Car transporter activity at Exeter St Davids 1980s?

[bootneckbob]

Hello, I'm modelling ESD in the late 80s (87-88) and am trying to establish what used to go on with car transporters in the sidings in the stabling yard (TMD). I'm pretty sure there was a car loading ramp on at least one of the two sidings that I believe Silcock car transporters were stored on. I've got no pictures, but I've been researching ESD for the last decade and that's about all I've got on the car transporter front. It would be one of the last details to get right for the layout, but the TMD / Stabling yard was always going to be difficult as there wasn't much photography of it or access back then. 

 

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Rivercider]

There was regular car traffic on Cartic-4 sets from Halewood to Exeter St Davids on Speedlink services in the late 1980s and into the early 1990s.

The book 'Freight Only Volume 2 Southern and Central England by Rhodes and Shannon published 1988 lists the traffic as passing then.

Here is a later photo from Flickr from 1991

In February 1991 47446 is south of Yate with 6V91 Halewood to Exeter Riverside, photo by '82E'.

 

 

Ideally the vehicles arrived in Exeter the correct way round to be driven off bonnet first. If for any reason the set of 4 had got reversed en-route then a special move was sometimes arranged to take the set to Plymouth to turn on the Laira triangle, then return to Exeter to unload.

 

The empties often went north on 6C39 St Blazey to Severn Tunnel Junction, or 6B43 St Blazey to Gloucester.

 

 

Edit - I seached Flickr for Exeter cartic and this photo turned up

Local pilot 08953 in platform 4 with a loaded cartic set. Photo by Jason Rodhouse in 1988

 

cheers

 

 

Edited July 20 by Rivercider
Correction of way the cars faced, and photo added

[Rivercider]

After having another trawl through Flickr, this time using search term 'Exeter stabling 1988' etc I found these

 

 

 

A Cartic-4  set can be seen  on the right, photo by Jeremy Gould 17/7/88

 

Also this

Photo by Keith Miller 13/4/88

 

 

 

Here in 1990 a Cartic set hiding behind the right hand class 50

From Flickr by Wilbert B  27/10/90

 

cheers

[hmrspaul]

A number of Silcock's wagons stabled in Riverside https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/silcockcarticpja

 

Paul

[bootneckbob]

Thanks guys, that's really useful and confirms some of what I knew; that being the siding they used in the stabling yard. I think from old Google earth pics (now long gone) there was a loading ramp at the end of the siding (or both). These sidings seem to get used for the DMUs a lot too. 

I have these on the layout, although I'm not at the scenic part yet for the stabling yard. They won't take 4 car sets but I made them for 3 car DMUs. 

 

Anyway, thanks again. 

[Fat Controller]

1 hour ago, bootneckbob said:

Thanks guys, that's really useful and confirms some of what I knew; that being the siding they used in the stabling yard. I think from old Google earth pics (now long gone) there was a loading ramp at the end of the siding (or both). These sidings seem to get used for the DMUs a lot too. 

I have these on the layout, although I'm not at the scenic part yet for the stabling yard. They won't take 4 car sets but I made them for 3 car DMUs. 

 

Anyway, thanks again. 

I have one of those Railfreight Data Sheets for the Cartic-4, which suggested that 2 and 3 wagon sets were being considered, 

[Rivercider]

2 hours ago, bootneckbob said:

Thanks guys, that's really useful and confirms some of what I knew; that being the siding they used in the stabling yard. I think from old Google earth pics (now long gone) there was a loading ramp at the end of the siding (or both). These sidings seem to get used for the DMUs a lot too. 

I have these on the layout, although I'm not at the scenic part yet for the stabling yard. They won't take 4 car sets but I made them for 3 car DMUs. 

 

Anyway, thanks again. 

Premier Transport (a Bristol firm) had a depot at Exeter and handled the unloading of Guinness at St Davids, and also up at Exeter Central. Their road fleet was painted in a blue/light blue colour. I think that Premier Transport was the consignee shown on TOPS for the Cartics destined to Exeter. Is my memory playing tricks or did Premier Transport also own some car transporters?

 

 

This was the scene in Kingsland Road yard in Bristol where Premier Transport handled Guinness traffic from Park Royal, 20/9/83

 

cheers

 

[SED Freightman]

2 hours ago, Rivercider said:

Premier Transport (a Bristol firm) had a depot at Exeter and handled the unloading of Guinness at St Davids, and also up at Exeter Central. Their road fleet was painted in a blue/light blue colour. I think that Premier Transport was the consignee shown on TOPS for the Cartics destined to Exeter. Is my memory playing tricks or did Premier Transport also own some car transporters?

I'm pretty sure the consignee for the Ford traffic was Premier Transport, presumably they did have some road transporter lorries unless one of the usual Ford delivery agents (eg. Silcock's)  collected the vehicles from the depot at Exeter for distribution further West.  

[SED Freightman]

I have searched in vain for a photo of the ramps that were located across the ends of Sdg Nos.2 & 3, each of which could hold one Cartic set as shewn in the photos above and one found on the Kent Rail website at https://www.kentrail.org.uk/exeter_st_davids_7.htm  . A former colleague has confirmed that the traffic was consigned by Silcock & Collings (subsequently Silcocks and then Axial and possibly even later Ansa).  The ramp was owned by BR, later Railfreight Distribution, who were also responsible for an adjacent air compressor which had to be tested and certified annually.  Premier Transport were engaged by the forwarder (Silcock & Collings etc.) to unload and (presumably) deliver the Ford vehicles.

[keefer]

10 minutes ago, SED Freightman said:

 adjacent air compressor which had to be tested and certified annually

I take it that was for 'raising the roof' during (un)loading?

[SED Freightman]

13 minutes ago, keefer said:

I take it that was for 'raising the roof' during (un)loading?

The compressor would certainly have provided air for raising the Cartic wagon roofs once they had been fitted, but may also have been needed to operate the ramps depending upon their design.