Falmouth Freight Traffic

[euryalus]

Does anyone know what, if any freight traffic has been carried on the Falmouth branch in recent years. I know that, in the 1990s there were one or two freight workings, including loads of scrap from the dockyard and incoming loads of coal. There was also a limited amount of bulk traffic from Truro, notably calcified seaweed from Truro to Gobowen.

 

[richw]

The points into the docks was removed a few years back, and the line is tarmacced over In places within the docks.

The last regular freight was calcified seaweed which ended in the mid 90s. Dredging calcified seaweed is now banned off the Cornish coast so no chance of that returning,

The last freight service was an unsucceful EWS trial in 1997 using pfa wagons with coal containers.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

There was a very high level idea of turning Falmouth into a container port (de Savory ?) way back , which clearly came to nothing.

(even in the 1980's - too much competition from established ports - let alone distance from urban markets.

 

[Busaholic]

When the freight trains were operating there was only 1 tph passenger service - when it went to 2 tph during the day it would have put paid to spare paths anyway?

 

[cogload]

The last traffic out of the Docks was ironically loaded out of Truro Yard..contaminated chemicals from a Ship which got into trouble somewhere out of the Atlantic.

Full Noddy suits had to be worn...

The locking for the frame at Falmouth is still in; however the points have been removed. Unless the various rare earth/Tin/ other mineral ideas come to fruition I doubt there will be further traffic into the Docks.

 

[fgwrich]

The last traffic out of the Docks was ironically loaded out of Truro Yard..contaminated chemicals from a Ship which got into trouble somewhere out of the Atlantic.

Full Noddy suits had to be worn...

The locking for the frame at Falmouth is still in; however the points have been removed. Unless the various rare earth/Tin/ other mineral ideas come to fruition I doubt there will be further traffic into the Docks.

Chemicals used In the production of fertiliser.

http://m.cornwalllive.com/disused-r...lvaged-cargo/story-11482134-detail/story.html

 

[Ash Bridge]

The last traffic out of the Docks was ironically loaded out of Truro Yard..contaminated chemicals from a Ship which got into trouble somewhere out of the Atlantic.

Full Noddy suits had to be worn...

The locking for the frame at Falmouth is still in; however the points have been removed. Unless the various rare earth/Tin/ other mineral ideas come to fruition I doubt there will be further traffic into the Docks.

Is my memory serving me correct here by stating they actually employed one of the Greater Manchester Waste blue container flat wagon rakes with 66 haulage for this operation?

 

[rick pike]

Is my memory serving me correct here by stating they actually employed one of the Greater Manchester Waste blue container flat wagon rakes with 66 haulage for this operation?

I remember seeing a photo of an EWS enterprise train with 2-3 loaded binliner flats which according to the photographer notes was loaded with shot blast debris in the Manchester bin containers in the late 90s.
The ship that got into difficulty was that the one that was bound for Immingham but started taking on water? They loaded its cargo into MEA box wagons (they had to add hazchem stickers to each wagon) and ran it to Immingham?

 

[euryalus]

I thought the seaweed was loaded at Truro, rather than Falmouth? I seem to remember one inbound freight train carrying coal, and one outgoing working carrying scrap from shot-blasting in the dock yard. The latter ran on the night of 12 September 1996, the loaded train being so heavy that three locomotives were said to have been needed to get the train over the South Devon line. The destination was the Northenden waste disposal site.

 

[furnessvale]

There was a very high level idea of turning Falmouth into a container port (de Savory ?) way back , which clearly came to nothing.

(even in the 1980's - too much competition from established ports - let alone distance from urban markets.

Had the ships turned round after the UK call it may have been a goer.

However, as well as a UK call, most ships call in mainland Europe at ports such as Rotterdam meaning there was no advantage in the call at Falmouth.