RNA Barrier Wagons

Until the mid 1990s railway operations required the use of barrier wagons when trains were carrying Dangerous Goods to give better protection to train crews and the goods themselves in the event of derailment or collision. Traditionally these barrier wagons would be drawn from whatever suitable wagons were available in the yard at the time that the train was assembled. However, with the sectorisation of British Rail in the run up to privatisation all assets and requirements had to be accounted for.

With this in mind, Railfreight Coal assembled a dedicated fleet of barrier wagons for use with nuclear flask traffic. It is likely that a number of the wagons that were involved had been in use for this very purpose for some time but were now formally assigned and converted for the role. A large number had their hopper bodies removed and a new floor added. Alongside this they gained a coat of the new Railfreight Sector livery complete with coal branding.

Other hoppers retained their bodywork but gained a repaint in the Sector livery while others were simply recoded as RNA while retaining their previous liveries.

HEA Hopper Conversions: A Brake Van for the Sectorisation Era

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.

HEA Hopper Conversions: Cut Down RNA

It seemed to be about time to have a break from pictures of coal wagons, so here's a wagon that used to be a coal wagon!

One feature of railway operation, which seems to have virtually ended now, is the use of barrier wagons to hopefully give some protection to the train crew should anything go wrong. Quite often these barrier wagons were empty revenue wagons placed at either end of the hazardous commodity being conveyed.

However, in April 1989 a design sheet was issued to convert 30 HEA hopper wagons into barriers for use with nuclear flask trains which were then the responsibility of the Railfreight Coal Sector. The work involved the removal of the hopper body, the addition of some extra weight and plating over of the hole left by removing the hopper.

The screenshots from Train Simulator 2014 show both sides of recently converted RNA wagons posing in the sunshine for the official photographer. The application of lettering does seem to have posed a problem due to the lack of bodywork and as such there are some non standard lettering features and no two wagons seem to be lettered in quite the same way which means we have had to go for a bit of a best average approach.

HEA Hopper Conversions: Railfreight Coal MEA

The spring sunshine has arrived just in time for the first of the MEA box wagons to pose for the official photographer on the works lawn.

Finished in Railfreight Sector executive dark grey and yellow livery the wagon sports the black diamond branding of it's owning sector - Trainload Coal.