| Image
| Type
| Built
| Qty
| Used
| Added
| Edited
|
|
 |
KQA/KTA Tiphook 'Pocket' Container Wagons |
1997-1998 |
75 |
1997-current |
02/01/2009 |
02/01/2009 |
|
The KQA/KTA wagons were another type specifically intended to permit the carriage of 9ft 6in tall containers within the UK loading gauge. With a distinctive slab-sided design, the wagons were initially given RIV numbers, but being used only on domestic Freightliner services, were later renumbered into the private-owner series. The method of carrying containers earned them the nickname Pocket wagons.
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|
 |
BR-built Goods Brake Vans |
1949-1961 |
5248 |
1949-current |
15/12/2007 |
03/12/2008 |
|
For many years the goods brake van was a common sight almost everywhere in the UK, bringing up the rear of freight trains. BR built over 5000 vans but the widespread adoption of continuous braking (particularly air brakes) saw their numbers slashed and a mere handful survived into the 21st century.
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|
 |
PIA/KPA Tiphook Hoppers and HQA/JJA Autoballasters |
1988-2006 |
400 |
1988-current |
20/10/2008 |
20/10/2008 |
|
Wagon hirer Tiphook bought 150 bogie hoppers in the late 1980s for spot-hires in various traffics. Within a few years most were stored out of use and one was modified as a ballast hopper with a view to replacing railway-owned types such as the Walrus and Sealion. The conversion, dubbed Autoballaster, was evidently a success and further batches accounted for the majority of the stored wagons. There was then a programme of building new Autoballasters with an order for 190 wagons followed by further batches of 50 and 10.
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|
 |
VAA/VBA/VCA/VDA Air-Braked Vans |
1969-1977 |
1400 |
1969-current |
22/12/2007 |
Unfinished |
|
These 1400 wagons, built between 1969 and 1978, were BR's first general-purpose air-braked vans, their main use being on the new Air-Braked Network (later Speedlink) services. Although similar in appearance, there were numerous detail differences between and within each batch. The decline in wagonload traffic and the appearance of newer types have seen most of the fleet either condemned or modified for other uses.
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|
 |
BAA Bogie Steel Wagons |
1972-1976 |
305 |
1972-current |
22/12/2007 |
30/09/2008 |
|
When the initial examples appeared in 1972, the BAA wagons were the first bogie steel wagons built new for BR in 10 years. The design was a radical departure from earlier types, with modern bogies and sturdy ends. Just over 300 were built over the next four years, production then switching to the larger BBA type. In its basic form the type was able to carry a range of loads including slabs, ingots and strip coil. Many were later modified for steel coil traffic and the majority remain in service.
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|
 |
MEA/MFA Box Wagons  |
1990-2004 |
641 |
1990-current |
16/12/2007 |
12/09/2008 |
|
The MEA wagons were produced by rebodying redundant HEA coal hoppers with new box bodies. Intended originally for coal, the type has found use carrying a variety of bulk loads. A total of 641 wagons were converted, although before this was completed, 135 were cut-down for use as infrastructure wagons recoded MFA.
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|
 |
MTA Open Ballast Wagons |
1998-2007 |
396 |
1998-current |
01/01/2008 |
12/09/2008 |
|
The MTA box wagon is a simple-looking type with a complicated history. Together with the similar but more numerous MFA and MHA types, the MTAs are used to carry ballast and spoil in connection with infrastructure works. The three types often work in mixed rakes and were responsible for replacing the last of the vacuum-braked Grampus wagons.
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|
 |
BPA/BRA/BXA Bogie Steel Rebuilds |
1979-1982 |
281 |
1977-current |
22/12/2007 |
14/07/2008 |
|
As well as a large number of Bogie Bolsters, three other types of bogie steel wagon received overhauls in the late 1970s and early 1980s. 51 Trestles, 80 Boplates and 150 Borails were fitted with air brakes and new bogies and recoded XVA, BPA and BRA respectively. As with many air-braked types, all three had very short lives in their initial roles. Transfers to the departmental fleet and modifications for alternate uses affected all 281 wagons and a wide range of TOPS codes have been applied. Despite their age, just over 200 wagons were still in stock in early 2008. |
|
 |
MCO/MCV 16t Mineral Wagons |
1944-1978 |
c.304372 |
1950-c.1992 |
01/01/2008 |
14/07/2008 |
|
What can you say about the humble BR 16 ton mineral wagon that hasn't been said before? How about the fact that, if made up into a single train, they would stretch over 1,100 miles! It is likely that they were never all in service at the same time of course, the building programme lasting from 1944 to 1959. The vast majority of BR 16 ton minerals had metal bodies with doors in the sides and one end (and in the floor on many), mounted on 9ft wheelbase underframes with plain bearings and unfitted Morton brake gear. The type survived in revenue use until the late 1980s, and a few years longer in departmental service.
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|
 |
BRA/BYA Covered Steel Wagons |
1998-1999 |
310 |
1998-current |
22/12/2007 |
02/07/2008 |
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The BRA and BYA covered steel wagons were the first to be built by Thrall Europa at the reopened York Works. Part of EWS's plan to rejuvenate the wagon fleet, the two very similar types were also intended to address the growing need to provide better protection to loads of finished steel. Their rather curious appearance, with a round-topped hood made of corrugated steel, earned them the nickname of Nissen Huts and they were soon to be found on steel trains across the country.
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|
 |
HTO/HTV 21t Coal Hoppers |
1949-1959 |
23150 |
1949-1991 |
15/12/2007 |
02/07/2008 |
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The 21ton steel-bodied coal hopper was based on an LNER design and was the standard BR coal hopper until the advent of air-braked types in the 1960s and 1970s. Over 23,000 wagons were built, making them one of the most numerous types on BR and, although seen in many places, they were most at home in the coalfields of North East England. Most of the wagons were rebodied at least once, to a simplified design with fewer ribs, while over a third of the fleet eventually gained vacuum brakes. Coded HTO and HTV under TOPS, the wagons were never fully replaced by air braked wagons but colliery closures had a major impact on their numbers. The unfitted fleet was eradicated by the mid 1980s while just a handful of HTVs made it into the 1990s. Many of the wagons survived longer, at least in part, with their underframes receiving new box bodies for the departmental fleet.
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|
 |
MDO/MDV/MEO 21/24½t Mineral Wagons |
1950-1978 |
13907 |
1950-c.1992 |
01/01/2008 |
01/07/2008 |
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Although almost 14,000 of these larger mineral wagons were built for BR, they were overshadowed by the far more numerous 16ton variants. Two basic designs were used, both having twin side doors and one end door in their 21ft 6in long bodies, mounted on 12ft wheelbase underframes. The 24½t variant (MEO) was over a foot taller than the standard 16ton mineral, at over 9ft 10in. The 21ton wagons (MDO and MDV) were closer to the 16 tonners in height, and lasted longer both in production and in service. Rebodying in later years produced further variations. The South Wales coalfields were the types main area of operation and the last were withdrawn in about 1992.
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|
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STV Tube Wagons |
1949-1961 |
3460 |
1949-current |
01/01/2008 |
26/06/2008 |
|
Ask a wagon enthusiast what is longer, a pipe or a tube and they will tell you it is the latter! Both Pipe and Tube were well-established wagon types by the time BR was formed in 1948, and many more were built over the next 14 years. As with the shorter Pipe wagons, the Tubes survived in some numbers into the 1980s, thanks to the vacuum brakes fitted to many. By the 1990s, only departmental wagons remained, although these included some of the earliest built by BR. The last few Tubes were withdrawn in about 2007.
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|
 |
PKA/PQA 3-axle Car Transporter Wagons |
1981-1983 |
158 |
1981-current |
23/12/2007 |
16/06/2008 |
|
The PKA was a three-axle articulated vehicle carrier of French design, built in the early 1980s. Coming in double-deck (later recoded PQA) and single-deck varieties, a total of 158 wagons were built, permanently coupled into 79 sets. They were hired to a number of different companies and wore a corresponding range of liveries. From the early 1990s, most were renumbered to permit operation on train ferries and later through the channel tunnel. In recent years the few remaining domestic sets have found alternate use carrying track-relaying equipment.
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|
 |
Air-Braked Bogie Steel Prototypes |
1976-1990 |
14 |
1976-current |
23/12/2007 |
10/06/2008 |
|
Five types of bogie steel wagon were built between 1976 and 1990, none of which entered serial production. First was the BLA of 1976 (a stretched BBA), then the YXA of 1985 (built to test new bogies). Finally the BGA/BHA/BJA family of 1990, a concerted effort to find replacements for the ageing BDA fleet as well as to provide better protection for steel loads. |
|
 |
OAA/OBA Air-Braked Opens |
1971-1979 |
900 |
1971-current |
22/12/2007 |
10/06/2008 |
|
The OAA and OBA types were open wagons with steel ends and wooden dropside doors, built in the 1970s for use on Air-Braked Network (ABN, later Speedlink) services. A decline in general merchandise traffic affected the fleet and many of the OBAs were transferred to departmental use within a few years. Later, both types saw a variety of modifications and conversions for other duties.
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|
 |
BCA/BDA Air-Braked Bogie Bolsters |
1975-1981 |
1253 |
1975-current |
16/12/2007 |
28/05/2008 |
|
Over 1000 Bogie Bolster wagons were refurbished by BR in the 1970s with new bogies and air brakes. Most were 52ft long Bogie Bolster Ds, which became BDAs, but two Cs were also rebuilt, becoming the short-lived BCAs. A large proportion of the BDAs remain in service today, many having undergone modification for specific duties.
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|
 |
VEA/VFA Air-Braked Vanwides |
1978-1984 |
550 |
1978-c.2000 |
22/12/2007 |
28/05/2008 |
|
The VEA vans (and ODA opens) were traditional wagon designs refurbished and fitted with air brakes in the early 1980s to suit customers who could not handle the longer wheelbase of newer designs. A total of 550 wagons were dealt with and they could be seen across the country on Speedlink trains as well as military specials. A decline in Ministry of Defence requirements lead to most of the wagons being withdrawn in the early 1990s, with just a handful finding further use in the departmental fleets. However, many survived in internal use at Army bases.
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|
 |
YMO 'Salmon' Bogie Rail Wagons |
1949-1983 |
895 |
1949-current |
01/01/2008 |
25/05/2008 |
|
The Salmon was a bogie rail wagon built in large numbers during BR's early years. Surprisingly, almost 400 remained in stock in 2008, most having been upgraded with air brakes and new bogies. The type is now mainly used for carrying track panels.
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|
 |
'Clam', 'Rudd' and 'Tope' Ballast Wagon Rebuilds |
1984-1991 |
2069 |
1987-current |
01/01/2008 |
25/05/2008 |
|
The Clam, Rudd and Tope wagons were all rebuilds of HTV coal hoppers for use by the Civil Engineers. The Clam and Rudd conversions both involved the fitting of a new box body, the Rudds having dropside doors and air brakes. The Tope was a simpler job, merely having the original hopper body cut down in height and a solid floor fitted. The programme started in 1984 and, although scaled back, still involved over 2000 wagons, the vast majority of which appeared in the attractive grey and yellow livery. The vacuum braked Clam and Tope fleets were fairly rapidly withdrawn in the early 2000s, but the Rudds lasted longer, with over 200 still in use at the start of 2008.
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