More on the old Tat Bank railway sidings

FURTHER to Robert Fessey’s enquiry in the June 3 edition (Can anyone tell me more about works railway?) I can add a few details courtesy of the Industrial Railway Society’s book, ‘Industrial Locomotives of West Midlands’.

It was compiled by R A Shill and published in 1992. There is also some detail in various editions of the Severn Valley Railway stock book.

The BIP Chemicals site at Tat Bank Works site in Oldbury was established in 1894 and was served by a standard gauge siding connected with the GWR Oldbury branch, with the Jim Crow branch of the Birmingham Canal Navigations running past the site.

These works had closed by 1923.

However, I suspect Mr Fessey is referring to the nearby No 1 and No 2 Works site at Popes Lane Oldbury.

Wartime

These standard gauge sidings serving both works were completed at the end of the First World War in 1918 and connected with the GWR Birmingham to Stourbridge line at Langley Green.

The internal rail system was removed during 1971 but one siding remained in BR use in 1992 at least.

When Mr Fessey was there the two 0-4-0 steam locomotives previously used on site with one replacing the other in 1945-46 had long departed – the second one for scrap in around 1962 – but the loco shed should still have contained its replacement, the 1953-built fourwheeled 165hp Ruston Hornsby K5DS diesel mechanical shunter, works number 319290, which was acquired second hand from the Mersey Ironworks at Ellesmere Port on the Wirral in February 1960 and went to the Severn Valley Railway on permanent loan from BIP Chemicals Ltd on 18 March 1972.

It ran at Oldbury in a light green colour scheme, and presumably shunted in raw materials in wagons delivered by BR and shunted wagons of the finished product of potash for removal by BR.

The Severn Valley Railway used it for shunting duties at Bridgnorth, but it was later painted in fake British railways colours as D2957 as BR used two similar locomotives until 1968, and later moved to carriage and wagon department shunting duties at Bewdley – full details at www.svrwiki. com/ruston_and_ Hornsby_165hp_diesel_ Shunter_319290.

Andrew Simpson, by email: andy. simpson1622@outlook. com