Milk on the rails: Looking for photos of rail-served facilities - Page 2

mailbyrail · 31st December 2010, 15:54

Thanks for that, I always wondered why milk tanks were so distinctive
Unigate were the main customer, all loading and delivery points listed by Shannon were theirs, except Carmarthen - MMB, Marshfield - Cambrian Dairies, Morden S - Express Dairies
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
With a bit of free time over the holiday, I'm beginning to enjoy this topic.

I've tracked down a couple more locations available on the web:
Aerial view of Whitland in 1955
http://www.peoplescollection.co.uk/I...tland-creamery
View of Carmarthen in 1937
http://www.peoplescollection.co.uk/I...ry-in-carmarth
Ecton dairy on the Leek & Manifold in the 30's - click on 'Stations-Ecton'
http://www.kachuzyn.fsnet.co.uk/homepage.htm
and check out the video on the site of a newsreel film of the line as well

A good shot of a preserved SR milk tank on the Bluebell with a little bit of history of milk on the rails
http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bl...pics/4430.html

Also I've remembered there was a dairy at Egginton Jc on the NSR which was rail connected until the 60's (before I moved to Uttoxeter), must check picures in a NSR book I have access to, all I can find on the web is post-closure
http://www.old-dalby.com/mremains.htm

Whilst seeing what I could find on Egginton, I came across this useful history of the whole topic available at
http://www.igg.org.uk/gansg/12-linind/milk.htm
(I must read all the other subjects written up here as well)

72C · 1st January 2011, 10:46

What an opportunity for remenisecene. I worked for Unigate in the Seventies and Eighties and loaded many a rail tanker. A dirty task, for try as we did to keep the outsides clean, rail transport is grimy business. The insides were very well cleaned.

When I first started many factories, Sparkford ( now Haynes Publishing) St Erth, Chard, Lostwithiel, Torrington, Camarthen, Hemyock, Bason Bridge, Bailey Gate, Whitland and Semely were all dispatching milk to London. I remember Vauxhall being a regular destination.

The Milk Marketing Board bought and sold all milk and bottling was priority so vast amounts were sent daily to London to meet this need. I understand that in the Fiities and Sixties Penzance and Camborne had sidings that also railed milk that had been road tankered in. This created the dilemma which ultimately moved milk from rail to road. I remember a proposal to develop Semely ( West of England main line, between Gillingham and Salisbury) into a major road rail hub for Wincanton Transport. This never happened and instead the road based Aldermeads reload depot at Wincanton was built.

With the take over of Unigate processing by the MMB and the restructuring that followed many factories closed. Chard and Lostwithiel remain with sidings in tact and the MMB did have a small fleet of rail tanks in strategic reserve. I believe these have been since scrapped.

You Tube, I think, has film footage of the daily S & D service from Bason Bridge to Bailey Gate to pick up tanks and there is a video of the history of the Hemyock branch which has footage of the daily milk traffic.

I hope this helps. I'm sure this topic will raise many interesting threads. Happy Days???

mailbyrail · 1st January 2011, 20:38

Nearly the end of the free time over the holidays, but I used some of the time today going through the 1956 Handbook of Stations to come up with the following
Express Dairies
Acton, Appleby, Cricklewood, Frome, Horam, Leyburn, Pipe Gate, St Helier
Milk Marketing Board
Felin Fran, Pont Llanio, Egremont, Sturminster Newton
United Dairies
Yetminster, Bailey Gate, Ealing Bwy, Mitre Bridge, Wootton Bassett, Shepherds Bush, Welford, Carmarthen, Whitland, Calverley,
Wilts Utd
Buckingham, Hemyock, Nine Elms, Bason Bridge, Chard Junc, Uttoxeter
Nesmilk
Congleton, Carlisle, Ashbourne, Tutbury, Bow, Martock, Holt Junc
Scottish MMB
Dalry, Dalbeattie
CWS Dairies
Melksham, Wallingford, Llangadog
Dried Milk Products
Lostwithiel, Wincanton
Cow & Gate
Wincanton
Primrose Dairy
St Earth
Egginton Dairy
Egginton Junc
Midland Counties Dairy
Kirkewydd (Welshpool)
London Co-operative
West Ealing
Carnation Milk
Dumfries

In addition, the goods facility at Colfin only accepted milk in tanks and churns, but there was no indication of who was the customer. Other loading points would not have been private sidings, so no customers identified.

My interest comes only from being a country boy, growing up with the railway as part of my life from pre-school days, and seeing milk churns at the end of every farm track. Closest I got to milk during my own railway service was in Worksop where the CWS glassworks made the milk bottles with wagonloads of sand for the 'Sand hole'.

John Webb · 2nd January 2011, 15:06

Thanks for taking the trouble to prepare that list. I am aware there was a facility between Ilford and Seven Kings stations on the ex-Great Eastern main line; this does not appear on your list as far as I can see. Is this because it wasn't next to a station, or was it built after 1957?

Karhedron · 3rd January 2011, 20:17

Yes, thanks a lot for such a good list of facilities.

Further to earlier comments I have tried to ge in touch with some of these companies (or their successors) to enquire if they have historical records that I could research. Hopefully now that the holidays are drawing to a close I may get some responses. So far only Dairy Crest have responded with an outright "No".

Does anyone know where the records of the MMB might have gone? They had oversight of the whole industry but without a clear successor I am a bit stumped as to where to look for their records.

Peter Mugridge · 3rd January 2011, 20:35

Is it possible there might be at least something in the National Archives at Kew?

mailbyrail · 4th January 2011, 08:49

No sign of anything listed except Ilford Goods and Ley Street Sidings for coal and S to S traffic, nothing in the London rail atlas either. No goods facilities under Seven Kings. Wagons dealt with in public facilities with no private siding agreement wouldn't show up.

However I also came across a company I'd not heard of at Stratford - British Feeding Meals & Milk Products Co which may have been another to add to the list.

John Webb · 4th January 2011, 09:19

I've a WTT from 1970/71 which shows a milk train from the West London area running to this facility at Ilford most days. It's rather buried at the moment but I'll try and dig it up and see what further information it has.

72C · 4th January 2011, 19:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karhedron

Yes, thanks a lot for such a good list of facilities.

Further to earlier comments I have tried to ge in touch with some of these companies (or their successors) to enquire if they have historical records that I could research. Hopefully now that the holidays are drawing to a close I may get some responses. So far only Dairy Crest have responded with an outright "No".

Does anyone know where the records of the MMB might have gone? They had oversight of the whole industry but without a clear successor I am a bit stumped as to where to look for their records.

It might be worth making an enquiry to Surrey County Archive as I believe Thames Ditton is in Surrey and the MMB was based there. When the MMB was broken up and Dairy Crest, which in MMB days was the manufacturing arm, took over the business. Milk sales went to various co-ops such as Milk Link.

Dairy Crest also took over many of the Unigate plants. Unigate is now a very small organisation and trades under the name Uniq . When it was formed, in the sixties, it's head office was in Trowbridge so archive material may have gone to the county archive for Wiltshire

I hope this helps.

Karhedron · 4th January 2011, 19:57

There is a shot here of the Unigate depot at Ilford. It would appears to still be in use in 1978 judging by the tankers in residence.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12064036@N04/3497767650/

fsmr · 4th January 2011, 20:18

Express head office was Ruislip so you could try archives there
i am surpised Dairy Crest dont have any archives from Unigate but then again!!

If anyones doing Guiness Park Royal I have some pics of Unicorn when she was there working in the early 90s on the beer keg traffic when I was working there for Alfa Laval
Another one bit the dust!

http://www.igg.org.uk/gansg/12-linind/milk.htm
seems to have quite alot of info on milk

John Webb · 5th January 2011, 09:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karhedron

There is a shot here of the Unigate depot at Ilford. It would appears to still be in use in 1978 judging by the tankers in residence.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12064036@N04/3497767650/

Thanks for the picture link, Karhedron.

The Unigate depot was on the South side of the line; the coaches on the right are in the Ilford carriage sidings which lie between Ilford and Seven Kings stations. I worked at Plesseys, just north of the carriage sidings, in 1967 to 1969. I have to admit that despite passing it most days I just don't remember the Unigate depot at all!

merlodlliw · 7th January 2011, 08:17

There used to be a very large MMB site at Llandudno Junction, closed down about ten years ago, this used to have its own sidings only a short distance from Junction platforms.

mailbyrail · 18th January 2011, 21:24

Just dug out my copy of 'Through Limestone Hills' by Bill Hudson which contains the following reference to Rowsley.
The trackwork consisted of 5 sidings, one of which served the Express Dairy opened June 1933 on an adjacent site. It was agreed the the 4 remaining sidings be retained for loco coal for Rowsley & Buxton. At the same meeting the Chief Commercial Mgr recommended a 99 year lease be granted to the Express Dairy on approx 2538 sqr yds of land upon which the company had already erected a milk cooling depot, spray, pond condenser and filter plant. This seems a strange method of estate management and certainly an odd way to set up business but on being informed that in the 12 months to the end of May '34 the carriage value of milk forwarded from Rowsley was £16,886 the committee retrospectively granted the lease. Milk tanks were normally attached to the 5.18pm local to Derby for Cricklewood or the 10.15pm express freight to Brent. He includes a picture of the royal train in Rowsley station alongside 4 milk tanks in the siding.

The opening of Rowsley was the reason for the closure of Ecton dairy on the Leek & Manifold line.

Karhedron · 27th January 2011, 17:37

I have come across a few more pictures to share. The first is milk tankers being unloaded at Vauxhall.

Next we have the milk dock at West Ealing.

And then the Express Dairies facility at Morden. This is parhaps the most interesting as it shows a great view of the covered part of the sidings.

Last of all is some vintage footage from the S&D in the 1960s. It shows milk tanks being shunted at Bailey Gate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ch7c...eature=related

31st December 2010, 15:54	#16
mailbyrail Member Join Date: 23 Dec 2010 Posts: 17	Thanks for that, I always wondered why milk tanks were so distinctive Unigate were the main customer, all loading and delivery points listed by Shannon were theirs, except Carmarthen - MMB, Marshfield - Cambrian Dairies, Morden S - Express Dairies --- old post above --- --- new post below --- With a bit of free time over the holiday, I'm beginning to enjoy this topic. I've tracked down a couple more locations available on the web: Aerial view of Whitland in 1955 http://www.peoplescollection.co.uk/I...tland-creamery View of Carmarthen in 1937 http://www.peoplescollection.co.uk/I...ry-in-carmarth Ecton dairy on the Leek & Manifold in the 30's - click on 'Stations-Ecton' http://www.kachuzyn.fsnet.co.uk/homepage.htm and check out the video on the site of a newsreel film of the line as well A good shot of a preserved SR milk tank on the Bluebell with a little bit of history of milk on the rails http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bl...pics/4430.html Also I've remembered there was a dairy at Egginton Jc on the NSR which was rail connected until the 60's (before I moved to Uttoxeter), must check picures in a NSR book I have access to, all I can find on the web is post-closure http://www.old-dalby.com/mremains.htm Whilst seeing what I could find on Egginton, I came across this useful history of the whole topic available at http://www.igg.org.uk/gansg/12-linind/milk.htm (I must read all the other subjects written up here as well) Last edited by mailbyrail; 31st December 2010 at 15:54. Reason: Double post prevention system

2nd January 2011, 15:06	#19
John Webb Member Join Date: 5 Jun 2010 Location: St Albans Posts: 371	Thanks for taking the trouble to prepare that list. I am aware there was a facility between Ilford and Seven Kings stations on the ex-Great Eastern main line; this does not appear on your list as far as I can see. Is this because it wasn't next to a station, or was it built after 1957? __________________ John Webb (St Albans South Signal Box Trust Member)

4th January 2011, 09:19	#23
John Webb Member Join Date: 5 Jun 2010 Location: St Albans Posts: 371	I've a WTT from 1970/71 which shows a milk train from the West London area running to this facility at Ilford most days. It's rather buried at the moment but I'll try and dig it up and see what further information it has. __________________ John Webb (St Albans South Signal Box Trust Member)

4th January 2011, 20:18	#26
fsmr Member Join Date: 11 Feb 2009 Posts: 351	Express head office was Ruislip so you could try archives there i am surpised Dairy Crest dont have any archives from Unigate but then again!! If anyones doing Guiness Park Royal I have some pics of Unicorn when she was there working in the early 90s on the beer keg traffic when I was working there for Alfa Laval Another one bit the dust! http://www.igg.org.uk/gansg/12-linind/milk.htm seems to have quite alot of info on milk Last edited by fsmr; 4th January 2011 at 20:28. Reason: link added

1st January 2011, 10:46	#17
72C Member Join Date: 11 Jun 2010 Posts: 50	What an opportunity for remenisecene. I worked for Unigate in the Seventies and Eighties and loaded many a rail tanker. A dirty task, for try as we did to keep the outsides clean, rail transport is grimy business. The insides were very well cleaned. When I first started many factories, Sparkford ( now Haynes Publishing) St Erth, Chard, Lostwithiel, Torrington, Camarthen, Hemyock, Bason Bridge, Bailey Gate, Whitland and Semely were all dispatching milk to London. I remember Vauxhall being a regular destination. The Milk Marketing Board bought and sold all milk and bottling was priority so vast amounts were sent daily to London to meet this need. I understand that in the Fiities and Sixties Penzance and Camborne had sidings that also railed milk that had been road tankered in. This created the dilemma which ultimately moved milk from rail to road. I remember a proposal to develop Semely ( West of England main line, between Gillingham and Salisbury) into a major road rail hub for Wincanton Transport. This never happened and instead the road based Aldermeads reload depot at Wincanton was built. With the take over of Unigate processing by the MMB and the restructuring that followed many factories closed. Chard and Lostwithiel remain with sidings in tact and the MMB did have a small fleet of rail tanks in strategic reserve. I believe these have been since scrapped. You Tube, I think, has film footage of the daily S & D service from Bason Bridge to Bailey Gate to pick up tanks and there is a video of the history of the Hemyock branch which has footage of the daily milk traffic. I hope this helps. I'm sure this topic will raise many interesting threads. Happy Days???

1st January 2011, 20:38	#18
mailbyrail Member Join Date: 23 Dec 2010 Posts: 17	Nearly the end of the free time over the holidays, but I used some of the time today going through the 1956 Handbook of Stations to come up with the following Express Dairies Acton, Appleby, Cricklewood, Frome, Horam, Leyburn, Pipe Gate, St Helier Milk Marketing Board Felin Fran, Pont Llanio, Egremont, Sturminster Newton United Dairies Yetminster, Bailey Gate, Ealing Bwy, Mitre Bridge, Wootton Bassett, Shepherds Bush, Welford, Carmarthen, Whitland, Calverley, Wilts Utd Buckingham, Hemyock, Nine Elms, Bason Bridge, Chard Junc, Uttoxeter Nesmilk Congleton, Carlisle, Ashbourne, Tutbury, Bow, Martock, Holt Junc Scottish MMB Dalry, Dalbeattie CWS Dairies Melksham, Wallingford, Llangadog Dried Milk Products Lostwithiel, Wincanton Cow & Gate Wincanton Primrose Dairy St Earth Egginton Dairy Egginton Junc Midland Counties Dairy Kirkewydd (Welshpool) London Co-operative West Ealing Carnation Milk Dumfries In addition, the goods facility at Colfin only accepted milk in tanks and churns, but there was no indication of who was the customer. Other loading points would not have been private sidings, so no customers identified. My interest comes only from being a country boy, growing up with the railway as part of my life from pre-school days, and seeing milk churns at the end of every farm track. Closest I got to milk during my own railway service was in Worksop where the CWS glassworks made the milk bottles with wagonloads of sand for the 'Sand hole'.

3rd January 2011, 20:17	#20
Karhedron Member Join Date: 19 Dec 2010 Posts: 17	Yes, thanks a lot for such a good list of facilities. Further to earlier comments I have tried to ge in touch with some of these companies (or their successors) to enquire if they have historical records that I could research. Hopefully now that the holidays are drawing to a close I may get some responses. So far only Dairy Crest have responded with an outright "No". Does anyone know where the records of the MMB might have gone? They had oversight of the whole industry but without a clear successor I am a bit stumped as to where to look for their records.

3rd January 2011, 20:35	#21
Peter Mugridge Established Member Join Date: 8 Apr 2010 Location: Epsom Posts: 3,523	Is it possible there might be at least something in the National Archives at Kew?

4th January 2011, 08:49	#22
mailbyrail Member Join Date: 23 Dec 2010 Posts: 17	No sign of anything listed except Ilford Goods and Ley Street Sidings for coal and S to S traffic, nothing in the London rail atlas either. No goods facilities under Seven Kings. Wagons dealt with in public facilities with no private siding agreement wouldn't show up. However I also came across a company I'd not heard of at Stratford - British Feeding Meals & Milk Products Co which may have been another to add to the list.

4th January 2011, 19:57	#25
Karhedron Member Join Date: 19 Dec 2010 Posts: 17	There is a shot here of the Unigate depot at Ilford. It would appears to still be in use in 1978 judging by the tankers in residence. http://www.flickr.com/photos/12064036@N04/3497767650/

7th January 2011, 08:17	#28
merlodlliw Established Member Join Date: 8 Mar 2009 Location: Wrexham/ Denbighshire /Flintshire triangle Posts: 4,117	There used to be a very large MMB site at Llandudno Junction, closed down about ten years ago, this used to have its own sidings only a short distance from Junction platforms.

18th January 2011, 21:24	#29
mailbyrail Member Join Date: 23 Dec 2010 Posts: 17	Just dug out my copy of 'Through Limestone Hills' by Bill Hudson which contains the following reference to Rowsley. The trackwork consisted of 5 sidings, one of which served the Express Dairy opened June 1933 on an adjacent site. It was agreed the the 4 remaining sidings be retained for loco coal for Rowsley & Buxton. At the same meeting the Chief Commercial Mgr recommended a 99 year lease be granted to the Express Dairy on approx 2538 sqr yds of land upon which the company had already erected a milk cooling depot, spray, pond condenser and filter plant. This seems a strange method of estate management and certainly an odd way to set up business but on being informed that in the 12 months to the end of May '34 the carriage value of milk forwarded from Rowsley was £16,886 the committee retrospectively granted the lease. Milk tanks were normally attached to the 5.18pm local to Derby for Cricklewood or the 10.15pm express freight to Brent. He includes a picture of the royal train in Rowsley station alongside 4 milk tanks in the siding. The opening of Rowsley was the reason for the closure of Ecton dairy on the Leek & Manifold line.