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★ STAR LETTER

The 50 loco challenge

I READ your loco challenge article (March issue) with fond memories of the time I lived in Nuneaton in the early 1970s. Things were much more difficult trying to see all of the traffic through the station then.

Firstly, loco-spotters were banned from the platforms and, despite our attempts to sneak onto the platforms via the long-closed Weddington Terrace subway, we were always caught by a porter and escorted off the station. So, most people congregated on the Leicester Road bridge in all weathers, where most traffic, with the exception of movements in the Down Sidings, could be viewed.

To get the numbers of locos on the Nuneaton Avoider, however, avid eyes were needed to spot the semaphore signals being off, and then a quick bike ride to Oaston Road Crossing or Weddington Road bridge, depending on whether the train was up or down.

Back then there were plenty of locos: WCML electric Classes 81, 82, 85 and 86; an abundance of Class 25s with the local residents Nos. D7663, D7664 and D7665 always to be seen; Class 27 on the Hams Hall coal trains; Class 47s and Class 50 on the Rootes car trains and other Class 4 freights; Class 31s on the Whitemoor ballasts; Class 20s on the coal trains from Moria; Class 45s on many West/East freights and Saturday-only services to Paignton.

The weekends would see Class 24s and 40s on engineering trains originating from Crewe and the North West. Very occasionally a gem would appear, such as a Class 73 heading north to Crewe light engine, a Class 35 heading to Birmingham, and Class 37s based at Healey Mills collecting ballast from Judkins quarry.

Carl Phillips By email

I WAS interested to read your article on the 50 Loco Challenge and would like to suggest that Reading West may possibly creep into the top six. Besides seeing the intermodals and cars for export which ply between Southampton, Oxford and the North, you can see all the aggregate trains which come off the Berks & Hants line, plus engineering trains to and from Eastleigh.

There is also an oil empties from Theale once a week, which comes up from South Wales via the B&H and goes back Didcot/ Swindon. I also believe some of the aggregate trains which start from Bristol use the B&H.

In terms of tonnage/volume passing through it could possibly be No. 1! Not the best station to spot though – no refreshments and I don’t think there are toilets either.

Richard Croucher Reading

I USED to live next to the railway in Chinley in the early 1970s (alas too late for steam) and well remember the steady stream of freight heading down from Buxton day and night.

I thought I would take a quick look on Realtime Trains www. realtimetrains.co.uk to see how much traffic there is on that route now and was surprised to discover 48 in a 24- hour period on March 7.

With the triangle junction, the full volume can only be seen at Chapelen-le-Frith or Peak Dale, but does this make it the busiest freight-only line in the country? Buxton still has a passenger service on the ex-LNWR route, though you can see both lines as one passes over the other at Chapel.