos/chris_davis_photos/53812279137/
Above the rear loco, the discharge shed for hopper wagons is visible, with its associated conveyer system to the right. There are twin cement silos supplied by the pipework used to discharge cement trains on the siding furthest from the camera. But what of the suspicious "volcanic mound" which the photographer says has "really grown?" It looks suspiciously like a pile of recycled aggregate, and indeed google maps has a nearby firm with a "strategically located inert waste recycling facility" producing recycled aggregate : https://monebros.co.uk/services/recycling. So I may have answered my own question about what was loaded onto the Boston train...

These posts are like steroid injections to this forum, excellent .

 

[BRX]

Does anyone know anything about the service mentioned in this French article:

Fret ferroviaire : DB Cargo France lance un premier service combiné en propre

DB Cargo France a décidé de créer en propre une première liaison de transport combiné rail-route au début de l’année 2025. Cette relation transversale de courte distance reliera Metz et Nancy à Valenton. La filiale française de DB Cargo opérera par ailleurs une relation en combiné sur le...

www.actu-transport-logistique.fr

Une nouvelle ligne Valenton - Daventry. Pour le compte d’un logisticien anglais, DB Cargo France va en effet opérer la nouvelle ligne Valenton - Daventry (Royaume-Uni) via le Tunnel sous la Manche à compter de début janvier 2025. Transportant là encore des caisses mobiles de 45 pieds, ce convoi remorqué par une locomotive Diesel de forte puissance - pour plus de flexibilité dans les opérations de manœuvre à Calais - sera exploité à raison de deux à trois fréquences par semaine.

which translates as

A new line Valenton - Daventry. On behalf of an English logistics officer, DB Cargo France will operate the new Valenton-Daventry (UK) route via the Channel Tunnel from early January 2025. Again carrying 45-foot swap bodies, this convoy towed by a high-power diesel locomotive - for more flexibility in the manœuvring operations in Calais - will be operated at a rate of two to three frequencies per week.

I am wondering if it'll use the same route as the existing Tunnel<>Daventry trains or is there some reason it might go via HS1 instead?

 

[littledude]

Does anyone know anything about the service mentioned in this French article:

Fret ferroviaire : DB Cargo France lance un premier service combiné en propre

DB Cargo France a décidé de créer en propre une première liaison de transport combiné rail-route au début de l’année 2025. Cette relation transversale de courte distance reliera Metz et Nancy à Valenton. La filiale française de DB Cargo opérera par ailleurs une relation en combiné sur le...

www.actu-transport-logistique.fr

which translates as



I am wondering if it'll use the same route as the existing Tunnel<>Daventry trains or is there some reason it might go via HS1 instead?

I can’t see it running via HS1 as it would not only involve a loco change at Ripple Lane (unless by some miracle the DB 92s are comfortable with running over the GOBLIN, NLL and WCML) but will be length and weight restricted over HS1’s steep gradients.

I suspect it’ll run the same way as the existing water and aluminium trains, ending up at Longhedge Jn and then via the WLL to Willesden and north along the WCML.

I don’t know anymore details of the customer etc. I have a sneaky suspicion it may involve Novatrans/Greenmodal as they have recently reinstated a large fleet of previously stored CT compliant flats for use in France. It may be me adding 2+2 and getting 5, but it seems a little bit too much of a coincidence to be reinstating CT gauge flats purely for domestic French operations.

 

[BRX]

I can’t see it running via HS1 as it would not only involve a loco change at Ripple Lane (unless by some miracle the DB 92s are comfortable with running over the GOBLIN, NLL and WCML) but will be length and weight restricted over HS1’s steep gradients.

I suspect it’ll run the same way as the existing water and aluminium trains, ending up at Longhedge Jn and then via the WLL to Willesden and north along the WCML.

I don’t know anymore details of the customer etc. I have a sneaky suspicion it may involve Novatrans/Greenmodal as they have recently reinstated a large fleet of previously stored CT compliant flats for use in France. It may be me adding 2+2 and getting 5, but it seems a little bit too much of a coincidence to be reinstating CT gauge flats purely for domestic French operations.

Thanks, that's interesting.

From what I have gathered previously, a shortage of suitable wagons is one of the multiple factors that limit the viability of container type traffic through the tunnel (and onwards on the uk network).

 

[atillathehunn]

Thanks, that's interesting.

From what I have gathered previously, a shortage of suitable wagons is one of the multiple factors that limit the viability of container type traffic through the tunnel (and onwards on the uk network).

It is often reported in fora such as these that viability is about very high track access charges through the tunnel, unreliability of onward transport in France, and lack of paths through the tunnel.

Like most advertised new cross-channel services, I'm sure this will run once and disappear into obscurity.

 

[BRX]

It is often reported in fora such as these that viability is about very high track access charges through the tunnel, unreliability of onward transport in France, and lack of paths through the tunnel.

Like most advertised new cross-channel services, I'm sure this will run once and disappear into obscurity.

I don't think there is a lack of paths through the tunnel - instead, there is actually quite a lot of unused capacity.

Agreed that most (but not all - eg the Toyota trains) recent attempts at new cross-channel services have failed... but I'll keep my fingers crossed for this one. The fact that on the UK side it is likely to be sticking to a route & destination that is already well established, is perhaps in its favour, as it would presumably offer some economies of scale for DB.

 

[atillathehunn]

I don't think there is a lack of paths through the tunnel - instead, there is actually quite a lot of unused capacity.

Agreed that most (but not all - eg the Toyota trains) recent attempts at new cross-channel services have failed... but I'll keep my fingers crossed for this one. The fact that on the UK side it is likely to be sticking to a route & destination that is already well established, is perhaps in its favour, as it would presumably offer some economies of scale for DB.

With up to four car shuttles per hour, lorry shuttles in addition to an hourly Paris and occasionally hourly Brussels there can't be a lot of spare capacity in the day time. When I've taken a late night shuttle the crew said we were a bit delayed leaving as it was single bore operation overnight and we were waiting for a flight of UK-bound trains to pass through so overnight capacity might not be huge.

But either way, I'll defer to you on this point.

The main point is that there have been so many of these services heralded over the years and to my knowledge, the only survivors are the Toyota train, the bottled water train, and the aluminium/car parts train to Daventry and Ditton. If it's not paths or track access charges, or the French (always good to blame), then I don't know what. There is still plenty of trade to be done, and the lorry parks are often full.

There was another cross-channel service to Daventry trumpeted a few years ago (I can't find the article), so the fact of Daventry may not make the difference.

 

[BRX]

I think the unused freight capacity is mostly during the night, yes.

The previous attempt at an intermodal-type operation was what DB branded the "China train" although it actually went to and from a yard in Germany (where some traffic was transferred to China-bound trains). That one as far as I remember went to Barking rather than Daventry. But you are right it didn't survive very long.

Running to Daventry seems to make more sense because then (from the point of view of the shipper) you are saving on a road leg from the channel to the midlands, rather than just the short hop to London. And maybe Daventry is better set up with existing services for onward rail travel to other UK locations. But that's just speculation from me and possibly wishful thinking.

 

[atillathehunn]

I think the unused freight capacity is mostly during the night, yes.

The previous attempt at an intermodal-type operation was what DB branded the "China train" although it actually went to and from a yard in Germany (where some traffic was transferred to China-bound trains). That one as far as I remember went to Barking rather than Daventry. But you are right it didn't survive very long.

Running to Daventry seems to make more sense because then (from the point of view of the shipper) you are saving on a road leg from the channel to the midlands, rather than just the short hop to London. And maybe Daventry is better set up with existing services for onward rail travel to other UK locations. But that's just speculation from me and possibly wishful thinking.

That's definitely the latest one, and this did not get further than one train to my knowledge. The 'China train' still runs from around these parts somewhere, but not to the UK. The end of the long-standing china clay train (different china train, but it did make me think of it) is also quite sad.

I found this: https://www.railjournal.com/freight/dfds-steps-up-italy-britain-rail-freight-services/ which was a Novara (IT) to Daventry train.

But this, to be fair, was a decade ago. However, I still don't recall it lasting long.

You are right, Daventry has the advantage of being in the heart of the warehouse belt and with motorway and rail links.

 

[BRX]

That's definitely the latest one, and this did not get further than one train to my knowledge.

It did run regularly for a short while (I filmed it a few times).

Checking back, the initial (promotional) run was in April 2017. I think there then might have been a gap before it ran regularly for real, but I filmed it in May and August of 2018. For at least a couple of months it ran quite regularly, but it then simply disappeared.

 

[EastWest]

Does anybody know what (if anything) was conveyed in this week’s “MOD” working from Marchwood to Trafford Park and return? Recently there have also been workings between Marchwood and Southampton Western Docks, and Marchwood and London Gateway. Given, to judge by the paucity of trains for several weeks now, the MOD seem to be following Royal Mail in giving up on rail, I wonder if these might just have been swapping sets of flat wagons to utilise those the MOD are not now using?

 

[atillathehunn]

It did run regularly for a short while (I filmed it a few times).

Checking back, the initial (promotional) run was in April 2017. I think there then might have been a gap before it ran regularly for real, but I filmed it in May and August of 2018. For at least a couple of months it ran quite regularly, but it then simply disappeared.

I didn't know that it had run that often, that's interesting. Were the trains you had filmed well loaded?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 30 Aug 2024 ==

Does anybody know what (if anything) was conveyed in this week’s “MOD” working from Marchwood to Trafford Park and return? Recently there have also been workings between Marchwood and Southampton Western Docks, and Marchwood and London Gateway. Given, to judge by the paucity of trains for several weeks now, the MOD seem to be following Royal Mail in giving up on rail, I wonder if these might just have been swapping sets of flat wagons to utilise those the MOD are not now using?

I think I had read somewhere that Marchwood was being used to store intermodal flats beyond those used by the MOD. Given that the train ran to Trafford Park, an intermodal terminal, I would have guessed that it's swapping rakes in or out.

I would imagine MOD traffic is pretty sporadic and prone to peaks and troughs. Were the trains ever particularly frequent?

 

[geordieblue]

I think I had read somewhere that Marchwood was being used to store intermodal flats beyond those used by the MOD. Given that the train ran to Trafford Park, an intermodal terminal, I would have guessed that it's swapping rakes in or out.

This picture on Flickr suggests that the train was carrying containers to Trafford Park - so seems like it was loaded? Agree that it seems unusual

 

[BRX]

I didn't know that it had run that often, that's interesting. Were the trains you had filmed well loaded?

I don't remember in much detail, except that I think maybe they appeared to be less well loaded as time went by. You can see in those two films, the one from Aug 2018 is carrying a lot of fresh air.

I found an article here

London to Duisburg and China freight service launched

UK: The inaugural scheduled freight service from DP World’s London Gateway terminal east of London to the Duisburg freight hub in Germany set off on April 10, with the load including containers bound for China. This follows demonstration China to London and London to China services which ran...

www.railwaygazette.com

So it ran at least from April to August 2018. I remember now, the actual train ran to London Gateway not Barking. Kind of a roundabout route... to end up somewhere that the containers could have arrived at directly by sea. Presumably Gateway offered a point where the containers could be transferred to trains going elsewhere, or just to lorries using the existing facilities. Daventry feels like it makes more sense somehow.

 

[Sun Chariot]

To

Does anybody know what (if anything) was conveyed in this week’s “MOD” working from Marchwood to Trafford Park and return? Recently there have also been workings between Marchwood and Southampton Western Docks, and Marchwood and London Gateway

Today's 6Z47 Marchwood to Doncaster Down Decoy sidings, is all empty flats. I'm stood at Totton West, looking at it.

Realtime Trains | 6Z47 1218 Marchwood Mod Gbrf to Doncaster Down Decoy Gbrf | 03/09/2024

Real-time train running information for 6Z47 1218 departure from Marchwood Mod Gbrf to Doncaster Down Decoy Gbrf on 03/09/2024. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

I'm hoping to catch this, plus 3Z23 passing in Fawley branch loops.

Realtime Trains | 3Z23 0906 Totton Yard to Totton Yard | 03/09/2024

Real-time train running information for 3Z23 0906 departure from Totton Yard to Totton Yard on 03/09/2024. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

 

[EastWest]

I would imagine MOD traffic is pretty sporadic and prone to peaks and troughs. Were the trains ever particularly frequent?

Until several weeks ago now MOD trains would run every week and it was interesting to follow the meanderings of the GBRF loco as it served various locations. Marchwood (or occasionally Southampton Western Docks or London Gateway instead) and Kineton were regularly visited, Bicester and Longtown fairly regularly, Donnington, Ludgershall and Glen Douglas occasionally, Ashchurch and Warminster on rare occasions. I’d not noticed anything to the other locations that still have paths (e.g. Ernesettle, Shoeburyness, Haverfordwest). But I’ve not noticed anything like these in RTT for many weeks now, with the only movements from Marchwood being to other container terminals (there was an STP to and from Felixstowe South this week, but that appears not to have run), which might tie in with the statement above that Marchwood is now being used to store container flats.

 

[geordieblue]

A newish flow from Burton to Cardiff Docks has started, carrying scrap metal - been running for a couple of weeks I believe.