A merry-go-round train, often abbreviated to MGR, is a block train of hopper wagons which both loads and unloads its cargo while moving. In the United Kingdom, they are most commonly coal trains delivering to power stations. These trains were introduced in the 1960s, and were one of the few innovations of the Beeching cuts, along with investment from the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) and the NCB into new power stations and loading facilities.
A merry-go-round train hauled by a Class 66 locomotive
HAA 354966 at Barrow Hill, with EWS-liveried framework
An MGR Dalek, in as-received condition from Hope Cement Works
Merry Go Round at Cottam Power Station, 1970–1995
West Burton power stations
The West Burton power stations are a pair of power stations on the River Trent near Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England. West Burton A was a coal-fired power station, which was commissioned in 1966 and operated until 2023, and West Burton B is a combined cycle gas turbine power station, commissioned in 2013. West Burton A is owned by EDF Energy, while West Burton B is owned and operated by EIG Global Energy Partners.
West Burton Power Station viewed from the south in November 2006
The Shah of Iran visits West Burton Power Station in a Westland Whirlwind of The Queen's Flight escorted by the Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire in 1965
Hinton Cup
West Burton B viewed from Bole in 2024