NSE brake vans. 20t & Queen Mary

[mabel]

As the title, does anyone know what these brake vans were used for? Bachmann have produced all of them I believe. The BR 20t & it’s pill box companion are very shy on the internet. My searches have brought up nothing so far. Any help much appreciated.

 

[Lyddrail]

I gather they were used for cripples (wagons) working from Old Oak Common. All the photos I have seen are from OOC.

Cheers.

[anroar53]

The QM Brake Vans were still in use around 1989-91 on the Sevington (Ashford) to Snowdown Channel Tunnel spoil trains.

[rob D2]

Brake vans in general in the 90s appeared to be used mainly where there was a requirement for extra brake force ( like LUL stock movements , although this was more late 80s and 20T ) or in any situation where propelling would be needed for a long way , in fact EWS had a couple of reliveried QM for that sort of thing 

[SED Freightman]

I think the NSE Queen Mary's may have been allocated to the M & EE dept, possibly the Power Supply Section based at Horsham, if so I guess they would have been used for staff transport on engineering trains visiting out of the way sub-stations etc.

 

In 1988, three QM's hauled by USA Tank 30072 were used to provide rides for the public in Woking Down Yd as part of the Woking 150 event, one of these was ADS56284 which I belive was allocated to NSE.  In 1988 two QM's were used to provide brake force on unfitted trains between Stewarts Lane and Brixton in conjuction with the replacement of the Atlantic Road Bridge, I suspect these would also have been from the NSE allocation.  In 1993, a gauging trip from Eastleigh to Salisbury and back with S15 No.828 was formed with two QM's to convey the large number of essential (?) staff accompanying the movement, these two may well have been from the NSE allocation.

 

Regarding the non NSE QM's as mentioned above by anroar53, Trainload Construction operated at least one QM for use on Snowdown to Sevington spoil trips and also possibly some Sevington to Shakespeare Cliff trips.  In the mid 1990's RfD used a QM to convey BTP Officers on a few car trains between Dagenham Dock and Garston, unfortunately the Merseyside criminal element got wise to this and set light to the van which was destroyed above the frames.  As late as 2001, ADS56303 was used as a propelling control vehicle on a trial movement of a Redland Self Discharge Train between Wolverton Centre Sdgs and the Works, having travelled with the train from Mountsorrel.