EWS FCA intermodal spine wagons

Several types of bogie wagon built by Thrall Europa for English, Welsh & Scottish Railways (EWS) remain to be offered in model form in any scale, including the 1999-built low deck FAA container wagon and the newer FCA intermodal spine wagon. The latter, which has reached 20 years of service, is the subject of this month’s D&E files.

EWS invested heavily in new wagons, including large bogie box wagons, ballast wagons and several types intended for intermodal traffic in the late 1990s and early 2000s. One of the more interesting is the FCA 60ft intermodal spine wagon with its unusual container lock securing system.

Capable of carrying three 20ft containers; two 30ft containers and a combination of one 40ft box alongside a single 20ft box, they have been observed loaded with a variety of containers including tanks, dry boxes, shipping containers and specialised commodity containers for materials such as domestic waste, gypsum and other powders. FCAs also see use in

MOD container trains from time to time, working alongside KFA wagons.

A total of 400 FCA wagons were built during 2001, each with an individual running number and fitted with conventional draw gear at one end including side buffers. A bar coupling is fitted at the inner end for working in fixed pairs or twins. Numbering is simple, with each wagon in a pair having consecutive numbers from the 610001610400 number sequence.

Wagon design

Each wagon in a twin is identical, consisting of a large central spine with outriggers fitted with the container lock positions, similar to the FEA family of wagons primarily operated by Freightliner. Each container lock position can be fitted with a removable lock which is slid into place and retained by a vertical metal plate or handle which is painted yellow.

The deck is lower than conventional wagons with raised headstocks fitted with rectangular buffers at the outer ends. Brake equipment is fitted to the side of the main spine and no safety grab rails are present on the deck. ‘National Swing Motion' bogies with tread brakes are fitted to the wagons alongside singlepiece wheel sets.

When built, the FCAs were finished in EWS maroon with markings in yellow. Dirt and grime soon toned the livery down to a dull hue, with brake dust coating them in a brown colour. Bogies were painted black whilst the wheel sets were often rusty when fitted new. The EWS logo was applied to a small plate on both sides of the wagon.

General container wagon

The FCA is commonly used in block rakes as a general container wagon and has been commonly observed carrying containers of various commodities, such as gypsum and chemicals, in addition to shipping containers. They have also been observed in engineering and infrastructure use, being loaded with ISO modules designed to carry anything from crane jibs to infrastructure materials.

When operated in general shipping container traffic such as those used for deep sea container traffic, the FCA may be observed working with FAA and FKA wagons, which were built around the same time, alongside the older Railfreight Distribution FIAs inherited by EWS after privatisation, models for which are produced in ‘N’ and ‘OO’ gauge by Bachmann.

Any takers?

Whilst the FCA may appear to be similar to the FEA type of intermodal spine, the latter has, with the exception of a small number used in infrastructure trains, been used primarily in general merchandise and deep sea container traffic. The FCA, on the other hand, sees use on different types of freight and has turned up in mixed trains too making them attractive to modellers. They would be perfect for loading with Accurascale gypsum containers and C-Rail Intermodal container tanks and dry box containers.

FCAs meet many of the requirements of a successful ready to run model for both ‘N’ and ‘OO’ gauge, including a large fleet size of 200 twins, only one wagon tooling being required per twin, a wide range of different container traffics and extensive geographical area of use. Livery options are more limited, but that is common to all intermodal wagons where variety is introduced through the choice of container loads.

The tooling technology already exists for this type of wagon model where the middle spine would have to be composed of cast metal for weight, and detailed with plastic fittings. The required adjustment in the spine at the bogies to allow them to swing for operation on second radius curves when fitted with ‘OO’ gauge wheel sets is a method generally accepted by modellers.

Container trains run completely empty from time to time, as was the case when Class 67 No. 67002 Special Delivery emerged from Southampton Western Docks with a rake of FCAs on April 2, 2008. FCAs are intermodal wagons built for EWS during 2001 by Thrall Europa at its York site.

No model of the FCA is yet to be offered, despite the wide range of freight they have been observed carrying which includes chemicals, powders and minerals. FCA No. 610008 was loaded with a specialised powder tank container when photographed at Fouldubs Junction on May 21, 2009.

FCAs are frequently observed in Tees Yard loaded with specialist containers. Two 30ft Railfreight Services containers were loaded on FCA No. 610042 on July 11, 2011. They are fitted with top covers to protect the load and possibly prevent dust from escaping when the train is on the move.

FCAs are also used in infrastructure trains, loaded with various modules which can include equipment containers and flat modules for carrying engineering equipment. No. 610303 was photographed at Nairn on August 26, 2020 working as a crane match wagon, complete with jib loaded on a flat ISO module.

FCAs loaded with gypsum containers as modelled by Accurascale in ‘OO' gauge with No. 610247 nearest the camera. The train was heading north through Toton Yard when recorded on February 7, 2007.

FCA No. 610099 was running empty in an engineering train comprising of a crane and FCAs as crane runners and equipment carriers photographed at Nairn on August 26, 2020. The EWS maroon livery has truly faded to a muddy colour 20 years after the wagons were built and the EWS logo has been painted out. Traction was a pair of DRS Class 37s showing that operation is not restricted to EWS and DB Cargo locomotives.

Outer end of No. 610379 showing the rear of the headstocks and draw gear of the adjacent wagon. The running number is painted on the top surface as well as being applied to the side data panels to assist crane operators with loading containers on the correct wagon.

Container lock detail alongside data panels of No. 610379.

National Swing Motion bogie as fitted to FCA No. 610379.