Train formation featuring a 'Dutch' ZTO brake van - suggestions?

[Clagsniffer]

With the forthcoming release by Bachmann of the ZTO brake van in dutch livery I was wondering if anybody could suggest an engineering train formation that would include one of these vans?

 

Am I right in thinking with it being a ZTO that they would be used on an unfitted train? I thought that unfitted trains in the dutch livery period were increasingly rare, and if so is this a bit of a strange release by Bachmann?

 

My original plan was to use a rake of the Hornby iron ore tipplers (R6504) and convert them to ZHO wagons and attach one of the ZTO brake vans at the rear. Would this be prototypical?

 

Cheers.

[Fat Controller]

It would be, but there were also examples of them actually being used on revenue trains as well. David Ratcliffe's excellent book on freight train formations has an example of a train of Steel sections from Shelton Bar, Stoke, to Teesside. Because of the way was formed of a mixture of air and vacuum stock, it was only partially fitted. The brake provided was a ZTO. Incidentally, because of the braking configuration, the train was restricted to 25mph maximum for its entire journey- bet it was popular with the signallers.

[Rivercider]

I wonder how many ZTO engineers brake vans were painted in dutch livery? They seem to be camera shy.

 

I think the start of dutch livery for wagons was approximately 1982, by which time, as you point out, unfitted trains were rare.

 

The reason for the transfer of tipplers to the engineers fleet was to enable the withdrawal of unfitted wagons,

on the Western Region at least we only had fitted tipplers in engineers use, thus removing the need for a brake van,

 

cheers