Model Spot – Accurascale JSA steel wagons
Newly added to Accurascale’s ever-growing OO gauge wagon range are three versions of the steel coil carriers. Simon Bendall recounts their history.
Simon Bendall examines the latest JSA steel wagons from Accurascale.
By the mid-1990s there was an increasing demand for covered steel wagons to convey cold reduced coils from South Wales. Such steel coils required weather protection when in transit, something that BR had typically provided for years by using wagons fitted with canvas sheets or by simply wrapping the coils in tarpaulins. Neither method was particularly satisfactory, however, and BR’s assorted experiments in creating steel wagons with retractable hoods had failed to yield a viable production build. The private wagon leasing companies had enjoyed more success in this regard with several relatively small fleets available, most notably the Tiphook-owned telescopic hood carriers that were coded KIA/KIB and were originally owned by VTG.
With more wagons required, British Steel opted to develop its own fleet of covered steel coil carriers in conjunction with Marcroft Engineering of Stoke-on-Trent. Rather than a completely new build, the wagons utilised the main frame and running gear of redundant Redpath Dorman Longbuilt JTA/JUA iron ore carriers as their basis, with the box body cut away and new ends and runners added to support a threepiece telescopic steel hood. A ready supply of donors was available as the Ravenscraig iron ore carriers had been in store since the Glasgow steelworks closed in 1992.
The completed wagons emerged from Marcroft in 1996/97, all being coded JSA and finished in a striking mid-blue livery with British Steel logos and Strip Products Division lettering. A total of 66 were rebuilt, numbered BSSP4020-76 and BSSP4091-99, and assigned to work from Llanwern, along with Port Talbot and the adjacent Margam yard. Local Welsh destinations served by the JSAs included Ebbw Vale and Newport Docks, while they also ran to Shotton in North Wales and destinations in the Midlands, such as Round Oak and Wolverhampton Steel Terminal, and the north east. With EWS holding the British Steel haulage contract, the JSAs could also be conveyed in small numbers via the Enterprise network, such as to Sheerness in Kent.
While small rakes of JSAs were common enough, they rarely made up an entire steel working. Instead, they were usually mixed in with an array of other covered steel wagons, including the aforementioned Tiphook KIA/KIB and the soon to be ubiquitous EWS-owned BYA as these rolled out of York Works. Other types included Powell Duffryn and Caib JSA hoods and the Tiphook Rail KHA curtain-hood wagons.
Sale and rebuild
The JSA fleet was sold outright to German wagon leasing firm VTG in 2003 under a lease-back agreement by Corus, the AngloDutch company that had been created four years earlier following the merger of British Steel with Koninklijke Hoogovens. Little time was wasted in refurbishing the wagons, as the original steel hoods had proven heavy and cumbersome to operate and the blue livery had weathered badly, creating a faded and patchwork appearance. The steel sheeting was removed in favour of aluminium riveted to the existing hood frameworks and left unpainted. Additional grab rails were also added to the hoods to make them easier to move and the remaining steelwork was given a fresh coat of light blue. Black VTG logos now adorned the sides of the hood while the number prefix of the 66 wagons was altered to be the same for all.
During 2007/08 an additional 40 JSAs were converted from further redundant iron ore wagons, this time by WH Davis at Shirebrook. Numbered VTG4100-39, they were all but identical to their refurbished sisters, with the same aluminium hoods and light blue trim. In this form, the 106 JSAs remained in traffic until the mid-2010s, serving many of the same locations as before, but then changing traffic demands and the introduction of replacement wagons, such as the short-wheelbase IHA curtain hoods, saw the fleet stored.
Between 2018- and 2020, 86 of the JSAs were progressively extracted from store and sent to Eastleigh Works for conversion into open-top steel carriers for the conveyance of hot rolled coils. This work saw the hoods and tall ends dispensed with, along with alterations to the cradle lining, while the remaining superstructure was repainted in all-over black with blue VTG logos. Retaining their existing numbers, the JSAs were subsequently returned to traffic on services out of South Wales, such as from Margam to both Corby and Hartlepool, as well as between Margam and Llanwern. Hauled by DB Cargo traction, they now ran intermingled with derivatives of the classic BAA and BBA steel wagons, such as the BCA, BLA and BZA. The remaining 20 JSAs went full circle in 2019, gaining new box bodies at WH Davis for aggregates use and the revised TOPS code of JNA.
Hot and cold trio
Unsurprisingly, the development of the JSA models has ‘piggybacked’ somewhat on the already released iron ore tipplers, sharing as they do many components from the solebars down. That said, Accurascale has still invested in a large amount of bespoke tooling to allow all three versions of the wagons to be faithfully recreated, including the differences between the steel and aluminium skinned hoods with the latter having the many rivets added, along with the additional grabs.
Six examples of each variant have been produced and spread across three packs of two, with each twin pack priced at £59.95. At the time of writing, Accurascale had all but sold out of the VTG-liveried hoods and coil opens but levels of the British Steel hoods were more healthy. All three could still be found in stock with selected retailers. As might be expected, the two current, or at least relatively recent, designs have proven a hit with up-to-the-minute modellers, but for those who remember them, the British Steel JSAs were always a little bit special in their striking blue livery. They certainly enlivened many a steel trip when whiling away the hours at Newport in the late 1990s!
Looking at the hoods first, the canopy consists of three separate sections that just clip in place over the runners. As such, the sections can be prototypically retracted to create a set scene in a yard, for example. This also reveals the fully detailed interior complete with cradle lining. A C-section metal bar runs down each side of the well, to which the white crossbars found in the accessory bag can be attached. These helped retain the coils in place. Naturally, with the hood closed, none of this can be seen, but it is nice to know it is there! Of the three, only the current open-top versions are supplied with plastic coil loads, but these have also been released as a separate pack. The detailing bag also includes air brake pipes and screw couplings for those who prefer not to use the NEM-mounted tension lock couplings.
Careful handling
With the canopy in the closed position, the clamps on the corners of the ends come into play, as these are functional and designed to help hold the hood sections in place. They look great but it is a somewhat fiddly process to get all four fully engaged. Indeed, with the hoods only lightly clipped in place and a myriad of small details festooning the ends and underframe, the JSAs are not the easiest of wagons to handle and you may occasionally curse a dislodged hood section!
However, once on a layout with everything attached and closed, and with sticky mitts well out of the way, the detail level is superb. From the separate grabs and clamp restraints around the ends to the bufferbeam steps and fully ‘plumbedin’ and decorated air brake equipment, the hoods are a visual delight. The buffers are lightly sprung and there is room between the sideframes of the BSC Axle Motion bogies for those wishing to fit finer gauge wheelsets. Decoration is top drawer across the board, particularly on the maintenance panels.
Turning to the current-day open JSAs, these are more sturdy because the canopy and ends are absent but, again, care needs to be taken around the metal rails running down the top of each side as these can be dislodged. The somewhat brutal look of the wagons in their current form is rather at odds with the stylish lines and liveries of the hoods, but there is no denying that they are very useful for portraying today’s hot coil workings. The hoods, though, are a truly elegant piece of engineering with touches that, if respected, will dazzle.