Great Western Coffee Shop

Didn't there used to be a fuelling point for DMUs at Westbury?   Is their still a fuelling point there for (freight) locomotives, and if so do they take the same drink?

Answer that involve fuelling points for those old steam loco things will be fascinating, but won't be too helpful in getting together an ideas behind my query.

If no fuelling point at Westbury - nearest one Salisbury??

The diesel depot at Westbury was next to the current DMU stabling sidings. It was built in the 1950s or 1960s on the site of the former World War 2 ambulance train sidings. Consisting of 3 roads, it was originally constructed to service and fuel 3 car multiple units that consisted of two powered end vehicles with an unpowered trailer vehicle in between. One of the roads had a couple of small sheds with inspection pits in order to service the powered vehicles of the multiple units. The site was then used for fuelling and servicing locomotives.

It was closed in March 1993 and was demolished that December. The only fuelling nomally undertaken at Westbury after that point was the yard shunting locomotive, direct from a road tanker. Main line locomotives having to visit Whatley, Merehead, Bristol, Didcot or Eastleigh for a top up.

However in the last couple of years, the expansion of Colas Rail Freight has led to them utilising Westbury as an outbase for their locomotives and track machines. This has led to them reconnecting one of the original depot roads and installing  a fuel point, basically a 60,000 litre bunded tank next to the siding. The other two former depot roads are now unfortunately buried underneath the spoil heap from the construction of the recycling facility.

The nearest practical location for fuelling multiple units is Bristol or Salisbury. You normally have multiple fuelling equipment on each fuel road in such depots so each vehicle of a train can be replenished simultaneously. A locomotive fuel point is not really practical for multiple units.

For anybody interested, there is a nice selection of images of the former Westbury depot here. http://fewsfots.jalbum.net/WESTBURY%20DEPOT/