DEVELOPMENTS
DIRECT RAIL SERVICES: On
April 21, No. 88009 was given the lightweight task of delivering IDA ‘Super Low 45’ flat No. 39 70 4901 034-1 to Motherwell, the Class 88 working a 4Z21 12.50 from Doncaster Wabtec after modification. On
May 18, two further IDAs were also on the move north after rectification work, Nos. 39 70 4901 072-1 and 39 70 4901 073-9 forming the
4Z22 13.18 Doncaster West Yard to Motherwell behind No. 37422.
GB RAILFREIGHT: WH Davis at Langwith Junction released a further 24 wagons of various types to GBRf during the period under review.
On May 4, No. 66724 was in charge of a 4D21 12.15 from the yard at Shirebrook to Doncaster Decoy Yard that comprised new Ecofret 2 ‘outers’ Nos. 83 70 4520 198/199/340-345 and ‘inners’ Nos. 83 70 4521 035/106108, new and recycled JNA ‘Megaboxes’ Nos. 81 70 5932 119/129/131133/135/137-140 and cutdown former GE/Fastline Freight HYAs (now Touax Rail) Nos. 37 70 6791 031-7 and 37 70 6791 050-7.
GBRf 40ft FBA container flat
No. 600019 has been recorded at Tonbridge West Yard carrying a pair of 20ft modules set up for carrying precast concrete tunnel segments. These are similar to the modules fitted to DB Cargo FCAs used on the Tallington to Grain flow for for the Thames Tideway project. These will be used on a new flow from Pacadar’s Isle of Grain casting facility to West Ruislip. This will see 58,000 lining segments for HS2 transported to the TBM launch site to cover 13 miles of dual bore tunnel (26 miles total) as far as Green Park Way in Ealing.
NETWORK RAIL: As well as its own fleet, GBRf is continuing to handle the deliveries of new vehicles for the national infrastructure owner Network Rail as part of its Wascosa deal, and May saw two such consists enter the country, totalling some 50 wagons. The first 30 of these, which made the usual 6Z66 trip from Dollands Moor to Eastleigh on the 14th, were MLA-W ‘Falcon’ style low-sided ballast boxes. Nos. 81 70 5932 281-310 were moved by No. 66748 and are the fourth batch to arrive in the UK for a total of 110 out of a planned fleet of 260.
Five days later (21st), No.
66785 had 20 FEA-W in tow on a 6Z66 Dollands Moor-Eastleigh, all pre-fitted with ‘Salmon’ track panel carrying modules. The new
60ft flats were numbered 81 70
4524 015/024/025/129/136/141143/145-155/188 and with 140 now in the country, over half of the 260-strong order has been delivered, 98 of which are fitted with ‘Salmon’ modules, with single examples of ‘Mullet’ and ‘Tench’ types.
VTG RAIL: Having arrived at Dollands Moor in the last week of
April, on May 3 GBRf employed ‘EDs’ Nos. 73128 and 73141 to pick up the 30 brand-new JNAs, Nos. 81 70 5932 461-490, to work them north as a
4Z73 to Tonbridge West Yard, likely for lease to Freightliner. This is notably the first delivery of the now ubiquitous Romanian-built ‘Ealnos’ boxes to be delivered, with the new 5932 series numbers, outside of the 50 Network Rail examples. They are the first of
236 new JNAs for VTG that follow on directly after the MLA-W number series.
DISPOSALS: With the recent delivery of high capacity JGA cement tankers from Millet AFR, it should come as no surprise that this has resulted in a new batch of older two-axle PCA wagons being selected for a date with oblivion. On May 17, Freightliner’s No. 66547 collected 30 depressed centre ‘V’ Presflos (Nos. BCC 10738/9/413/5/7-9/51/3/62/7/70/4/6/7/802/ 5/6/10/2/72/6/81/6/8/93/4/6) and 12 Metalair-design tankers (Nos. BCC 11002/12/27/39/53/61/71/5/6/82/ 105/10) from Oxwellmains and tripped them south to Millerhill. It then took them onward as a 6Z68 14.43 to their final resting place, European Metal Recycling Liverpool.
Separately, EMR’s Attercliffe facility in Sheffield took delivery of two further batches of redundant two-axle infrastructure wagons in late April and mid May, the scrapper receiving OBAs Nos. 110076/100, OCAs Nos. 112099/177, MFAs Nos. 391137/44/ 436/617, MEA No. 319227, MHA/MPAs Nos. 394012/118/31/200/40/7/ 330/516/662/81/741/927, MTAs Nos. 395024/38/43/51/61/97/8/118/21/ 37/53/4/75/8/87/95/9/212/37 and MHAs Nos. 396013/59/108, all from Carlisle Kingmoor and March Whitemoor via Toton Yard.