Project: Railfreight is boosted by charitable OBA wagon acquisition

A REDUNDANT OBA wagon, which was auctioned by East Midlands Railway (EMR) to raise funds for the Railway Children charity, is the latest freight vehicle to join Kieran Fallows Project: Railfreight initiative, recreating the sight of a typical 1980s Railfreight service as operated by British Rail under its Speedlink operations.

OBA 110443 has been purchased following the decision by EMR to dispose of the wagon which had been at Derby Etches Park since the remodelling of the depot in 2010.

During the remodelling, DB Schenker had provided several engineering wagons to carry equipment and remove refuge from the site.

Once the work was completed, the OBA was left behind at Etches Park and East Midlands Trains took over ownership of it.

Since then, it was used as their re-railing training vehicle and it passed to East Midlands Railway when it took over the East Midlands franchise in 2019.

Following its purchase, Mr Fallows has moved the wagon to Andrew Briddon’s engineering base at Darley Dale on Peak Rail, where restoration work on the OBA wagon will be carried out.

More information on Project: Railfreight will be contained in the next issue of Railways Illustrated.