Colliery Lines

Daw Mill Colliery: misc_dm128

Another view of BR Class 58 028 now seen arriving in the yard with an empty MGR train on 25th April 1988. On the left the NCB 1964 built Sentinel 0-6-0DH can be seen sharing Daw Mill Colliery's busy and extensive sidings. The Merry-Go-Round train (MGR) is a block train of hopper wagons which both loads and unloads its cargo whilst continually moving. In the United Kingdom, they are most commonly coal trains delivering to power stations. Introduced in the 1960s these trains were one of the few innovations to arise from the Beeching Report. The concept required a new design of wagon (the Hopper Air Brake 33 tonne) together with investment from the CEGB (Central Electricity Generating Board) and the NCB. (National Coal Board) into new power stations and loading facilities. With the introduction of TOPS in 1973 the wagons were given the code "HAA", over the years with modifications to wagons other codes have been allocated including HDA and HMA.

Roger Monk

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