31st March 2022

Antwept running on the Bodmin & Wenford
Roger Winnen

220331a Austerity Saddle Tank 75178 approaches Charlies Gate on the 10.30 Bodmin General to Bodmin Parkway. Copyright Roger Winnen

With regard to the article by Roger Winnen  on the austerity tank at the Bodmin and Wenford can I point out that it's name is not "Antwept".  In fact it doesn't and never did have a name in NCB  service at Treorchy, being referred to as "NCB" due to the lettering on the tank.  ( All of the other locos at this site had names).   It is Bagnall works No 2766   which was numbered 75178  in War Dept Service.  The lettering on the cab  is "Antwerp".  These identifications were applied to the WD locos before they were shipped abroad.  In fact it went to Calais.  The "Antwerp" label was only applied because the loco was being painted in a WD  livery at the BWR  and we happened to have a set of transfers left over from a similar job on another austerity, Swiftsure ,  that had gone to Antwerp in its WD days.  Philip Hawke
Many thanks indeed Philip for putting me on the right track for Bagnell 75178
Roger Winnen

220331b Departure from Bodmin Parkway at 11.00 sees 75178 approaching Charlies Gate. Copyright Roger Winnen

220331c Working hard climbing the bank out of Bodmin. Copyright Roger Winnen

220331d The new road bridge at Bodmin which opened only a few days ago. Copyright Roger Winnen

220331e 75178 running around at Bodmin General. Copyright Roger Winnen

Many thanks Roger.
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The coal conveyor at
Avonmouth
Guy Vincent

It is worth putting on record that a long stretch of the elevated coal conveyor situated adjacent to the Severn Beach line between Avonmouth and St Andrews Road is in the process of being dismantled for scrap.  A trip along the line last weekend found  a large section had already gone and workmen were engaged on cutting up the remains close by St Andrews Junction Signal Box.   The conveyor was built in the early 1990s to enable coal brought by ship into Portbury docks (on the opposite side of the Avon) to be loaded into coal trains for movement to power stations.  Didcot Power Station was a major user of this coal and many millions of pounds were spent building a brand new siding complex at St Andrews Road, including full signalling provision and improvements made to the line towards Bristol Parkway.  Further east  long running loops were installed between Swindon and Didcot.     As we know coal is no longer used for power station fuel in the UK and the conveyor has been disused for some time.    I believe Storm Eunice caused a certain amount of damage to the conveyor and this could be why demolition is under way.   

Regards for now,  Guy Vincent

Firstly some earlier pictures

Avonmouth coal plant 1 Avonmouth St Andrews Junction Signal Box 23rd September 2016 Copyright Guy Vincent

Avonmouth coal plant 2 Avonmouth Coal Conveyor Feb 2021. Copyright Guy Vincent

Avonmouth coal plant 3 St Andrews Road Coal Discharge Plant Feb 2021 Copyright Guy Vincent.

And now some taken in March 2022

Avonmouth coal plant 4 Avonmouth Conveyer Removal March 2022 (1) Copyright Guy Vincent

Avonmouth coal plant 5 Avonmouth Conveyer Removal March 2022 (2) Copyright Guy Vincent

Avonmouth coal plant 6 Avonmouth Coal Conveyer Removal March 2022 (3) Copyright Guy Vincent

Avonmouth coal plant 7 Avonmouth Coal Conveyor Loading Tower St Andrews Road March 2022 Copyright Guy Vincent

Many thanks Guy.
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Courtesy Wikipedia  -  At the Royal Edward, a Gottwald HSK 260 Harbour Crane can unload up to 10,000 tonnes of coal per day; whilst two 2,500 tonne rapid bulk-handling conveyors at Royal Portbury discharge into a conveyor system which runs under the River Avon in a tunnel. Freight trains are moved automatically under the bunkers at 0.8 kilometres per hour (0.50 mph), allowing a 1,750 tonnes (1,930 tons) train to be fully and automatically loaded in under 36 minutes.

On Level Crossings
Chris Osment

Yesterday the operation of the gates at Combe Junction was mentioned and as they say, 'one thing leads to another' and Chris Osment kindly sent in the piece below.

On a ‘typical’ level-crossing of a small road across a single-track railway, then one gate each side was usually sufficient. If traffic was light then working them by hand was not too arduous and it avoided the need for a ‘winding’ mechanism that did not cause the gates to clash in the middle!
 
There were examples of four gates worked by wheel on a single-line crossing, especially where the road was much wider than the railway (such as Barnstaple Town), and then the gates overlapped when across the rails and moved essentially in two sets, one after the other. Conversely, there were many examples of crossings over double-track lines which had four gates, yet were still worked by hand (eg Eggesford, Edington Junction etc). Some – like Tipton St Johns – were hand-operated originally, but converted to wheel operation later.
 
Just to confuse the issue, it was not unknown for level-crossings on signal-box diagrams to be drawn with a ‘standard symbol’ of four gates,  regardless of whatever actually existed on the ground. A good example here was at Wadebridge East – when I visited the station years after the railway had closed I spent a lot of time trying to find the non-existent road that would have gone over that crossing, only to realise eventually that actually it must have been little more than a footpath/track with a large wicket-type gate on each side of the line!
Regards Chris Osment
 

Wadebridge Level Crossing from footbridge looking towards Padstow 1968. Copyright Douglas Nicholls.. Note the overlapping gates.

Wadebridge from the same footbridge looking south towards the station. September 1968 Copyright Douglas Nicholls

Many thanks Chris and Douglas Nicholls.
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Roy Hart comments - Douglas's photograph of Wadebridge looking south is of particular interest: note the two buildings in the right foreground. These are the former carriage shed (nearest) and engine shed (behind) of the old Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway. They dated from 1834-40 . Long gone now, of course.

Roy

Continuing Paul's Day Out
Truro
Paul Barlow

43122 (43160 heading) leaving Truro on 0749 Bristol to Penzance 22 March 2022. Copyright Paul Barlow

Many thanks Paul.
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