Wednesday, 4 June 2014

HEA Hopper Conversions: A Brake Van for the Sectorisation Era

Fastline Simulation - HEA Conversions: The splitting of British Rail into business sectors saw every part of the business stamping their identity on movable and fixed assets. Railfreight even applied their new grey livery to some of the 30 year old brake vans they owned. On the whole these were the CAR conversions with through air and vacuum pipes which would be used where propelling and shunting moves were required or at the rear of trains conveying dangerous goods.
Our latest screenshot of items to be included in our HEA Hopper Conversions expansion pack for Train Simulator 2014 is a dia 1/507 CAR brake van in Trainload Railfreight Sector livery.

Even though the days of every goods train conveying a brake van on the rear for the use of the guard were long past a number of CAR brake vans did surprisingly receive the Trainload Railfreight livery complete with sector decals. The vans were given this modern livery as they were still needed for use with hazardous cargoes and where propelling movements were required as a part of a trains booked schedule. It was probably good for public perception of some of these potentially controversial commodities to appear to be carried in smart, well maintained trains too!

The main reason for including a new version of the CAR in our HEA Hopper Conversions expansion is to work alongside the RNA Barrier Wagons for use with nuclear flask traffic. The vans were included in trains in the late 1980's and early 1990's to assist with shunting movements at terminals and in the unlikely event of something untoward happening to a train conveying nuclear flasks the guard would be able to protect the rear of the train without the locomotive crew having to pass the flasks carried on the train.

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