Ebbw Junction depot:

[alcazar]

I onlky went once, and, as it was getting dark, was more interested in getting pics of 1200 "Falcon".

 

I SEEM to remember a 2-road fuelling shed, with a SINGLE road repair shed set at an angle, but can't find confirmation.

Anyone help?

[The Stationmaster]

I've an idea that the single road shed wasn't used for locos (except possibly 350s/08s) - but it is a few months over 36 years since I was based there

[Mallard60022]

I onlky went once, and, as it was getting dark, was more interested in getting pics of 1200 "Falcon".

 

I SEEM to remember a 2-road fuelling shed, with a SINGLE road repair shed set at an angle, but can't find confirmation.

Anyone help?

 

I'm old enough to remember the new Ebbw Junct'n Diesel Depot being built!

I only went there once as well and it was quite a small shed. I'm sure light repairs were carried out there but I believe loco's even went to Laira for wheel turning? Canton was just down the road and I'm sure that depot did the heavy repairs or maybe Swansea? However, I'm not really a diesel man!

36E (ex 83D)

['CHARD]

Visited EJ a number of times, an essential stop-off when touring South Wales, pretty sure we were never denied access either. My recollection is of the two-road fuelling-point/ shed with associated equipment and materials to carry out fuel-point levels of exam and running repairs. However, there was a substantial allocation to the depot, in 1974 this comprised:

 

08029/118/22/35/363/478/9/81/7/582/7/95/639/47/52/4/7/804/22/34/42-4/6/8/53/6/9/94/932/40/52, 25029-32/159-66 and 1200

 

So maybe there was more to EJ than met the eye, or did Landore carry out the heavier end of the workload?

[The Stationmaster]

Visited EJ a number of times, an essential stop-off when touring South Wales, pretty sure we were never denied access either. My recollection is of the two-road fuelling-point/ shed with associated equipment and materials to carry out fuel-point levels of exam and running repairs. However, there was a substantial allocation to the depot, in 1974 this comprised:

 

08029/118/22/35/363/478/9/81/7/582/7/95/639/47/52/4/7/804/22/34/42-4/6/8/53/6/9/94/932/40/52, 25029-32/159-66 and 1200

 

So maybe there was more to EJ than met the eye, or did Landore carry out the heavier end of the workload?

 

Ebbw was effectively a sub-shed of Canton in terms of loco maintenance so any 'big' exams were normally done at Canton.

 

The two road shed was basically fuel and inspection although it was definitely used for A Exams and probably brake blocking (most locos working up the Valleys having a healthy appetite for blocks, when the EE Type 3s/Class 37s were on the C92 Cwmbargoed trip - from Radyr - for a week that meant a new set of blocks at the weekend!).

[br2975]

In 1981, the Bristol Bath Road Cl.03 duty ended and 03382 was transferred to Landore for use on the Burry Port & Gwendreath Valley branch.

.

Before taking up these duties the cab needed to be reduced in height, which entailed removing all the glass in the windows, then cutting around the cab supports, and reducing them all in height, including the doors before refitting the upper portion of the cab (welded) and refitting the now smaller windows. This work was carried out at Ebbw Junction.

.

In addition several private owner shunters were repaired at Ebbw Junction, including a Planet 4w loco from the quarry at Machen which required attention to its transmission.

.

Not quite the sort of work one would expect to be carried out at a 'refuelling point'

.

Brian R

[Fat Controller]

In 1981, the Bristol Bath Road Cl.03 duty ended and 03382 was transferred to Landore for use on the Burry Port & Gwendreath Valley branch.

.

Before taking up these duties the cab needed to be reduced in height, which entailed removing all the glass in the windows, then cutting around the cab supports, and reducing them all in height, including the doors before refitting the upper portion of the cab (welded) and refitting the now smaller windows. This work was carried out at Ebbw Junction.

.

In addition several private owner shunters were repaired at Ebbw Junction, including a Planet 4w loco from the quarry at Machen which required attention to its transmission.

.

Not quite the sort of work one would expect to be carried out at a 'refuelling point'

.

Brian R

Wasn't the 'repair shed' mainly used to service on-track plant? There certainly always seemed to be some around there when I passed in the 1970s.

[The Stationmaster]

Wasn't the 'repair shed' mainly used to service on-track plant? There certainly always seemed to be some around there when I passed in the 1970s.

 

That's more or less what I remember of it from my time there in 1974 although as I said above it might also have occasionally been used for 350s/08s.

['CHARD]

 

Before taking up these duties the cab needed to be reduced in height, which entailed removing all the glass in the windows, then cutting around the cab supports, and reducing them all in height, including the doors before refitting the upper portion of the cab (welded) and refitting the now smaller windows.

 

 

I thought this thread was about Ebbw Jct shed, not the Heljan Class 86

[alcazar]

Thanks to everyone. It appears my memory is serving me well, and there WAS a repair shed, albeit not for main line locos.

[AlexFord]

Despite many journeys from Weston to my Grandmother's in West Wales in the 70s and 80s I don't remember Ebbw Junction Depot at all - however according to Colin J Marsden's BR Motive Power Depots Western Region, the depot had two 2-road sheds, as per these photos:

 

http://rail-photos.fotopic.net/p13619763.html

http://rail-photos.fotopic.net/p13619752.html

http://philbidwell.photoblog.org.uk/p57885815.html

 

In Marsden's book the shed furthest from the main line is described as the maintenance shed, the closer one being the servicing shed (the bushes are nicely lined up where the track was):

 

Here's a photo of my N gauge interpretation of the East end of the depot:

 

 

Alex