Industrials - Bucks to Bristol

23 & 25 August 1982

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I had been staying in Reading, and made the journey across to a friend's near Bristol, so I took the opportunity to visit one or two industrial sites on the way.

Starter for the day was the Buckinghamshire works of Marlow Sand and Gravel, home to a small fleet of Motor-Rail "Simplex" 2'0" gauge diesels. In operation on this occasion were no 3 (MR5867 of 1934) and no 5 (MR21283 of 1965), taking turns to work between the excavator on the edge of the water-filled pit and the tipper. Sadly, this line ceased operation shortly after my visit.

Next port of call was the Oxfordshire site of Alan Keef Ltd, the well-known builder and renovator of narrow gauge equipment. Many locomotives were present, of a wide variety of gauges and types - illustrated are a sample - "Sue", a 2'0" gauge Ruston (RH476106 of 1964) and "Dinmor", a 3'0" gauge Fowler dating from 1947 (JF3900011). Alan Keef moved his business a year or two later to Lea Line in the Forest of Dean; annual open days are held, takings going to local charity.

I drove on to Wiltshire, heading for Kingston Minerals Ltd at Corsham. Here, stone was mined for building purposes, and a fleet of three locomotives was in use - a battery electric underground and a pair of Rustons on the surface. There was no activity on the 2'6" gauge railway at the time of my visit, though a worker kindly started up the illustrated loco, which stood coupled to a flat wagon carrying several large blocks of the honey-coloured stone.

After an excellent day walking on the Mendips with my friend, I headed for the quarries which are (very slowly) causing them to be removed..... I aimed first of all for the ARC Whatley quarry, where a fleet of four Thomas Hill 4w diesels were in use. The locos illustrated are nos. 1 and 3, TH133c of 1963 and 152v of 1965. The "c" in the former locomotive's works number signifies that it is a rebuild of a Sentinel steam loco. This quarry is still in use, though three of the THs have been replaced by ex-BR 08s.

Moving on, I took position on the main road overbridge at Foster Yeoman's Merehead Quarry, and was able to photograph their General Motors diesel "Western Yeoman II", just two years old at the time of my visit. The site became much better known a few years later when the main-line GMs, the class 59s, arrived.

My main objective on this occasion lay a few miles further to the south, the Fisons' peat lines on the Somerset levels at Shapwick Heath. I spent a very happy hour or so here, photographing operations between the moss and the wagon tippler, and taking a trip with the train. On our way out, a wagon became derailed - the picture shows the rerailing method employed (I'm not sure how a full wagon would be dealt with - perhaps the extra weight would keep it more firmly on the tracks!).

The site was home, at the time, to twelve locos, 11 Listers / Lister Blackstones, and one "home made" locomotive (which looked suspiciously like a Lister engine in a home-made chassis). Only one loco was in use, no 7 (L42494 of 1956) - and, sadly, this site ceased to use its railway shortly after my visit.

On leaving the peat lines I headed north, crossing the Avon and making for Avonmouth. All I could find working there was No 7, Sentinel 10023 of 1960 at Commonwealth Smelting Ltd, managing to grab a snap as it worked past with a short train. Finally I called at the Filton Coal Concentration Depot of Western Fuels Ltd, home to an unusual Baguley 0-4-0 diesel. (Bg 3410 of 1955). And that was it - two excellent days.

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