Colas Rail Freight Class 56, No. 56049 Robin of Templecombe is seen approaching Brownhill, Blackburn, on January 20, with tank wagons collected from Preston Docks for storage, bound for Eastriggs near Gretna. Wagons were transferred to Total’s sidings on the Docks branch for cleaning following the locomotive’s inbound working from Haverton Hill on Teesside.
BRIAN NEWTON
RIBBLE Steam Railway says discussions are continuing regarding potential new commercial work on the Preston Docks branch, following the end of bitumen traffic late last year.
Rail movements of bitumen to the adjacent Total works ended on November 1. Since 2004, RSR’s subsidiary Ribble Rail had been responsible for working the wagons over the 1.2 miles of the branch between Strand Road Exchange Sidings and Total’s discharge facilities. For the last 18 months of operation, the trains, worked to the Network Rail boundary by Colas Rail Freight, had originated at Haverton Hill on Teesside.