Ministry of Defence rail terminals

[MikePJ]

Hi,

I'm planning a model railway layout of a present-day (well - last twenty years or so, anyway) military rail terminal. I'm aware of a few of them, but wondered if there were any others that I'd missed - either open now or that have closed since 2000.

The ones I know about are:

- Marchwood military port
- Ludgershall (tank unloading for Salisbury plain)
- Redmire (tank unloading for Catterick)
- Bicester

Any more? Details of types of locomotives and wagons typically used would also be really helpful. I know about the MoD's VGA vans, "Warwells" and "Warflats" - any others that are relevant in this time-frame? Thanks!

 

[BanburyBlue]

What about Kineton?

 

[MikePJ]

Thanks! Gosh, Kineton is huge... lots of lines and loops going out into the countryside for all those explosives dumps.

 

[swt_passenger]

What about Kineton?

Suppose it depends if the original question is specifically about getting armoured vehicles on and off flat wagons? Rail connected MoD depots would be a much longer list...

 

[MikePJ]

@swt_passenger: I'm interested in any kind of traffic, not just vehicles on flat wagons.

 

[IslandDweller]

Glen Douglas, on the west Highland line.

 

[Highlandspring]

Most MOD stores and 'other' traffic these days is moved in standard 20ft containers on flat wagons. Plain coloured ex deep sea boxes are used with hazard placards as appropriate. Commodities that require barrier wagons will have either OBA or VGA wagons in the train as well as flats. GBRf haul the stores traffic and DB Cargo move the interesting stuff.

 

[3973EXL]

Wagon Types post 2000

FAA FCA FYA - EWS/DB container wagons
KFA - Tiphook container wagon
PFA - MoD 2 axle container wagon
VBA VGA VKA - EWS/DB vans
OCA - EWS/DB open
KFA KWA - MoD Warflat/Warwell

Locations - not all are MoD depots, some NR or Private sidings.

Marchwood Military Port - all the above wagons + internal fleet.
Wool - siding with concrete ramp. Vehicles to/from Bovington/Lulworth.
Ludgershall - Salisbury Plain East Garrisons & exercise areas. Fixed vehicle ramps + other traffic.
Warminster - Salisbury Plain West " ".
Bicester - MoD stores.
Kineton BAD.
Ashchurch - Vehicle depot.
Caerwent - on the way out.
Pembroke Dock - ramp wagon for vehicles to/from Castlemartin.
Haverfordwest - replaced Pembroke.
Ernesettle - vans.
Shoeburyness - vans.
East Dereham MNR - vehicles.
Redmire - vehicles Catterick.
Longtown - munitions depot.
Eastriggs - " ".
Glen Douglas - " ".

Other locations have been used on odd occasions, such as Montrose Cwmbargoed.
Donnington - new freight terminal did do some traffic for the adjacent depot.

 

[MikePJ]

Thanks everyone! There were indeed a lot more than I thought.

If anyone's interested - the model is to be based on Longmoor, as I grew up in Liss. The scenario assumes that David Shepherd and his colleagues succeeded in establishing a heritage railway centre on the Liss-Liss Forest section of the LMR after the MoD closed it (whereas in reality the trackbed was bought by a consortium of wealthy locals at auction in order to get rid of Shepherd and his "messy, smelly old trains") - and that the MoD later reopened a short section of line beyond Liss Forest Road to serve the training area at Longmoor, with a small, modern railhead at Weaver's Down, just south-east of the camp, and before the trackbed is severed by the A3 Petersfield and Liphook bypass. So the fact that there are two preserved railways that have carried out MoD rail operations is very helpful to the "believability". I want to look at the other depots to get a feel for layout, building style, "yard clutter" and so on, which I can do partly from Google Maps and people's photos and videos.