les101975jud Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 I am interested in putting a train of these wagons together and wondered how many of them would make up a typical train. Was there any restriction on the number for safety reasons? It would be for the BR era in the late 1950s. I am not sure how common they would be across the rail network but would be interested in any geographical information. Regards Les Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithHC Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 In the Mitchell and Smith book "East Croydon to Three Bridges" is a picture of a Hoo Junction to Three Bridges freight most likely to be destined to Rowfant. The train is headed by an ex LBSCR K class loco it consist of BR standard Brake Van 2 x 16t minerals 20 to 22 tanks 2 x minerals and a final Brake van. The picture is dated August 1959. Keith Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wickham Green Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 "Oil on the Rails" will have all the answers. If the Rowfant train has two barrier wagons at each end it's probably carrying 'Class A' liquids ( silver tanks in '59 ) rather than 'Class B' ( black ). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithHC Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 21 minutes ago, Wickham Green said: "Oil on the Rails" will have all the answers. If the Rowfant train has two barrier wagons at each end it's probably carrying 'Class A' liquids ( silver tanks in '59 ) rather than 'Class B' ( black ). The wagons show up as dark grey in the picture with potentially whiteish ends. Keith Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wickham Green Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 Filthy silver tanks with less filthy ends p'raps ...... ? .............................. Looks like Rowfant handled both classes of liquids : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowfant_railway_station 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
les101975jud Posted February 16, 2020 Author Share Posted February 16, 2020 Thank you for the replies. Very helpful and food for thought. Les Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brossard Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 From my understanding, Class A tanks (carrying aviation petrol) were phased out after the war as aircraft transitioned to jet power, using less volatile Kerosene as fuel. Class A tank trains DID require barrier wagons. I'm not so sure that Class B trains required barrier wagons. John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 The various 'Ministry' tanks were sold at the end of hostilities; most ended up with the major oil companies. I'm trying to imagine why the Air Ministry were using 'Class B' tanks, as aviation fuel was Class A, and, unlike the Germans, we didn't have diesel-powered aircraft, which would have used Class B fuel. My impression, from photos of the time, is that in most cases, until the late 1950s, most tank wagons ran as part of mixed freights, except between the refineries and the nearest yard. At most, there might be a small group of half-a-dozen together, but I have seen lots of photos with a single tank in a mixed freight. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dvdlcs Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 21 hours ago, Fat Controller said: I'm trying to imagine why the Air Ministry were using 'Class B' tanks, as aviation fuel was Class A, and, unlike the Germans, we didn't have diesel-powered aircraft, which would have used Class B fuel. Could the Class B fuel be for diesel vehicles used by the Air Ministry, repair trucks, transporters, small fuel bowsers, etc.? Or were there too many 'B' tanks running around for that purpose alone? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
br2975 Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 Many years ago Modellers Backtrack published an excellent, informative, well illustrated (photos and scale drawings) two part article by Peter Fidczuck. "Air Ministry Tank Wagons" Part 1 - The war years Part 2 - Post war service. . Those articles should answer most questions on the subject, it's the most info I've seen on these tanks, in one place. . Brian R Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 25 minutes ago, dvdlcs said: Could the Class B fuel be for diesel vehicles used by the Air Ministry, repair trucks, transporters, small fuel bowsers, etc.? Or were there too many 'B' tanks running around for that purpose alone? The UK military has fought shy of diesel for years; even AFVs were petrol-fuelled during WW2. I'm not sure what the policy is now, but into the 1970s, virtually everything ran on petrol. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
markw Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 1 hour ago, dvdlcs said: Could the Class B fuel be for diesel vehicles used by the Air Ministry, repair trucks, transporters, small fuel bowsers, etc.? Or were there too many 'B' tanks running around for that purpose alone? There were a lot less class B air ministry tanks than class A, most were designated as lubricating oil. They were only numbered in the air ministry series for convenience, they were under the control of the petroleum board and would be used for any flow along with the pooled wagons from the oil companies. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wickham Green Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 Confusion arises from the conversion of 'Class A' tanks to 'Class B' - a lot of them for bitumen traffic - after the war. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now