Southampton Maritime Terminal

Freightliner

The first Freightliner terminal in the Southampton area was that of Millbrook, situated upon the former site of the station’s goods yard on the northern side of the Bournemouth main line, which handled its first container train in January 1968 (ref: The Railway Magazine, March 1968). The second Freightliner terminal in the vicinity was brought into use less than half a mile west of Millbrook, on the opposite side of the railway, within the boundary of the port. This resided on land adjacent to Southampton Western Docks’ container terminals and, since opening in 1972, the site has been known as "Southampton Maritime".

Southampton Maritime: 1999

Click the above for a larger version. © David Glasspool

On 28th February 1972, the then new Maritime Terminal was rail-connected at its Redbridge and Millbrook ends to the main line, although it was not yet operational (ref: RCTS’ Railway Observer, April 1972). The terminal came into use on 10th April of the same year, with two departures and an equal number of arrivals, Monday to Friday: the 02:20 to Ripple Lane (Barking) and the 12:15 to Trafford Park (Manchester). The arrivals were the return legs of those workings mentioned (ref: RCTS’ Railway Observer, June 1972).

Maritime Terminal comprised four parallel-running loop tracks, above which ran a pair of rail-mounted Goliath cranes. The latter were virtually identical in appearance to those in use at nearby Millbrook that had been manufactured by Herbert Morris Limited, Loughborough (ref: The Railway Magazine, October 1967). A pair of 103-foot-high floodlight towers were erected at the terminal by Towermaster Steelwork Ltd (ref: Civil Engineering Construction Digest, September 1972).

September 2001

A westward view includes the Wagon Maintenance Depot, opened in 1981. Outside of the building is diesel shunter No. 08077, which at the time was one of the oldest surviving Class 08s, having been built in early 1955. It was withdrawn by BR in 1977, after which it survived in private hands. In the March 1997 edition of "The Railway Magazine", it was reported that No. 08077 had been re-certified for Railtrack operation. It had been sold by RFS(E) to Freightliner, the former having used it as a hire locomotive and the livery of which it was still wearing in the above picture. The shunter had been moved from Doncaster to Eastleigh by road. © David Glasspool Collection

In the August 1981 edition of The Railway Magazine, it was reported that a wagon maintenance workshop was opened at Southampton Maritime Freightliner Terminal. 160-feet (49-metres) long, this pitched-roof building was host to a single track that ran over a pit, was accompanied by sidings, and cost nearly £400,000 (£1,937,000 at 2023 prices) to complete. Located at the north western end of the terminal site, its role was to maintain a fleet of container flat wagons.

To celebrate the one-millionth container handled at Southampton Maritime, Class 37 No. 37358 was named P&O Containers during a ceremony held at Southampton station on 13th April 1988 (ref: The Railway Magazine, June 1988). The terminal came under the Railfreight Distribution umbrella at the end of that year: this business sector was formed through the the merger of Freightliner Limited and the Speedlink division of Railfreight (ref: The Railway Magazine, December 1988).

June 2003

Redbridge station is visible in the background of this Bournemouth-bound view, which includes Class 57 No. 57010 and Class 08 No. 08575. In the May 2004 edition of "The Railway Magazine", it was reported that Class 47 No. 47309 had become Southampton Maritime’s yard shunter; the usual Class 08 was not allowed on the main line, because it was not TPWS-fitted. © David Glasspool Collection

On 19th April 1994, the wagon maintenance workshop was formally awarded a BS5750 accreditation, which is a British Standard of quality assurance. In recognition of the occasion, Class 47 No. 47095 was named Southampton WRD Quality Approved in the wagon maintenance building, the latter of which had eight staff by that time (ref: The Railway Magazine, July 1994).

The 25th anniversary of Southampton Maritime and the relationship between Freightliner and P&O Nedlloyd was marked by the naming of Class 47 No. 47344 to P&O Nedlloyd on 6th October 1997 at the terminal (ref: The Railway Magazine, December 1997). The subsequent thirty-year partnership between Freightliner and P&O Nedlloyd was marked by the naming of Class 66 No. 66532 to P&O Nedlloyd Atlas at Southampton Maritime on 9th September 2002 (ref: The Railway Magazine, November 2002). P&O Nedlloyd was an equal joint venture between Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. and Royal Nedlloyd NV.

In the May 1998 edition of The Railway Magazine, it was reported that a locomotive depot was likely to open at Southampton Maritime early in 1999. This depot was to be situated adjacent to the wagon repair shed and comprise open sidings, rather than a dedicated building.

June 2009

An eastward view includes Class 66 No. 66567 and one of the original "Goliath" cranes. The latter was replaced in 2012 by much larger cranes manufactured by German-Swiss company "Liebherr". © David Glasspool Collection

In Summer 2012, two new gantry cranes were in the course of construction at Southampton Maritime, both of which carried Freightliner livery (ref: Branch Line News No. 1166, Branch Line Society, 4th August 2012). These were manufactured by German-Swiss firm Liebherr and were formally inaugurated at the terminal on 15th October 2012 (ref: Freightliner welcomes two new RMGs, KHL Group, 27th October 2012), replacing the original rail-mounted Goliath cranes. Each Liebherr crane was even adorned with a name: Freightliner Agilitas 15-10-2012 and Freightliner Fortis 15-10-2012.

In February 2021, a £25.7 million project to improve freight train movements and capacity in the Southampton area was completed. Part of this involved lengthening two 600-metre sidings on the "down" side of Redbridge station to 775-metres. These sidings were used to shunt container trains from Southampton Maritime Terminal and their extension allowed them to handle the maximum permitted length of train on the national rail network. Signalling upgrades as part of the scheme also simplified shunting movements, and junctions between the main line, Maritime Terminal, and Southampton Western Docks were remodelled (ref: Improvements at Southampton, Modern Railways, 23rd February 2021).

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