GWR Railcar workings in Wales

[Rail-Online]

Hi,

 

I came across a 1955 pic of Port Talbot and in the distance was a one car GWR built AEC(?) unit.  I was not aware that these units worked branches in South Wales except for around the Monmouth area (borders really).

 

I know their diagrams were pretty complicated and some long distance (ie Bristol to Weymouth) but were there many diagrams that took them into Wales and if so was this just on the main line between Swansea and Cardiff or were there actually branches worked by them?

 

 

Cheers Tony

[Fat Controller]

Hi,

 

I came across a 1955 pic of Port Talbot and in the distance was a one car GWR built AEC(?) unit.  I was not aware that these units worked branches in South Wales except for around the Monmouth area (borders really).

 

I know their diagrams were pretty complicated and some long distance (ie Bristol to Weymouth) but were there many diagrams that took them into Wales and if so was this just on the main line between Swansea and Cardiff or were there actually branches worked by them?

 

 

Cheers Tony

Someone recently posted a photo of one on the 'Railways of South Wales Facebook group on the line between Llanelli and Carmarthen. They were used for a Swansea/Cardiff- Birmingham service, but were a victim of their own success, and had to be replaced by loco-hauled sets.

I have a vague suspicion that I've seen a photo of one on the Cowbridge branch, but can't remember where.

[Rail-Online]

Someone recently posted a photo of one on the 'Railways of South Wales Facebook group on the line between Llanelli and Carmarthen. They were used for a Swansea/Cardiff- Birmingham service, but were a victim of their own success, and had to be replaced by loco-hauled sets.

I have a vague suspicion that I've seen a photo of one on the Cowbridge branch, but can't remember where.

 

I think you are correct with the Birmingham trains but their 'success' was for a very short period soon after their introductionin the 1930s.

 

Tony

[Fat Controller]

I think you are correct with the Birmingham trains but their 'success' was for a very short period soon after their introductionin the 1930s.

 

Tony

Indeed; I wonder how much of the increased traffic was attributable to the modern units, and how much to the large-scale migration from South Wales to the West Midlands from the mid-1930s onwards?

[melmoth]

 

I have a vague suspicion that I've seen a photo of one on the Cowbridge branch, but can't remember where.

 

I think I've seen a photo as well. Possibly in "Heyday of the DMU" by Alan Butcher.

[88C]

There is a photo of no. 18 at Cowbridge in Colin Chapman's book The Cowbridge Railway. The picture is dated March 1951.

 

Brian

[The Johnster]

Cowbridge certainly, and possibly Penygraig.  Canton had a spare that was loaned out to sheds such as Llantrisant with auto locos out of service, and I remember this, very probably no.18, as a child on the Marshfield Flyer, the auto shuttle that did main line work between Cardiff and Newport.  I cannot recall it anywhere else, and would be interested in any confirmation of it's use at Tondu, another auto working centre, and it may have done some work on the Coryton branch.

 

Google images of Tondu station show a 1940s railcar in the platform, but this is on a railtour and not evidence of regular booked working.  I suspect the gradients were a bit much for them on most South Wales branches, though, even the lower geared ones.

[TheSignalEngineer]

The Michael Clemens Railways site has a lot of WR timetables which show the trains that were diesel worked. Cowbridge is definitely in there. The 1949 timetables are here http://www.michaelclemensrailways.co.uk/?atk=592

Sections 8 to 11 show everything West of Newport.

[chrisf]

It is probably not altogether helpful to say that railcar workings varied from issue to issue of the timetable. I offer below two snapshots in time.  The first is from the Newport District [section E] for summer 1956.

 

One car, based at Newport Ebbw Juction, was deployed on the Chepstow - Monmouth branch on weekdays.  Its work started at Newport at 7.5 am and finished there at 10.0 pm. On Sundays it ran empy to Cardiff General to form the 7.20 am to Pontypool Road via Cwmbran.   It left there for Cardiff Gen at 8.30 am and then formed the 10.10 am Cardiff - Cheltenham.  How it got from there to Gloucester I know not but its next trip was at 5.20 pm, ariving Newport at 6.38 pm.  In other timetables the Monmouth branch was worked by an auto train and prior to its closure the Pontypool Road - Monmouth line was sometimes railcar worked.

 

In the Swansea district book [section F] for winter 1955-56 we find a working for a car based at Landore.  6.10 am Swansea - Porthcawl, 8.35 am Porthcawl- Swansea, 9.25 am SX Swansea - Carmarthen, 11.0 am SX Carmarthen - Swansea, 5.57 pm Swansea - Port Talbot, 6.50pm Port Talbot - Carmarthen, 8.45 pm Carmarthen - Swansea.  This strikes me as not very productive! 

 

Chris 

[dibber25]

Someone recently posted a photo of one on the 'Railways of South Wales Facebook group on the line between Llanelli and Carmarthen. They were used for a Swansea/Cardiff- Birmingham service, but were a victim of their own success, and had to be replaced by loco-hauled sets.

I have a vague suspicion that I've seen a photo of one on the Cowbridge branch, but can't remember where.

 

There's photo of the Lambourn car (W18) on the Cowbridge branch that crops up from time to time. (CJL)