The link below is very interesting.
http://www.therailwaycentre.com/photo.gallery/potdalbum.aspThe 13th photo down on the left hand side of the page has the following caption :
"Saturday 6 May 2006 saw the second of five planned weekend line closures between Reading and Basingstoke. Resulting in Freightliner diverting container services to and from Southampton via Salisbury, Westbury, Melksham, Swindon and Didcot West Curve. No. 66538 leaves the GWML and heads onto the single track line at Thingley Junction working the Garston - Southampton service."
Here is a link on Freightliner Heavy Haul.
http://www.freightliner.co.uk/heavyhaul/automotive.aspQuotes from the above link (Autoliner is the brand name of Freightliner Heavy Haul’s automotive business) :
"An example of Autoliner’s innovative thinking is its Fully Enclosed Covered Autoflat wagon (FECA), which has been highly commended in a number of areas. Designed to match the ever-increasing size of today’s vehicles, the FECA can carry up to eight cars or six SUV’s and vans and is able to travel up to 75 mph. It can also operate through the Channel Tunnel. This wagon complements the rest of the Autoliner wagon fleet."
"Freightliner Heavy Haul operates daily services from the ports of Southampton and Portbury (subject to customer demand) to Mossend and Liverpool (Garston). Customers include Ford and Ansa as well as the Autologic group who aggregate brands including Toyota, Fiat, Lexus and Mitsubishi on to Heavy Haul services."
Here is an equally interesting link.
http://www.railwaystrategies.co.uk/content_archives/AprMay05/03.htmlQuote from the above link :
"But rather than let the market switch to road, and then try to have to win it back off the road hauliers when and if gauge enhancement work on the Southampton routes is complete, Freightliner’s approach has been to invest in fleets of ‘lowliner’ wagons, which overcome the height restriction by carrying the container in a well between the axles. This is obviously at the expense of a reduced number of boxes per train, although to some extent this is being mitigated by newer versions of lowliners that are 48’ rather than 50’ long. “We’ve just added another 80 lowliners to our fleet,” Keith explains. “There is a whole series of routes that will benefit not only Southampton, but also Thamesport (a relatively new port on the Isle of Grain branch in North Kent) as well as the East Coast Main Line route. That way, even though it cannot be seen as the complete solution to gauge clearance, at least we are making sure we are continuing to cover part of the market need.” "
Here is a link to the history of Freightliner.
http://www.freightliner.co.uk/corporate/history.aspQuotes from the above link :
"Dr Beeching is remembered mainly for the axing of many railway lines, but the dramatic reforms he introduced in the 1960s were also responsible for the emergence of Freightliner."
"The idea of moving containers filled with goods around the UK by rail, with final delivery by road, is credited to Beeching, and is a concept that 40 years on is still the basic premise of Freightliner Intermodal."
Here is the section of the original Beeching Report that deals with this subject.
http://www.piccadillypilot.co.uk/beeching/report1/17%20Appendix%204.pdfQuote from the above link (Page 4) :
"The project requires new types of equipment virtually throughout, except for locomotives.
As envisaged at present, the wagons will be bogie vehicles to ensure stability at high speeds, with a platform 42 ft.
long at a height of 3 ft. 1 in. above the rail. They will be fitted with the pneumatic brake and be kept permanently
coupled."
"The length and height of the platform depend on the dimensions of the containers. The international standard
8 ft. x 8 ft. container is difficult to accommodate within British Railways' loading gauge, but by designing a wagon with
an appropriate wheelbase and with a very low platform it is possible to obtain completely adequate route availability
for Liner Trains."
DfT Railfreight Link.
http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_freight/documents/page/dft_freight_503891-07.hcspQuote from the above link :
"'Pocket' wagon for 9'6" containers.
Freightliner Ltd.
Freightliner have introduced 77 new 'pocket' wagons to their operation of which 40 were purchased with the assistance of a Freight Facilities Grant of £634,000.
Benefits.
Larger containers can be rail-hauled within the existing loading gauge.
Heavier containers are readily used by road vehicles for connections to railheads."
The problem with running a regular (not diverted) container service through Melksham station is that trains have to slow down to a crawl when passing through because of the sharp curve. This would obviously have a bearing on the tight schedule that modern timetabled freight trains are run to.
Unless , of course , the curve was eased by re-aligning the track away from the platform to its pre-1985 position.
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