2. Warcop - I understand military trains ran here. I've never actually seen a military train in the flesh so, what was typically conveyed and on what vehicles (both in general terms and to Warcop specifically)? Where did these trains originate and how regularly did they run? When did this flow dry up?
Freight Only Volume 1: Northern England (Michael Rhodes & Paul Shannon) written in 1987 has a list of Carlisle trip freight from that era. In that list there is a 6T57 08:55 ThO Carlisle Kingmoor to Appleby and Warcop for MoD traffic (additional special workings, a common feature of MoD traffic, may also have run occasionally).
The Carlisle to Warcop trips in the final years are illustrated nicely in these two shots:
26029 with four vans in 1983:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/actonwellsjunction/27130357617/ (Ivan Stewart Collection)
As pointed out in the comments, the former ferry vans at either end (VJX / RBX, former VIX) were used as barrier wagons for explosives / ammunition.
37136 in 1984, also with four vans:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/144388905@N03/50061875772/ (David Price)
I would guess that sort of formation (three VEAs and what appears to be a VDA) would most likely be general MoD stores.
In the caption to this shot of a 1989 Railtour at Warcop, Adrian Nicholls describes the Warcop branch as "
slated for imminent closure as freight traffic was at best sporadic." This fits in nicely with the information on the final working by Gloster in post #12.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/36034969@N08/52199815277/
3. Eastgate quarry - I understand this output cement that was conveyed in PCA wagons. However, does anyone know the frequency the line was used and any destinations the trains typically served?
Paul Shannon's
Rail Freight since 1968: Bulk Freight has a 1976 Eastgate train plan showing a twice-daily pattern of workings; a daily afternoon train to Heaton, a TThO morning train to Irvine and a MWO evening train to Sunderland South Dock .
This 1971 B&W shot of the Heaton block train at Newcastle, behind a split-headcode 37 with presflos, has a distinct mood to it:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/hoover29/30908219892/ (Dave Jolly)
And this shot of a 40 crossing
Derwenthaugh bridge with an Eastgate - Mossend cement working in 1983 is impressive:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/monkeysnapper/51170457403/ (Bill Watson)
Magdalia mentioned the final train and workings to Tees Yard.
Freight Only Volume 1 describes the workings from Eastgate in 1987 as two daily trains, 11:30 to Tees Yard and 18:30 to Tyne Yard:
Cement from the Weardale works is despatched daily to both Tyne and Tees yards, where individual wagons join the evening Speedlink departures to enable next-morning delivery at Blue Circle Cement terminals all over the north of England.
Paul Shannon's
Rail Freight since 1968: Bulk Freight gives a bit more context, explaining one reason why Eastgate cement used Speedlink:
Blue Circle ...used Speedlink to distribute small quantities of sulphite-resistant cement from Eastgate to various receiving terminals. From summer 1991 a stand-alone network had to be set up for that traffic: it was conveyed by an existing company train from Eastgate to Tees Yard, a new company train from Tees Yard to Earles Sidings (Hope), then by existing company trains from Earles Sidings to depots such as Widnes, Northenden and Handsworth.
1992 (post-Speedlink) workings for Eastgate traffic are shown as 6N04 13:45 to Tees Yard, with onward connections available to Newcastle [Heaton ???] / Bescot / Earles Sidings / Middlesbrough / Millerhill (for Scottish depots).
The daily Tees Yard to Eastgate trip seen in 1991 behind a pair of 37s in this shot by Michael Hart:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/151904976@N08/33504876048/
1991 view of the works sidings at Eastgate (with good info in the caption from Adrian Nicholls again):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/36034969@N08/33682440595/
Presflos in 1979 at the works for comparison:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/28083135@N06/49683975562/ (Kevin Lane)
For general historical shots of "
Ex NE routes in South West Durham and also the lines over Stainmore to Penrith & Tebay" I found this album on flickr which has over 600 images and looks worth delving into:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/albums/72157663860935107/
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Edit: This passage in
Rail Freight - Today (C.R. Anthony & B. Rogers, OPC 1989) has some good information on the workings and destinations served from Eastgate in the late 80s:
The Blue Circle works at Eastgate in the heart of Weardale were commissioned in 1965 and have a production capacity of about 750,000 tonnes a year. Intended to serve the north of England and parts of Scotland, the works are rail-connected by an extension of the Darlington to Bishop Auckland line. The cement is stored in large silos, from which it is fed into rail or road tankers. Sentinel shunters are used to form the two daily trains. The morning train departs for Tees Yard and the afternoon train for Tyne Yard. Both are quasi-trainload operations, conveying cement for Blue Circle depots at Heaton, Newcastle and Middlesbrough, and for Carlisle in the North West. The trains are split at the yards and forwarded on Speedlink to their destinations. Also included are wagons for attaching to Speedlink services conveying special cements to such destinations as Beeston, Handsworth, Bristol, Widnes, Northenden and Irving. The morning train usually has a payload of 1300 tonnes in 35 PCA wagons and the afternoon train 1100 tonnes. Both are hauled by class 37s. 265 PCA wagons are allocated to the Eastgate traffic and these are maintained on site by Powell Duffryn. Some 400,000 tonnes of cement are moved by rail each year from Eastgate.
Note: Irving is presumably a typo for Irvine, which had a Blue Circle cement terminal at the time (looking at a 1990 Baker Atlas). At Carlisle, there was a Blue Circle cement terminal at Upperby. Bristol had Blue Circle and Castle cement terminals close to Lawrence Hill, in the vicinity of the Barrow Road (Avonmouth binliner) branch which also served a Blue Circle cement terminal at Avonside Wharf. Middlesbrough Goods had a Castle Cement terminal (served by block train from Clitheroe), but there is a second cement terminal shown on the Baker Atlas there, for Blue Circle.
Newcastle had a Castle Cement terminal at Railway Street (on the Forth Banks stub of the route to Blaydon via Scotswood) in addition to the Blue Circle terminal at Heaton.
Rail Freight - Today describes the Railway Street terminal being served from Clitheroe:
Castle Cement at Clitheroe send a trainload of of cement in PCAs to either Middlesbrough or Newcastle Railway Street. The service operates as and when required but runs most weekdays in the summer months when the demand is greatest.
The Railway Street terminal is seen here with a class 40 in the snow in early 1985:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/85954524@N02/29728234218/
This 1992 photo taken at Tyne Yard shows 37214 with "Tunnel Cement" branded PCAs which have most likely come from Newcastle Railway Street (see comment under photo):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/138006632@N07/37083089965/ (Steve Porrett)
However... there are also three "depressed centre" PCAs on the back, which were mainly operated by Blue Circle. It's possible that both Railway Street and Heaton were served by a trip from Tyne Yard by this time.
If the trip ran from Tyne Yard > Newcastle Railway Street > Heaton > Tyne Yard, that would also explain the appearance of "Tunnel Cement" PCAs through Manors in this 1991 photo:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/39624434684/ (Ernie's Railway Archive)
Handsworth cement traffic is described in an interesting comment under this photo of the Handsworth Speedlink trip in 1990:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/lickeybanker/36751337090/in/photolist-XZAd7W (Don Gatehouse)
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