unidentified freight wagons

[Pacific231G]

This is probably totally obvious to modellers of the current scene but on Friday early evening I was waiting for a train at Ealing Broadway when a very long train of light blue articulated covered wagons came through at fairly high speed on the up relief line. It was hauled by a single EWS liveried shed and each wagon consisted of three (or possibly four) sections joined by flexible diaphragms and with what appeared to be smallish loading doors at each end but no side doors. The wagons appeared to be French since they each had a Gare d'Attache though I thought I saw signage in Italian or Spanish as well but it was moving too fast to read anything.

The wagons appeared to be shaped for max loading gauge and I thought maybe they were well protected car transporters but wondered if anyone knows for sure what they are. They were presumably heading for the tunnel via N. Pole junction and the WLER. I've seen these trains in the distance before but never got close up to them before.

[Edwin_m]

Indeed sounds like the WIA articulated car transporters. The roof of an entire articulated unit lifts up on some sort of jack to allow the cars to drive over the humps above the bogies and out through doors at the end.

 

A couple of years ago these were taking Jaguars out of the terminal at Fort Dunlop. Not sure if they still do.

[Pacific231G]

Indeed sounds like the WIA articulated car transporters. The roof of an entire articulated unit lifts up on some sort of jack to allow the cars to drive over the humps above the bogies and out through doors at the end.

 

A couple of years ago these were taking Jaguars out of the terminal at Fort Dunlop. Not sure if they still do.

 

Thanks Edwin

 

That's definitely what they are. From the WIA reference I've been able to locate some more images and I gather they were built by Arbel specifically for international services via the channel tunnel- so manufacturers will have to make them in 00 and HO.

 

Since they've been around for so long I'm really surprised that I've only started seeing them in the past year or so. I also realise that these are the same wagons that I saw from the air parked in the old oil depot sidings at Micheldever a month or so ago and I'd have defiinitely noticed if they'd been there much before that. I guess they must have just started working on lines I pass more often.

 

 

I found this image of one of them in the unloading position on the Arbel-Fauvet Rail website.

 

David

[Jim Martin]

Indeed sounds like the WIA articulated car transporters. The roof of an entire articulated unit lifts up on some sort of jack to allow the cars to drive over the humps above the bogies and out through doors at the end.

 

A couple of years ago these were taking Jaguars out of the terminal at Fort Dunlop. Not sure if they still do.

 

From the website of the builders, Arbel Fauvet, comes this shot showing the roof in the raised position (the specific wagon in the picture isn't one of the UK-based ones, but they work in exactly the same way). They used to be used on Jaguar traffic out of Halewood, too. Not sure if they still are. Several sets spent a very long period in the sidings at Allerton depot, getting heavily graffiti-ed in the process, until the site was cleared recently. ATM Models produced a limited edition model in N-gauge several years ago, long since sold out and much sought-after.

 

Jim

[br2975]

The WIA wagons were also used on export traffic to Southampton (Eastern) Docks, I don't know if the service still runs, but I have shots of the wagons stood on the quayside.

.

A couple of the wagon sets were stood at Newport Alexandra Dock Jct. yard the weekend before last, in good nick and no apparent graffiti.

.

Brian R

[Adam]

The WIA wagons were also used on export traffic to Southampton (Eastern) Docks, I don't know if the service still runs, but I have shots of the wagons stood on the quayside.

.

A couple of the wagon sets were stood at Newport Alexandra Dock Jct. yard the weekend before last, in good nick and no apparent graffiti.

.

Brian R

 

Not sure Brian. There are a few sets stopped or stored at Micheldever at the moment, but I think I've been on a London bound service passing a trainload of these travelling in the opposite direction earlier this year. I too have a photo of these in the docks somewhere (from a somewhat unusual vantage point - I'll have to dig that one out).

 

Adam

[Oakydoke]

WIA's are/were very common on the LSWR on the way to/from Southampton docks for many years.

The downturn in traffic has reduced the frequency of use.

 

Each set consists of 5 articulated vehicles and it was common to see 9 sets (45 wagons) behind an EWS Class 66.

 

 

WIA

[Glorious NSE]

That's definitely what they are. From the WIA reference I've been able to locate some more images and I gather they were built by Arbel specifically for international services via the channel tunnel- so manufacturers will have to make them in 00 and HO.

 

Hahahaha....

 

There's been an N model, but that's it so far.

 

Since they've been around for so long I'm really surprised that I've only started seeing them in the past year or so. I also realise that these are the same wagons that I saw from the air parked in the old oil depot sidings at Micheldever a month or so ago and I'd have defiinitely noticed if they'd been there much before that. I guess they must have just started working on lines I pass more often.

 

The ones in store at Micheldever haven't been there long. The current flow using these through Ealing is a domestic flow of Mini's from Cowley to Purfleet for export by ship. From memory that's been running for a year or two but presumably running was much reduced by the recession for a time.

 

With Didcot now being the main wagonload hub for Southern England instead of Wembley there is also now a Dagenham-Didcot flow of Fords along the GWML using assorted STVA wagons.

[Adam]

Ah, found it:

 

 

No prizes, but if anyone can guess where it the shot was taken from I'll be suitably impressed (especially if they don't cheat and use Google Maps or similar).

 

Adam

[Oakydoke]

From the Standard Life offices?

[Adam]

From the Standard Life offices?

 

No, but right end of the world.

 

Adam

[Gilwell Park]

That's very interesting, I recently saw several sets heading east through Blackhorse Rd behind a 66 and wondered what they were. Thanks. Roger.

[Ron Ron Ron]

No prizes, but if anyone can guess where it the shot was taken from I'll be suitably impressed (especially if they don't cheat and use Google Maps or similar).

Is that photo taken from the city walls?

 

Southampton Docks is a major port for the import and export of motor vehicles, with a lot of traffic from those huge car transporter ships.

As a result, the WIA car trains are regular visitors in and out of the Eastern Docks.

Some of them are very long (40, 45 or possibly 50 wagons?), much longer than the already long intermodal trains.

I hear that traffic is down as a result of the recession though.

 

 

There's a video on YouTube showing a 5 x 5 set train of WIA's being shunted at Micheldever last year.

You can clearly see how the outer two wagons are longer than the 3 inner wagons in each set.

 

Another YouTube video......

 

...plus some photos on the "Wagons on the Web" site.

 

 

.

[Adam]

Is that photo taken from the city walls?

 

Correct (though I suppose, strictly, that should be town walls as it wasn't a city when they were put up...). From the top of God's House Tower (with permission, etc.).

 

Adam

[Ron Ron Ron]

.......so manufacturers will have to make them in 00 and HO.......

 

.......ATM Models produced a limited edition model in N-gauge several years ago, long since sold out and much sought-after.......

 

......There's been an N model, but that's it so far......

 

As Jim says, ATM made the limited edition N gauge model many years ago. Very nice it was too, but a pity it was in N rather than 00.

At £150 a set, it was rather expensive, so I dread to think what an 00 model would cost. Still I'd have 4 sets if they were available ... well one set would look silly wouldn't it?

 

.

[Glorious NSE]

I would suspect that £150 is more to do with it being a hand-finished resin kit as opposed to being mass produced RTR plastic, i'd suspect a RTR one from the likes of Bachmann or Hornby could be at least 1/3rd less - mass producing the articulation joints could be interesting though?

 

With my pedantic hat on it would be a 10 wagon train not a 50 wagon train as well, as the 5 unit set is one wagon with this type (there have been types where the opposite applies such as Cartic-4s!)

 

There's some more photo's here, I only updated this collection last week strangely enough:

http://ukrailrollingstock.fotopic.net/c109404.html

 

BTW - you don't have to use them in block trains, this one was mixed in with assorted other types on a Hoo Jcn-Wembley enterprise:

 

 

Fancy an oddity? This is the return leg of a set being turned on the loop at Eastleigh depot, presumably so the cars are pointing the right way when it gets delivered!

 

Apologies for image quality, it was chucking it down at the time.

 

[Ron Ron Ron]

I would suspect that £150 is more to do with it being a hand-finished resin kit as opposed to being mass produced RTR plastic, i'd suspect a RTR one from the likes of Bachmann or Hornby could be at least 1/3rd less...

Indeed, plus the fact that they only made something like 100 sets.

I wish Bachmann would do one....

 

 

 

....with my pedantic hat on it would be a 10 wagon train not a 50 wagon train as well, as the 5 unit set is one wagon with this type (there have been types where the opposite applies such as Cartic-4s!)

Agreed, but even if it's loose terminology, "50 wagons long" give some idea of the length of some of these trains.

 

By the way, have there been any 10 set trains? The longest I've ever seen is 9 sets.

 

.

 

 

[brian daniels]

I drive the Morris Cowley to Purfleet as far as Acton now and then and that train has been loading from 6 to as many as 11 Believe me, that's longgggggggggggg. Each wagon carries 33 Mini's so on 11 that's 363 of them! At Didcot we also work from Highworth at Swindon with about 9 WIA's for Gent loaded with Hondas twice a week.

 

I must adnit I am surprises no one has done an etched kit in OO or O as it has to be the easiest wagon to do in brass.

[eastwestdivide]

I drive the Morris Cowley to Purfleet as far as Acton

... Each wagon carries 33 Mini's so on 11 that's 363 of them!

 

So at a list price of about £15000, that's a trainload worth £5.4 million. There's a whole new topic - how much are the contents of your freight train worth?

[Glorious NSE]

Agreed, but even if it's loose terminology, "50 wagons long" give some idea of the length of some of these trains.

 

Absolutely, a train of 11 wagons doesn't sound very impressive at all

 

So at a list price of about £15000, that's a trainload worth £5.4 million. There's a whole new topic - how much are the contents of your freight train worth?

 

Ooooh, a challenge...How many litres of unleaded can you get in 36x TEA?

[eastwestdivide]

Ooooh, a challenge...How many litres of unleaded can you get in 36x TEA?

OK, correct me if I'm wrong, but a back of the envelope calculation goes:

petrol at about 720 kg per cu metre = 720 kg per 1000 litres = 0.72 kg per litre, or 1 kg = 1.39 litres

 

one TEA tank = say 75 tonnes load = 75000 kg = 104,000 litres

 

using £1.20 per litre = £125,000 per tank

 

x 36 tanks = £4.5 million.

 

Do they still run bullion trains?

[Glorious NSE]

Ouch - that got closer than I thought it would!

 

No bullion these days...

 

Anyone know what the list price for these is?

http://clagmonster09.fotopic.net/p56371838.html

[Talltim]

Just discovered this thread after find this on google maps. I thought it was two images stitched and doubling the length of the train until I found out about the WIAs

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Northam,+Southampton+SO14/@50.8953184,-1.3956197,576m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x4874715ae828cebb:0x260eae2ecb82df61