Freight on the Uxbridge branch

Why would a substation (where merely switches electricity and steps the voltage up and down) need coal? More likely there was a coal merchant's depot there.

Yes - there were booked steam hauled freight then on the Met. I have a 1962 WTT, but very buried in a house move - if/when I find it I'll web it up for you if you would like.

Wikipedia, citing Brian Hardy's ""How it used to be - freight on The Underground 50 years ago" gives the date of closure of eastcote's goods yard as 10/8/64.

Are you the Graham Hewett who went to Drayton Manor, Hanwell and was in Rick Wakeman's year?? If so, you still owe me 2/6d

Mrfs42 - and I thought I had problems with the storage of "vital historical records" as they are described to the household authorities here. My selection of tube WTTs is measly by comparison and dates from the days when the surplus were sold off in the shop at St James's Park. I don't think I go back beyond about 1971.

<Off Topic>

A-ha. It does help when the other half is also interested in railways: mine's angelislington of this parish.

The oldest WTT I can lay my hands on is 1906.

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After only a little digging: Behold! What the good tube fan's boudoir should look like.

Though I fear with the perils of internet transience, the link to the picture may no longer work.

Harsig - thank you very much for the WTT detail, which I will file away electronically! Interesting to see that Rayners Lane and the gasworks could require up to 2 daily trains, although my recollection is that train lengths were inevitably quite short, given the available siding lengths and the steep bank at Eastcote which triggered this thread.

GH

GH

Having looked at more of my library, and checked further...

The LPTB inherited from the Metropolitan Railway all its assets, powers, etc (except some relevant to the Surplus Lands Committee) (and similarly from the other predecessor railways), so did have the powers to provide the freight services that the Met did.

Frank Goudie in "Metropolitan Steam Locomotives" gives some details of the LPTB-LNER 1937 agreement regarding steam workings - relvant to this thread is that the LNER did take over the 'working of freight traffic to and from LPTB stations between Baker Street, Harrow and Uxbridge' (question mark - was there a goods yard at Stanmore?) for which they received a sum per engine and per guard hour: my interpretation of this is that the trains remained (legally) LPTB ones, carrying LPTB traffic, just with LNER locos and crews (initially at least, these being ex LPTB staff, who retained LPTB conditions with the right to return to the LPTB when vacancies occured). They also took responsibility for goods working on the Joint Line, on a somewhat different basis.

(Looking at the Freight on the Uxbridge branch thread, are the train numbers 6 & 8 quote for 1950 LT or BR ones?)

And looking at the the 1956 Handbook of Stations the 'undertaking' for goods stations/traffic on the Met was BR (LMR), and similarly on other LTE lines - presumably this came out of the 1950 rearrangements sorting out ownership. But quite what this meant in practice, and whether BR owned, or merely had use of, the goods yards I've no idea. Stations on the Uxbridge branch with Goods facilities were Rayners Lane, Eastcote, Ruislip and Hillingdon (which had a private siding) - if I've got them all - on differing sides of the line (see Harsig's diagrams). But not Uxbridge (in 1956 - when did Uxbridge (Met) lose goods facilities? c1940 with the new station?). And South of Harrow at Willesden Green...

So sorry, my mistake in thinking that theUxbridge branch goods remained (totally) LT workings to the end

There were sidings at Ruislip where the car park now is and they extended almost to Ruislip Manor station. There were also sidings at Hillingdon on the south side of the station.