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Yorkshire Gravel Barges - Happier days


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Today we passed Fusedale and Blackstone - - (Fusedale loaded, and Blackstone unladen)

 

Both in Castleford cut.

 

And we'll never, ever see that again - because today the service ceases, and the crews have been made redundant.

 

 

The waterways will miss them.

 

So will we.

 

 

 

 

(Edited for wet eye moment)

Edited by Grace & Favour
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What about Battlestone and Humber Renown?

 

Does that mean the gravel workings on the Trent (Bestthorpe?) are exhausted or just that road is cheaper?

 

Is there any news about the transport of bio-fuel (wood!) to the proposed power stations at Pollington and Thorpe Marsh?

 

Regards

Pete

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I'll endeavour to find out why through my contacts but the prices for carriage were such that road transport couldn't compete, it wasn't even marginal as far as I'm aware.

 

The recession hit this traffic hard and CRT's idiocy over Castleford(?) Lock won't have helped.

 

I was in a meeting in Birmingham discussing freight all over the country and I seem to recall that the barges were typically doing three round trips a month each or thereabouts?

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What about Battlestone and Humber Renown?

 

Does that mean the gravel workings on the Trent (Bestthorpe?) are exhausted or just that road is cheaper?

 

Is there any news about the transport of bio-fuel (wood!) to the proposed power stations at Pollington and Thorpe Marsh?

 

Regards

Pete

Pete - Sorry - - I meant Battlestone (and have now corrected my post)

I was told that all the barges would stop from today

 

I'll endeavour to find out why through my contacts but the prices for carriage were such that road transport couldn't compete, it wasn't even marginal as far as I'm aware.

 

The recession hit this traffic hard and CRT's idiocy over Castleford(?) Lock won't have helped.

 

I was in a meeting in Birmingham discussing freight all over the country and I seem to recall that the barges were typically doing three round trips a month each or thereabouts?

Recently there were more than three journeys per barge per month, the darlings passed me twice each in one week on my way up here

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What was the lock issue Patrick??

 

ISTR that one lock had a fairly long stoppage and that the "customer" had agreed this was okay. in CRT parlance the customer is the owner of the goods not the barge operator, which of course opens up the possibility that it's okay with the customer because they can find a trucking company thank you very much.

 

In this instance the customer said they could stockpile and withstand the closure. Okay for LaFarge perhaps but less helpful for the barge operator

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ISTR that one lock had a fairly long stoppage and that the "customer" had agreed this was okay. in CRT parlance the customer is the owner of the goods not the barge operator, which of course opens up the possibility that it's okay with the customer because they can find a trucking company thank you very much.

 

In this instance the customer said they could stockpile and withstand the closure. Okay for LaFarge perhaps but less helpful for the barge operator

The second version of the proposed winter stoppages (out 9/7 13) does not show the Castleford closure which was on the first version - 5th November to end of March. I'm glad about that as a slight delay anywhere would have prevented me getting home at all this year. It would have meant the whole of West Yorkshire was virtually cut off for 5 months.

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That's very sad. Growing up next to the River Trent that means all the river traffic is now gone. We used to see them regularly when we took the dogs for a walk along bank of an evening. sad.png

Edited by tillergirl
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This is a very very sad day indeed for me. Just about the last real working boats left on that ( or any ) part of the system. My Dad started work in 1934 carrying gravel and other stuff between Goole and Nottingham and occasionaly on the A and C on his uncles barge, he did this until the outbreak of the war when he spent six years at sea in the merchant navy with all that entailed. then returned to Goole and the barges for a few years.

I am lucky enough to have a fab job plying the Trent through Nottingham on a passenger vessel which is still a working boat as it makes its living carrying passengers and very very busy we are too but with legislation and costs being as it is I often wonder how long it will survive.

 

Tim

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I just loved the way they ploughed on.....

 

Working boat coming through!!!

 

You just knew it was your job to get out of their way and not their job to get out of yours.

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Okay, from what I can gather:

 

Besthorpe is nearing exhaustion, the gravel has been of poor quality for some time

 

LaFarge merging with tarmac has given access to the adjacent Girton site, however Girton has no barge loading facility and planning restrictions mean that the material can not be taken to Besthorpe for loading

 

Whitwood will close in August:

 

My comments: First, as is often the case it isn't water transport that has failed but the traffic that has ceased

 

I do not know whether any attempt was made to overturn the planning restrictions at Besthorpe

 

The closure of Whitwood is a much bigger blow as it means nowhere to deliver gravel to by water, so future gravel workings may not have water transport as an option

 

Just to add, although I work on moving aggregates from time to time, and know the difference between dredged and other aggregates, I don't know what makes gravel quality "poor"

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Okay, from what I can gather:

 

Besthorpe is nearing exhaustion, the gravel has been of poor quality for some time

 

LaFarge merging with tarmac has given access to the adjacent Girton site, however Girton has no barge loading facility and planning restrictions mean that the material can not be taken to Besthorpe for loading

 

Whitwood will close in August:

 

My comments: First, as is often the case it isn't water transport that has failed but the traffic that has ceased

 

I do not know whether any attempt was made to overturn the planning restrictions at Besthorpe

 

The closure of Whitwood is a much bigger blow as it means nowhere to deliver gravel to by water, so future gravel workings may not have water transport as an option

 

Just to add, although I work on moving aggregates from time to time, and know the difference between dredged and other aggregates, I don't know what makes gravel quality "poor"

 

Unless my memory is badly wrong, Girton is where we loaded our ballast on the Beecliffe, so it must have had loading facilities then.

It was 1975, though, and sand rather than gravel.

 

Tim

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Unless my memory is badly wrong, Girton is where we loaded our ballast on the Beecliffe, so it must have had loading facilities then.

It was 1975, though, and sand rather than gravel.

 

Tim

 

I don't know the details beyond how the Besthorpe traffic was worked as I looked at that one a few years ago. I guess a loading facility used in 1975 might now need some TLC even if it were still there!

 

These barges were loaded by conveyor, which is much faster than a grab and didn't involve any hard standing near the water.

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I don't know the details beyond how the Besthorpe traffic was worked as I looked at that one a few years ago. I guess a loading facility used in 1975 might now need some TLC even if it were still there!

 

These barges were loaded by conveyor, which is much faster than a grab and didn't involve any hard standing near the water.

 

Agreed that 1975 is a long time ago, if machinery is still there it might not be fit for use if out of use for a long time.

 

That's how we were loaded at Girton, just tied to a few piles away from the bank and the sand dropped from a conveyor.

 

Tim

Edited by Timleech
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