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The Railways

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toilets on UK trains


In UK trains built before 1980, ‘direct discharge technology’ was used for the toilets – basically they emptied straight onto the track, with the aid of water flushed from a tank. That changed in 1981 when the first train carriages with retention tanks were supplied. Yet it wasn’t until 1996 that all new rolling stock was fitted with tanks for effluent retention. And in 2018 10% of Britain’s train carriages were still disposing toilet waste straight onto the railway tracks.:oops::eek:
 
mw0njm. said:
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toilets on UK trains


In UK trains built before 1980, ‘direct discharge technology’ was used for the toilets – basically they emptied straight onto the track, with the aid of water flushed from a tank. That changed in 1981 when the first train carriages with retention tanks were supplied. Yet it wasn’t until 1996 that all new rolling stock was fitted with tanks for effluent retention. And in 2018 10% of Britain’s train carriages were still disposing toilet waste straight onto the railway tracks.:oops::eek:
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I remember those signs........It's hard to believe that retention tanks were not made mandatory much earlier! :-(
 
Cross City Line passengers in Birmingham are travelling on a new fleet of trains from today (Monday 15 April).The Class 730s will run in pairs, with every train having six carriages and being capable of carrying more than a thousand passengers.

WMR Class 730 at Aston station 2024
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West Midlands Railway Class 730 train. // Credit: West Midlands Railway
 
I think it was the signal box that controlled the (then extensive) carriage sidings in and around Vauxhall and Duddeston Station - but not 100% sure! Use for shunting purposes only - not for actual trains.
Note - most of the track for these either side of the station is still extant under the trees and undergrowth.
 
Mark Tooze said:
I think it was the signal box that controlled the (then extensive) carriage sidings in and around Vauxhall and Duddeston Station - but not 100% sure! Use for shunting purposes only - not for actual trains.
Note - most of the track for these either side of the station is still extant under the trees and undergrowth.
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Thanks Mark. I know the route fairly well and do look at all the old track etc. There was a big goods yard in Erdington too.
 
There was a fatality in 1935 at Duddeston and Vauxhall LMS Station, when the Supervisor was knocked down by a light shunting engine.
 
Aston Signalling Centre/Vauxhall Shunt Frame opened in 1957 as Vauxhall (prefix VL) with a 100 lever mechanical frame. The box is a British Rail London Midland Region design, 'Type 15' (size number 12). Type 15 signal boxes were designed to be modular so that structures of various sizes could be built. Similar Type 15 signal boxes also opened in 1957 at Chapel-en-le-Frith, Deansgate Junction & Wigton.

(The Branch Line Society)
www.branchline.uk/fixture-report.php?id=379
 
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The top image of 1949 is looking from the viaduct to Duddeston towards the Exchange Sidings and the lines on the right to Saltley and Camp Hill. Lawley Street goods is seen on the left and the stop block formed the end of the head shunt from Curzon Street. I once had to procure a white light for that head shunt at the request of the depot inspector, Sid Kemp.
 
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“Birmingham North power box when new, about 1912. A posed photograph, where two of the signalmen carry cloths to ensure the lever handles are kept constantly gleaming, even though this box had miniature 4 inch levers which required almost no effort to operate.”

(Main line to Metro : train and tram on the Great Western route: Birmingham, Snow Hill - Wolverhampton by Boynton, John)
 
Heartland said:
Shannon was formerly used on the Wantage Tramway. Trojan, the first time I saw that locomotive was when it was used at Alders Paper Mills, near Tamworth. Selling locomotives into use for industry sometimes led to their final preservation. This locomotive was built for British Railways Western Region, but was sold to Coventry Colliery and is now on the Severn Valley Railway.

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I worked on this loco at Old Oak Common. It has shed plate 81A still on it in this view. I was in the 'Ups and Down' link in those days. 62 years ago now!
 
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