WAGONS

With almost 800 vehicles in the country, and more on the way, the Greenbrier-Astra Rail 'Ealnos' JNA/MMA has become the standard non-hopper aggregates wagon in the UK.

A review of ARl's all-conquering box wagons.

SINCE we first garnered a glimpse of a pair of Astra Rail JNA (UIC code Ealnos) boxes on test in Switzerland in September 201S (see RE 234), barely a month has gone by without news of a new delivery or a new order of the now almost ubiquitous aggregates wagon.

Every major leasing company has some on their books, as do two of the biggest freight operators, and their combined fleet now totals 789 with another 70 vehicles on order. With a confusing array of liveries, owners and brandings, it is easy to lose sight of the bigger picture as the story unfolds, so the table sums up the full run of deliveries so far.