Ashburton Grove

[Hermit 109]

Just by way of balancing the last subject and for those who my be led to believe that Top Shed was full of glamour and prestige, who can remember the "Ashburton Flyer?"
When I started at Top Shed, part of my induction into the railway fraternity was to ride as 3rd man on the Ashburton goods. This was one of the rare "day" turns in the night goods link and involved preparing a loco (I can remember both Austerity's and V2's allocated) and running light to Ashburton Grove (now the site of the Emirates Stadium) and picking up a fully loaded train of domestic waste destined for the landfill site at Connington South. The road would be cleared as far as Finsbury Park No5 as it was quite a haul up to the station from a dead start and it was a great introduction to the steam engine footplate getting a heavy load on the move..
The train would take the goods road round the "Khyber Pass" and through the single bore tunnel at Wood Green, but strangely as far as King's Cross men were concerned, would be shunted across to the up yard on arrival at Welwyn Gdn City, where the loco would be screwed down and the crew would make their way back home on the cushions. I never did see any relief crew so I don't know what the forward working involved.
King's Cross had a regular shunting turn at Ashburton Grove, but I can't recall how many shifts were involved. I do remember it was very busy shifting wagons in and out of the "Vestry" where the wagons were loaded, and some of the surprising things that the shunters "rescued" from destruction. So as you can see, the long haul to the top links involved some pretty mundane work in and out of every nook & cranny in the London Area. Reading the various posts, for those of us who were lucky enough to be involved at different times in the long history of the LNER, I guess we can all reminisce about our particular era in that history.

[sandwhich]

Yes Ashburton Grove, remember it well, there was at one time a day then an afternoon shift shunting at the Grove then it went down to one shift, it also meant shunting in Highbury Vale and sometimes Clarence Yard sidings. As regards the rubbish trains also known as THE ASHBURTON GROVE PULLMAN, I remember as a fireman in training going with a Driver & Fireman on a B1 from the Grove to Welwyn and getting releived by a Hatfield Crew who took the train on to Ayot which branched off just north of Welwyn Garden City station. In much later days the train was worked entirely by a Hatfield crew with two Paxman Locos. This traffic ceased completely during the 1970s when a new plant was built nearby now on a new site just off the Caledonian Road.
I know it was another age but how these trains were allowed to run even then just sheeted down I do not know.

[Mickey]

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[JeffB]

At one time, Late 50s very early 60s, the Ashburton Pullman went to Cole Green on the Hertford - Welwyn GC line. I did work it once on that line. We went out via Welwyn GC and returned via Hertford, where you had to run round the train. Having just moved from Immingham it was all new to me, I did,nt even know the line existed.

[Hermit 109]

Thanks for the info, for the last 49 years I always thought the train continued to Connington Tip. Just shows, you're never too old to learn

[Coboman]

In much later days the train was worked entirely by a Hatfield crew with two Paxman Locos. This traffic ceased completely during the 1970s when a new plant was built nearby now on a new site just off the Caledonian Road.

D8200's?

[thesignalman]

I can remember both D82xx and D84xx types working the train.

I was nearly struck by a bottle that fell off the train as it lurched through Oakleigh Park on the Down Slow in the late sixties.

John

[Blink Bonny]

Ay up!

A binliner before the name was coined. Fascinating! I never knew about this either!

[strang steel]

There used to be a couple of photos of a pair of D8200s working a freight train on the ECML at the old Fotopic site, but since that vanished it is not so easy to find photographs.

A search for Ashburton Grove these days predictably brings up a million photos of the Emirates.

However, I did find this one

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31514768@N05/3509522409/

with a Baby Deltic, (not quite the service you were discussing I suspect) and another with a 9F in charge,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31514768@N05/3514435020/

Edited to say that I have found one of the ones I mentioned above

http://www.railwayherald.co.uk/imaging. ... age=129910

[Mickey]

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[hq1hitchin]

I can remember my first day at work and walking along the down platform at Welwyn G.C. to report to the Station Managers Office. What do I see (and smell) in the Luton platform but a train of rubbish outward bound for Blackbridge Sdgs, having been hauled from Ashburton Grove by a pair of Paxmans? Most of the wagons were unfitted Gresley 50 ton sulphate wagons. Like your first day at school, I've never forgotten it.

By the early 70s, Ashburton Grove used to receive wagons of 'Expanded Metal'. Not exactly sure what that was but can vividly remember the scrap merchants of the mid 70s, everything from liferafts ex Vanguard airliners to stillages of girlie mags for pulping.

[Mickey]

.

[StevieG]

In much later days the train was worked entirely by a Hatfield crew with two Paxman Locos. This traffic ceased completely during the 1970s when a new plant was built nearby now on a new site just off the Caledonian Road.

D8200's?

Hi Coboman,
In case you hadn't already worked it out from the later posts, the straight answer is 'Yes.'.

[manna]

G'Day Gents

Always an interesting place, to visit, shunted there on a number of occasions, but never had the privilege of working the 'Pullman' more's the pity, they finished the year I started, but I've always wondered why, the rubbish wasn't taken to Fletton, to fill up the old brick pits ??

Talking of the old brick pits are they still there or have they been filled in ??

manna

[strang steel]

From the signalling record society website,

http://www.s-r-s.org.uk/html/lner/E3.gif