South Wales Traffic

[Peter Fleming]

I was browsing through some very old notebooks.

 

One included a Sunday visit to Newport Ebbw Junction loco shed in February 1962.

 

Amonst the 100+ locos were two (at least) austerities from Woodford Halse.

 

Presumably these had worked over the SMJ to Stratford, then via the 1960 link to Honeybourne, then Gloucester (?).

 

I remember South Wales locos being pretty common at Woodford and assumed that most of them came via Banbury. In fact, I suppose, most of them came via Stratford.

[Dick Bodily]

Peter

After 1960 most traffic between South Wales and the GC at Woodford went via the SMJ, this included the fast fitted freights to and from York Dringhouses. Like yourself I wrongly assumed that Ebbw Junc and Cardiff Canton locos at Woodford had come via Banbury. Woodford WDs and later 8Fs worked through to Wales with the Woodford crews relieved around Honeybourne. If you can get hold of a back copy of June 2010 Steam days there's an article by Rex Partridge about Byfield SMJ that details some of these workings.

Dick

[Peter Fleming]

Dick

 

Most of my time was spent at the east end of the line, Blisworth etc. where it was fairly quiet. Obviously things were a lot busier from Woodford to Stratford.

 

When I went to Woodford I usually went near the Byfield Road bridge. This was near the shed and the best place to go for the number of locos. Before that I went a few times to the station yard, i.e.  near the junction. Here it was fairly obvious that probably the majority of freights were along the SMJ Byfield line. I suppose most of the rest were along the Banbury line, and very few along the main line to London. 

[Dick Bodily]

Peter

I usually used to go to the football field next to the triangle on Saturday afternoons, watch the match noting anything turning on the triangle and nip around the shed at halftime! Charwelton was another favoured spot as you'd catch any V2s or B16s on fitted freights before they were taken off and replaced with WDs or WR engines. As I spent a lot of time spotting at Banbury and Swindon I wasn't so interested with what happened south of the sheds, clearly I should have been.

Dick

Dick

 

Most of my time was spent at the east end of the line, Blisworth etc. where it was fairly quiet. Obviously things were a lot busier from Woodford to Stratford.

 

When I went to Woodford I usually went near the Byfield Road bridge. This was near the shed and the best place to go for the number of locos. Before that I went a few times to the station yard, i.e.  near the junction. Here it was fairly obvious that probably the majority of freights were along the SMJ Byfield line. I suppose most of the rest were along the Banbury line, and very few along the main line to London.