Coal and Coaches at Masbrough Station - 5360/369+371+380

A chance finding by viewing various Flickr sites and finding the last regular coal working in the UK is about to come to an end, this last week looked like it was the end but since last Thursday it now appears there is to be one or two more before the _actual_ final day on Friday June 28th. It also looks as if there will be a commemoration of this event, 'The Last Coal to Power Station' move, there still being coal moves from Immingham via Scunthorpe to Earles Sidings, providing coal deliveries to the Castleton Cement Works; one, 6M83, ran on Monday 10th June, hauled by a DBS loco with 1600 tonnes of coal. As usual now for my picture material, an attempt is made to try and portray a short, or sometimes long, story relating to what is happening in the scene and these two sets of 3-part mosaics are no exception; the 'Window on the Past' series follows this tennet more extensively. On this day, Thursday, June 13, 1 week away from the longest day!, two interesting traction working were passing through the area within 15mins or so of each other, both taking the 'Old Road' south, the first to Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station and the second, to Burton-on-Trent, Wetmore Sidings; places which in themselves, spark interest.
At upper left passing along the platform 4 'goods' line, and today running about 20 mins late, at first putting it closer to the next arrival, but that turned out to be late too, is class 66, GBRf, 66781(was 66016), 'Darius Cheskin' running on the 6M61, Immingham H.I.T. to Ratcliffe Power Station with a rake of 24, full, HTA-E Coal Hoppers. The coal the UK requires, and that's not much anymore, now comes from abroad and passes through a handling terminal in Hull, the 'Humber (coal etc)Import Terminal'. The last coal train I photographed turned out to be ... this one over a year ago on March 7th, also here at Masbrough, see-
www.flickr.com/photos/vinc2020/52736355583/
with the same GBRf loco and a full coal train. A notable one almost 2 years before that, on 10th August, 2021 was a move along the S.Y.J.R. at Anston Wood, see-
www.flickr.com/photos/vinc2020/51374188004/
and part of the narrative from that time, '... G.B.R.f 66784 is on the continuing, for 1 more day, 6B70, Immingham H.I.T. to West Burton Power Station with a rake of full, 23 HTA Bogie Coal Hopper Wagons for stock-piling at West Burton...'. The plant ended generation on 31 March 2023. But better news followed, '...After it was first listed as a candidate in June 2021, on 3 October 2022, the site was announced as the planned location for the first nuclear fusion power plant to be built under the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) programme...'
It had been indicated that this was the last week coal-to-power station would run, the last move on the day following looked to have been cancelled, but ended up setting off over two hours late and in fact wasn't the last run, one has run today, June 17th. The actual end of this working is slated to be 28th June when a special service will run, with headboard, announcing the last coal train running in the UK, see-
www.itv.com/news/central/2024-06-04/i-bleed-ratcliffe-wha...
and-
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-68912006
It has to be mentioned however that a coal train does currently run in this area, relatively frequently and that is the, once a week, 6M83, operated by DBS on a Monday, taking about the same quantity of coal seen here, to Earles Sidings on the Hope Valley line, for onward transport to the Castleton Cement Works. This coal train sets off from Immingham at 05:09 on 6D39 with a load of 2200 tonnes and arrives in Scunthorpe T.C. at 06:55, though on this week's run it was 27 minutes late. From Scunthorpe, after unloading some of the coal there, it sets off once more, now with 1600 tonnes on the 6M63 at 06:48, though this week it was delayed by 52 minutes and arrived in the Hope Valley at 10:03, just 9 minutes late, the 45 minute wait in the Brightside Sidings, having not taken place; it is not likely this move will cease anytime soon...
To the left of the approaching coal train along the down passenger platform 2 line, is a T.P.E. unit, class 185, 185144 on the hourly Cleethorpes to Liverpool Lime St. service, this one, 1B71.
I the lower picture, 'Old' meets 'New' as a long rake of coal wagons passes the 1Mega-Watt Templeborough Biomass Power Station generating electricity for the local area, there is a further, similar, power station further along the Lower Don Valley near Tinsley Viaduct, at Blackburn Meadows, this one generating 30Mega-Watts of power..

Taken on: June 13, 2024

Tags:

Masbrough Station

Old Road

Great Britain Rail freight

GBRf

Class 66

66781(was 66016)

Darius Cheskin

6M61

Immingham H.I.T. to Ratcliffe Power Station

Humber Import Terminal

24, HTA-E Coal Hoppers

D.B.S.

D.B. Schenker Cargo

66107

5Z45

Knottingley T.M.D. to Burton O.T. Wetmore Sidings

E.C.S.

Empty Coaching Stock

M9525

M35469

(Anglia)3336

Radio Survey Coach

M6054

E6158

T.P.E.

Transpennine Express

Class 185

185144

1B71

Cleethorpes to Liverpool Lime St.

Cross Country Trains

Class 220

Voyager

220033

1V52

Edinburgh to Plymouth

Signal S0423

Signal S0425

Signal S0415

Signal S0421

Signal S0406

Templeborough Biomass

Holmes West Sidings

Midland Iron Works

Masbrough Goods Loop

Masbrough Station South Junction

Coronation Bridge

St. Johns (C. of E.) Church

Trinity Methodist Church

Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station « less

Sets appears in: • Masbrough

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