Traffic Movements at Sedgeley Junction 1962-1963 (Part 16)

This is one of a series of posts describing traffic movements I observed whilst unofficially working Sedgeley Junction signal box.

As described in Part 1, you can find the passenger timings here and the freight timings here. The notes are intended to go with a copy of the Train Register Book which is missing so, forty seven years later, the meaning of some of the original notes is not very clear. The original notes appear in italics with minimal editing, sometimes followed by my recent comments attempting clarification. The numbers in brackets have been added to assist in locating entries.

Sedgeley Jn. Tuesday 4th June 1963

(1) The first Up Walsall comprises two 'Metro-Cammell' twins.
(2) We take on a light engine on the Up. It's the 'Parcels Engine', 46421, and we 'loose him in' (clear the Up Home only after bringing him 'under control'), expecting him to shunt across to go to Dudley Port High Level. But he steams straight past towards Dudley. Apparently he's not found his Guard yet!
(3) The steam-hauled Snow Hill passes on the down. Large Prairie 4140 is bunker-first on 3 W.R. corridor coaches with an older E.R. corridor coach on the rear.
(4) Having found his guard, 46421 goes tender-first to Dudley Port High Level.
(5) There's a second steam-hauled Snow Hill, this time with 4165 bunker-first. The load is four W.R. coaches, the last a brake-end.
(6) Then we have the 6.15(!) parcels on the down. [Presumably the exclamation mark is because he's late running]. We nearly bring him to a stand waiting for the road.The train is a 'BG', a short LMR bogie parcels vehicle and a 'GUV'.
(7) Dudleyport local, goes down. The driver is struggling to adjust the sun blind as he's heading straight into the morning sun.
(8) The Up 'Western' at 8.01 a.m. is formed of half a twin and a 3-car set.
(9) 8375 brings T39 up and Dudley takes him up the Loop. The train is 1 old mineral wagon loaded with coke, 2 Open wagons, 2 loaded 'BBE' bogie bolsters and a B.R. brake.
(10) The returning Dudleyport local on the Up appears to be a single unit attached to half a twin.
(11) T312 arrives with one empty Palethorpes van. [Arrives from Dudley Port High Level, I presume].Stanier 2-6-4T 42604 bunker-first goes down with one van and positions three vans on the loading dock - Blackpool, Crewe and Cardiff. He picks up the two brake vans from the previous Sunday 'Pig Special' and he's ready to leave at 8.45 a.m. but has to wait a while as T47 has been offered from Horsely Fields.
(12) Dudley takes T47 up the Main. Having cleared the Up Home for T47, we also let T312 draw up to the box on the Third Line. T47 has 8529 on a train which I counted as 20 Open wagons and 20 Tanks, with T39 banking. The telephoned report for T47 [which may or may not be more accurate] was "37 equal to 43, 20 for Round Oak and 17 tanks for Stourbridge.
(13) WR1 is a mixed train hauled by 8459 with an odd lamp iron. [I think this refers to 'Western' pattern lamp irons, allowing the use of 'Western' pattern lamps].
(14) The Up Walsall at 8.30 a.m. is a twin.
(15) The Up Walsall at 9.05 a.m. is a clean, new-looking twin.
(15) When T39 returns light engine on the down, he is stopped and, at Control's request, invited to clear Palethorpes. But the driver declines, until he's finished his booked work.

Traffic Movements at Sedgeley Junction 1962-1963 (Part 15)

This is one of a series of posts describing traffic movements I observed whilst unofficially working Sedgeley Junction signal box.

As described in Part 1, you can find the passenger timings here and the freight timings here. The notes are intended to go with a copy of the Train Register Book which is missing so, forty seven years later, the meaning of some of the original notes is not very clear. The original notes appear in italics with minimal editing, sometimes followed by my recent comments attempting clarification. The numbers in brackets have been added to assist in locating entries.

Sedgeley Jn. Monday 3rd Jun 1963 (Whitsun Bank Holiday)

(1) The Walsall Local has been strengthened to a Metropolitan-Cammell 3-car set.
(2) The first 'Special' from Snow Hill passes at 10.37 a.m. It's a 'Swindon' 3-car DMU with buffet facilities in the centre car and it's packed.
(3) The Up Walsall at 11.04 a.m. is a crowded 'Gloucester' 3-car set.
(4) The 'Western' on the Down is three single units coupled together!
(5) The Up Snow Hill at 11.16 is filled to capacity. Right behind is an express - 8680 hauling ten packed non-corridors heading for Stourport.
(6) Next, Dudleyport offers a special from Nuneaton which has travelled down the Stour. 'Standard' class 4MT 4-6-0 number 75018 rushes past with 8 corridor coaches.
(7) The 'Swindon' unit re-appears with another 'Special' from Snow Hill. We almost bring him to a stand before we can 'get the road' from Dudley East.
Once again, the whole train (including the 1st Class accommodation) is crowded.
(8) 2V90 on the Up is a special from Sutton Park. It's a crowded Metropolitan-Cammell 3-car set.
(9) Special 1X68 is reported 12 o'clock at Bloxwich. It's another crowded train for Stourport, made up of 8 non-corridors with 8733 in charge. We're told that Dudley has another 100 passengers waiting to join this train!
Alas, that was the end of my period of observation.