| << Profile 6 >> |
JNA 'Falcon' Bogie Ballast/Spoil Wagons |
| Build Details: |
2003-2004 Trinity, Romania |
| Numbering: |
NLU29001-NLU29555 |
| Bogies / Suspension: |
Axle Motion III |
| Dimensions: |
Bogie centres: 12000mm |
| Published Drawings: |
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| Areas of operation: |
Nationwide |
| Main liveries: |
Yellow. |
| Summary: |
A large fleet of 555 Romanian-built bogie open wagons was delivered to Network Rail in 2004 and they have since become a common sight across the country, carrying ballast and spoil in connection with infrastructure work. Nicknamed 'Falcons' (for reasons unknown) and painted in a distinctive all yellow livery, the wagons often operate in sets of five. |
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| History: |
The ongoing rejuvenation of the engineers fleet by Railtrack and later Network Rail has seen a return to the days of ordering sizable batches of wagons, although these are now normally built overseas. One of the largest fleets comprises 555 bogie open wagons delivered to Network Rail between November 2003 and May 2004. These were similar to the EWS-operated MOA wagons that arrived earlier in 2003 and had conventional drawgear at each end. Differences include the provision of a large, re-inforced door in the centre bay (to facilitate inspection and cleaning out), and footsteps and grab-rails towards the left of each side. Unlike the MOAs, the wagons were mounted on 2m wheelbase NACO-designed Axle Motion III bogies, at 12m centres. These bogies bear only a passing resemblence to the original Axle Motion bogie as fitted to most of the PTA/JTA fleet of iron-ore tipplers.
The Network Rail fleet was constructed by Astro Vagone (part of the Trinity group) at Arad in Romania, and were delivered in batches using Channel Tunnel freight services. Unlike most later wagons for Network Rail, they were numbered in the private owner series as NLU29001 to NLU29555. The NLU owner prefix stands for National Logistics Unit and is thought to be part of Network Rail. The same code later appeared on LWRT wagons. The TOPS code JNA was applied with AARKND JNA-C and design code JN060A. Design code JN060B has also been used (although the differences are not known) and by 2008 a total of 141 of the wagons were to the revised code. |
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| Queries: |
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| References: |
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| Links: |
Astra Rail Industries page detailing the JNA. Includes dimensions and a rotatable 3D model
Photos of JNA Falcon wagons on Martyn Read's website
Photos of JNA Falcon wagons on Andy Jupe's website
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| Updates: |
27/09/2014: Link to maker's webpage added.
15/03/2013: Photo links (finally) updated.
09/03/2008: Profile re-written with additional information. |
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| Photos |
| For more pictures see the Links section at the bottom |
JNA NLU29392 at Clapham Junction on 4th March 2006.
Tom Young |
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