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FQA/PJA/XMA Cartic-4 car carriers |
| Build Details: |
1964-1972 BR Ashford/Rootes Pressings/Standard Wagon |
| Numbering: |
See text |
| Bogies / Suspension: |
Ridemaster |
| Dimensions: |
Set length: 200ft 2in |
| Published Drawings: |
Skinley |
| Areas of operation: |
Various areas |
| Main liveries: |
Blue or orange |
| Summary: |
The tricky problem of efficiently carrying motor cars within the restrictive British loading gauge was definitively solved with the introduction of this revolutionary design in 1964. Made up of sets of four, double-decked wagons articulated across five small-wheeled bogies, the Cartics were not a huge success on Motorail services but came to dominate the transportation of new cars for the next 25 years. |
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| History: |
When it appeared, the Cartic-4 was a revolutionary solution to the problem of transporting cars by train. Simple flat wagons, both 4-wheeled and bogied, had been used for this traffic before, and there had been experiments with double-deck vehicles. These however were cumbersome and slow to load and unload. The Cartic-4 was a set of 4 wagons, semi-permanently coupled, with two decks that dipped between the bogies to provide adequate clearance within the loading gauge. Most importantly, they could be loaded by simply driving the vehicles on, flaps across the gaps between wagons enabling cars to pass over them. The only requirement was for a high-level loading ramp in addition to the normal platform height one.
Due to the relatively lightweight nature of the loads, the wagons were articulated, each set being mounted on 5 small-wheeled Ridemaster bogies similar to those fitted to early Freightliner flats. As built, the wagons had posts and chain-link railings along the upper deck to make it safer for staff to walk to and from loaded cars. Each set was just over 200ft long and capable of carrying up to 30 cars, although 28 was more normal. Taller cars could be loaded in the centre of the upper deck on each.
The prototype Cartic-4 set was built under two wagon lots at BR Ashford in 1964 and the individual vehicles were numbered B909300/1 (inner wagons) and B909400/1 (outers). Initially used for new car traffic from Ford, it was transferred by 1966 to Motorail services. A further 8 similar sets were built by Rootes in 1966/1967 but these were classified as coaching stock and numbered M95001-M95016 (outers) and M95051-M95066 (inners). The livery of this batch was the newly introduced Rail Blue, which was coincidentally very similar to the Ford blue carried by the prototype. The use of Cartic-4s on Motorail services ceased in 1978 and all the sets returned to freight use conveying new cars. The batch built for Motorail were renumbered in the air-braked series as 995001-995016 and 995051-995066, while the prototype set was tacked on the end as 995017/8 and 995067/8. The TOPS code of XMA was applied, changed to FQA in 1983, and the livery remained blue. All were condemned in 1988, although two sets were reinstated for a couple of months.
Starting in 1966, a large number of Cartic-4 sets were built for private owners, these being intended purely for carrying new cars. Distribution company Silcock & Colling bought 31 orange-painted sets (124 wagons), MAT Transauto took 100 blue sets (400 wagons) and the Toleman group leased 18 (72 wagons ) from Procor that were also blue. All of these were very similar to the BR-built sets and the construction was shared between Rootes Pressings, Standard Wagon and BREL Ashford, the last set being delivered in 1972. Under TOPS these were coded as PJA or PJB, the MAT sets having vacuum pipes (later removed).
Build and numbering details are as below
| MAT90000-90091 |
Rootes Pressings 1966-1967 |
Set numbers 401-423 |
| MAT90092-90159 |
Standard Wagon 1970 |
Set numbers 427-443 |
| MAT90160-90399 |
BREL Ashford 1971-1972 |
Set numbers 444-503 |
| SILC90420-90543 |
Rootes Pressings 1966-1967 |
Set numbers 0001-0031 |
| PR90800-90871 |
Standard Wagon 1969-1972 |
Set numbers T/01-T/18 |
Sets were formed of four consecutively numbered wagons and each wagon was also referred to by its set number and position. For example, MAT90000 was also known as 401A, MAT90001 as 401B, MAT90002 as 401C and MAT90003 as 401D.
These wagons could be seen on services across the country, with concentrations at vehicle manufacturing or importing centres such as Dagenham, Halewood, Southampton and Dover.
In the 1980s, vandalism of trains carrying new cars became a problem, as they seemed to be targeted by stone-throwers. The solution was to fit screens and a couple of designs were used. Most of the MAT fleet had a side-screen made of Expamet mesh metal covering the whole length of each wagon. This was straight, rather than following the lines of the bodywork, and slightly angled in at the top. The Silcock solution was more protective, comprising off-white solid plastic panels attached to metal supports. The panels were shaped to match the holes in the bodyside. A roof panel made of corrugated black plastic and shaped to fit the loading gauge covered the top. To allow cars to be loaded and unloaded, the roof panels were hinged towards the centre so that the ends could be raised using compressed air. Similar roofs were later fitted to some of the MAT fleet. At least 3 of the Toleman sets received mesh side panels but the entire batch was withdrawn and scrapped by 1992.
Details of what happened to the Cartic-4 fleets next are a bit sketchy but it is obvious that the decline in UK car production, coupled with the opening of the channel tunnel, reduced the requirement for domestic car carriers. Presumably the age of the wagons may have also been a factor. Changes that did take place included the take over of the MAT fleet by STVA, resulting in many of the wagons being repainted white. Some of the MAT/STVA wagons were renumbered in the international series and modified to permit operation through the channel tunnel, while others had the upper deck and supports removed to allow the carriage of larger cars and vans. What is known is that by late 2005 just 4 sets remained in stock, including at least one single-deck set and one RIV set. |
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| Links: |
Photos of Motorail wagons (including FQA) on Paul Bartlett's Fotopic site
Photos of the first MAT batch of Cartics on Paul Bartlett's Fotopic site
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| Updates: |
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| Photo links |
PJA MAT90040 at Radyr, 13th April 1985.
Paul Bartlett
PJA MAT90076 at Longbridge, 6th July 1991.
Paul Bartlett |
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