Fishguard to Trecwn workers' service

[RichardMaund]

Can anyone put specific dates to the following events:
(a) start of service pre-WW2;
(b) withdrawal of service - alleged to have happened post WW2 (?late 1940s);
(c) resumption of service - allegedly in consequence of Korean war (so ?ca. Jun 1950)
Please don't look in Quick's chronology as it doesn't have details.

And can anyone provide detailed w.t.t. schedule of the service as it stood immediately prior to withdrawal (service last ran on Friday 31 July 1964)?

[RichardMaund]

(a), (b) and (c): the unadvertised service from Goodwick was not a WW2 innovation – it did not appear in working timetables until that dated 25 Sep 1950 (RAIL 921/6); the service was not in the previous issue (dated 5 June 1950 – RAIL 921/5) so could have started at any date between the summer book going to press in May and the start of the October book – “summer 1950” is the best that can be divined from wtt source.

[B79Mark]

the unadvertised service from Goodwick was not a WW2 innovation – it did not appear in working timetables until that dated 25 Sep 1950

Just to seek clarification before I post further, is this statement intended to suggest that no such service ever ran prior to September 1950, or that it was likely that such a service did run prior to September 1950 but that, for whatever reason, no evidence of it has been seen in a WTT prior to that date?

Thanks,

[RichardMaund]

It didn't appear in a wtt prior to 1950. What other evidence might there be of it having existed before then? and why wouldn't it have appeared in a wtt?

[B79Mark]

Just a thought - part of the reason for the introduction of a workmen's service to Trecwn in 1950 may have been in mitigation of the Admiralty's intention (Western Mail 13th February 1950) to withdraw the assisted travel scheme for workers at the site, which at the time paid all of each employee's travel costs in excess of 3s per week. The local TGWU branch suggested at the time that the if the withdrawal of the subsidy went ahead "hundreds of workmen would leave Trecwn". However, beyond that one newspaper item I have not yet found anything else to suggest how the matter was ultimately resolved.

[RichardMaund]

What an interesting thought - but I still suspect the Korean war (June 1950) may be more to do with it. It would be good to know for certain....

And why didn't the local bus and coach operators kick up a stink in the local press about the bread being taken out of their mouths?

[B79Mark]

At the risk of straying too far from the orignal question, this query has got me thinking about Trecwn's involvement in supporting the Royal Navy during the Korean War, and about the evolution of travel-to-work patterns and costs.

The initial Royal Navy involvement in the Korean War was by ships (and FAA aircraft) already present in the Far East and supported from various British and US bases in Japan, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Singapore, although in due course that support chain would have extended right back to the UK, including, one might imagine, some contribution from Trecwn. I've not yet found anything to suggest that Trecwn's workforce increased or their working patterns changed in order to meet the requirements of the Korean War, but that's not to say that either of those things didn't happen.

As for travel-to-work patterns, 1950 saw a couple of interesting developments - petrol rationing for the private motorist (dating from WW2) ended in May, so for those fortunate enough to own a vehicle the option of driving to work potentially became more accessible, although the price of petrol increased significantly from 1949 (average 2s2d/gallon) to 1950 (average 3s/gallon), primarily due to an increase in the tax component from approx. 35% to almost 50%.

So do any of these points contribute to the rationale for the introduction of a workmen's train service from Fishguard to Trecwn in September 1950? I don't know, but they may possibly have.

Turning to the other possibility - that such a service existed prior to September 1950 but had not appeared in the WTT prior to then. While it would certainly be unusual for a regular service not to appear in the WTT it isperhaps not altogether impossible given the self-contained and local nature of the operation, which may have alternatively previously been listed in local trip notices or similar.

As for secondary sources, GWR Halts Volume Two by Kevin Robertson (KRB Publications, 2002) suggests that a halt at "Trecwn Sidings" was "in use by 1937" and gives a closure date of 3rd August 1964 (a Monday, so if we assume "on and from", suggesting perhaps a final service the preceding Friday (or Saturday morning), and with the closure possibly taking place at the start of the main holiday fortnight period for many of the workers there). The book does not give individual source references for either date but suggests The Railways of Pembrokeshire (H G Walters) as further reading. Unpacking the "in use by 1937" implies a train service during the construction of the depot. The line from Letterston Junction to Trecwn was already under construction by the end of 1936 with a contractual requirement for completion by the end of March 1937 (Western Mail, 31st December 1936), and in the final quarter of 1936 the Government had purchased a considerable amount of land in the Trecwn area. There are a number of newspaper articles in South Wales newspapers over the 1937-39 period expressing disquiet over the apparent preference being shown to employing labour from further afield over local men during the construction of the depot, and to increased levels of disorderly conduct and petty crime affecting the Fishguard area attributed to Irish and other "imported" labour, suggesting that at least some of the workers involved in the construction of the depot lodged in Fishguard, and so of course needed transporting to and from work.

Anyway, just some more thoughts on this topic.

[RichardMaund]

"While it would certainly be unusual for a regular service not to appear in the WTT it is perhaps not altogether impossible given the self-contained and local nature of the operation, which may have alternatively previously been listed in local trip notices or similar."

Not at all likely for a passenger service - can anyone produce other long-running examples? [Tremains wasn't in the wtt itself for a while - but that was because issue of wtts was constrained by paper availability - and it was in a timetable notice until it appeared in the tt.]

And why would Trecwn suddenly switch from "local trip notices or similar" to appear in the wtt in summer 1950 (other than for the reason of that being when the service started)?

[B79Mark]

Acknowledging that this is a forum for sharing information, but admittedly straying from the original question, a quick skim-read through the 1939 Register records for Fishguard & Goodwick reveals a considerable number of individuals who, from their listed employment details, were clearly lodging in the town while engaged in the construction of the depot at Trecwn. Duly added to the long list of interesting things to look into further, even though unfortunately not helping to answer the original question.

[Pembrokelad]

Used to go to Trecwm when I served in the Royal Navy. Part of Monitoring Team to check out various items in store.