DEVELOPMENTS
■ DB CARGO: The final pair of converted BYA slab carriers departed Stoke-on-Trent on February 2, on the Arpley ‘tripper’. Nos. 966002/100 had both arrived on site on November 11 and they will join the other 27 wagons working out of Margam. Also moving swiftly through the former Marcroft Engineering site were WIA car carriers Nos. 85 70 4971 009-1 and 85 70 4971 029-9. The former arrived on January 28 and departed on February 11, while the latter arrived on January 14 and departed on the 28th.
■ GB RAILFREIGHT: While 2021 saw a regular drip feed of VGA/VKA vans by GB Railfreight to DBC’s Stoke-onTrent wagon works for attention, this has turned into a flood in 2022, with several moves to and from DM Kineton in Warwickshire in blocks of six or seven wagons in both directions. The full list of moves between December and mid-February are as follows:
December 3: VGA Nos. 210532/70, VKA Nos. 210512/49/617/38 (arrived)
December 22: VGA Nos. 210418/ 550/87, VKA Nos. 210526/7/96 (arrived); VGA Nos. 210532/70, VKA Nos. 210512/49/617 (departed)
January 7: VGA Nos. 210425/85, VKA Nos. 210410/66/87/554 (arrived); VGA Nos. 210550, VKA Nos. 210527/638 (departed)
January 21: VGA Nos. 210484/516/9/33, VKA Nos. 210405/30/44 (arrived);
VGA Nos. 210418/85/587, VKA Nos. 210410/66/554/96 (departed) February 4: VGA Nos. 210425/519/33, VKA Nos. 210405/87/526 (departed) February 11: VKA Nos. 210430/44 (departed)
GBRf continues to take delivery of new and converted wagons from WH Davis at Langwith Junction. On February 2 No. 66725 was in charge of a rake of six shiny Ecofret 2s forming a 4D21 11.44 to Doncaster Down Decoy Yard. These were Nos. 83 70 4520 3242, 83 70 4521 098-1, 83 70 4520 3259 and 83 70 4520 326-7, 83 70 4521 099-9, 83 70 4520 327-5. Two weeks later No. 66750 visited Shirebrook to collect a more colourful selection of vehicles, including more container flats and two variations on the by now familiar cutdown HYA aggregate hoppers. Working as a 4D21 16.10 to Decoy Yard, the train comprised Ecofret 2 Nos. 83 70 4520 328-3, 83 70 4521 100-5, 83 70 4520 329-1, GBRf HYAs Nos. 371074-6/9/80 and Touax Rail/GBRf HYAs Nos. 37 70 6791 000/028/037/048/051/068.
GBRf is now testing the other six members of the planned nine-strong fleet of Bayer ‘Smart’ weed system vehicles, all taken from the Touax Rail-owned KFA fleet. There have also been some changes to the configuration of modules on the original three VTG Rail-hired wagons, making them all the primary weedspray vehicle with MOT (office), MWC (weedspray control) and MWM (weedspray mixing) modules. The full fleet, complete with 12-digit numbers and module configuration is listed below:
VTG 95378 (99 70 9395 003-5) Weedspray Control (MOT/MWC/MWM) VTG 95379 (99 70 9395 001-9) Weedspray Control (MOT/MWC/MWM) VTG 95380 (99 70 9395 002-7) Weedspray Control (MOT/MWC/MWM) TIPH 93371 (99 70 9395 004-3) Generator (MEN Energy Module)
TIPH 93382 (99 70 9395 005-0) Generator (MEN Energy Module)
TIPH 93394 (99 70 9395 006-8)
Water Tanks
TIPH 93450 (99 70 9395 007-6)
Water Tanks
TIPH 93470 (99 70 9395 008-4) Generator (MEN Energy Module)
TIPH 93486 (99 70 9395 009-2)
Water Tanks
On February 4, No. 66779 and Nos. TIPH 93470, VTG 95378, TIPH 93486, TIPH 93371, VTG 95380 and TIPH 93450 were dispatched to the Severn Valley Railway as a 6Z96 11.46 Derby RTC-Kidderminster for further testing.
■ LORAM RAIL: A second batch of five Network Rail MRAs have moved to Loram at Derby for conversion that will see their side-tipping boxes replaced by static ballast containers. Class 20s Nos. 20007 and 20142 did the honours, moving generator wagon No. 501018, inners Nos. 501172-4 and outer No. 501078 as a 6Z25 13.05 Doncaster Wood Yard-Derby
RTC on February 4. The first group of five vehicles made the same trip on November 19 (see January issue).
■ DISPOSALS: The period under review has witnessed a large depletion of the ageing MHA ‘Coalfish’ fleet with EMR at Attercliffe in Sheffield receiving over 60 examples, and many more planned to make a similar trip over the next few weeks. The two-axle ballast and spoil wagons, built on the underframes of obsolete MGR coal hoppers in the late 1990s, moved to EMR in three batches, as follows:
January 26: Nos. 394542/655/ 895/906/14/38/50/67/9/72/92, 396000/22/74
February 2: Nos. 394407/548/641/ 700/58/855/7/63/8/87/909/19/83, 396007/18/23/38/49/51/72/92
February 9: Nos. 394536/674/856/ 907/29/33/4/42/9/57/61/2/91, 396003/10/53/4/89
February 23: Nos. 394640/695/ 979/981/90, 396035/60/2/5/77
In South Wales, Sims at Newport has taken delivery of HTAs Nos. 310050/74/110/67/95/279/458/ 583/631, the redundant coal hoppers arriving on February 8 from Gloucester Yard. The nine vehicles had moved from Tonbridge West Yard on December 28. Finally, Ron Hull Jr has cut an eclectic selection of wagons on site at Scunthorpe, MEA Nos. 391660/98, SSA Nos. 470110/2/28/42, BBA
Nos. 910320/497, BDA Nos. 950305/646/804, 951016, BEA
Nos. 950566/872/5/904, 951011/42, BFA Nos. 950688/745, and BMA
No. 965053 being reduced to razor blades over the last month or so.