Wagon identification

[dagrizz]

Hi,

 

A relative saw this train at Kirk Hammerton earlier today and asked me what the wagons were. I suggested that they were for transporting track panels. Am I right?

 

Graham

 

 

[sir douglas]

for carrying complete points

 

https://www.railwaygazette.com/innotrans/high-tech-track/42868.article

[Wheatley]

They're for transporting pre- fabricated pointwork, which is wider than a normal track panel so it's tilted to keep it in gauge. 

 

The Hammerton-Cattal loop is being relaid with higher speed pointwork and modern signalling at each end, replacing the current semaphores and token working. 

[Steadfast]

As highlighted by the others, they're tilting point carriers, built by Kirow and TOPS coded IFA. We just refer to them as 'tilters' at work. Some are in sets (threes I think from memory) and some are singles, but they tend to work together as longer sets. You'll always have a Bass (OBA/OCA) and a converted Perch with a beam on it (YRA) as support wagons when running to or from a worksite. The beam allows a crane to unload the pointwork from the wagons.

The tilters run as an X headcode as they are an out of gauge load and have to be routed correctly.

Some more info here 

 

For some good pics trying sticking 'IFA tilting' into Flickr.

 

Jo

 

[hmrspaul]

Photos

https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/kirowswitchcross

 

PAul