UP13
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A Hunslet Austerity did the Manchester Tram system a few years ago.
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Heritage Railways and Mainline Freight
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plarailfan
Member
Yes, that's the one. Many thanks UP13. I found the video of it now https://www.flickr.com/photos/hughesfowler/21566414798/in/datetaken/
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GCRN-Tuesday 20th August 2019. Middlesbrough to British Gypsum Hotchley Hill, still sees regular workings.
DSG shipped from Germany via 'Boro and Toton, sees GBRF 66742 "Port of Immingham" about to come off its train just north of HH box, then run round it to Rushcliffe Halt, before hauling it back to Loughborough Junction and onto the Midland main line.
An impressive telegraph pole survives along with the LNER built Hotchley Hill Box, out of use for 50 years, enjoying a new roof covering, saving it from further water ingress and dereliction.
DSG shipped from Germany via 'Boro and Toton, sees GBRF 66742 "Port of Immingham" about to come off its train just north of HH box, then run round it to Rushcliffe Halt, before hauling it back to Loughborough Junction and onto the Midland main line.
An impressive telegraph pole survives along with the LNER built Hotchley Hill Box, out of use for 50 years, enjoying a new roof covering, saving it from further water ingress and dereliction.
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Now there's a thought for a new thread? Surviving telegraph poles on the UK railway system!
bishdunster
Member
Might I suggest you take a look at the telegraph pole appreciation societies website !
Well that’s just taken at least an hour of my life up.
CockneySparrow
Member
NR sends one train to Dereham for servicing during winter
Greater Anglia have also used Dereham to transport trains by road
Steptoe
Member
The RHTT is serviced at Dereham; this is quite a regular run in the leaf fall 'season', in my recollection it was a weekly visit last year. I'm not sure who provides the actual train but the traction is DRS.
Alanko
Member
There used to be a few along the route of the Callander branch in Dunblane, down by the river. These survived into the early noughties (I think?) but Google Street View suggests they are all away now, sadly. They had those big white ceramic insulators on them, so were definitely of the era.
CockneySparrow
Member
The train is normally stored at Stowmarket
Steptoe
Member
The visit to Dereham is to the pit so it may be for maintenance work that can't be carried out from ground level at Stowmarket.
Mon 3rd February 2020. GBRf 66780 hauls the ex - Hotchley Hill empties from British Gypsum, through East Leake Station to the Midland Mainline at Loughborough Junction, heading onwards to Middlesbrough. The train is seen from Bridge 313, Woodgate Rd, East Leake, heading to Barnston Tunnel.
Apparently, DSG from Germany is now being stock piled at British Gypsum. Maybe getting it in while they can before potential Euro tariffs next year?
Apparently, DSG from Germany is now being stock piled at British Gypsum. Maybe getting it in while they can before potential Euro tariffs next year?
duffield
Established Member
OK, I've done my best searching for 'DSG' as a 'TLA' (Three letter abbreviation/acronym) but I've got nothing. I can guess various things but I'd like to know what it actually is.
Dunfanaghy Rd
Member
DSG. Desulphogypsum.
Product of treating coal-fired power station flue gas. It comes out as an off-white powder of fairly consistent grain size; unlike the natural product which varies from powder to crystals as big as my fist. The gypsum flow from Southampton Docks started as DSG imported from Italy or Spain. Under some EU scheme it was delivered to UK free, so British Gypsum couldn't go wrong, only paying for transport from Southampton. Some years later the DSG was replaced with natural.
Pat
Product of treating coal-fired power station flue gas. It comes out as an off-white powder of fairly consistent grain size; unlike the natural product which varies from powder to crystals as big as my fist. The gypsum flow from Southampton Docks started as DSG imported from Italy or Spain. Under some EU scheme it was delivered to UK free, so British Gypsum couldn't go wrong, only paying for transport from Southampton. Some years later the DSG was replaced with natural.
Pat
Quite right Duffield. Should have said FGD!
Jesting aside, synthetic gypsum, industrial gypsum, FGD (Flu Gas Desulphurised Gypsum) and DSG (Desulphurised Gypsum) are all names for gypsum that is manmade and not naturally found in mines. Synthetic gypsum typically is created when using scrubbers of lime in coal fired power plants to clean the smoke for sulphate.
Production of synthetic gypsum is already decreasing heavily as bio fuels and natural gas are replacing coal in many power plants. In 20 to 30 years synthetic gypsum will no longer be produced as fossil fuels will be phased out of use in the power plants.
It’s already gone from the UK for these purposes, Drax, Cottam, West Burton and other former coal burning power stations that supplied BG British Gypsum East Leake all gone. Now shipped in from Germany
However, there is plenty of natural gypsum in the extensive mines under Hotchley Hill to keep the plasterboard mills at this plant rolling for many years to come.
duffield
Established Member
Thanks for the comprehensive explanation.
Still produced at Ratcliffe-on-Soar?
Although there is a mountain of coal stacked between the power station and the A453, Ratcliffe seems to be very rarely fired these days. Possibly now strategic reserve for when the temperature plummets for more than a few days. Couple of pictures illustrate the difference over the last year.
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randyrippley
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Ironic really...........when the flue gas desulphurisation projects started everyone was worried about trapping the sulphates, but no-one bothered about how much carbon dioxide was released burning the stone to create the required lime.
Now we need to cut the atmospheric carbon, and people are realising that atmospheric sulphate actually reduces the effect of the carbon dioxide
duffield
Established Member
How longer does it take to fire up a coal power station? I seem to remember gas plants can be fired up almost immediately.
Steptoe
Member
It is good to report that after a gap of some years the MOD have again made use of the Mid-Norfolk Railway to transport some vehicles to Dereham (photo from Friends of the MNR facebook page)
Alan Warren
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- 22 Mar 2019
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Another photo of the MOD working today from Ludgershall to Swanton Morley - seen here at Crownthorpe on the MNR (photo courtesy of Laurence Neave, MNR Facebook page)
High Dyke
Established Member
Nene Valley Railway was used as a transfer point for large steel pipes, part of an infrastructure project. They were delivered by mainline loco, usually a Class 60, along the Fletton Branch before NVR loco's took them onto Yarwell Junction for offloading. I worked a few of these trains, when I was a volunteer there. Sometimes the 'mainline' loco worked the train through to Yarwell Junction, with a route conductor.
and Drax but only when operating on coal
probably when they were building the Lindsey to Buncefield oil pipeline
I think in the early days there was still connections to the British sugar works but don't know if there was any traffic
High Dyke
Established Member
Aye, that was probably it. Similar pipe traffic was also offloaded at Grantham.
We used to shunt the exchange sidings at the sugar plant until the traffic ceased in the early 80's.
Alan Warren
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A nice video of the recent MOD working on the Mid Norfolk -
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