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Modern two axle opens


scouser

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Can anybody tell me if the MTA, MHA and MFA wagons are still used?

 

Yes - quite regularly. The MHA's seem to make up the largest proportion these days when I've seen them as a trainload.

 

Two types of MHA (number of ribs and footsteps is the giveaway. MTA (with extended ends) second wagon back and a MFA three wagons behind the second MTA (without the extended ends).

http://www.flickr.com/photos/47971066@N06/8186114730/in/photolist-dtnYH9-f89FWA-bncymJ-8GJHSb

 

 

Cheers,

Mick

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Yes, still regularly used.

 

The two main MHA styles will be most prevalent due to sheer numbers (followed by MTA and then lastly MFA)

 

There's 1065 'standard' MHA across the two body styles, versus just over 300 MTA (across the three batches), and even fewer MFA...

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With respect to the MHA / MTA / MFA comment, are there no MEAs remaining?

 

MEA = rebodied HEA hoppers. MFAs were a reduced height variant, I believe made in addition to MEA initially although some MEA may have been cut down and recoded MFA subsequently.

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There are lots of MEA remaining, but they aren't part of the same engineers fleet ref the OP.

 

(There's other 2 axle open fleets around as well, but again, not part of that fleet...)

 

The MFA are all cut down MEA so far as I know, although some were not MEA very long before conversion (and they later had to convert more HEA to re-increase the MEA fleet, so it becomes a very non-linear story!)

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That particular MTA wasn't rebodied, the 'Limpet' body was just cut down, so it's only it's second body, albeit much hacked about - I make it the fourth incarnation though, being a tank, rebodied to a POA/PNA open in the 1980s, converted to a ZKA/MKA 'Limpet' by cutting holes in the side, then later cut down to an MTA! (You can still just about make out markings from their POA days on some of the high numbered MTA which confirms they haven't had as much as a complete coat of paint, let alone a new body in that time!)

 

The EWS batch (395014 to 395241?) was a brand new body on a tank wagon chassis, but I don't recall that they they had been box bodied wagons in the interim - the MTA type really contains at least 3 different 'paths' to the similar looking present wagons, again a convoluted history. :)

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