WAGON REPORT

IRON ore was one of the first major traffic flows to be handled in dedicated trainloads. Stewarts & Lloyds had introduced the rotary tippler in 1939-40, basically a heavily-built box without doors. During the 1950s, British Railways built nearly ten thousand similar wagons having a capacity of 27 tons and serving numerous local steelworks.

However, by the beginning of the 1970s it was decided to concentrate steel production on a limited number of sites able to use high quality imported ore rather than the low yield domestic ironstone from the Midlands, which was taken to numerous local steelworks such as Hartlepool, Round Oak and Spring Vale.

New wagon fleets were built for the steelworks at Consett, Llanwern, Ravenscraig and Scunthorpe. Today only the Scunthorpe fleet remains in use. Of the original build (Nos. BSSC 26000-106, constructed by BREL Shildon in 1972), just eighty-one remain in stock: inners coded JUA Nos. BSSC 26001/002/ 007-011/014025/028/ 029/031-045/ 047-059/061/ 063/064/067/ 069-075/077/ 079/081-084/ 098-094 and outers coded

JTA Nos. BSSC 26097-105. Wagons remain coupled during unloading, the inners have rotary couplers at both ends, while the outers have standard screw couplings at one end.

Welded FBT10/10A bogies support the heavyweight bodies, which can carry a

77.6 tonne payload at up to 60mph. Trains run between Immingham and Santon

■ A STEADY stream of new and recycled wagons continue to emerge from the workshops of WH Davis at Langwith Junction (Derbyshire), currently the only remaining active domestic wagon builder and repairer. FWA Ecofret2 container flats for hire to GB Railfreight have been Nos. 83 70 4520 330-9 to 345-7 and Nos. 83 70 4521 101-3 to 108-8, being outers and inners respectively. Megabox75 opens for Beacon Rail, utilizing bogies and other components from scrapped Freightliner Heavy Haul coal hoppers are JNAs Nos. 81 70 5932 118-9/119-7/ 129-6/130-4/ 131-2/132-0/ 133-8/134-6/ 135-3/137-9/1387/ 139-5/140-3. More ‘shorty’ conversions for the conveyance of aggregates are HYAs Nos. 37 70 6791 031-7/033-3/042-4/050-7 and Nos. 83 70 6955 313-4/ 3191/326-6/ 328-2/334-0/335-7/ 339-9/348-0/ 352-2. ■ ON JUNE 10, the GB Railfreight sidings at Bescot held the Schweerbau high speed milling (HSM) train, comprising vehicles Nos. DR 79602-604, plus the Bayer Environmental Sciences weed control set of KFA flats Nos. TIPH 93382/VTG 95379/TIPH 93394. By June 14, the milling train had departed, replaced by a second Bayer triple-set: KFAs Nos. TIPH 93470/VTG 95378/ TIPH 93486. On June 19 a hattrick was completed with the arrival of the third set, KFAs Nos. TIPH 93371/VTG 95380/ TIPH 93450. It remains to be seen how effective these trains with hi-tech weed recognition software and computerized spraying are at controlling lineside vegetation. ■ REDUNDANT wagons sent by DB Cargo UK for scrap at European Metals Recycling’s disposal site at Attercliffe, Sheffield have been OBA ‘Bass’ opens Nos. 110076/100, RRA runners Nos. 110640/770, OCA opens Nos. 112099/177, MFA spoil opens Nos. 391027/101 /137/144/227/257/353/436/4 83/487/509/617, MHA/*MPA ‘Coalfish’ opens Nos. 394012/ 118/131/200*/240/267*/330 */516/662/681/741/927, MTA ballast and spoil opens Nos. 39 5020/024/038/051/061/080/0 97/107/118/119/121/137/153 /154/167/175/178/187/195/1 99/201/212/237 and ZCA ‘Sea Urchin’ open No. DC 460631.

ROBERT FALCONER DBC’s No. 66068 passes Barnetby, North Lincolnshire, on June 2 with a rake of Santon to Immingham JUA/JTA wagons which are now 50 years old.

MORE JNA-T ORDERS: Greenbrier Europe has received orders from VTG Rail UK for a new batch of JNA-T box opens, Nos. 81 70 5932 461-3 to 696-4 (pictured is No. 81 70 5500 741-0 from the 2019/2020 batch). As before, they will be assembled by Astra Rail, Romania; CKD Kutna Hora in the Czech Republic will supply the TF 25 low track force bogies. Possible hirers include Cappagh Group, Direct Rail Services and Freightliner.