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Bogie brick wagon use and withdrawal date


lather
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During BR days, did the 50 Ton bogie brick wagons have specific routes or geographical areas of use, or would they be seen pretty much all over the network? (Route availability permitting, of course!) Most sources seem to just talk about Fletton to London traffic, but there's comments from some about seeing them elsewhere on the network (including Tinsley).

 

Also, when were they actually withdrawn from revenue service? Some sources say 1966, but there's photographic evidence of one at Euston in early 1967. I also have a May 1969 LMR Freight Train Loads Book that makes a very clear and specific reference to them - which would suggest that they were still in use at that point (or expected to be when the book was written).

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Most of their traffic was to London, when it was all being built and then rebuilt after war damage.  They were also used as fitted heads on mineral trains and so often feature in the background of loco shots.

 

They could go anywhere which required ~23000 bricks, though - I have a photograph somewhere of one being unloaded at Leicester in the 1930s and I'd be as sure as you can with hardly any evidence that they must have gone elsewhere on occasion.

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6 hours ago, Fat Controller said:

In latter years, they were used for domestic refuse traffic from Ashburton Grove (about where the Emirates stadium is) to somewhere near Hitchin.

The one at Euston was there in departmental use, I would imagine, during the reconstruction of the station.

Where they used for refuse? I only saw bogie Sulphates on that. 

 

Yes Euston one was probably being used for building refuse during station reconstruction. https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/lneropenwood/ef2245ad  Typical of that time, must have been seen by hundreds of so called "enthusiasts" but this 15 year old kids is the only photo I've ever seen of it. 

 

Paul

Edited by hmrspaul
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18 hours ago, Fat Controller said:

In latter years, they were used for domestic refuse traffic from Ashburton Grove (about where the Emirates stadium is) to somewhere near Hitchin.

The one at Euston was there in departmental use, I would imagine, during the reconstruction of the station.

 

The "Ashburton Grove Pullman" as it was known was the train that carried London waste from Ashburton Grove sidings near Finsbury Park to Blackbridge tip which was on the Welwyn Garden City - Luton line.  The steel sided Bogie Sulphate wagons (for which a Parkside kit is also available) were used on it, together with various types of 4-wheeled mineral wagons at times, but I have never seen a picture showing a Bogie Brick wagon on that train.

 

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The stats we published for Sept 1966 have only 8 fitted and 2 unfitted "Brick" (Palbricks are listed separately). Brick may well include the 3 experimental bricks diag 1/038. So bogie examples in revenue use would have been scarce (these numbers would exclude any transferred to the engineers). 

 

Incidentally there are 38 unfitted Sulphates listed. 

 

Paul

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I had one of these brick wagons about 50 years ago, on the plastic bogies. It was one of my favourite wagons. Just yesterday I was browsing in the local market and on a stall which resembled a giant jumble sale (I think it specialised in house clearances) and I spotted some old railway stuff, mainly Tri-ang coaches, and there lurking below them was a metal-bogied brick wagon. Thanks to this thread I was tempted............but only for a few seconds as I have absolutely no need for one - or yet another project! I've already got heavily side-tracked this summer :wacko:

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5 hours ago, hmrspaul said:

The stats we published for Sept 1966 have only 8 fitted and 2 unfitted "Brick" (Palbricks are listed separately). Brick may well include the 3 experimental bricks diag 1/038. So bogie examples in revenue use would have been scarce (these numbers would exclude any transferred to the engineers). 

 

Incidentally there are 38 unfitted Sulphates listed. 

 

Paul

Well, it certainly seems that there were still enough of them around in 1969 (either in revenue service or with the engineers) to warrant a specific mention in the Freight Trains Loads Book. Sadly, this makes no mention of if they were still in revenue use at that point, just that they should always be coupled next to the loco, and should have the brakes in use.

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1 hour ago, Wickham Green too said:

In theory, if the Engineers had got their hands on them, they would have been called by some fishy name rather than 'Brick' - and given DE prefixes. ( too early for TOPS codes, unfortunately )

Quite a lot of revenue wagons were not given code names when transferred to the Engineers. I worked opposite the reception sidings for Alsager tip in the late 1970s/early 1980s, and so saw several hundred such wagons every week. They received new prefixes to their numbers, and sometimes one of the coloured symbols, but never a 'FISHKND'. The only ones I do remember were ex-Tubes labelled 'COD', used to convey new sleepers.

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9 hours ago, Fat Controller said:

Quite a lot of revenue wagons were not given code names when transferred to the Engineers. I worked opposite the reception sidings for Alsager tip in the late 1970s/early 1980s, and so saw several hundred such wagons every week. They received new prefixes to their numbers, and sometimes one of the coloured symbols, but never a 'FISHKND'. The only ones I do remember were ex-Tubes labelled 'COD', used to convey new sleepers.

I thought that stood for Cash on Delivery, on account of the sleepers got bashed about  in transit and you only wanted the ones that were still fit for service.

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G'Day Folks

 

Brick wagons were used in the late summer/autumn months for Veggies, 'Sacked Spuds' from Lincolnshire, and Cabbage, Broccoli and Brussel sprouts from around Biggleswade and St Neots, Horse manure, was also carried from London to these towns and sold to the farmers.

Last I heard of them being used to transport Vauxhall car bodies around at Luton, after withdrawal by BR, that would have been post 1970.

 

manna

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