NCB Film Unit - Merry Go Round Trains 1979

[@marionbloom1218]

What a great leap forwards this was in fuel handling. And it kept getting better under the commercial incentives of privatisation, with the introduction of 102 tonne bogie hoppers, class 60's and even higher travel speeds. But it's not all gone - we still move up to 12 million tonnes a year of biomass pellets this way, to Lynemouth and Drax and the new loading, discharge and handling systems are another fantastic step forwards again, in cleanliness, safety and working conditions. I was at Lynemouth last week and wow! You could eat your dinner off the floor anywhere through the fuel handling system, you didn't even need a dust mask anywhere such is the containment. Special congrats to their materials handling manager Davey Wharrier who led this revolution, anyone here remember the colourful Davey from Lynemouth, or previously Ashington Colliery?

[@TrainTrackTrav]

Back before people thought coal was evil. Great presentation.

[@Fcutdlady]

I'm far from an environmentalist but i have lived through the worst of what smoke creating coal can contribute to. Born and live in Dublin Ireland all my life . I was 7 when the smog attacks mentioned in the article i post the link to here began and 14 when they ended. Every house in Dublin had a coal fire burning. It wasn't just the smoke from coal fires that made smog but it played a large part in it. when smokey coal was banned the smogs ended . Pepole could stil have thier fire they just burned smokeless coal. www-thejournal-ie.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.thejournal.ie/smog-dublin-764941-Jan2013/?amp_js_v=a3&amp_gsa=1&amp=1&usqp=mq331AQFKAGwASA%3D#aoh=15900715803204&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thejournal.ie%2Fsmog-dublin-764941-Jan2013%2F

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

The link between CO2 and climate change was discovered during the 19th Century, at a time when coal was king.

[@COIcultist]

@@Fcutdlady That was in the late 1980s. London had tried to effect the problem in the 1950s and the 4 nations of the UK adopted the clean air legislation in the 1960s. The problem being with smokeless fuels were that they depended on coke, anthracite and petroleum coke or blends of those and bituminous coal. Not Ireland's problem but Britain's problem was that while all those were in limited supply or imported we had massive reserves of bituminous coal. Jacob Bronowski famed for the TV series The Assent Of Man was actually also a director of NCB research and developed the first smokeless fuel from bituminous coal "Homefire." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Bronowski By the mid 80s appliances had been manufactured to burn bituminous coal smokelessly. Not forgetting that smoke actually has a calorific value so these stoves were more efficient too. Some of these appliances didn't work out, the underfed boilers were prone to jamming up. I only managed to find one user brochure for a smokeless coal burning fire www.agaliving.com/contact-support/user-guides/all?title=Rayburn+Prince+76+Installation+Instructions&pid=All How could Dublin and Ireland be blind to developments just across the water?

[@Fcutdlady]

@@COIcultist it was intresting to not that smog did lessen and eventually go away when smokeless coal became more widely used. I was the one breathing in the foul air, i live on the coast in Dublin I didn't see the worst of it but the more inland you went in Dublin the worse was the smog.

[@COIcultist]

@@Fcutdlady I was born in 1962 and saw plenty of deep fogs and smog. This Public Information Film is listed as 1969, but I'm sure it's earlier, as by 69 we had clean air legislation in place. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eHbZk4tqhcilg7c Not just the foul smelling sulphur stained full on smogs, but I’m sure the decrease in the amount of particulate in the air lessened the number of days of fog. Fog now seems quite rare and not as dense the only times when it is to be expected is after bonfire night or on New Year's Day when fireworks are let off. As I was saying about the fires that could burn smokelessly industrial boilers became smokeless too. I used to man a weighbridge at some collieries. The fuel delivered to business's and hospital's steam plant was bituminous coal, but the Boilers had been improved by the addition of a chain grate kzbin.info/www/bejne/fau8nap-rsqSd7c Not the best illustration but the best I could find. If you could imagine the hopper above where you are viewing been open there would be a solid wall of coal blocking your view. The chain would be moving slowly advancing the coal into the boiler. There would also be a barrier to control the height of the coal bed on the grate. The action of advancing the coal slowly into the boiler would pre cook the coal causing it to give up its smoke causing volatiles. These volatiles would then be burnt as they passed over the high temperature main fire. Upon lighting these boilers would produce smoke for 1/2 an hour or so till the fire bed established but after that would burn smokelessly.

[@aljonflavin6760]

Enjoyed watching the past,life as it was.

[@ADB4466]

So chuffed to have found this. At the time it was filmed, my Grandfather and Uncle were working at Castle Donington Power Station (3:30

[@mattp1337]

Nifty. My dad worked at Ratcliffe as well (from ~1970 until we moved to Canada in 1979). He was an engineer, though I don't know precisely what aspects of the station he worked on.

[@brianwhiting5658]

the 45 mph is for loaded wagons . empty wagon speed was 55 mph when i worked them from knottingley.

[@markcousins9337]

Sad to see Eggborough and Ferrybridge disappearing but by bit. They, along with Drax, were a familiar sight from the White Horse and the Wolds and any elevation inbetween.

[@peterthornton2396]

And now completely gone 😔

[@JintySteam1]

Wow! Castle Donnington Power Station! What a new record of a long lost power station.

[@1ralton1]

Do you mean Ratcliffe? I never knew it as Castle Donnington power station?

[@SteffieBee1973]

I lived at Long Drax, right next to the power station, C.E.G.B stood for Central Electricity Generating Board, their land rovers used to make spot checks on the water outflow station that crossed our land out into the River Ouse opposite Hemingbrough, Nth Yorks.

[@bobtudbury8505]

and sometimes the doors didn't close ! that was fun too on re-loading

[@trickytreedickie]

Attenborough station,Nottinghamshire at 11.20 mins.Used to see coal trains all day when fishing at nearby Attenborough gravel pits ( now nature reserve) in the 80s.

[@johnkeepin7527]

Reminded me of how it used to be at Didcot ‘A’ station, when it burned coal from Nottinghamshire, before it started using coal from Colombia via Avonmouth docks, after the 1984/85 difficulties.

[@bobtudbury8505]

lol train reversing at one mile an hour for loading, the more weight the train got on the quicker it went through , the times i had to really chase it whilst loading under the rapid loader. In fact one person was loading when it was icy, the train came through so fast , it was impossable to load and in fact he only just got the full chute up b4 the class 47 came whistling through lol, happy days. Rapid loading was different though at some pits. calverton was controlled travelling hoppers and extending chutes that went into the wagon / bevercotes uesd the 2 man loading , no chutes.first dump was heavy, the 2nd man used to top up. It was supposed to be automatic but like everything else at bevercotes the automatics never worked !

[@picturezero3037]

Just realised I helped edit this film at the NCB film unit - brings back memories.

[@laszlofyre845]

Thanx for putting this on here- took me back years!

[@stephensmith4480]

We used to load 45 HAA`s at Liverpool Docks for Fiddlers Ferry Power station, in under 20 mins at 1 mph. All day and night, it never stopped. Power was either a single class 60, or two class 56`s. When you think of the work that has been lost.

[@bobtudbury8505]

never stopped? the loco normally had to run round after loading, was this not the case?

[@stephensmith4480]

@@bobtudbury8505 I was speaking metaphorically, as in the the number of Trains that were dealt with, in a 24hr period and yes, the Loco or loco`s, ran round. BEFORE loading began.

[@johnkeepin7527]

@@bobtudbury8505 At some power stations it was not necessary to run round - such as Didcot ‘A’, when it handled MGR from the Nottinghamshire coalfield via Oxford. Not so good when the supply moved to imported coal via Avonmouth, as the entrance/exit from the power station faced the wrong way then.

[@bobtudbury8505]

@@johnkeepin7527 if you look i (just me ) was talking about loading and i do know at most places unloading too

[@WestBlythMPD]

This brings back memories, I'm sure this was available on DVD Thanks for posting. Michael

[@COIcultist]

Mining review shown before films at the cinema.

[@michaelmcveigh8880]

Enjoy this times have changed so much

[@shahedmc9656]

Great video.

[@Mishima505]

Always satisfying to see a train driver dropping his load…

[@dukeofdevon5608]

Great video ver informative

[@bossman1974]

Nice 👍

[@simongleaden2864]

A good example of what can be achieved by three publicly owned corporations working together to achieve efficiency. I'm no socialist, but I can appreciate that sometimes the public sector can do things efficiently and cost effectively. I'm no adherent of the conservative ideology that says "private sector good, public sector bad".

[@Gannett2011]

Sounds like actor Leslie Sands doing the commentary.

[@lennylaa1686]

@11-22...what station is this?

[@johnking1381]

Pretty sure that's Bilsthorpe Colliery....

[@dave1001]

its either Bilsthorpe or Bagworth

[@supersprinter1564]

It's funny cos I can't find any footage of rufford coliery

[@johnking1381]

@@supersprinter1564 me neither

[@CycolacFan]

And then the made it even more efficient by running no trains with no coal at all ☹️

[@JohnDLewis]

Hi I'm a disabled musician. Please would you allow me to use a few seconds of your video in a new music video I am creating? I only make enough to cover costs on these ventures and in most cases, my music is published free of charge. I would credit you in the video with a link back to the video in the youtube description. Thanks, John

[@beeble2003]

7:41 That's not the right sound, is it? Sounds like a pair of class 20s, not a 56.

[@spongebobgrumpypants6862]

Agreed

[@supersprinter1564]

Yeh your right its a pair of 20s

[@amessman]

Interesting, I liked the way that clip sounded, cool to know some lore about it

[@nicks4934]

Who remembers coal? Dirty electricity was never sustainable.

[@bobtudbury8505]

that's why germany has just buildt 3 new coal fired power stations.Not to mention china !

[@diabolicalartificer]

We now import coal! Fucking madness.

[@bobtudbury8505]

@@diabolicalartificer we imported it from poland whilst we still had some pits

[@davidboydell5719]

Hello Greta, nice to see you on here.

[@truetothegame2928]

margaret thatcher

[@bobtudbury8505]

arthur scargill

[@enterprisestobart]

I can't like this comment (even though I want to) - I have too much of a grudge against maggy

[@jaygatsby3039]

Is still dead