Trains on the Bridgend Ford Branch

[adamt958]

Firstly new to the forum so Hello to everyone

Just wondering as i was down on the branch line foot crossings the other day taking photos and I have lived in Bridgend all my life (19 years) and never ever seen the ford plant branch line being used and would love to photograph a train using the line.

Also I have heard that the police need to be in attendance for the train to be able to cross the A48 level crossing by the ford plant entrance If its that much of an issue why don't they make the crossing a barrier crossing?.

Also

Does anyone what times/days the trains usually run?


And the class of the trains, I'm assuming 66 but perhaps a class 60?

The only photo I can find of the crossing is this
http://www.flickr.com/photos/robdaniels/8145119015/sizes/h/in/set-72157631903388341/


Thanks
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Also unsure if this is in the wrong section, if it is, would one of the mods please relocate it. Thank you
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I have managed to find a video on YouTube which includes footage of a class 37 using the branch in 2000

When it leaves the train is bouncing around and travelling a considerable speed for the line http://youtu.be/yJ4KtQuL6Ks

 

[High Dyke]

Seems to be subject to short notice alteration, but the WTT schedule is:

 Wttid    Origin        Destination   Typ Days
 6B30 ALEXDK JN 03:49 BRIDGNDFS 05:46 WTT MX  
 6B31 BRIDGNDFS 06:30 ALEXDK JN 08:39 WTT MSX

Can't help you about traction though.

 

[Freightmaster]

99% of the time it's a DB class 66 - times are as per High Dyke's post above,
which explains why you have never seen it!!

At least at this time oft he year it's daylight at that time of the morning...

MARK

 

[krus_aragon]

Other than industry sources (which I think High Dyke used above) there are three main places to find our timetable information for freight trains. The first (and longest running) is Freightmaster, a subscription service which gives updated timetables of freight services nationwide (as well as just Ford in Bridgend). The owner has an account on these forums and will be able to give you more details about that. (I've never been a subscriber, but a lot of people on here are.)

With recent 'open data' initiatives there are two other sources of information. There's the Working Timetable which is available on the Network Rail Website, which is a bit daunting to navigate, and doesn't include any short term changes or updates. Then there's Realtime Trains, which, in advanced mode, will list freight services as well as passenger services passing a given station. Bear in mind that these will show you paths that are booked for freight, but that's not a guarantee that a freight train will run on a particular day (unless it's already started it's journey, in which case RTT will be able to tell you). Some services can also run several hours early as well. For that sort of information you'll need the local knowledge of Freightmaster or someone local who's 'in the know'.

It seems that the only way you'll be able to see the train yourself is to get up quite early in the morning, as it's timetabled to come and go around six o'clock in the morning. At least it's summer, and you'll be able to see at that hour of the morning! If you're up early enough you can check this page on Realtime Trains from ~4am onwards to see if the service is actually running. So to take today as an example, it did run today, arrived at Ford 15 minutes early, and then left again 20 minutes early.

As for the type of locomotive you'll find at the front, neither the WTT or RTT can help you there. I don't know if Freightmaster is likely to be able to tell you, or if you'll need to ask a local driver or have a look yourself.
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... speak of the Devil, there he is posting above me as I type!

 

[adamt958]

Thank you everyone! I finish college in 2 weeks so after that some early mornings are in order it looks like!
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The only other question is if anyone has Any idea why the police need to be present for the level crossing?

I always thought I too be strange

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Opened in 1979 and seen as a very positive thing - the services back in my days were a Dagenham - Bridgend and a Halewood - Bridgend, swopping portions at East Usk (giving options for serving Swansea Fords (Burrows Sidings) - which had traffic for both places also.

As a note - Swansea had a daily Ford Freightllner service with traffic to and from Genk in Belgium shipped via the Sea Freightliner 2 (in the early 1980') - this traffic could be quite heavy with a fully loaded 20 car set not unknown.

 

[anthony263]

Thank you everyone! I finish college in 2 weeks so after that some early mornings are in order it looks like!
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The only other question is if anyone has Any idea why the police need to be present for the level crossing?

I always thought I too be strange

The crossing doesnt have any barriers and is across a duel carriageway which although th speed limit is only 40mph I can tell you since I regulary drive over that stretch of road that cars tend to drive faster.

No doubt the police are there in case there are some idiots who decide to try and ignore the lights, the police headquarters is to far down the road towards Tesco so it isnt too far for them to drive.

I have driven over the crossing heading towards Cardiff a little after 06:15 and have seen the train after it has cleared the crossing.
Loco's tend to be class 66's although I have seen the train at Bridgend station top and tailed by a 60 and 66 before it revered onto the Vale of glamorgan line.

 

[Freightmaster]

If anyone is interested in seeing this train, it is running at a more sociable time
this week due to engineering work. This morning's trains ran as follows...

- 6B30: http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/H11602/2013/07/03/advanced

- 6B31: http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/H11605/2013/07/03/advanced


MARK