Rail Freight Flows and News UK

[Oxfordblues]

On the subject of Grain and Prestwick, does anyone know if either of these ever run:

6O68 0458 Prestwick B.P.Oil to Grain Oil Terminal Gbrf
6S68 0735 Grain Oil Terminal Gbrf to Carlisle N.Y.

6O68 ran on Sunday: https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:R37962/2024-12-22/detailed

 

[Freightmaster]

6O68 ran on Sunday

...and 6S68 ran last Friday:

Realtime Trains | 6S68 0735 Grain Oil Terminal Gbrf to Carlisle N.Y. | 20/12/2024

Real-time train running information for 6S68 0735 departure from Grain Oil Terminal Gbrf to Carlisle N.Y. on 20/12/2024. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

But the Prestwick train can (and does!) run in a multitude of different paths,
depending on operational requirements.



MARK

 

[BRX]

I think I saw the aviation fuel tanks heading off on a path to Peterborough (from Grain) within the last few weeks, wondered if that was just a staging point en route to Sinfin or Prestwick, or something else.

 

[xotGD]

6O68 ran on Sunday

and 6S68 ran last Friday:

But the Prestwick train can (and does!) run in a multitude of different paths,
depending on operational requirements.

Thank you both. Neither of these using the S&C, hence not showing up when I look at Airedale freight.

 

[Adrian Barr]

6O05 & 6V04 used to run regularly but now only one seems to run if at all

On the subject of Grain and Prestwick, does anyone know if either of these ever run:

6O68 0458 Prestwick B.P.Oil to Grain Oil Terminal Gbrf
6S68 0735 Grain Oil Terminal Gbrf to Carlisle N.Y.

(N.B. There were some posts answering this while I was typing, but this might still be of interest):

The schedules are set up for night-time (6V75 / 6O07) or daytime (6V04 / 6O05) deliveries into Colnbrook. If both run it requires two sets in use, but they appear to be using a single set of wagons currently.

Looking at the workings since last week, the set keeps itself busy, with visits to both Sinfin and Prestwick (workings in bold) in addition to six deliveries to Colnbrook!

I think 6S68 / 6O68 are regular workings (more or less weekly when I last looked earlier in the year) but like Freightmaster says, they seem to switch the exact day and route used quite often (not necessarily using the WTT paths) and I never managed to catch it over the summer, despite it appearing a few times in daylight hours at my local spotting viewpoint at Down Decoy, Doncaster.

Grain aviation fuel workings since Sun 15th Dec:
6V06/15 (Sun) Grain - Colnbrook
6O07/16 Colnbrook - Grain
6V03/16 Grain - Colnbrook
6O11/16 Colnbrook - Grain
6V04/17 Grain - Colnbrook
6O05/17 Colnbrook - Grain
6M72/18 Grain - Sinfin (via Sidcup / Factory Jn / Nunhead / Kew East / Dudding Hill / Bedford / Leicester / Derby / Chaddesden (run round)
6O77/18 Sinfin - Grain (via Chaddesden (run round) / Derby / Loughborough / Corby / Bedford / Dudding Hill / Kew East / Factory Jn / Nunhead / Barnehurst)
6V04/19 Grain - Colnbrook
6O05/19 Colnbrook - Grain
6S68/20 Grain - Carlisle Yard (via Sidcup / Nunhead / Kensington Olympia / Bletchley / Bedford / Toton / Barrow Hill / Doncaster Down Decoy (run round or change loco) / Durham / Hexham)
6S68/21 Carlisle Yard - Prestwick (via Dumfries)
6M69/21 Prestwick - Carlisle Yard (via Dumfries)
6O68/22 Carlisle Yard - Grain (via Preston / Crewe / Rugby / Kensington Olympia / Barnehurst)
6V04/23 Grain - Colnbrook
6OO5/23 Colnbrook - Grain
6V77/24 Grain - Colnbrook
6O75/24 Colnbrook - Grain

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

Way back in post #1342 I mentioned there were some Transfesa wagons at Dagenham which would need to return to Spain "at some point":

There's a nice video of the final train running as 6O28 on YouTube (title is "Trains in South Kent - 22/7/2024 FEAT : The LAST HS1 Freight service + NEWLY Regeared 66654"). It ran much earlier in the day than usual at a time more suitable for capturing on video. Unusual to see a pair of 92s on it (one was dead in train). They had worked the usual early Monday morning Transfesa services 6L25 and 6L27 from Dollands Moor to Ripple Lane Exchange sidings (which run as separate trains due to the weight limit on HS1) and would normally return light engine, with Friday being the usual day for the export train. Since the wagons on 6O28 were not the same ones that arrived earlier in the morning (the wagons are sent into the depths of Fords internal rail system so there is none of the quick "strip and reload" that you find at most intermodal terminals), this means there are Transfesa wagons at Dagenham which will probably need to go back to Spain at some point. A quirk of the 2-axle wagons used on this service is that they are only rated on the classic lines at 45mph loaded and 35mph empty (the "blue train" used to run class 7 pre-HS1) so they will most likely return to Spain empty via HS1 at some point.

A final 6O20 20:48 Ripple Lane Exchange Sidings - Dollands Moor (via HS1) ran on 9th December with 92041 hauling 66077 dead in tow and 33 IFA / IFB Transfesa wagons. Surprisingly, there were actually 8 loaded wagons on the train, but these were conveying empty Transfesa swapbodies back to Spain. With the working being in darkness I can't find any footage or photos, but I did stumble upon an interesting 2009 photo of the working within Spain on the broad gauge network: https://www.flickr.com/photos/javier-lopez/5088598727/

 

[Chris125]

Has this been mentioned before? Plans for transpennine intermodal in the coming months, DRS working Trafford-Teesport via Diggle: https://www.pdports.co.uk/news/pd-p...nch-first-trans-pennine-rail-freight-service/

The five-days-a-week service, which is planned for launch early 2025, will run from the PD Ports-owned terminal in Teesport to Manchester.

It will operate using ultra-low IDA wagons that are capable of carrying high-cube containers over non-gauge enhanced and height restricted routes, opening up almost the entire UK rail network to the larger boxes.

These are the paths:

Realtime Trains | 4M59 1725 South Bank Tees Dock (Drs) to Trafford Park Euro Term | 30/12/2024

Real-time train running information for 4M59 1725 departure from South Bank Tees Dock (Drs) to Trafford Park Euro Term on 30/12/2024. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

Realtime Trains | 4E58 0430 Trafford Park Euro Term to South Bank Tees Dock (Drs) | 31/12/2024

Real-time train running information for 4E58 0430 departure from Trafford Park Euro Term to South Bank Tees Dock (Drs) on 31/12/2024. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

 

[waverley47]

Has this been mentioned before? Plans for transpennine intermodal in the coming months, DRS working Trafford-Teesport via Diggle: https://www.pdports.co.uk/news/pd-p...nch-first-trans-pennine-rail-freight-service/



These are the paths:

Realtime Trains | 4M59 1725 South Bank Tees Dock (Drs) to Trafford Park Euro Term | 30/12/2024

Real-time train running information for 4M59 1725 departure from South Bank Tees Dock (Drs) to Trafford Park Euro Term on 30/12/2024. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

Realtime Trains | 4E58 0430 Trafford Park Euro Term to South Bank Tees Dock (Drs) | 31/12/2024

Real-time train running information for 4E58 0430 departure from Trafford Park Euro Term to South Bank Tees Dock (Drs) on 31/12/2024. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

Good to see.

I guess we're assuming Calder valley diverts on a semi-regular basis during blockades of Huddersfield, but which routes would be available when Heaton Lodge Jn is closed? I'd struggle to see it weaving through Leeds even at silly o'clock in the morning, and I doubt you could convince NR to let you drag 1200 tons over the Hope Valley, even overnight, which would mean either the Tyne Valley or via Uttoxeter, either of which is a heck of a diversion.

 

[eastwestdivide]

I doubt you could convince NR to let you drag 1200 tons over the Hope Valley

The stone trains via the Hope Valley load to far more than 1200 tons.

 

[waverley47]

The stone trains via the Hope Valley load to far more than 1200 tons.

The stone trains are also a lot shorter, and they load mostly downhill...

 

[eastwestdivide]

Not sure that the length is relevant. Gradients of 1:100, a class 66 (or two?), 1200 tons. We need more of an expert on loads, gradients and timings to work this out!

 

[furnessvale]

Good to see.

I guess we're assuming Calder valley diverts on a semi-regular basis during blockades of Huddersfield, but which routes would be available when Heaton Lodge Jn is closed? I'd struggle to see it weaving through Leeds even at silly o'clock in the morning, and I doubt you could convince NR to let you drag 1200 tons over the Hope Valley, even overnight, which would mean either the Tyne Valley or via Uttoxeter, either of which is a heck of a diversion.

Did the last attempt at this container service not travel via Uttoxeter? If so it probably contributed to its downfall. I think the new service will be using IDA wagons which are in gauge via Diggle.

 

[D6130]

Did the last attempt at this container service not travel via Uttoxeter? If so it probably contributed to its downfall. I think the new service will be using IDA wagons which are in gauge via Diggle.

Are they also in gauge via the Calder Valley?

 

[Nottingham59]

Not sure that the length is relevant. Gradients of 1:100, a class 66 (or two?), 1200 tons. We need more of an expert on loads, gradients and timings to work this out!

A 1200t trailing load on a 1:100 gradient needs a Tractive Effort of 12t = 120kN. Easily within the capabiliity of a single 66.

Power = Tractive Effort x Speed. So with 1800kW at the rail, a 66 would be able to pull that load uphill at 15m/s, which is 33mph, ignoring wind and rolling resistance and the weight of the locomotive itself. Say 30mph to be on the safe side.

 

[Adrian Barr]

Not sure that the length is relevant. Gradients of 1:100, a class 66 (or two?), 1200 tons. We need more of an expert on loads, gradients and timings to work this out!

A 66 can pull 2000 tons + on a ruling gradient of 1:100, the Settle to Carlisle route was built with this ruling gradient in both directions and regularly handled coal trains of 21 HTAs (~100 ton each) from Scotland.

There have been a couple of loaded westbound stone workings over the Hope Valley in recent years. About 5 years ago, there was a Mountsorrel to Pendleton stone working which ran out and back over the Hope Valley with 18 wagons. The empties are seen here at Edale running as 4F01 in 2019 (I think those are HOA wagons) - https://www.flickr.com/photos/45349/48155109117/
And at Bamford in the same year with HJA wagons (originally used on Tunstead - Drax National Power Limestone workings) - https://www.flickr.com/photos/dave1963/48493837506/

There was also a Mountsorrel - Ashburys service, seen here working loaded westbound through Edale in 2020: https://www.flickr.com/photos/49068127@N06/50452138168/
As the caption says, loaded westbound stone trains over the Hope Valley are not common. Not only that, I don't think there is currently any regular through freight over the route from Dore to New Mills South Jn or vice versa. The Ashburys train also loaded to 18 wagons (1750 tons or more) - the regular path seems to have been a 6M18 at night over the Hope Valley, passing Dore West Jn at 03:23 and New Mills South Jn at 04:05.
The return empties were 6M07, routed via Baguley Fold, Denton, Stockport, Basford Hall, Nuneaton and Leicester!

A more pressing issue over the Hope Valley is that the route is not gauge cleared for the proposed container traffic between Teesport and Trafford Park, with the tunnels probably being the main issue.

Are they also in gauge via the Calder Valley?

I don't think so, no. The deck height of the IDA wagons seems to have been designed specifically to allow 9 foot 6 inch containers on W8 cleared routes, which the Calder Valley is not according to the sectional appendix.

Did the last attempt at this container service not travel via Uttoxeter? If so it probably contributed to its downfall. I think the new service will be using IDA wagons which are in gauge via Diggle.

A search for "Ditton Tees Dock" on flickr throws up some interesting images: https://www.flickr.com/search/?text=ditton+tees+dock

It appears to have run via York, Milford Jn, Barrow Hill, Stenson Jn, Water Orton, Walsall and then on to Stafford and the WCML, using the same IDA wagons and high cube containers as the proposed new service.
For example, here it is snaking across the junction at Milford behind 57007: https://www.flickr.com/photos/47309173@N06/10883027244/

There are also a few photos of it running via the Tyne Valley, as seen here in July 2012: https://www.flickr.com/photos/martin_cook1044/7661713830/

North Staffs Jn to Stoke doesn't appear to be W8 cleared according to the sectional appendix (mind you, neither does the Tyne Valley, although the photo above appears to show high cubes on IDA wagons running that way).
It's interesting that when this was running in 2012 it appears to have studiously avoided the Pennines! I'm not sure if the Diggle route was fully cleared for W8 traffic at that time, which makes me wonder if some of the previous Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade works now allow a route via Diggle.

Added for reference:

Trans-Pennine container gauge map: https://railmap.azurewebsites.net/Public/TRU

Rail Freight Group factsheet (from 2018) about Trans-Pennine freight potential: https://rfg.org.uk/wp-content/uploa...iggle-as-Route-for-Future-Freight-Traffic.pdf

 

[Rhinojerry]

Thank you both. Neither of these using the S&C, hence not showing up when I look at Airedale freight.

I filmed one working through Bamber Bridge,Sunday 14th April,2024,just after 2000.Heading to Grain i think.
Also a car carrier worked south over S&C early hours one month,only found out several hours later.Blast.

 

[geordieblue]

As discussed somewhere upthread, Freightliner took over the British Gypsum contract (previously held by DB) relatively recently. As part of this, there was some discussion over whether gypsum workings to Gascoigne Wood would restart (I believe there were a couple of trial services). Anyway, the first service from Tees Dock to Gascoigne Wood ran today: https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:R39165/2025-01-08/detailed

 

[Web4160]

Paths appearing in RTT from 16th Dec for gbrf working Portbury-Margam steel traffic as rumoured. These are WTT paths unlike the DB cargo STP workings. No trains booked in this week for DB so that’s probably it from them, last working was on Thurs 5th, just a single trip.

Realtime Trains | Departures from Portbury Dock Stop Board all day on 16/12/2024

Train information at Portbury Dock Stop Board all day on 16/12/2024. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

Note that the first run on a Monday morning is a light loco move, presumably to pick up stock left at the docks over the weekend (as the intermodals used to do sometimes). Suspect the first day of operation won’t be a Monday unless they run a one-off working to get the empties in. Any idea what stock they will be using for this working?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 9 Dec 2024 ==

Edited to add that having looked at booked workings later in the week, trains will run Monday-Saturday with the loco running light to Bristol East Depot on a Saturday afternoon, returning on Monday morning to pick up the loaded stock.

DB are still working the Portbury Docks to Margam steel traffic. Currently two return trips daily. Not clear when/if gbrf are taking over.

 

[JKF]

DB are still working the Portbury Docks to Margam steel traffic. Currently two return trips daily. Not clear when/if gbrf are taking over.

Yes, it’s got busy again, I guess a ship must have come in.

The route learners were a couple of months back and the paths in the timetable since mid-December. The DB workings did seem to peter out a bit but I think that might have just been winding down for Xmas. I was expecting GBRF to appear in the new year.

Don’t mind DB carrying on for now, hoping that 653 or 657 show up at some point as they’re the only heavy haul ones not to put in an appearance so far. 66651 seems to be the most common performer, I’ve started referring to it as ‘The Commonwealth Spirit”…

 

[Freightmaster]

...the most common performer, I’ve started referring to it as ‘The Commonwealth Spirit”…

I'm old enough to get that reference!!



MARK

 

[Adrian Barr]

66429 worked a trial of 5 Wascosa bulk ballast JNAs as 6M72 01:12 Doncaster Up Decoy - Shap Summit yesterday (10/01/25), taking a circuitous route via the Askern branch, Calder Bridge Jn, Stourton, round the curve at Whitehall Jn to Dewsbury, Calder Valley, Manchester Victoria, Bolton and Preston (albeit during the darkest hours of the night).
https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:R39983/2025-01-10/detailed

It returned as 6E73 10:35 Shap Summit to Doncaster Up Decoy via Copy Pit, seen here at Lostock Hall Jn: https://www.flickr.com/photos/3741831270/54257806221/
https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:R39982/2025-01-10/detailed

I think it was a sort of "dry run" with empty wagons in both directions.

There are also STP schedules in for these workings on Tuesday, via Copy Pit in both directions:
https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/se...25-01-14/0000-2359?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt

 

[Rhinojerry]

6L38 RfD Automotive working over S&C now,66736.

 

[Class15]

6L38 RfD Automotive working over S&C now,66736.

This is due to the closure of the WCML Shap route

 

[Rhinojerry]

This is due to the closure of the WCML Shap route

Ah,ok,thank you.Saw it on Ribblehead cam just now,quality not good,i think it was empty.
Will catch it through Bamber Bridge later.

 

[Condor7]

This is due to the closure of the WCML Shap route

Unusually one of two diverts over the Settle & Carlisle line on Sunday the other was 6C37 Chirk to Carlisle with the empty logs. It’s a long time that I have seen more than one WCML diverts over the S&C

 

[Adrian Barr]

Tinsley to Hull steel

There have been a couple of steel trains from Tinsley to Hull Docks recently. The 6D03 evening departure (normally an Immingham service) ran to Hull on 16th and 23rd Jan. The return empties ran the following mornings (17th and 24th Jan) as 6J04 07:04 Hull - Tinsley, seen here on 17th Jan: https://www.flickr.com/photos/49068127@N06/54272814366/ (Photo: Gavin B)
I think this is a trial service at the moment - hopefully it's a new flow rather than a diversion of existing Immingham traffic. Occasional steel trains have run from Tinsley to Hull in recent years, such as this train of billet in 2021: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rich_d3167/51144239338/ (Photo: Richard Stewart)

A look at steel traffic through Hull / Boston / Immingham:

The BVA wagons used on the Tinsley flows were discussed in post #16 in the wagon thread. Of note is that even when the wagons look empty (as on 6J04 above), they are actually loaded with "cassettes" which can be lifted off (complete with the steel) for transfer to and from ships as a sort of intermodal unit. An empty cassette is seen being loaded by crane onto a BVA wagon in this rare 2015 shot of the Nordic terminal at Immingham:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/148194160@N04/40087689074/ (Photo: Jordan Kearney)

The surprising variety of loads the BVAs carry can be seen in this selection, with a mixture of slab (stacked 4 high), bloom (stacked 2 high; 4 or 5 wide), billet, coil (sadly the coils are no longer sent to Tinsley from Sweden) plus empty cassettes and low-height open containers: https://andrewwills.smugmug.com/Wagons/B-Coded
The destinations of the steel moved from Tinsley to Immingham are mills located in Avesta and Degerfors in Sweden, with the steel being transferred from DFDS ships back to rail at the port of Gothenberg: https://www.dfds.com/en/freight-ferries-and-logistics/case-studies/outokumpu

The recent traffic from Tinsley to Hull, and also the well-established steel coil traffic through Hull, uses the Thor Shipping (TSG) Terminal on the west side of King George Dock. TSG = Thor Svecon Group. A port plan can be found in the "downloads" section of this page, where the TSG terminal is shown by its old name of Transatlantic terminal.

(Nov 2022) TSG Terminal is a daughter company of TSG and operates its own multipurpose terminal in Hull with its own stevedores. The deep water in dock berth has three Liebherr harbour mobile cranes with single hook lift capacity of up to 124tonnes. There is also a direct rail connection and 8,500sq m of dehumidified warehousing for weather sensitive cargoes.
https://www.fbj-online.com/sun-line-adds-sweden-hull-route/

After a previous post #1160 about metals traffic, one of the unanswered questions was where the imported steel coil was coming from. I don't know that much about shipping, but I did my best to find out! In the case of Hull, these news articles from 2011 and 2014 are informative:

(Aug 2011) TransAtlantic moves to Hull. TransAtlantic UK is switching its British terminal for its three-times a week Swedish sailings from ABP Goole to ABP Hull following the signing of a new ten-year agreement for a new bespoke ten-acre terminal. Under the deal, ABP will invest £3.5m in a 8,500 sq m warehouse in King George Dock and will also refurbish existing storage capacity and railway sidings. The new warehouse will feature humidity controls for the storage of steel coils. Two mobile harbour cranes will also be relocated. TransAtlantic has been calling at Goole since the early 1990s – originally as Pal Line – and with traffic now at around 400,000 tonnes a year, the move to Hull will accommodate increasing volumes of trade. From the UK, TranAtlantic’s Trans Pal Line service calls at the Swedish ports of Västerås, Oxelösund, Norrköping and Åhus, along with Amsterdam. It also operates services within the Baltic as well as roll-on/roll-off side port shipping operations across the Atlantic and along the US east coast.
https://www.fbj-online.com/transatlantic-moves-to-hull/

(Aug 2014) Thor Shipping starts Hull operation. Swedish shipping line Thor Shipping & Transport has established its first UK base ABP Hull, at the terminal formerly operated by TransAtlantic, which withdrew from the UK market earlier this year. Thor operates three vessels, the Odin, the Alrek and the Frej , handling 300,000 tonnes of steel and other cargoes each year. It will serve Sweden, Hull, Amsterdam and Antwerp and will also pick up dolomite in the UK.

...a long-term deal with steel maker SSAB will also give the route added security... 140,000 tonnes of steel, a large volume of which is transported to the Midlands by train straight from the quayside...
https://www.fbj-online.com/thor-shipping-starts-hull-operation/

The reference to a new bespoke terminal with an 8500 square metre warehouse matches up with the quoted size of the TSG terminal warehouse, and helps explain why rail loading of coil traffic shifted across from the previously used ABP "All Weather Terminal" on the east side of King George Dock. The All Weather Terminal gets its name from the covered offloading area (I think it was a former dry dock) for ships, which looks like the kind of secret base where a Bond villain would keep his submarine: https://thespencergroup.co.uk/projects/storage-facilities-hull-steel-terminal/

Adjacent to this was the coil warehouse with rail access. 60017 is seen at the all-weather terminal in 2015: https://www.flickr.com/photos/40236693@N08/16024289744/ (Photo: 6Y99)
As I recall, I think there was a period when coils were being loaded to rail at both the all-weather terminal and the new TSG terminal, but this traffic now seems to be concentrated at the TSG terminal, with the All Weather Terminal now used by NW Trading.

As for the TSG Terminal, I can't find any pictures of trains within the terminal, but it's visible on Google maps as a line leaving the Hull Docks branch to the west of Hedon Road yard, terminating in two sidings adjacent to a warehouse, with the sidings continuing through a gate onto the quayside. The warehouse itself, full of SSAB branded coils from Sweden, is seen here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tbenson/29001065994
Of the Swedish ports mentioned on the TSG website, Vasteras and Oxelösund seem likely loading points for the SSAB steel:

Skeppargatan 28, Oxelösund, 613 31 (rail connection visible on google maps) On coast 100KM~ southwest of Stockholm
Slakterigatan 10, Västerås, 721 32 (coils on quayside and rail connection visible on google maps) Upriver from Stockholm ~100km

The 2011 news article also mentioned the move of Transatlantic (shipping company) from Goole to Hull for steel traffic, which is probably why coil traffic by rail from Goole dried up, although back in post #1133 littledude mentioned that coil is still being shipped to Goole from Germany.

Compare this 2006 shot of 09106 shunting coil wagons at Goole: https://www.flickr.com/photos/alanpadley/46657007984/ (Photo: Alan Padley)
To this 2015 wilderness shot of 66075 in the same location: https://www.flickr.com/photos/75892080@N06/16115896793/ (Photo: Wilbert B)
I can't recall any recent coil traffic by rail from Goole Docks, although trains of export rail from Scunthorpe to Goole run occasionally.

While on the topic of steel through the east coast ports, a lot of the coils coming through Boston are from Arcelor Mittal plants in northern France and Belgium. A while back I found one of the ships involved on the Marine Traffic website; it had sailed from Dunkirk. Some of the coils are railed to the Preymesser warehouse at Swindon which serves a local pressings plant producing body panels for BMW at Cowley near Oxford.

The coils from Hull, and the other coils from Boston, are sent to the DB Cargo coil warehouse at Wolverhampton, seen here: https://www.wm-saunders.co.uk/db-cargo-wolverhampton/
The coils are despatched from the warehouse by road to a variety of steel stockholders and processors around the West Midlands.

Coil traffic from Hull to Wolverhampton is usually combined at Rotherham Masborough with coil traffic from the Nordic terminal at Immingham to Wolverhampton. Despite Masborough being known as "Rotherham Steel Terminal" it's been a while since it actually handled any steel destined for the terminal itself, although it does load plenty of scrap metal for Cardiff. These contrasting views of Rotherham Masborough in 1997 and 2022 are fascinating, the scene changed dramatically with the opening of the container terminal for Newell & Wright.
Overview of the terminal in 1997 from the south: https://www.flickr.com/photos/187414118@N06/51349133112/ (Photo: Dave Peachey)
Drone view in 2022 from the north: https://www.flickr.com/photos/robmcrorie/52520687124/ (Photo: robmcrorie)

The coil warehouse at Immingham Nordic terminal is seen in the background of this 2015 photo of 08703, with BYA wagons under the crane used for handling the Tinsley traffic on BVAs:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/148194160@N04/40777841181/ (Photo: Jordan Kearney)
This DFDS promotional video has some good footage from inside the warehouse, showing coils being loaded to BYA wagons in the warehouse and 66120 outside (from 3:41 in the video)

DFDS Seaways at Immingham

I'm not sure where the coils handled at Immingham are from, but the list of DFDS shipping routes suggests it would be somewhere on the other side of the North Sea.

 

[eastwestdivide]

Tinsley to Hull steel

Looks like the same wagons as the usual Tinsley/Immingham

 

[Gaz67]

Got my only picture of these wagons a few years ago on the empties from Seaforth. Presume this steel is all from Outokumpo, (serviced some Churchill grinding machines on site years ago). Anyway ,does the Seaforth still run?, was the plant built on a part of the old marshalling yard?, any pics of trains in the steelworks itself or at Tinsley would be interesting to see . Finally what is the current state of Tinsley yard, as it handles 3 distinct flows as far as I'm aware. Great article again by the way Adrian.

 

[j37401]

Got my only picture of these wagons a few years ago on the empties from Seaforth. Presume this steel is all from Outokumpo, (serviced some Churchill grinding machines on site years ago). Anyway ,does the Seaforth still run?, was the plant built on a part of the old marshalling yard?, any pics of trains in the steelworks itself or at Tinsley would be interesting to see . Finally what is the current state of Tinsley yard, as it handles 3 distinct flows as far as I'm aware. Great article again by the way Adrian.

The Seaforth hasn't run for a few years. There was talk of it coming back but it's all gone quiet.

 

[Adrian Barr]

Got my only picture of these wagons a few years ago on the empties from Seaforth. Presume this steel is all from Outokumpo, (serviced some Churchill grinding machines on site years ago). Anyway ,does the Seaforth still run?, was the plant built on a part of the old marshalling yard?, any pics of trains in the steelworks itself or at Tinsley would be interesting to see . Finally what is the current state of Tinsley yard, as it handles 3 distinct flows as far as I'm aware.

One thing I forgot to mention is that Tinsley SMACC (Stainless Melting and Continuous Casting) was taken over by Marcegaglia (an Italian steel conglomerate) in 2023.

SMACC Meltshop is part of Marcegaglia, the leading industrial group worldwide in the steel processing sector. Sheffield is home to SMACC (Stainless Melting and Continuous Casting), wire rod mill ASR (Alloy Steel Rods) and bar finishing facility SSB (Sheffield Stainless Bar). SMACC produces semi-finished products: slabs, blooms, billets in an extremely wide selection of grades...
https://www.sheffield.marcegaglia.com/smacc-melt-shop/

It looks like the last Tinsley - Seaforth train ran in November 2021.

66107 & 66147 in the terminal at Seaforth in 2020 with BVAs after offloading: https://www.flickr.com/photos/36034969@N08/49735927526/ (Photo: Adrian Nicholls)
Rare daylight shot of the loaded working, with class 60 traction in 2013: https://www.flickr.com/photos/8arail/9972452884/ (Photo: Doug Birmingham)

Tinsley Yard and terminals

SMACC is located to the south-west of the marshalling yard and has been there for many years (opened as British Steel Stainless in 1977 apparently). Rail access to the steelworks is complicated because Tinsley Yard was built in a sort of excavated canyon well below the level of the surrounding land (in a similar way, the old loco depot was at a higher level than the yard, making the rail access route to it slightly awkward).

This is the classic view of Tinsley yard, as seen in 1984. The bridge the photographer is standing on (Wood Lane) is at street level and is still there to this day, which makes it a useful reference / vantage point.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/d1015/36294991072/ (Photo: Paul Townsend)
The old reception sidings were behind the photographer, and the "hump" is to the left where Class 13s would propel wagons to roll past the control tower into the sorting sidings. Note the line to the extreme left running beneath the hump - this eventually became part of the zig-zag access route to SMACC.
Class 13 on the hump in 1978: https://www.flickr.com/photos/westernsunset/5552642397/ (Photo: Western Sunset)

By 1991 the view has changed rather drastically. In this photo, the class 08 has passed underneath the old hump on the line seen in the 1984 shot, reversed, and is now propelling into the remains of the yard:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/blue-diesels/38952311985/ (Photo: Garry Cartwright, 53A Models of Hull Collection)

A similar view in 1998 but with very few wagons in the sidings: https://www.flickr.com/photos/68802876@N08/36788611453/ (Photo: Andy Wills)
Looking in the other direction, it can be seen where the line rises from beneath the old hump to join the lines from the main yard: https://www.flickr.com/photos/68802876@N08/9020254554/ (Photo: Andy Wills)

By 2009 a huge warehouse has been built over part of the yard. The access route to SMACC (part of which is visible on the left) has been obstructed and closed, and trains now access SMACC via another zig-zag route from the other end of the yard! https://www.flickr.com/photos/129566999@N08/20028655211/ (Photo: Stuart Riley)

By 2022 things are looking a little less dismal - a concrete pad has been installed for FCC to offload spoil originating from London. Meanwhile the Tinsley Intermodal terminal has opened on the site of the old reception sidings on the other side of the bridge: https://www.flickr.com/photos/big-stew/52040775292/ (Photo: Stewart Donohoe)

Contemporary scene taken a couple of weeks ago: https://www.flickr.com/photos/49068127@N06/54272814381/ (Photo: Gavin B)

At the other end of the (now much reduced) yard, the hopper house for offloading stone trains can be seen in these two 2013 views, which also show the sidings reduced to a mere 5 in the current yard:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/andythomas5910/9025472543/ (Photo: Andy Thomas)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/andythomas5910/9025528113/ (Photo: Andy Thomas)
The new access to SMACC curves to the left (out of sight) to a headshunt in front of the big warehouse in the background. Trains then reverse behind the asphalt plant and the warehouse seen in the 2009 photo, down the entire length of it to another headshunt. They then make a final reversal to access a loading bay in the works, visible on google maps - the siding layout at SMACC is very basic.

I can't find any views of the loading bay at SMACC, but the plant itself resembles a big shed - https://www.flickr.com/photos/roger/37444822/ (Photo: Roger Butterfield)

08405 doing the shunt in 2010, propelling towards SMACC https://www.flickr.com/photos/68802876@N08/6782246144/ (Photo: Andy Wills)
The 08 haulage into SMACC lasted until 2011, after which it was done by the train engine off the arriving train from Immingham.

In this 2015 view, 60066 has left SMACC and is approaching the headshunt. Note the warehouse on the right - Tinsley Yard is on the other side of that. 60066 will need to propel to a headshunt beyond the warehouse and asphalt plant to access the west end of Tinsley yard. The containers are unusual - for a while the Immingham trains sometimes ran with a couple of FCA intermodal wagons added.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/68802876@N08/17313873221/ (Photo: Andy Wills)

This 2015 view shows a train exiting Tinsley after discharging at the stone terminal: https://www.flickr.com/photos/big-stew/16784628715/ (Photo: Stewart Donohoe)
And the hopper house (Aggregate Industries asphalt plant) is seen up close in this 2023 view: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimbo33201/53081590457/ (Photo: Jim Mosley)

Looking in the other direction from Wood Lane bridge, where we started, the reception sidings in 1982: https://www.flickr.com/photos/andy_hoare/5530772197/ (Photo: Andy Hoare)
This 1983 view overlooks the reception sidings, looking the other way with the TMD on the left. SMACC steelworks buildings can be seen in the background, main yard would be to the right beyond Wood Lane bridge, just visible: https://www.flickr.com/photos/73789322@N04/34112089213/ (Photo: On Tour with the class 13 army)
Reception sidings starting to look a bit derelict in 1986 (another view from Wood Lane bridge): https://www.flickr.com/photos/lombardstown/11296632925/ (Photo: D Glombardstown)
But reborn as an intermodal terminal, as seen in 2022: https://www.flickr.com/photos/andy_hoare/52509578877/ (Photo: Andy Hoare)
Some reach stacker action in 2021: https://www.flickr.com/photos/darrenjb/51313779286/ (Photo: Darren JB)

Lastly, mention should also be made of SPACE (Stainless Plate and Coil Expansion), which is now closed and abandoned, on the other side of Tinsley yard compared to SMACC (and a much simpler shunt).
This is where coils from Sweden were offloaded for processing, as seen in 2001 with 60008 present: https://www.flickr.com/photos/big-stew/33227584915/ (Photo: Stewart Donohoe)

So there are currently four terminals around the yard - SMACC, Aggregate Industries, FCC spoil terminal, and Intermodal Terminal - five if you include the now closed SPACE.

I did visit Tinsley and stood on the bridge a couple of years back after the intermodal terminal and spoil terminal opened. It's interesting to try and imagine it how it was. I regret not going to any open days at Tinsley TMD...

Chris Booth wrote an excellent book called Tinsley and the Modernisation of Sheffield's Railways which is very good, not cheap but well worth the money, although it was out of print last time I checked. I read it not long ago so have some grasp of the original layout which I wouldn't have done otherwise.

There are no end of photos of Tinsley - I found this Tinsley yard and TMD group on flickr which has 1.6K photos in it - https://www.flickr.com/groups/tinsleyyard/pool/

 

[geordieblue]

As usual - what a fantastic post - cheers