Rare MOD Army Train on Ludgershall Branch Line - GBRF 66 shunting into Army Depot, March 2021
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- Опубликовано: 13 сен 2024
- So this is a super rare video of train movement at various points along the little used Ludgershall Branch Line between Andover and Ludgershall MOD depot. This line used to be part of the Swindon, Marlborough and Andover railway formerly operated by the Midland and Southwestern Junction Railway. When the line was closed in the 60’s, just this short branch was left to service the MOD depot and Tidworth Garrison. It’s approximately 7 miles in length. On March 18th 2021, GBRF 66706 takes a single wagon from MOD Kineton and deposits in the Ludgershall depot. Unusually, the old abandoned Ludgershall station run round loop is used to go behind the wagon and shunt it into the depot - wagon first. I believe this is the first video of use of the Ludgershall station loop. Video was captured outbound at Redpost Lane Andover, then at the end of the Ludgershall station loop, then from the MOD depot gates. On the return, at the line crossing behind Ludgershall COOP and finally at a road bridge in Weyhill. Hope you enjoy and share
The wagon had 9 crates of TST Chemrail dual stage linear motor rifle railguns for deployment to Northern Ireland.
Here's a tip: Use text on screen with a font that has a black border if you're using white text, or text that is automatically a different colour to the background on a pixel-by-pixel basis so it's always visible no matter what is underneath.
Considering the extreme lack of use on the line, the trackwork looked in remarkable condition and the lack of any overgrown weeds etc makes you wonder if its maintained by the MOD .
Nice catch
What I didn’t include in the vid as I had to keep the footage relatively short to stay interesting was the two rail workers dragging branches from the left (where the wagon was initially uncoupled) to clear the line. Also the Hasting Thumper DEMU went down there on an excursion about 20 months back and they complained about their paintwork taking a beating from the trees/bushes along the line
Take a long hard look - at the empty flat-top (vehicle or container load) type wagons therein.
THERE ARE A LOT OF THEM - thus little used be 4kt - this is a well used & often used yard.
Oh for sure, trees have limbs that fall in high winds, but with almost zero grass and small shrubs near the line (and nothing at all in the ballast work) this is a well maintained branch into a private siding - no one usually keeps these well maintained from overhanging tree limbs - relying only on the scrapping past - of high sided wagons - or loco's to keep the trees far enough back..
Most interesting bit was the old boy moving his concrete block! Just joking!!! Well captured video and something you don't see every day - well done!
I thought it was paving slabs.
I can do a video on moving concrete blocks 🤣 👍🏻
And the barrow it was wheelie good
I'd love to have that house with the line at the bottom of the garden.
Good video trouble is could not read the text, back ground etc..good to see 66 using track only loco I have seen at depo was a class 33 some years ago?. Cheers..
Brilliant. The number of times I’ve looked at that track but never knew anything ran on it. Thanks for showing . Fred
Excellent video. Brings back some memories for me👍✌️😊
All goes well till 2.30 when a runaway garden slab, from the top left of the picture, spills onto the line causing derailment.
🤣🤣👍🏻
2.30 I spotted the house owner awkwardly moving a heavy item (with a dead train spotters body inside?) into his shed!
The line looks so good because it is maintained by Network Rail, but the MOD pay them to do it. I used to be a postie around Ludgershall, and there were always linemen doing work on it. Very little is moved on it now because modern armour (Tanks etc) are too wide to run on the network, most of it is now moved by road., all you are ever likely to see on those flats is Landrovers and other light stuff, if anything.
Either make the subtitles a lot brighter and easier to read, or, leave them on the screen longer. Please 🙏.
Press pause?!
@@jamesecroucher lol brilliant
Now that is the shed at the bottom of the garden !!!!!!! Thanks another movement on the model railway....
Excellent pun 🤣👍🏻
Before the massive vehicle depot was closed along with the adjacent Medical Supply depot, rail movements were almost daily, as was the link between the remaining number of MoD depots, sadly the depot was closed some years ago and storage concentrated at Ashchurch in a completely not Military area because it was a marginal Tory seat and Ludgershall was a safe Seat! Good that the railhead was retained, and does see occasional moves, not as many as there should be to reduce road usage and practice this strategic approach.
That brings back some memories of when I lived in Ludgershall from 1989 to 2003. Traction then was often 47/3 with Cargowaggons, Warwells and Warflats. The line was part of the old Midland & South-West Junction Railway, vital for WW2 troops travelling to/from Southampton docks. Ludgershall was a big station, with a branch connection to Tidworth and its garrison.
Thank you for sharing your memories 😃👍🏻
The M&SWJ line was indeed important in WW1 and WW2, both as a through route and as a route to Tidworth.
It was notorious for the 'Hat Gate Ammunition train disaster', an ammunition train blew up at Hat Gate sidings in Savernake Forest, with such force that parts of the train just disappeared. People in Gt Bedwyn were still talking about it 30 years later. I have never been able to identify the site of this, I believe it must have been near Savernake (High Level) station.
Anyone see Fred Flintstone with his new invention! The square wheel? Haha! 🤣 🤣
Great capture with this! A line that has always been intriguing to me. I've not ever seen a train on it before. Well done!
Appreciate your kind feedback, hope it’s deepened your intrigue and interest in the line 👍🏻
Interesting video thanks for sharing 👍
While not of military usage there is a small section of track near Byron Illinois that was former Chicago Great Western main line. It too only sees service once or twice a year for boiler or turbine parts. Jawtooth has a good video out regarding the Jefferson Proving Grounds in Indiana and the vast amount of tracksge used for freight car storage. Thanks from the USA for the show! Sorry I failed to mention that spur serves a nuclear power plant
That rail line ran past my old back garden when I lived in Ludgershall back in the 90’s
Yeah, they don’t move far.
Great vidio nice to see 66706 working really really hard on shunting duties 😀.... Thanks 👍
I live right near to this branch line and always miss it when there’s a movement gosh darn! Good catch though :)
Do you know the old boy moving the concrete slabs let him know he will live on forever now ! Go on do it for us and let us know.
Great video.
For the life of me I can’t understand how they can keep a line that’s used just a couple of times a year in such good, weed free condition. Compare that with the capacity- maxed Brighton mainline which is covered in weeds and growth!
If it’s running at max there is no track time to do it. This has 363 days a year to go weeding.
Great that you were there to capture this - thanks for sharing . Great sounds
Your kind feedback is appreciated 😃👍🏻
Great video i was going to see 66706 light at Redbridge but i forgot about it hopfully theres mod train from here soon as it looks like there's lots of wagons in there
That guy in the garden could of done with some help off that class 66 loco lol good video mate godbless you
I believe their was a branch line that continued to the Command Ordinance Depot at Tidworth. I worked their when part of the old decommissioned Warehouses was converted into offices for the Civilian Establishment Pay Office , which was responsible for paying all the civilians who were working for the Mod depots on Salisbury plain. I was their in the mid 1960's.
Thank you for commenting 😃. Do you recall seeing steam engines on the line or had it already moved to diesel?
@@CPRailVideos When I started working in the depot in Tidworth , all the ordinance had been moved out , so all I ever saw were the railway lines . I see from Google maps that the whole depot has been demolished and some other buildings built on the land.
@@ericwright1477 In the early 1970s we used to climb over the fence and walk along the railway lines. Occasionally the MOD police would catch us and either chase us off or give us a lift home. Breaking into the land vehicle stores at Lucknow barracks to steal fire extinguishers was more fun but the military police were more aggressive.
My kind of video, thanks, great to see these workings👍
Great video, thanks for filming. I love all these uncommon, minor-line movements.
A further suggestion re the captions is to write in lower-case rather than all UPPER-CASE WHICH IS HARDER TO READ.
Thanks again.
Thanks for the feedback, noted on the issue with captions, will sort for my next vid, cheers 👍🏻
In 1941 or thereabouts, my father, then a corporal in The Royal Engineers, was sent to Ludgershall to learn about managing trains. Later on he was sent to Bromsgrove at the bottom of Lickey Bank.
Was ya Dad Pete Marsh?
Awesome catch
Smashing video, great catch.
Jaw Tooth would have been proud of this capture on video....
I had to look up who ‘Jaw Tooth’ is - wow he’s got some followers, and a lot of views on his vids, he’s obviously nailing it 👍🏻👍🏻
As Jaw Tooth would.
"But wait, there's more!"
@@neilcrawford8303 "Roll the video suuun"
SWT ran some 159s down here (not as far as the depot), for skid (wheelslide), training. Sadly I did mine on the bidirectional at Shawford in a Pig.
I've driven past at Andover Red Post Junction so many times and always wanted to drive down this branch.
Assuming you’re a train driver, can’t you just take a quick detour? No one would notice surely.... 😉
Most informative video, thank you for sharing
Like the video very much .Hope there more.
Pleased you enjoyed it, if just one person does then it was worth putting together. I enjoyed seeing it and thought it was important to get it recorded in case the line does finally close.
@@CPRailVideos Thanks if you get chance have a look at mine.
An interesting video, I remember travelling along the road parallel with the railway with a class 33 running the same way-Along time ago now!! Interesting views of the platform. I think if the base closes completely (it’s been downsized quite a bit already) they’ll have to think again about reopening the line. Especially if more houses are built there.
One thing though, could you leave your captions up a little longer please? With them being white letters on an almost grey background at times they’re quite difficult to read.
That would be the A342 from Weyhill to Ludgershall. Having caught the 66 in Ludgershall I drove alongside it as it headed back to Andover - it was visible through the bushes, a bit surreal. I managed to get ahead and then caught it in the Vid at Fyfield Lane Bridge. Point taken about the captions and duly noted, many thanks for taking the time to feedback 👍🏻
Good footage, I didn't know they still used the old VGA wagons.
Kineton is a storage depot known mainly for explosives/munitions but, other things are also possible and likely kept there.
Could the wagon have been collecting something from Ludgershall rather than delivering ?
Given recent events could it have been a certain ceremonial Land Rover being discretely brought out of storage in readiness for a funeral?
We will likely never know and why should we?
If you look at some one of my other Ludgershall videos(the one at night) that wagon (or similar) appears in the rake there too - so you might be correct. Btw, it’s still there as at yesterday when I passed by. But then movements are so infrequent now, that’s not a surprise. Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment 👍🏻
Fantastic video! But the subtitle texts are hard to read because of the RUclips compression artifacts. And we don't have time to read it without stopping the video, which is annoying.
Thanks for the feedback , will definitely do the subtitles different next time as a number of people have said the same 👍🏻👍🏻
Nice video... but some of the captions are very hard to read
used to cab ride this line in a 33 from time to time back in the 80s
Would love to hear more on your experience of that 👍🏻😃
@@CPRailVideos I recall one time the driver let a couple of us aboard at Andover, we all prob had a go at driving (80's health and safety style).. the other cab rider's house backed onto the line so we pulled up at the end of his back garden, we all jumped out, he went in and grabbed his camera and took a shot of us all in front of the Crompton (driver included) then we carried on our way! great times :-)
What an extraordinary sight to see a class 66 right beside your garden. XD
The guy doing his garden doesn’t look the slightest bit interested 🙄 🤣
@@CPRailVideos Yeah, I don't know how you could ignore a massive locomotive right next door
Great video, well put together.
As others have already pointed out, the text could be more visible, especially the text at 2:18 is hard to read without pausing the video. Well done!
Excellent video👍
Very interesting and rare capture. At the very end of the video, that trail under the bridge where the 66 crosses, is that a closed railway section? Thank you, stay safe.
There is an MOD shunter based at Ludgershall. I am surprised that it did not move the wagon as that is what usually happens. Ludgershall would make a much better railhead for north Wilts and SW Berks than Bedwyn. Through services to Reading would e a great benefit.
There definitely used to be a shunter there, old pictures about show it...... but I’ve never seen it, would certainly like to 👍🏻👍🏻
@@CPRailVideos I have pictures taken in October 2020 of it at work in the sidings.
Hi Peter, do you have them up on Flickr or similar where I can have a look? Cheers
@@CPRailVideos Sadly no. I can send you copies.
@@CPRailVideos When i worked at Corunna Barracks (the vehicle depo) there we're 2 MOD rail Vanguard 040 shunters kept in the dutch barn oversite our hanger. They were nearly always used double headed and sometimes brought armored vehicles on to the site from the rail head to unload on the ramp.
I can't get over the size of the muffler
One wonders how much longer this bit of railway will be kept running.
Long time the Nukes are stored there .
Great to see something different (shunting) rather than just a run past type of video
Please could you use another colour font as it was quite difficult to read in places particularly on a iPhone
Yep, absolutely, it’s been a theme of comments left so I will improve the next one 👍🏻
Sorry about the fence, a bit more clandestine watching Blofeld moving his nukes.
Just thinking, middle of the lockdown !! Was this a 'necessary journey' to film this ??
Technically no but it was filmed in the middle of know where so really no one was affected
Grass
@@terrier_productions No it wasn't, it was filmed in Ludgershall, on the main road bridge.
what a good find I hope they do reopen the branch especially since its been mooted by the council and im pretty sure I read somewhere there a push in parliament to put funding into reopening these dissused routes
It would be nice but I’m not convinced it’ll happen, though there’s a lot of housing being built into that area so fingers crossed 🤞
mmm that nice hum of the emd prime mover
There was a plan in Andover about ten years ago to re-open the line as a heritage railway, but it was a scam by a couple of local council hopefuls trying to get elected.
The shame is that the railway enthusiasts who did attend that first meeting were shut down.
But it could be done, if the politics were kept out, and enthusiasts from the whole country were included, especially Swindon.
One of the challenges on that front is that it’s not a scenic line and the start and end locations are not tourist destinations. That said, Didcot do well with their Railway centre which has a line of just a few hundred yards. One other problem now is that the old Andover yard where Switch logistics is currently based is being sold off for housing, so there is no storage space at that end of the line. Btw, reconfig of the Andover sidings are planned!!
Interesting catch. Only complaint is the titles are too fast and hard to read.
That's really interesting. Are there many military bases in the UK that still receive trains?
Hi, there are a few, if I was to guess I’d say less than 10 perhaps, but that’s with no huge knowledge on the topic. Warminster, Bicester Ludgershall, Kineton are all not too far from me. I think there’s likely more further North.
I saw that at Southampton 2 years ago I think might have been a different site though it had army vehicles on i
Wouldn't you have thought that they'd have run round facilities in the base itself.?
Yes, agreed, I didn’t expect them to use the old station loop, that took me completely by surprise. If you look at the yard on google maps, you can see when they have longer trains, they probably run past the sidings in the yard on the left branch before reversing the wagons back into the sidings that go in the opposite direction, freeing up the loco to head back. Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment 👍🏻👍🏻
On Google satellite view I can only see one other run-round loop in the yard, and that is in the sidings to the south-west of the loading bay platforms being used here. A lot less convenient.
Can ANYONE tell me what the high pitched, metronomic squeal that increases with revs is on all 66's.? Please 🙏.
Geared turbocharger IiRC
Looks a little sparse compared to the mid 1980's when a few steam specials were run on the branch with ex-S&D 7F 53809 in conjuction with the Basingstoke Rail weekend...there was supposed to be an GWR Hall too but it failed with bearing trouble unfortunately.
There’s an old 80’s photo you might be able to find on google images of that (or a similar) steam special waiting on the rear side of platform 1 at Andover about to head down the Ludgershall branch 👍🏻
the captions are impossible! I read quickly but not that quick!
Tanks for precious “ intelligence” work. I understand why you had to post "quick fade" subtitles: Graham Greene and Le Carré would have approved your technique
What's in the van ? 40 tons of Guy Fauks
I don’t want the mystery solved, trying to imagine what’s in there is half the fun 😃👍🏻
Those Russian Sports Nutritionists are already planning their next trip to look at the locomotives :-(
We need to Czech the place.
don't you mean check?
Nope.
white text is unreadable on such a light background
Shame that so few lines now are used by the MoD.
It’s not that rare. A fair few times a year stuff goes up here!
The track staff need a safety on the track refresher course 🙄
If I had signed on in the army,that’s where I would have gone.
With respect, if you had signed on in the Army, you would have gone where you were sent, you wouldn't be the one deciding where you would have gone.
@@philyew3617 I was in the army at the time and if I signed on I would have gone there for further training ,that’s where my job was.
@@terrycollett1461 I take it you were planning on being an RAOC Vehicle Specialist?
@@stuartwright6162 No I didn’t have a driving license in them days.I was in the Medics.
@@stuartwright6162 I was a medic.
Give us a break please !! Captions not on screen long enough - ruined the video !
Near andover?
Yep, line runs Andover to Ludgershall
I can't see how that's a good use of tax payer's money.
I don't want lorries on the roads any more than anybody else but the cost of that move in comparison to one more lorry seems out of proportion.
Does anyone have any idea what the load was? It can't have been terribly sensitive or hazardous surely. Was the wagon full?
I imagine there's a contract covering all MoD movements; we have some at Warminster to the depot here. Never very substantial though.
I totally see your point, but maybe just maybe whatever was in the delivery we wouldn’t want on the open road ..... I like the intrigue 😃😃👍🏻👍🏻
it was carrying the army's latest secret weapon ...stones for the new catapults !!!!!
The armed forces do all sorts of things that might seem pointless but are to keep things excercised. If this place were needed in a hurry for something serious then they know that it is workable. It was used to load a lot of stuff for the Falklands War for example.
Hope their PTS trainers don't see this.
🇬🇧👍