Taken from Trains Illustrated, October 1959.
Tilbury to Avonmouth
The August issue of the Eastern Region News outlines two enterprising through services that have followed the commissioning this summer of Fisons' ú4 and a half million ammonium nitrate plant at Stanford-le-Hope, near Tilbury. The product has to be transported to Fisons' fertiliser factories at Avonmouth and Immingham and must be kept liquid in transit; as its solidity point is 85 deg. C. quick movement is necessity. Fisons obtained 45 specially designed tank wagons, each of 22 tons' or 3,300 gallons' capacity and equipped with roller bearings and continuous brakes, to convey the liquid, and 15 of these green-liveried vehicles make up a train. Departure from Stanford-le-Hope is at 8 p.m. and a train runs alternately to Avonmouth and Immingham, completing three 400-mile trips a week. The tankers are worked to their destination and back in under eight hours each way and at Class "C" speeds; moreover, they are hauled throughout by the same engineùa G.N. Line Class "9" 2-10-0 to and from Immingham and a W.R. Class "4" 4-6-0 to and from Avonmouth.