Rail Freight Flows and News UK

[Meerkat]

Fascinating stuff.
I’m curious why Newell and Wright have two intermodal terminals so close too each other. Is rail stuff just too expensive to make the Tinsley one big enough to consolidate, there still seems to be space left?

 

[eastwestdivide]

Fascinating stuff.
I’m curious why Newell and Wright have two intermodal terminals so close too each other. Is rail stuff just too expensive to make the Tinsley one big enough to consolidate, there still seems to be space left?

I understood the traffic outgrew the Masboro one (Tinsley being relatively recent - I photographed the opening train less than 10 years ago).
I suppose it would need more investment to consolidate, but also there's flexibility in having two in times of disruption like Rotherham C flooding. Have they ever diverted trains at short notice from one to the other?

 

[Gaz67]

Thanks for that, answered all my questions, the pic of the 3 trains and another arrival imminent is pretty remarkable . All 4 flows running pretty regularly at the moment too. Let's hope this success continues to grow.

 

[j37401]

It's been reported that the Brunner Mond 'Northwich' hoppers - limestone to Lostock works has finished. The last loaded train being on 24/01/25. The Soda Ash works has now started decommissioning. I'm not sure how long this freight has existed under various guises. But it is thought that it could be one of the oldest freight services in continous operation. Possibly over 100 years. Sad times..

 

[Gaz67]

It's been reported that the Brunner Mond 'Northwich' hoppers - limestone to Lostock works has finished. The last loaded train being on 24/01/25. The Soda Ash works has now started decommissioning. I'm not sure how long this freight has existed under various guises. But it is thought that it could be one of the oldest freight services in continous operation. Possibly over 100 years. Sad times..

Yes very sad , along with the imminent closure of Waltons modelshop in Altrincham a big part of my childhood coming to an end. Apparently issues with the plant have meant an early closure.

 

[HST125Scorton]

Is this a start of new regular flow? I noticed it starts at Drigg a few weeks later. Really interesting to see Shap Quarry going so well.

Today [31-01]:

Realtime Trains | Departures from Shap Summit Quarry all day on 31/01/2025

Train information at Shap Summit Quarry all day on 31/01/2025. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

Few Weeks Later:

Realtime Trains | Departures from Shap Summit Quarry all day on 19/03/2025

Train information at Shap Summit Quarry all day on 19/03/2025. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

 

[Freightmaster]

Is this a start of new regular flow?

Yes - the traffic flow is Shap to Drigg, staging at Sellafield.

Really interesting to see Shap Quarry going so well.

In addition to the regular DRS-operated ballast flow to Crewe, there have been a
couple of trial workings to Doncaster, which may become regular workings in future.

Freightliner has also been running one or two stone trains a week to Walsall recently,
replacing the previous flow to Ashburys.



MARK

 

[WessexEclectic]

Apparently issues with the plant have meant an early closure.

As well as energy costs?

 

[Gaz67]

As well as energy costs?

Undoubtedly, same with our steel producers, thanks Maggie.

 

[ExRes]

Undoubtedly, same with our steel producers, thanks Maggie.

Which Maggie, the one that ceased to be PM 34 years ago?

 

[pharrc20]

As far as I can ascertain, the last loaded train was on Wednesday 22nd Jan, the Friday 24th and Saturday 25th services were all cancelled. The next time the train ran was on Monday 27th when the wagons ran as normal to Tunstead as 6H02 in the morning, with the return afternoon path activated as 6F05. At some point after dinner time, this path was cancelled and a new 6Z05 path entered in as Tunstead Sdgs to Arpley Sidings, and I saw this pass through Northwich station just after 6pm behind 66074. The night 6F06 empties path from Lostock Works to Arpley Sidings, was obviously already cancelled. Nothing has run since. Paths disappeared after Thursday 30th morning.

So that appears to be the end of that. No chance to even commemorate the very last loaded train as it been and gone.

Paul
Northwich

 

[AndrewE]

Which Maggie, the one that ceased to be PM 34 years ago?

I guess so, the one who tried to make sure we had no indigenous coal production (and had the Point of Ayr colliery shut down when it had just been refitted for fast efficient output to feed its on-site grid-feeding gas-making plant.) Money thrown away. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_of_Ayr

The site was chosen in the early eighties for a demonstration "Oil from Coal" plant jointly funded by the government, the National Coal Board and others. Bench scale trials was carried out on site but the project became a victim of the miners strike and the subsequent cut back in research funding for this and clean burn technology. The plant never became operational and was scrapped.

 

[Gaz67]

Which Maggie, the one that ceased to be PM 34 years ago?

Yes that Maggie, the one who started the sale of pretty much everything, ask Sid.

 

[Mag_seven]

Can we drop the political discission please - this sort of thing can be discussed in our General Discussion section.

Thanks

 

[sjpowermac]

Monday 03.02.2025

68033
0Z68 0153 Crewe Gresty Bridge to South Bank Tees Dock
4Z59 1525 South Bank Tees Dock to Trafford Park Euro Term

First working of this new ‘Tesco train’.

 

[Oxfordblues]

Monday 03.02.2025

68033
0Z68 0153 Crewe Gresty Bridge to South Bank Tees Dock
4Z59 1525 South Bank Tees Dock to Trafford Park Euro Term

First working of this new ‘Tesco train’.

Excellent! Plus 4E58 04:30 Trafford Park Euro Term to South Bank Tees Dock, proving that we can still have more freight through the Castlefield Corridor.

 

[Adrian Barr]

Is this a start of new regular flow? I noticed it starts at Drigg a few weeks later. Really interesting to see Shap Quarry going so well.

Yes - the traffic flow is Shap to Drigg, staging at Sellafield.

Interesting to hear about this flow.

The wagons loaded at Shap Summit on Friday have been offloaded at Drigg today. Workings as follows:

68016 on 31st Jan
6C14 11:49 Carlisle Kingmoor DRS - Shap (10 empties)
6C14 15:48 Shap - Sellafield (10 loads)

68016 today (4th Feb)
6C11 07:06 Sellafield - Drigg (10 loads)
6C14 10:00 Drigg - Shap Summit (10 empties)
Next working should be 6C14 15:48 to Sellafield

68017 on 31st Jan
6C16 15:07 Carlisle Kingmoor DRS - Shap (10 empties)
6C16 19:56 Shap - Sellafield (10 loads)

68017 on 4th Feb (today)
6C12 10:19 Sellafield - Drigg (10 loads)
6C16 13:40 Drigg - Shap Summit (10 empties)
Next working should be 6C16 19:56 to Sellafield (schedules are set up to Sellafield North Siding).

The use of the Bog Junction to Upperby Junction connection at Carlisle is interesting; I don't think much goes this way unless the southern part of the Cumbrian coast route is blocked.

The wagons used are brand new JNA-Z boxes constructed at WH Davis, Shirebrook, last year (see the section on aggregate boxes in post #39 on the wagon discussion thread)
They were out of use at Motherwell for several months, probably waiting for this flow to start up. The wagons have DRS and VTG branding and are seen here being moved to Motherwell in June last year:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardo4eyes/53824262076/ (Photo: Richie B.)

22 of the 25 wagons were moved from Motherwell to Carlisle as 4Z18 on 28th January for the start of this flow.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 4 Feb 2025 ==

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

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.

GBRF ran a 6C92 09:45 Margam - Portbury today with 66787 and 9 KEA wagons (possibly for loading trials). The loco returned light engine as 0C92 to Cardiff Tidal.

I think these 9 KEAs are the only ones which have emerged from Shirebrook so far. I've not seen a close-up photo of them yet, but in this drone shot of Shirebrook you can see a couple of KEAs to the left of the fence which have been cut down in height compared to the ones being shunted: https://www.flickr.com/photos/robmcrorie/54119353681/ (Photo: robmcrorie)

DB also worked into Portbury earlier today with 6Z53 empties / 6Z55 loaded slab back to Margam. Some older BTA wagons are in this set alongside the BYA slab conversions (from covered coil wagons), but refurbished BAA wagons have started appearing from the DB facility at Stoke (formerly Marcroft), as mentioned here: https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/wagon-fleet-news-and-discussion.278615/post-7140466
Some pictures of the re-bodied, re-bogied BAAs were posted by the National Wagon Preservation Group on Facebook (I don't "do" Facebook but you should be able to view one or two posts without logging in).

66652 at Portbury in October: https://www.flickr.com/photos/74165767@N05/54112254786/ (Photo: Driver 59)
Good view of the slabs on 6Z53 from Portbury in November: https://www.flickr.com/photos/58449051@N08/54153181891/ (Photo: Nigel Power)

 

[Class15]

Interesting to hear about this flow.

The wagons loaded at Shap Summit on Friday have been offloaded at Drigg today. Workings as follows:

68016 on 31st Jan
6C14 11:49 Carlisle Kingmoor DRS - Shap (10 empties)
6C14 15:48 Shap - Sellafield (10 loads)

68016 today (4th Feb)
6C11 07:06 Sellafield - Drigg (10 loads)
6C14 10:00 Drigg - Shap Summit (10 empties)
Next working should be 6C14 15:48 to Sellafield

68017 on 31st Jan
6C16 15:07 Carlisle Kingmoor DRS - Shap (10 empties)
6C16 19:56 Shap - Sellafield (10 loads)

68017 on 4th Feb (today)
6C12 10:19 Sellafield - Drigg (10 loads)
6C16 13:40 Drigg - Shap Summit (10 empties)
Next working should be 6C16 19:56 to Sellafield (schedules are set up to Sellafield North Siding).

Interesting that the two diagrams run so close to each other (4hrs apart)?

 

[Adrian Barr]

Interesting that the two diagrams run so close to each other (4hrs apart)?

I assume they run two short trains (of ten wagons) instead of one long one because of terminal constraints on train length. Approaching Drigg from the north, I don't think a single train of 20 wagons could be accommodated without leaving some wagons on the main line while the loco ran round in the terminal. Shap Summit has an awkward layout (I don't know if arriving from the north makes it better or worse), I think they normally run with 17 wagons from Crewe.

Having one train leave Drigg just before the next one arrives is probably convenient in terms of providing machine operators for offloading the train (2 trains in one shift).

6C14 ran to Sellafield as mentioned in my previous post, while 6C16 ran to Carlisle Kingmoor DRS and terminated there instead.

There's a news item on the DRS website which explains the use of the aggregate:

During the first campaign, DRS will operate two trains a day, four days a week, to Nuclear Waste Services’ (NWS) Low Level Waste (LLW) Repository site, in Cumbria. The trains will deliver aggregate for the Southern Trench Interim Membrane (STIM) project – a project to replace a protective barrier over the legacy disposal trenches at the site.

This is the first in a series of material deliveries as part of the project, delivering 46,400 tonnes of aggregate over 64 trains ...Further trains will be run in other stages over the project’s three-year duration
https://www.directrailservices.com/...missions-and-support-decommissioning-mission/

 

[Chris125]

Monday 03.02.2025

68033
0Z68 0153 Crewe Gresty Bridge to South Bank Tees Dock
4Z59 1525 South Bank Tees Dock to Trafford Park Euro Term

First working of this new ‘Tesco train’.

Does anyone know what these trains look like - how many wagons/containers/customers? Yet to see any photos or videos.

 

[DBS92042]

GBRF ran a 6C92 09:45 Margam - Portbury today with 66787 and 9 KEA wagons (possibly for loading trials). The loco returned light engine as 0C92 to Cardiff Tidal.

I think these 9 KEAs are the only ones which have emerged from Shirebrook so far. I've not seen a close-up photo of them yet, but in this drone shot of Shirebrook you can see a couple of KEAs to the left of the fence which have been cut down in height compared to the ones being shunted: https://www.flickr.com/photos/robmcrorie/54119353681/ (Photo: robmcrorie)

DB also worked into Portbury earlier today with 6Z53 empties / 6Z55 loaded slab back to Margam. Some older BTA wagons are in this set alongside the BYA slab conversions (from covered coil wagons), but refurbished BAA wagons have started appearing from the DB facility at Stoke (formerly Marcroft), as mentioned here: https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/wagon-fleet-news-and-discussion.278615/post-7140466
Some pictures of the re-bodied, re-bogied BAAs were posted by the National Wagon Preservation Group on Facebook (I don't "do" Facebook but you should be able to view one or two posts without logging in).

66652 at Portbury in October: https://www.flickr.com/photos/74165767@N05/54112254786/ (Photo: Driver 59)
Good view of the slabs on 6Z53 from Portbury in November: https://www.flickr.com/photos/58449051@N08/54153181891/ (Photo: Nigel Power)

This was the best I managed for a shot of one of the converted KEAs in the rather poor lighting. Appears they've just had the sides chopped down and some holes (for drainage?) cut into the sides. Interestingly it appeared all of the wagons besides the frontmost and rearmost KEA are 'inner' wagons without buffers so presumably these will have to run around in semi-fixed formations?

 

[Adrian Barr]

Does anyone know what these trains look like - how many wagons/containers/customers? Yet to see any photos or videos.

The only picture I've seen is from a DRS news item here (at Tees Dock) which you can click to enlarge: https://www.directrailservices.com/new-drs-rail-service-in-groundbreaking-trial/#

The green containers in that picture appear to be something similar to this, from Nordic Bulkers. The container on the lorry would be 30ft long and 9ft tall judging from the size code:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/paulitimmy/11740562843 (Photo: paulitimmy)

Interesting to compare with the bulk containers on this previous iteration of the same service (from around 2008 I believe): https://www.flickr.com/photos/131175774@N06/31855809293 (Photo: Steve Clark)

So far, 4Z59 (15:25 Tees Dock to Trafford) has run on the 3th and 5th Feb, while the return 4E58 (04:30 Trafford to Tees Dock) ran on 4th and 6th Feb.

The first train ran with 68033 and 3 IDA low deck twin wagons (7049010580, 7049010036 and 7049010374) and the same loco / wagon combination appears to have continued the workings.

Rail magazine has a news snippet with the same picture and describes it as a twelve-week trial (that's as far as I can read without logging in, but it's most likely a regurgitated press release from DRS).

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 8 Feb 2025 ==

This was the best I managed for a shot of one of the converted KEAs in the rather poor lighting. Appears they've just had the sides chopped down and some holes (for drainage?) cut into the sides

Thanks for posting the picture. Along with being cut down, it looks like some hefty pieces of steel have been added to the top of the wagons to reinforce the sides and ends. I was wondering about the orange squares - if they haven't changed the couplings, could they be to distinguish inner from outer wagons perhaps?

 

[sjpowermac]

Does anyone know what these trains look like - how many wagons/containers/customers? Yet to see any photos or videos.

Just to add to the earlier replies regarding the new Tees-Trafford Park working:

08.02.2025
68033
0Z59 1421 South Bank Tees Dock-Doncaster West Yard

There are paths next week from Doncaster West Yard to Tees Dock running as Class 4, so perhaps further wagons will be added.

 

[66701GBRF]

This was the best I managed for a shot of one of the converted KEAs in the rather poor lighting. Appears they've just had the sides chopped down and some holes (for drainage?) cut into the sides. Interestingly it appeared all of the wagons besides the frontmost and rearmost KEA are 'inner' wagons without buffers so presumably these will have to run around in semi-fixed formations?
View attachment 174197

I would assume the holes are for visual inspection. No need to cut drainage holes in box wagons and certainly not at that height and size.

 

[D6130]

I would assume the holes are for visual inspection. No need to cut drainage holes in box wagons and certainly not at that height and size.

Visual inspection for part loading?

 

[JKF]

Curious as to how they will load slab onto those cut down KEAd, I’ve assumed with the existing flat wagons they use something like a telehandler as the slabs sit on top, with these it looks like they are dropped into the body so I’m guessing some sort of crane, unless slung underneath a telehandler if that’s even possible? Though I am just guessing at methods here.

 

[AndrewE]

Curious as to how they will load slab onto those cut down KEAd, I’ve assumed with the existing flat wagons they use something like a telehandler as the slabs sit on top, with these it looks like they are dropped into the body so I’m guessing some sort of crane, unless slung underneath a telehandler if that’s even possible? Though I am just guessing at methods here.

I think they have always used electromagnets, which can apparently lift up to 40 Tonnes.

The joke on BR used to be that the steelworks crane drivers were ex bomber pilots, which explained the battered state of the wagons as the slabs were dropped onto them from height...

 

[Adrian Barr]

Curious as to how they will load slab onto those cut down KEAd, I’ve assumed with the existing flat wagons they use something like a telehandler as the slabs sit on top, with these it looks like they are dropped into the body so I’m guessing some sort of crane, unless slung underneath a telehandler if that’s even possible? Though I am just guessing at methods here.

I think they have always used electromagnets, which can apparently lift up to 40 Tonnes.

This drone shot of the slab loading area at Cardiff Docks shows heavy duty forklifts and piles of slab: https://www.flickr.com/photos/andy_hoare/53991326917/ (Photo: Andy Hoare)

The way the slabs get loaded to the wagons (2 or 3 high, with no gap between them) suggests they are lifted from the top with an attachment such as a magnet, illustrated here:
https://www.woko.de/en/mobile-magne...-magnets/slab-lifting-magnets#for-fork-lifter
These are available as attachments for both heavy duty forklifts and reach stackers.

A bit more about metals handling here: https://www.gregorypoolelift.com/blog/hyster-heavy-duty-forklifts/

At the Port Talbot end of the slab flows, the slab loading / offloading area was previously accessed via the "P Field" siding, using main line locos. A recent video shows the slab movements now using Tata haulage and running alongside the cold rolling mill to access the rear of the works (as viewed from Margam Yard). From here they might be running direct into the hot rolling mill, or offloading in the nearby slab yard (possibly a slight change to the sidings layout?) Slab trains (with haulage from fantastic Brush Bagnall beasts 903 and 901) appear 3 mins into the video, empties from the works followed by loads inward:

PenguinTrains | Trains at Margam including ex-French Shed 66179, two steel slab shunts, 197s and IETs-30/12/24

 

[66701GBRF]

Slightly off topic but 4L92 is reported to have derailed with at least 1 wagon down a bank. I know it's an intermodal train but does anyone know it's route and where it derailed?

 

[Class15]

Slightly off topic but 4L92 is reported to have derailed with at least 1 wagon down a bank. I know it's an intermodal train but does anyone know it's route and where it derailed?

No 4L92 tonight, and since the most recent Freightliner reshuffle there hasn’t been a 4L92 at all. 4L02, the most similar headcode I can see, is happily cruising along the WCML South right now.