WAGON REPORT
■ TOUAX Rail continues to accept batches of repurposed HYA bogie coal hoppers from W H Davis. Originally owned by General Electric Rail Services, and operated by Fastline, they are being rebuilt to make them more suitable for conveying aggregates, such as limestone from North Yorkshire and the Peak District, and granite from the Leicestershire stone quarries. During modification, the centre hopper compartment is removed, reducing the overall length to 14.93m, the inner wheelbase is 9.48m, tare weight drops to 24.2 tonnes, but gross weight remains at 101.6 tonnes for a 77.4 tonne payload. Originally unpainted, the 3CR12 corrosion resistant body has been finished in GB Railfreight blue livery. Recent conversions completed at Langwith Junction workshops are Nos. 37 70 6791 000-2/001-0/002-8/0044/007-7/008-5/010-1/0127/014-3/016-8/017-6/0192/020-0/022-6/023-4/0267/027-5/029-1/030-9/0325/038-2/040-8/041-6/043-2/044-0/045-7/046-5/047-3/0481/049-9/051-5/053-1/0549/056-4/057-2/058-0/0606/062-2/063-0/066-3/0671/068-9/069-7/076-2/0846/085-3/086-1/087-9/0887/089-5/090-3/091-1/092-9.
■ BARASSIE, site of the former Glasgow & South Western Railway wagon workshops, is being used to store large numbers of redundant Freightliner container flats. Notably this includes FLA ‘Lowliner’ wagons Nos. 605001/002/006/015/016/020, Nos. 606002/004/ 012/018/ 111/ 112/115/116/ 121/122/ 135-138/147-152/ 161-164/ 175/176. The ‘Lowliner’ design was developed by Cardiff-based Powell Duffryn, which built a triple-set of flats in 1989, with bogies of 520mm diameter wheels, Nos. PDUF 95090092. Following trials, British Rail purchased the set and ordered a further 45 flats for services from the Isle of Grain, Felixstowe and Southampton. Identities were inners Nos. 605001-028 and outers Nos. 606001-020. A further 40 twin-sets, Nos. 606101-180, were added by Freightliner in 2004-05, these being built by Greenbrier in Poland.
■ STABLED in Bescot virtual quarry yard on December 22 was a rake of new Wascosa JNA-T(Ealnos) bulk ballast carriers. Astra Rail, Romania has built 50 wagons which are being leased by Network Rail, Nos. 81 70 5932 151-0 to 200-5. Operation and maintenance of the fleet has been contracted to GB Railfreight. Axiom Rail LN25 low noise, low track force bogies are fitted. A lighter version of this bogie with hollow axles and smaller 720mm diameter wheels is fitted to the Revolution VLR prototype railcar.
■ INNOVATIVE KAA ‘Mega3’ piggyback flat No. NR 96801 is in use as an engine transporter by the Deltic Preservation Society at Barrow Hill Roundhouse.
■ DISPOSALS: London Underground 30 ton bogie hoppers Nos. HW 216/221 have been scrapped at Eastleigh. Private owner disposals at Rotherham are JGA bogie aggregate hoppers No. RMC 13708, No. RMC 17224. Plasser & Theurer track machines deleted from stock following export are ZWA tampers Nos. DR 73110/805/910/911, ZWA ballast cleaner No. DR 76501, ZWA ballast regulator No. DR 77908, YOA materials handling train power wagons Nos. DR 92285/286, YDA ‘Octopus’ ballast hoppers Nos. 92287292/295/296/298-322.