Devon and Cornwall may be minor players in the national rail freight scene, but the south western peninsula remains an area of interest - not least because of the stunning backdrops the region provides for photographers of the freight scene. The regional freight stalwart is the china clay industry, which continues to generate traffic - albeit in more limited quantities than in the halcyon days of the last century. Short-distance flows from inland Cornwall to the sea dominate: the picturesque Carne Point freight-only branch continues to receive a train of DB Cargo-owned CDA covered china clay hoppers most weekdays for transfer of the cargo to ships in Fowey Harbour. The Imerys sidings at Goonbarrow on the Newquay branch are generally the origin point on Mondays to Thursdays, with trains coming from Treviscoe on the freight-only Parkandillack branch on Fridays. A weekly long-distance train persists. A fleet of 26 bogie hoppers leased by Imerys from NACCO (North American Car Co) is used for the flow, which is generally loaded at Treviscoe or Par and goes to Cliffe Vale sidings at Stoke-on-Trent for use in the ceramics industry. Due to the weight of the loaded train, it is broken in two for the transit of the Devon banks: the two nine-wagon formations are joined up in Exeter yard to run north as a single train.
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