DEVELOPMENTS
■ DB CARGO:
With the current virus situation, inbound and outbound workings to DB Cargo’s workshop at Stoke-on-Trent have been sporadic this month. On
March 6, WIA (UIC code Sefoorss) car carrier No. 85 70 4971 010-9 was delivered to the site, partnered with No. 85 70 4971 047-1, the latter apparently for brake force purposes only (this returned to Warrington Arpley the same day).
No. 85 70 4971 010-9 departed two weeks later on the 25th after overhaul. No. 85 70 4971 040-6, at Arpley at the time of writing, is expected to be the next to arrive at Stoke.
The final pair of FIA Sffgmss
EMU translator vehicles from store, Nos. 83 70 70 4913 009-4 & 83
70 70 4913 013-6, arrived at the Stoke workshops in the last week of February and these were overhauled, recombined back to their original
FIA ‘Multifret’ configuration and renumbered No. 33 70 4938 152-6. They left Stoke on March 25. Other departures included overhauled but unrenumbered FIA No. 33 70 4938 144-3 (February 28) and newly side cage-equipped FCA pair Nos. 610067+610068 (March 6). Finally, March 25 brought No. 31 70 4938 166-6 to Stoke by road from Wigan for reactivation work. This leaves just three long stored FIAs at Wigan and Scunthorpe to be recycled back into service.
■ WH DAVIS:
GBRf’s No. 66709 delivered a further batch of IIA former biomass wagons from Doncaster to WH Davis’ Langwith Junction site at Shirebrook on January 28 for length reduction, as follows: Nos. 37 70 6955 244 /251/252/255/258/259/270/ 275/276. The MSC-liveried Class 66/7 then departed with cut down HYA hoppers Nos. 371113 and 37 6955 205/207/214/217/221/290299/300-304, the latter group of 20 having been recoded from IIAs. These 20, finished with plain VTG branding with patch repainting (as illustrated in RE287) were dropped off at Mantle Lane, Coalville, ready for service, while Cemex/GBRf repainted No. 371113 returned to Doncaster Decoy Yard with
No. 66709.
Meanwhile, on February 5
No. 70002 worked a 6E76 York to Langwith Junction comprised of 10 HHA coal hoppers for rebuilding for VTG, Nos. 370273/7/303/69/73/9/ 98/402/4/12.
■ BALFOUR BEATTY:
There was something of a spring clean of venerable Plasser & Theurer-built On Track Plant at Balfour’s Ashford and Hither Green depots during March, with eight vehicles being dispatched for scrapping, all by road (on the back of Reid Freight low loaders), to Sims, Beeston. They were as follows: TJC60 Crane: YJB DRP 78218 (ex-Ashford, departed March 12), DRP 78223 (ex-Ashford, departed March 5) and DRP 78224 (ex-Hither Green, via component recovery at Ilkeston)
USP5000C Ballast Regulator: DR 77315 (ex-Ashford, departed
March 10), DR 77316 (ex-Ashford) and DR 77336 (ex-Hither Green, departed on March 20)
GPC72 Crane: DRP 81507 (ex-Ashford) and DRP 81511 (ex-Ashford, departed March 10)
Crane jib carrier: BDA
No. 950336 also departed Ashford PAD for scrap on March 12.
■ DISPOSALS:
The following wagons were dispatched for scrapping at C F Booth, Rotherham during the period under review: OBA Nos. 110070/231/483/586, MTA Nos. 395105/65/294/390, SPA Nos. 460323/504/773/877/941, BEA
No. 950475.