Wednesbury (05/10/1976)
I chose this shift because two trains required the banking engine, and a Class 40 also appeared. Like all the shifts I've used it was worked by the signalman who recorded the loco numbers.
On Monday 4th and Tuesday 5th October one of the regular signalmen was evidently away, and the other two men worked 12-hour shifts to cover his absence. This is the last of those four 12-hour shifts.
| Tuesday 5th October 1976 (17.50) - Wednesday 6th October 1976 (05:50) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Train | Wednesbury | Loco | Comments |
| 4Z43 | 18.08 | 47289 | The first train of this shift provides an immediate puzzle. The 4Z43 headcode implies a special train, and in 1976 a Class 4 train
almost always meant a Freightliner. However this train was a regular runner, and the normal headcode was 4E43. It was the return
working of 6M60 which came south through Wednesbury mid-afternoon, and went up the Princes End branch to Wolverhampton Steel Terminal.
It often stopped at Wednesbury to detach traffic, and it's a block steel train from Lackenby.
The return 4E43 working came off the branch around tea-time, and would also attach or detach traffic at Wednesbury on occasions. Now and then the loco would return light engine, and 4E43 would start from Wednesbury. That's what happened on 5th October, and 0E43 had arrived at 17.05 via Princes End. 6M60/4E43 was an air-braked train, and as you might expect it produced Thornaby engines - normally 47s. 47286, 47287, 47288, 47361 and 47363 also appeared in the period of this register. Perhaps Thornaby had run out of 47s in early November because they kicked out 37167 on Thursday 4th and the seriously rateable 31152+31153 the next day. Thornaby had less then 20 Class 31s, and they were rare in the West Midlands. |
| 8T20 | 18.12-18.27 | 25325 | This train started from Wednesbury Exchange Sidings, and was destined for Wolverhampton New Depot (Steel Terminal) via Princes End.
Earlier in the afternoon 8T20 had left Wednesbury at 16.44 for Bescot. The loco returned as 0T20, arriving back at Wednesbury at 17.30. |
| 0T25 | 18.13 | 25252 | This light-engine headed south towards Great Bridge, doubtless from Bescot. |
| 0S50 | 18.18 | 47214 | This is the light-engine from Bescot to Dudley to work the 4S50 Dudley - Glasgow Freightliner. 4S50 is a train that anyone familiar with the Black Country railway scene in the 1970s will be well acquainted. The Dudley - Bescot leg was basically a Bescot throwout, and almost any diesel ever found at Bescot was used on this diagram at one time or another. A Class 47 was pretty mundane power, but fairly typical. |
| 8Z96 | 18.27-19.21 | 20092+20128 | This was a special train bound for Spring Vale via Princes End. The driver rang in from a signal post telephone and asked for the
banking loco. The train was then allowed into Wednesbury at 18.35, where it waited for the banker. The banker was requested at 18.30,
and arrived at 19.18 from the Great Bridge direction (see below). 8Z96 then set off fairly promptly up the hill to Princes End.
This pair of 20s were allocated to Tinsley, and in general these Eastern Region locos were much less common in the West Midlands than the Toton based examples. They weren't exactly rare, just much less common. A higher proportion of Tinsley locos would have appeared at Wednesbury than at Bescot. This was because Toton examples dominated the mixed freights and trip workings found at Bescot, whereas Tinsley 20s (just like Eastern Region 31s and 37s) would be more likely to appear on block trains from further afield. These latter services would miss Bescot, using the direct line from Walsall to Wednesbury to reach the various steelworks and steel terminals dotted around the Black Country. |
| 8M68 | 18.32-19.43 | 20142+20195 | Right behind 8Z96 was this train was bound for Wolverhampton New Depot via Princes End, and it also needed the banking engine.
Unlike the previous pair these were Toton locomotives. Toton 20s on a train to or from the Eastern Region sounds a little odd, but it happened again later the same night. Further research on 8M68 showed that it was something of a "Y" service and could terminate anywhere in the Black Country. Without much effort I found it running to Great Bridge and Wednesbury, in addition to Wolverhampton. As for locos it seemed to get anything. The first few entries I chanced upon were 37137 (Tinsley) on Monday 22nd November, on which date it ran to Wolverhampton. On Wednesday 24th it ran to Great Bridge with 47032 (Laira), after which the 47 was co-opted as a banker to assist 31243 up to Princes End on a 7Z60 special. On Thursday 25th 8M68 was 31228 (Tinsley), and ran to Wolverhampton. On Tuesday 14th December it produced 45029 (Holbeck), but the best find was Thursday 9th December. On that day 8M68 produced 25152+25252, which was notable enough even for the varied power that this train got. On that December night the 25s were bound for Wednesbury, and the afternoon signalman received the train description from Walsall PSB at 20.12. The train is shown as arriving at Wednesbury's home signal at 20.20, but it was still there when the night shift man took over at 20.50. The train is eventually shown as passing the box at 21.40, but why did it have to wait so long before it was allowed into the sidings? Well the night shift signalman's entries in the remarks column provide a clue: "NO SHUNTING STAFF. WHY?", followed by "NO CHARGEMAN. WHY?" and "NO SUPERVISOR. WHY?". These entries betray a genuine and escalating sense of puzzlement, and they made me smile when I read them. I wonder where all the staff could possibly have been on that dark December evening. Anyway, back to the evening of October 5th. Although 8M68 arrived around 18.30 it had to wait on the main line until 8Z96 had departed before it was allowed into Wednesbury. 8Z96 left at 19.21, and 8M68 was allowed into Wednesbury at 19.25 to await the return of the banker from Princes End. The banker got back at 19.40 (see below), and 8M68 finally set off towards Princes End at 19.43. This scan shows the "Up" line entries for the banked trains and the banker. |
| 6P47 | 18.51 | 40140 | This was a northbound working from the Great Bridge direction. Class 40s were regular visitors to Bescot at this time, but they
were less common at Wednesbury and those that did appear were more likely to have been routed via Princes End en-route to Wolverhampton
or Albion Oil Depot. However this one had come from the south, which would have been more noteworthy.
Checking elsewhere in the register revealed that 6P47 was the return working of 6G50. On this day 6G50 went south at 16.13, meaning the loco had been away from Wednesbury for 2½ hours. Other entries in the register show that this was about typical. We know from the headcode that this train couldn't have gone anywhere off the Midland Region as both the headcodes use internal LMR area codes - G for Birmingham Division and P for Preston or Nottingham Divisions. Therefore I'm fairly convinced this train ran to a destination in the Brierley Hill area. In late 1976 this diagram was generally producing 47s. However I also found several 40s, and one 45. The number of 40s tell us that in this case P meant Preston Division. At this point a light went on in my head. My boyhood memories include a train of pig-iron which ran from Workington to Pensnett. I suspect that 6G50/6P47 is the pig-iron train I'm remembering. Both were continuously-braked trains in an era when such trains were in the minority, and both trains ran at around the same time of day. Another dim memory I have of the pig-iron train is that it ran-round in Walsall rather than Bescot, approaching from Bushbury and using the Darlaston - Pleck chord to reach Walsall. The mix of Class 40s and 47s which worked this train in 1976 would be consistent with that routing, but the Peaks which appeared from time to time certainly wouldn't. So it may be that in late 1976 the operation of this train was different, and for the moment it remains a mystery. Somewhere I have a slightly grainy black-and-white print of the pig iron passing Wednesbury with a Peak on the front. If I can find it I'll make a scan. |
| 18.57-18.59 | 08356 | This entry in the register reads "GF NO 3 Released 18.57 Restored 18.59". Evidently Ground Frame 3 was released so that 08356 could do a shunt. 08356 was one of the Wednesbury pilots in the week commencing Monday 4th October. | |
| 8T25 | 19.04 | 25252 | This train had come from the Great Bridge direction. 25252 had gone south only 51 minutes earlier, which makes me think it might have been to Great Bridge. If not it couldn't have come from anywhere further south than Round Oak - and that would have required a quick turnaround. |
| 0T06 | 19.18-19.20 | 25039 | This is the banking engine. It had arrived from the Great Bridge direction to assist 8Z96 up the Princes End branch. 8Z96 set off at
19.21, and the banker was shown as passing Wednesbury box to assist it at 19.20.
Earlier in the afternoon the banker had assisted an 8Z19 special to Spring Vale up the Princes End branch. The register shows 8Z19 departing Wednesbury at 14.24, with a separate entry in the register for "T6" as a separate entry "In rear of 8Z19". Naturally the bell code for this second entry is 2-2 (engine assisting in rear of train). The banker arrived back at Wednesbury at 14.38, after which it departed towards Great Bridge at 14.41. |
| 8T57 | 19.32 | 25143 | This trip working had come from the Dudley direction, and was doubtless bound for Bescot. A check on the afternoon shift shows no entries for T57, and as you might expect it didn't return south given the lateness of the hour. We therefore have no clues as to where this train came from. |
| 0T06 | 19.40-19.41 | 25039 | The banker returns to Wednesbury after assisting 8Z96. It's next job is to assist 8M68 (as described above). |
| 4S50 | 19.46 | 47214 | The Dudley - Glasgow (Gushetfaulds) Freightliner heads north. This train was booked for an electric loco from Bescot to Glasgow. When the 87s were introduced in 1974 it was often one of these, but in later years it would get a pair of electrics (typically 86/87) working in multiple. Dudley Freightliner Terminal closed in 1986. |
| 0T06 | 19.58-20.00 | 25039 | The banker returns to Wednesbury after assisting 8M68. It then heads off south towards Great Bridge. |
| 0Z98 | 20.57 | 20128+20092 | The Class 20s off 8Z96 had come off the Princes End branch and were bound for Bescot. 0Z98 was the headcode used for unscheduled light
engines bound for Bescot, something that's still true in 2005.
Two interesting facts are worth reporting here. Firstly the signalman notes "White light at rear. Power box informed". As this is a northbound movement he's referring to Walsall PSB of course. At nine o'clock on an October evening it would have been dark so the rear light was significant. It should have been showing a red light of course. Secondly by complete chance these two locomotives were not only late survivors, but both were allocated to Bescot late in their lives. 20128 was owned by BRT (British Rail Telecoms) in the 1990s, and it was based at Bescot as late as Easter 1997. It was subsequently sold to DRS who refurbished it and re-numbered it to 20307. In 2005 this loco was still in active use with DRS, working nuclear flask trains out of Sellafield. It was built as D8050 circa 1959, and is therefore 46 years old in 2005. In Britain main-line diesel locomotives rarely survive anywhere near this long. 20092 was another late survivor, being active until late 1995. This one was owned by the British Rail Research Department in the mid 1990s, at which point it was also based at Bescot. Like 20128 it was sold to DRS, however this one didn't get refurbished, and instead ended up at MOD Longtown (Cumbria), where it was still stored at the time of writing. |
| 4S88 | 21.06 | 45020 | 4S88 was a Cardiff to Edinburgh Freightliner. It was routed this way because it called at Dudley for traffic. |
| 0Z98 | 21.30 | 20195+20142 | The locos off 8M68 return light-engine to Bescot via Princes End. Princes End signalbox wasn't open at night, and the box there closed as soon as these locos were out of section. The Wednesbury signalman sent train-out-of-section to Princes End at 21.30, and promptly received 7-5-5 (box closing) in return. |
| 0T69 | 21.36 | 25069 | Loco and brake-van into the Exchange Sidings, doubtless from Bescot. Interestingly the signalman noted that the van was being propelled. |
| 8T69 | 22.50 | 25069 | 25069 sets off towards Dudley. The signalman noted "1 side lamp out" against this train in the register. That'll be a
lamp on the brake-van of course.
My money would be on this being an engineer's trip. The lateness of the hour suggests as much, perhaps there was an overnight possession somewhere south? Eleven o'clock is the right sort of time to be setting out for such a jaunt. |
| 0E39 | 00.34 | 20004+20139 | Light-engines from Bescot to Wednesbury Exchange Sidings to work 8E39.
These were Toton based locos at the time, and my initial instinct was that this would be unusual for an Eastern Region destination. To check my hunch I looked at the other locos which worked 8E39 that same week. On the Monday night it was 20205+20059 (a Tinsley pair); on Wednesday night it was 37015 (Thornaby); on Thursday night it was 45001 (Holbeck); and on Friday night it was 20204+20131 (another Tinsley pair). So I was right, 8E39 normally had Eastern Region power. |
| 6G57 | 00.43 | 20006+20186 | A southbound train heading towards Dudley. These locos would return north two hours later, so they probably went no further than Round Oak or Brierley Hill. |
| 8E39 | 01.25 | 20139+20004 | This train started from Wednesbury, and the destination was Tinsley (Sheffield). |
| 8T60 | 01.59-02.32 | 25187 | Traffic was both attached and detached during the Wednesbury stop. This trip didn't show up again in the night shift, nor was there any sign of it early the next morning, so we've very little to go on here. |
| 0E88 | 02.36 | 46044 | A light engine, almost certainly from Bescot, bound for Wednesbury Exchange Sidings to work 8E88. |
| 4V73 | 02.44 | 45032 | This is the Edinburgh - Cardiff Freighliner, the southbound balance for 4S88. |
| 8V35 | 02.51 | 46047 | Was this a mixed freight to Gloucester or Severn Tunnel Jct? Maybe not given that 8V59 (below) was only a hour behind. |
| 6F10 | 02.53 | 20186+20006 | A northbound train, probably from Round Oak or Brierley Hill. The "F" headcode combined with a pair of Class 20s suggests a Leicester area destination, but beyond that there are no clues. |
| 8E88 | 03.30 | 46044 | This train started in Darlaston Sidings, and was bound for Scunthorpe.
So what sort of traction did this train normally get? A Class 46 sounds like it might be typical, but it's easy to forget exactly how much variety there was in 1976. Other locos which worked this train included 25037 in the early hours of Thursday 7th October. 25037 was transferred from Toton to Eastfield in late 1976 or early 1977, but must still have been at Toton at this stage. The next day it produced 31121 which was an Old Oak Common loco, and way off its patch here. Tuesday 26th October produced 37064, but it was the next day which provided the best find. This was 47270, a bona-fide Haymarket engine which was very rare in the West Midlands at this time. Thursday 28th produced 45016 (Holbeck), and on Saturday 30th it was 46040 (Gateshead). Later workings included 45002 (Holbeck) on Thursday 18th November, and on Tuesday 7th December it was 45117, a Toton electric-heat loco. This was also pretty rateable as 45/1s were uncommon in the Black Country at this time. Thursday 9th produced 25296 (Springs Branch) and the next day it was 25075 (Toton). As this little list demonstrates, almost anything could appear on 8E88 - but this was true of plenty of other trains in 1976. |
| 8V59 | 03.59 | 45053 | This was a mixed freight from Bescot to Gloucester. |
| 6Z95 | 04.32 | 37098 | A northbound fully-fitted special. A 6Z51 special went south at 06.53 the next morning, by which time the signalman who recorded loco numbers had booked off. 6Z51 may have been 37098 returning south, but it's only a guess. 37098 was allocated to Healey Mills (Wakefield) in 1976, which makes it less likely to be working an out-and-back diagram into the Midlands from the Western Region, but there's no sign of it coming south past Wednesbury earlier in the night. Perhaps 37098 continued north in the general direction of home, and 6Z51 is unconnected. It's difficult to say given the information available. |
| 4M51 | 04.38 | 47280 | This is the Glasgow - Dudley Freightliner, the balance for 4S50. |
| 0M51 | 05.16 | 47280 | The loco off 4M51 returns light engine from Dudley to Bescot.
It didn't hang about, taking just 37 minutes to get to Dudley, reverse the train into the terminal, unhook, and return to Wednesbury. On first glance that sounds fairly swift, particularly in the context of the 21st century railway in which shunting, propelling and coupling movements sometimes seem to take an age. However on the following day they managed it in 31 minutes, and on the morning of Saturday 9th they did it in 28 minutes. We may reasonably assume that the crew booked off on their return to Bescot. |
| 0T06 | 05.04 | 25267 | A replacement banking loco heads south from Bescot. This banker was based at Stourbridge Jct; there was another banking duty based at Bescot (which stabled at the south end of the Up Yard between duties). |
| 0T06 | 05.52 | 25039 | The previous banking loco returns to Bescot for servicing and/or fuel. Interesting that the loco was changed in this way, rather than the T06 crew taking the original loco to Bescot and collecting a fresh engine. It implies that an assisting loco was required at Stourbridge continuously. |
| Princes End box re-opened at 06.00. | |||
| Statistics for this shift...
Movements: There were 33 movements in 12 hours, which is just under 3 movements per hour on average. I've omitted 08356 from that count, as the loco was only shunting and didn't actually go anywhere. That's not bad for an evening/night turn, but it was somewhat inflated compared with a normal night. A couple of specials increased the count, as did the frequent appearance of the banking loco. 20 movements were freight trains, and the remaining 13 were light-engines. The longest interval between trains was the 94 minutes between 22.50 and 00.34. The evening portion of this shift produced 17 movements in four hours (18.00-22.00), and the overnight portion produced 16 movements in eight hours (22.00-06.00). Trips: Six different trip diagrams visited or passed through Wednesbury in this twelve hour period, although only the banker turned up more than once. The trip numbers involved were: T06 T20 T25 T57 T60 and T69. Locomotives: 25 different locomotives appeared, from 7 different classes. The distribution of those locos was: 8x20 7x25 1x37 1x40 3x45 2x46 and 3x47. In addition there was the Wednesbury pilot engine (08356). The number of locos is higher than normal due to the specials, and also because of the 20s. I wouldn't have been surprised by the seven 25s which appeared in this period, but four different pairs of 20s is a little unusual I think. |
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