philiprporter Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 I hope this is the right place to post this as its not 100% Dapol related, but I am very confused by the various types of freightliner flats that exist in n-gauge and want to buy some Dapol wagons subject to answers to my question! Dapol make or have made Megafret and Spine wagons, while Farish have 'Intermodal wagons' and Revolution are about to produce PFA/KFA flats. I would like to try and track down the Dapol Megafrets and Spine wagons (particularly the latter) on the secondhand market, but before I do this, would all these different types of freightliner wagon be seen in the same train formation? Is the 'Intermodal' wagon by Farish the same as a 'Megafret' by Dapol for example? Would a Dapol 'Spine Wagon' run with a 'Megafret' and/or a PFA/KFA and/or a 'Spine Wagon'? I'm utterly confused!! Thanks in anticipation of anyone who has knowledge of this before I start parting with cash for Dapol flats! (I have plenty of the Farish 'Intermodal Wagons' and have KFAs on order from Revolution). Best wishes, Phil. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Ben Posted August 22, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 22, 2017 Hi Phil, They are all different wagons. The original Freightliner flats (subject of a very old Farish model, now being produced to modern standards in 4mm by Bachmann wih, hopefully, N to follow) were in 4 or 5 wagon sets of groups of inners and outers coded FFA and FGA. They have 60' decks and are now out of service, at least in intermodal trains, I believe. They were used by BR, Railfreight Distribution and for a while by EWS. The Farish intermodal twin wagons are known as Multifrets and coded FIA and have 50' decks so can carry 2 x 20 or 1 x 40 or 1 x 45' containers. They are used by DB. The Dapol Megafret twins, coded IKA, also have 50' decks but at a lower height to allow taller containers to be carried. They are used by DB, Freightliner DRS and GBRf. The Dapol spine wagon twins are coded FEA-B and are used by Freightliner and GBRf. Some were also built for Fastline and I believe these are now in use with DB. In N Dapol have produced these in GBRf blue and Freightliner green, but not in Fastline grey, though they have in 00. The Revolution PFA/KFA was introduced for BR Railfreight Distrubution and are now in use with Freighltiner and DB. The upcoming C-Rail KQA/KTA pocketwagon is used by Freightliner to carry taller containers. There are several other types (among them Ecofrets, IDA, FCA/FXA, FAA) but none of these are available in N. If you're interested in further browsing, Martyn Read's website is superb: https://ukrailwaypics.smugmug.com/UKRailRollingstock Cheers Ben A. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
philiprporter Posted August 22, 2017 Author Share Posted August 22, 2017 Thats fantastic Ben thanks so much - and that site you recommend is wonderful and a great help. Would I be correct in thinking that for a given operator, you could mix flats within a train formation? That seems to be the case in some photos I have seen, but I may be wrong? I've ordered PFAs from Revolution - I'm guessing now that I ordered the wrong ones for present day operations and that I should have ordered KFAs judging by what I can see from the Martyn Read site? Cheers, Phil. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dungrange Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 Yes, I think the code change from PFA to KFA occurred around 1990 or thereabouts, so I'm assuming the PFA you have ordered will be in 'as built' condition. I don't know how long it would have taken to change the TOPS code on each wagon in the fleet, but I would assume most, if not all, would have been coded KFA by the time BR was privatised in the md 1990s. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Ben Posted August 22, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 22, 2017 Hi Phil, If you want there is still time to switch around your orders, but I have at least one photo showing one of these wagons as recently as 2015 still carrying the PFA code. Cheers Ben A. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
philiprporter Posted August 23, 2017 Author Share Posted August 23, 2017 Hi Phil, If you want there is still time to switch around your orders, but I have at least one photo showing one of these wagons as recently as 2015 still carrying the PFA code. Cheers Ben A. Many thanks Ben - could you let me know how I do that? Should I just order the KFAs from scratch and email Mike to cancel the PFA order? Cheers, Phil. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Ben Posted August 23, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 23, 2017 Many thanks Ben - could you let me know how I do that? Should I just order the KFAs from scratch and email Mike to cancel the PFA order? Cheers, Phil. Hi Phil, Mike handles the order side of things so I am not the expert but I think that should work! If not PM me. Cheers Ben A. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormbringer Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 Some container trains have a right royal mix of wagons in them, Fea-b, Fea-e Fea-s,Fla, Fsa, FTa, Kfa and Kta. others are mainly one type with an odd different wagon in the mix. I run FEA-B, FEA-E, FLA, KTA and KFA in my freightliner rake. Pete Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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