DEVELOPMENTS
■ DB CARGO: WIA five-unit car carrier No. 85 70 4971 043-0 departed DBC's Stoke-onTrent wagon works for the second time in
2021 on June 30, leaving on the Arpley ‘tripper' with only JGA aggregate hopper RMC 17230 for company (which had arrived on June 21). It swapped places with colleague No. 85 70 4971 005-9, also making its second trip to the former Marcroft site in the last 14 months. The latter waved goodbye to the workshops on July 9, being replaced by Nos. 85 70 4971 031-5 and 85 70 4971 055-4, last at Stoke in October and May 2020 respectively. No. 85 70 4971 031-5 returned to Warrington on July 21.
Two further MPA conversions have been reported, previously MHA: Nos. 394522 and 396146. Also former YKA ‘Osprey' No. DB 997000 is now coded YWA on TOPS, while former FKA ‘Megafrets' Nos. 81 70 4908 094-5 and 81 70 4908 148-9 are now classed as FOA following container spigot modification.
■ DIRECT RAIL SERVICES: The Carlislebased operator has placed a tender for approximately 50 rail box wagons, as well as a further notice for the general repair of its fleet of two-axle PFA flats and general repair and examinations for its 40 FNA-D flask wagons.
■ NEW WAGONS: Newly registered on TOPS are 23 JGA-P Nos. 81 70 7829 031-053 (design code JG018A), which follow on from the 30 Tarmac/CRH 101.6-tonne cement tankers delivered in 2016. These will be constructed at the former Arbel Fauvet Rail plant in Douai, France, now operated under the name Millet AFR, although the identities of the lessor and operator have not yet been released. The French rolling stock manufacturer was acquired by the wagon leasing group Millet SA in 2019 from India's Titagarh Wagon, with production restarting in November that same year.
Also newly added to the TOPS computer are 230 FFA-G ‘twins' Nos. 81 70 4846 000-220 (design code FF002A), to be constructed by
Greenbrier-Astra Rail at its Drobeta Turnu Severin site in Romania. These 71-tonne GLW container flats (142 tonnes per pair) are apparently rated at 60mph suggesting a nonintermodal use. Again, the names of the lessor and operator have not yet been made available.
■ SB RAIL: New in the UK for Swietelsky Babcock Rail is Plasser & Theurer Unimat 09-4x4/4S Dynamic Tamper No. DR 75015
(99 70 9123 015-8), which arrived through the Channel Tunnel on May 9. It moved from Dollands Moor to Plasser's West Ealing depot on May 11 where it remained in early July. It joins No. DR 75014 (99 70 9123 014-1), which arrived on March 8 and went into service in early April, and is the sixth member of the SB Rail 09-4x4/4S fleet.
■ TOUAX RAIL: With KFA overhauls continuing at DB Cargo's Stoke workshops, Touax has now started filtering KTA ‘pocket' wagons – on long term hire to Freightliner – into the programme. The first examples to make their way the short distance from
Crewe Basford Hall were Nos. GERS 97702/14/8/37/53 (along with KFA No.
TIPH 93461), the sextet arriving on July 6. Meanwhile, KFA No. TIPH 93372 made the same trip on June 21, swapping with overhauled Nos. RLS 92646 and TIPH 93366/451. No. TIPH 93372 departed on July 6 and Nos. TIPH 93310/474 arrived on July 21.
■ DISPOSALS: The HTA coal hoppers at EMR Kingsbury have been deleted from TOPS: Nos. 310009/65/7/71/96/121/47/53/73/83/9 2/204/48/77/324/79/84/420/3/50/2/518 /32/4/44/55/ 635/48/732/47/80/90/824. Meanwhile, OAA No. 100050, VKA Nos. 210431/583/620, MFA Nos. 391102/11/444, MHA Nos. 394588 and 396001 and SPA Nos. 460476/885 were sent from Toton to EMR Attercliffe for scrapping during the period under review.