September - Intercity Railway Society

Freight Corner
WAGON UPDATES by Scott Yeates (to UKRS No.3 UK Wagons 2011):
To allow members to keep their copy as up to date as possible, it is intended to provide changes via
this spot every month. It is known that various wagons reportedly withdrawn or missing from previous
editions are still in service so if any member can provide information please let Scott know, contact
details on page 2.
Nothing to report.
FREIGHT NEWS by Martin Hall
Colas has begun a new freight service transporting coal from Wolsingham to Tata Steel Works and
Ratcliffe Power Station. They have also purchased 66573-577 from Eversholt Leasing and
renumbered them 66846-850.
Devon & Cornwall Railway (DCR) has been given a freight licence and has been running trials with
bogie scrap wagons from Derby to Immingham.
Freightliner has also begun a new service of coal from Leith Docks to Longannet Power Station.
It nice to see re-cycling with former Direct Rail Rover Bogie Cube wagons being converted by EG
Steele of Hamilton into timber carriers for Colas Rail. The first one completed is 33.70.4739.074-1.
WAGON REVIEW by Martin Hall
Miscellaneous Private Owner Wagons:
Privately owned (PO) wagons prior to World War II were principally 4 wh 5pl and 7pl open wooden
mineral wagons owned by collieries for the vast movement of coal around Britain with a great variety
of liveries and lettering. These were inherited by the big four after 1923 and many continued through
to nationalisation with many others repainted into plain corporate liveries with GWR, LMS, LNER or
SR lettering. But the ravages of hard work, abuse and little maintenance throughout WW2 meant most
PO wagons were in poor condition when they were incorporated into the nationalised British Railways
in 1948. Many planks were replaced without the former lettering being renewed so creating a
patchwork livery. Nationalisation all but ended the practise of separate companies running their own
wagons on BR metals apart from a few specialised types like tanks. But as freight began to decline
and speeds needed to increase in block trains to compete with road haulage, BR relaxed its attitude to
private companies and in the 1970s a renewed program of private owner wagon construction began.
Many private companies could now move their products, albeit with the help of BR who still ran the
loco fleets. A different variety of liveries began to appear in the early days of private ownership and
following the 1996 privatisation, several companies like DRS, Freightliner, Foster Yeoman and GB
Railfreight either own or lease locomotives. Many PO wagons have survived into preservation and
have been restored as in the case of the two 7pl wooden mineral wagons below, although as is
common, both are of unknown provenance.
9988 NRM, York, 2 May 2011 421 Midland Rly Butterley, 17 August 2010
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