Asbestos on the UK Railway

[KevinTurvey]

Asbestos use in general building work peaked around 1974 but declined rapidly from around 1985 as different types were gradually banned. I distantly recall an article on mark 2d coaches where BR was adamant asbestos was not to be used in the construction of the new coaches, this must have been around 1969/1970 so many years before it was banned elsewhere - I'll have to dig it out.

 

[6Gman]

Asbestos was used for boiler cladding - I imagine most preserved steam locos that haven't turned a wheel since preservation still contain asbestos.

Those of us old enough to have visited Barry Docks when Woodhams had the best part of 200 locos there will recall wads of asbestos blowing around the place!

 

[High Dyke]

Hi, welcome.

Railway buildings may have been constructed using asbestos containing materials.

Whilst costly, removal of these materials have been undertaken over the years. However, there are still many locations that retain such materials.

My local social club, a former British Rail Staff Association (BRSA) club has floor tiles with asbestos in. This was found during some renovation work. The building was originally built towards the end of WW2, and used as a canteen for the steam depot prior to its closure. At that point it became the BRSA club.

 

[McRhu]

I remember talking a a BT Policeman some years ago. He'd attended the aftermath of a class 303 head on collision in the 1970s to retrieve a body. He told me everything inside the wrecked carriage was covered in a "fine blue dust". I believe blue asbestos (which I understand to be the worst) was a major ingredient in the rolling stock of that era and I don't think it was ever completely removed from the 303/311s up until scrapping in the early 2000s. On a lighter note I remember our mandatory studio Health and Safety poster being proudly displayed on a chipped and crumbling asbestos fire door.

 

[snowball]

I worked at BREL and tradesmen were not in the NUR. I cannot remember the name of the union but it no longer exists. I think it became part of the GMB.

Could have been the Boilermakers then, as that's what the B is in GMB?

 

[Clarence Yard]

The works staff and many at M&EE depots were in the engineering craft unions, particularly the skilled (Cat 4) staff. The AUEW were big for fitters, the EEPTU for electricians and plumbers (their unions merged in 1968) and the Boilermakers for smiths and welders. They all negotiated with BR through the “Confed” (Confederation of Engineering Unions) as one body.

Blue Asbestos finished for new build in BR workshops part way through the early Mk 2 build in 1966, which is why when I was at the Oak dealing with condo vehicles I had to send some for scrap rather than sell them on. Brown wasn’t much used anyway (mill board in DMU’s being where we most encountered it) and white was used thereafter in very small quantities in new build, mainly in heaters, until the early 1980’s. Very few vehicles on the National network now contain any asbestos and that is mostly the very small quantity of white mentioned above.

Asbestos in buildings is a right menace for anyone trying to do work involving drilling or disturbing any panels. Asbestos is fine if it is left alone and in good condition and fortunately there is not that much of it (compared to yesteryear) left about. NR, as owner of much of the railway “estate”, has to keep a register of all buildings that still contain it and anyone who leases assets off them has to know it’s there. It is being steadily eradicated as buildings are refurbished or demolished.

 

[Rick1984]

I last used that bridge in late August and can confirm they were still there then so unless something has been done in the past couple of months they’ll still be there now.

Thanks. As it be a bit of a major job I'd imagine, it won't be gone anytime soon. OT But interesting when they extended that bridge they built extension in same "style". Obviously not with asbestos sheeting though

 

[greyman42]

I worked at BREL and tradesmen were not in the NUR. I cannot remember the name of the union but it no longer exists. I think it became part of the GMB.

It was the TGWU.

 

[Recessio]

The former station building at East Grinstead was a "CLASP" prefab building. It used to have regular inspections every few years, and one of them eventually found a whole load of unsafe condition asbestos that had somehow been missed, hence the station rebuild about ten years ago.

There's a lot of CLASP and similar buildings in the East of England (the public sector architects in the area seemed to love their asbestos and RAAC), but you get those sorts of prefabricated stations, and their asbestos, all over the country. Catford comes to mind too.

Further reading https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/CLASP_(British_Rail)

 

[JonathanH]

you get those sorts of prefabricated stations, and their asbestos, all over the country

A lot of them have gone in the last 10 years though - eg Wokingham, Fleet, Ashtead and others as noted in the Wikipedia article.

 

[Route115?]

Going off topic, there were various TUs when I was at Eastleigh Works in 1981. The pattern makers union (something like APAC) had a single member who spent a lot of his time at consultations, etc.

 

[AndyYorks]

Its still present in a number of railway buildings (walls, floors, ceiling etc) and track side cubicles (often the back boards). Its managed within Network Rail in their ARM database. Projects would check this prior to undertakings within such buildings. On some projects I have worked on, instead of removing it (where practically impossible), we sealed it in then placing appropriate signage on it then entered in the database so it can be managed. Its about managing it than removing it in many cases.

 

[Ploughman]

Has there been any reported cases of Asbestos related diseases, or studies amongst those who visited Barry Scrapyard in the 70's?
Either working on an engine for preservation or just to see the site for photo's.
I went there about 5 times between 1972 and 81 getting loco's out.
I remember, especially in 76, the dust particles drifting over the site and nobody masked up as unaware of the problem.