The Branch Line Society

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The Scunthorpe New Year Steel Tracker
Saturday 7th January 2017

Report by Terry Cotter

If you were lucky enough to have attended Ian Mortimer's remarkable AGM slide presentation in November, you would probably have either reminisced about brake van tours to obscure branch lines and industrial locations or else (like myself) wished that such things were still possible today. Well there is still one location which does allow this type of activity so any opportunity to participate needs to be swiftly grasped and 62 other members were obviously of the same opinion meaning the event was fully booked in 14 days!

On a cold and foggy morning, the party gathered on the AFRPS platform for a prompt 09.30 departure and the appeal of this visit was emphasised by the mix of people (young and old, male and female, low and high membership numbers, multiple or first visits and so on). Departure was slightly delayed due to a substitute loco being provided with better headlamps for the fog (which soon went anyway). This turned out to be Hunslet 0-6-0 '58', preserved but still actively used at the works, a most appropriate choice. The three brake vans were swiftly and evenly filled so off we headed, hopefully being able to take advantage of the reduced works activity following the Christmas holiday period.




Click on the map [right] to open a high-resolution scaleable version (pdf) of the route covered.


      


Our tour train at the AFRPS Depot during the lunch break.
[Kev Adlam]

This was my fourth BLS trip here but the first of mine to start by heading off in an anti-clockwise direction with the first port of call being the two blast furnace area approach lines near 'Anne' and 'Victoria' (all four of the furnaces being named after queens in case you didn't know), followed by the nearby siding and loop line after multiple reversals. In fact in the course of the day there were 79 such reversals (or 80 depending upon how you treat lunch stops!) so these will not be separately itemised! There is a marked up map of the tour route at the foot of this page (it benefits from magnification).



The blast furnace high line (with more activity than during previous tours).
[Andrew Murray]

The next locations were Caparo Merchant Bar Gate 15 by the Torpedo Repair bay and Gate 7 at the Bar Mill, very unusually venturing part way into the building at each. Leaving the former, the loop line was also covered by shunting some wagons out of the way giving a real working railway feel to things (which it is of course). Back to the Furnace area again but this time the right hand line to 'Victoria's' bottom (!) stopping short for obvious reasons - a hot metal suit would be mandatory to proceed further (she may not be amused but the bottom line is that it was new track!). More reversals put us on the unexpected outer track for the 'main line' run round to the Slab Yard area (I felt a crossover coming on…). The reason however became clear at the said crossover - the inner line was reduced to just ballast for a fair length undergoing maintenance, so one for another day.

The new loop by the Slab Yard was sadly occupied by wagons but the siding above (once part of the through route) was taken to the buffers, so the slight disappointment was soon forgotten. Shame those wagons were being loaded! The next section saw the Former Bloom and Billet Mill (BBM) thoroughly investigated with the usual transit through the building (which used to be the only time tours went inside a building I am informed). BBM1, BBM3 and BBM4 were taken to the entrance as was the unnumbered west side access with both BBM2 lines taken part way in. The real highlights though were BBM5 (right hand line), BBM6E and BBM6W inside right to the buffers. BBM6E seemed to be real undiscovered territory stretching down beyond the entrance to BBM1 and much further than the excellent map provided showed. All this within the first three hours of our 8-hour day here!



Scunthorpe Anchor Sidings during our 17 Jan 2017 brakevan railtour.
[Andrew Murray]

The lunch break would soon beckon but not until both Medium Section Mill 'C' entrances were taken to just inside, the nearby siding to the buffers, a run through Mills Exchange Siding 13 (some visible ex-Norwegian Di 8s creating a fair deal of interest), Siding 13 to the buffers and the un-named line to the right to just beyond the loop and back (both sides being covered of course). Now it was 13.00, so off to the AFRPS Shed via the inner line (thank you!) for the usual efficient and ample lunch stop in the buffet car, included in the price of the trip, with time for photos (how many times did Alan Sheppard have to carefully balance the headboard on '58'?) and a look around.



Mills Exchange Sidings, with a train of iron ore on the embankment behind arriving from Immingham on the Foreign Ore Branch.
The Class 66 will return with a different rake of unloaded wagons while the wagons are rotary tippled, the final such operation in the UK
[Andrew Murray]

The second half kicked off with traversal of the outer shed road as far as the wagon followed by a trip into the shed on road 2 as far as a wagon being worked on. Then it was off to the blast furnace area again to visit the top end to the right of 'Mary' and 'Bess' (so now you know all four queens. I could also educate you on what is carried in the different coloured pipes around the site if only I could remember…). A stop on 65 Road allowed 'top & tail' Di 8s to pass on the adjacent track and it was noted that there was also a pair behind us. Definitely a working railway!

Next was Steel Stockyard headshunt via siding D2. 'Anybody need D3?' asked the accommodating AFRPS train crew and at least five people did, so off came '58' to run back and return via that line as there was not quite enough room in the headshunt. Gravity allowed a few feet of unpowered mileage (yardage?) but having come to a stop there was an unexpected slight roll back in the opposite direction which will have pleased the directionality merchants. D3 duly completed (under power!) all three Redbourn sidings were picked off with C2 both ways. Trent Siding 5 and Anchor Exchange 11 (each in both directions and note that the AFRPS have to accept what the DBC controller allocates here) completed the northern elements of the tour. With light starting to fade it was time to head back South via Mills Exchange 12 where there was a pause. A single Di 8 was seen to start moving and heading towards the train but sadly attached to the wagons on Road 11 which were blocking our progress. Heading now for the final section by the BOS plant we took Welfare loop and then the New Loop by the Slab Yard (the earlier wagons, now loaded, had moved elsewhere thanks again!).



Pyrotechnics as a hot metal torpedo is cleared out while the tour passed by.
[Andrew Murray]

By now it was dark but that only made the moving hot metal (glow in the dark) torpedo trains look even more impressive and the heat as we passed was much appreciated if only briefly. Despite the lack of light, it was quite clear that something special was happening and we progressed right to the buffers at the elevated end of the BOS plant line, perhaps the biggest scratch of the day (other than for a few who had done it the week before…!). Alas, the tour totalling 34m 23ch was now over bar covering the loop and headshunt at the AFRPS platform we had started from eight hours earlier.

A big thank you to everybody involved in the planning, operating and catering on this fixture which certainly reached some parts that beers had never reached before! A substantial donation resulted to support the good work of the AFRPS. If you missed out, why not try one of the 4-hour AFRPS steam-hauled brake van tours at 11.00 from the AFRPS platform by donation on 28 Jan, 25 Feb, 25 Mar and 22 Apr. Advance booking is required brigg.tic@northlincs.gov.uk or 01652 657053.

For more pictures by Andrew Murray, visit https://flic.kr/p/QtQE5W (click on white arrow to follow the sequence).



Back at the AFRPS platform at the end of the tour.
[Andrew Murray]

Postscript: After the fixture a good number of members caught the 18.19 Northern 'local' service from Scunthorpe and, by special request, did the new Doncaster P0 to the buffer stops (thank you driver!).