Former oil tank sidings and train on the move from the air

mow · Post by **mow** » Wed Jul 27, 2011 7:33 pm

Shot from the air today.

43126 · Post by **43126** » Wed Jul 27, 2011 9:04 pm

Where ?

mow · Post by **mow** » Wed Jul 27, 2011 9:29 pm

I think that these tanks are shown on here.

http://bristol-rail.co.uk/wiki/Tyntesfield_Sidings

jules · Post by **jules** » Wed Jul 27, 2011 10:59 pm

Where does the old trackbed go? Looks like it went further than just the fuel dump.

There was another little known fuel siding at Blaise, near Hallen.

See http://bristol-rail.co.uk/wiki/Blaise_Sidings - I reccied it myself back in 2005

StrawberryLine · Post by **StrawberryLine** » Wed Jul 27, 2011 11:05 pm

I agree that the Oil Storage facility is at Flax Bourton although the junction into it off the main line is gone. (have a look on Google Maps - Station Road, Flax Bourton.)

The second picture is Backwell Common looking South West, the train is just about to cross a road of the same name, the houses at the top of the photograph are on the north side of Backwell (Waverley Road, The Croft). Nailsea and Backwell Station is just out of shot in the top right of the photograph.

Thats my suggestion - any advance on that

mow · Post by **mow** » Wed Jul 27, 2011 11:09 pm

This appears to show the trackbed running to its full extent above ground.

nickt · Post by **nickt** » Wed Jul 27, 2011 11:53 pm

Tanker sidings definatlely Flax bourton. there is also a siding running parrallel with mainline ( up line) back as far south west as bridge. joined to line coming out of sidings but not to main line.

jules · Post by **jules** » Thu Jul 28, 2011 9:09 am

This appears to show the trackbed running to its full extent above ground.

Thanks for that

Just a headshunt then. I am guessing the actual off-loading sidings were in the triangular grass area to the right of the headshunt and immediately in front of the tanks (as you look from the bottom of the photo towards the main line.)

Does anybody know what this depot was used for? Too small to be a major fuel dump (like Hallen).

Was just thinking, your aerial railway photography exploits could add a whole new dimension to Bristol Railway Archive!

jules · Post by **jules** » Thu Jul 28, 2011 9:22 am

Just had a look at Google Maps, where the tracks within the depot are very visible.

Quite a layout: what I am assuming were 3 unloading / run round roads close to the siding entrance and to the end of the layout, no less than 5 storage / run round sidings with a short one loco headshunt.

Obviously this place was originally designed to handle/store quite a lot of traffic.

carpetcone · Post by **carpetcone** » Thu Jul 28, 2011 3:12 pm

The Flax Bourton petroleum storage depot is part of the Government Pipelines and Storage System and was built in the late 1950s as a Civil Reserve Site. It was mainly designed for the storage of aviation fuel.

In 2007 planning permission to use the site for storage of fuel being brought in and out by road and pipeline was refused. This had been applied for by The Defence Fuel Groups, Wimborne on behalf of the Secretary of State for Defence.

In 2006 an application was made to store fuel brought in by road, rail and pipeline. This was withdrawn.

In 1999/2000 The most interesting planning application was to use the rail terminal to load stone products from Stancombe Quarry. The stone would have come from the quarry by conveyor under the A370 and then over the mainline.
That was refused and then an amended application was to limit the activity from 0500 to 2300hrs. It was withdrawn.

The same government department was still applying for planning permission for the Hallen site for fuel transfer by road, rail and pipeline in 2006, with no objections, presumably to keep their options open should the need arise. This was over 30 years after the sidings were reported closed.

jules · Post by **jules** » Thu Jul 28, 2011 6:08 pm

Thanks for the detailed info Carpetcone.

The same government department was still applying for planning permission for the Hallen site for fuel transfer by road, rail and pipeline in 2006, with no objections, presumably to keep their options open should the need arise. This was over 30 years after the sidings were reported closed.

Well, all the hills around Hallen are full of fuel to this day, mostly connected by pipeline I presume, as not many lorries come and go. Only the small depot at the bottom of Hallen Hill has regular lorries using it and that is all outbound it seems.

Interesting options are being kept open as late as 2006 for the Hallen Oil Sidings though. They'd have to be totally rebuilt, as when I last went down there, apart from the earthworks and some old concrete, there was nothing left.

My previous visit to Hallen must have been about 1973/4, when the tracks were still in place, with buildings and much of the equipment still there, but obviously long out of use. The location is really very well secluded and as school kids, we thought we'd stumbled into a deserted secret government facility - which I guess we had!

We were too scared to tell anyone what we'd found or where we'd been for months afterwards!