RNAD Trecwn: Difference between revisions

RNAD Trecwn was a Royal Navy Armaments Depot, located south of Fishguard in Pembrokeshire, West Wales.

Construction

Located on the former North Pembrokeshire and Fishguard Railway, 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Fishguard, construction was commenced in 1938. Its location allowed supply of mines and munitions via rail from the West Wales Lines Fishguard branch, and distribution via a series of local deep sea ports, including Fishguard harbour and Neyland for Milford Haven.

As with all munitions depots, safety and particularly planning for explosion prevention and firefighting was a major priority at the depot. The site used a specific design of narrow gauge railway for on-site distribution to minimise manual handling. For fire fighting two reservoirs are built into the hillside on opposite sides of the valley to supply high-pressure water to the onsite fire hydrants, which are located both within each of the 58 stoarge chambers and alongside each surface building.

Due to its scale and location, the MoD built a whole new infrastructure around the existing village to support the depot, including houses and a waste water treatment plant.

Layout and operations

The depot has a traditional herring bone layout along the valley, giving access to 58 cavern-based storage chambers, each approximately 200 feet (61 m) in length, which have been hewn into the rock of the valley sides. Each cavern storage chamber can be access either via road, standard guage rail or the sites own narrow guage railway.

Munitions would be brought onto site mainly via standard gauge rail, and then distributed onsite using the specifically designed narrow gauge railway. Road access was mainly used for non-explosive access such as for workers and contractors, although it was occasionally used for supply and distribution. Distribution was via standard gauge rail using either Great Western Railway or British Railways locomotives hauling MoD/Royal Navy provate owner wagons directly to Fishguard harbour or Neyland for Milford Haven.

After the closure of RNAD Pembroke Dock, the site gained additional workers and a longer distribution chain to Pembroke Dock. At this high point of operations during the cold war, it employed upto 400 direct workers.

Transport access

Purposefully located on the former North Pembrokeshire and Fishguard Railway, it gave the site easy access to excellent rail distribution. Direct passenger access was also provided by rail, with workmens trains reversing in from the Fishguard and Goodwick railway station until 1 August 1964.

Standard gauge

Just south of the main entrance and main security fence stands a single platform, for workers access to the site. Within the security fence, the marshalling yard exists of 8 parallel loops, formerly shunted by a dedicated MoD diesel hydraulic shunting locomotive. The line then extends down the valley, through a gauge exchange shed for access to the narrow gauge infrastructure, and then provides direct access to the 58 cavern storage chambers via a series of herring-bone shaped sidings.

Supply trains would run from the site to both Fishguard harbour, Neyland for Milford Haven, and Pembroke Dock. At Fishguard the line extended beyond the ferry terminal at Fishguard Harbour railway station, continuing along the breakwater to a single line spur, allowing for transfer of munitions to Royal Navy ships.

Narrow gauge

A 30 narrow gauge line traverses the entire site, with direct access to the 58 cavern storage chambers. All rail infrastructure was built in copper to reduce the risk of sparks.^[1] Serviced via its own on-site locomotive shed and works, the line was equipped with a series of specially provided wooden enclosed wagons, wth sliding roof covers. This allowed sea mines and other munitions to be directly placed within the wagons from overhead gantries, and transported over the entire site, without access via any form of side dooor, hence enhancing safety. The narrow gauge line hence became the main method of on-site distribution, with standard gauge rail or road the off site access method.

Road

Connected to the A40 road via a 2 miles (3.2 km) private access road, the link gave access to both workers, suppliers and the occasional munitions delivery and distribution.

Sale, current use

In the early 1990s, Trecwn was placed on care and maintenance by the Ministry of Defence.

The entire site was sold to Anglo-Irish consortium Omega Pacific in 1998 for £329,000, with a stated intention of using the surface buildings for aircraft engine maintenance, while the underground caverns would be used for the storage of low-level nuclear waste. However, a lack of planning consent (noise of the engines, level of radiation), and local opposition meant that the company ended up in court in 2002, and was ordered to sell the site to Hampton Trust with 10weeks.

Hampton Trust intend to develop the site as a multi-use industrial estate, with the surface buildings rented or leased for light industrial purposes, and the caverns for storage and distribution. Network Rail have not only kept the railway conection operational, but refurbished it to allow the site to develop as an Intermodal freight traffic distribution site from Fishguard.

Much of the narrow gauge infrastructure and stock remains in place, and maintained. Some stock has been transfered to the similarly gauged Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway, and other items to the Talyllyn Railway and the Welsh Highland Railway.

References

External links

• RNAD Trewn at Subterrena Britannica