BR 'Rudd' Ballast Wagons
| BRBritish Rail or British Railways 'Rudd' Ballast Wagons | |
|---|---|
 Train of Rudd Ballast Wagons in use by the Permanent Way Department at Highley | |
| Built By | See table |
| Status | Operational |
| Number | See table |
| Other Numbers | See table |
| History | |
| Built | See table |
| Diagram | See table |
| Lot | See table |
| Type | 4-wheel steel open |
| Capacity | 21 tons |
| Telegraphic code | RUDD |
| TOPS code | ZBA |
| Brakes | Air braked |
| 2007 | Arrived on SVRSevern Valley Railway on loan |
| 2015 | Acquired by SVRSevern Valley Railway(H) |
RUDD ballast wagons
The original 21-ton coal hoppers were a BRBritish Rail or British Railways development of an earlier LNERLondon & North Eastern Railway design. All but one of the fifteen later to arrive at the SVRSevern Valley Railway were originally built to Diagram 1/146, of which all the Lots had a welded body with bottom discharge doors, vacuum brakes and a standard 20-ton hand lever brake. The exception, built to Diagram 1/149, had roller bearings and self-contained buffers with 100 out of the 1,000 also being vacuum through-piped.[1] The original TOPS code for the vacuum-fitted hopper wagons was HTV. They were used in revenue-earning service.[2]
A surplus of such revenue-earning hopper wagons in the early 1980s led to their withdrawal. This coincided with a requirement for 'new' civil engineers ballast and spoil wagons to replace the elderly Grampus open wagons and second-hand 16-ton minerals wagons then in use. A programme was therefore put in hand to convert more than 2,000 such wagons into CLAM, RUDD and TOPE wagons.[3]
The RUDD variant involved the replacing the existing hopper body by a new box body with three drop-side doors per side, and also fitting air brakes in place of the existing vacuum brakes. 800 of these were converted by Marcroft Engineering of Stoke and C C Crump of Connah’s Quay (400 each) to design ZB001A. The RUDD, which has a 21 ton capacity, was particularly long-lasting with more than 200 still in use at the start of 2008.[3] The TOPSTotal Operations Processing System, an American computer system adopted by BR from the late 1960s to number and manage rolling stock. code for the converted RUDD is ZBA.
Acquisition and use by the SVRSevern Valley Railway
Following the storm damage of 2007, the SVRSevern Valley Railway acquired 15 RUDD Ballast Wagons on loan from EWSEnglish, Welsh & Scottish Railway, a rail freight company (now DB Schenker). Details of the 15 wagons are as follows:
| Number | Originally built | Originally built by | Original Diagram & Lot No | Original number | Rebuilt | Wagon Survey | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DB 972299 | 1958 | Pressed Steel | 1/146, 3157 | B 432033 | 1990 Marcroft | Link | |
| DB 972345 | 1958 | Pressed Steel | 1/146, 3157 | B 432343 | 1990 Marcroft | Link | |
| DB 972349 | 1957 | BRCWBirmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Company | 1/146, 3030 | B 423279 | 1990 Marcroft | Link | |
| DB 972359 | 1956 | Cravens Railway C&WCarriage & Wagon Co, Sheffield | 1/146, 2933 | B 420479 | 1990 Marcroft | Link | |
| DB 972378 | 1956 | Cravens Railway C&WCarriage & Wagon Co, Sheffield | 1/146, 2933 | B 420561 | 1990 Marcroft | Link | |
| DB 972407 | 1958 | Pressed Steel | 1/146, 3157 | B 432604 | 1990 Marcroft | Link | |
| DB 972416 | 1958 | Pressed Steel | 1/146, 3157 | B 432511 | 1990 Marcroft | Link | |
| DB 972467 | 1955 | BRBritish Rail or British Railways Shildon | 1/146, 2713 | B 416448 | 1990 Crump | Link | |
| DB 972469 | 1958 | Pressed Steel | 1/146, 3157 | B 433453 | 1990 Marcroft | Link | |
| DB 972513 | 1956 | Metro Cammell | 1/146, 2935 | B 421521 | 1991 Marcroft | Link | |
| DB 972548 | 1957 | Head Wrightson | 1/146, 3033 | B 425624 | 1991 Marcroft | Link | |
| DB 972655 | 1958 | Pressed Steel | 1/146, 3157 | B 431469 | 1990 Marcroft | Link | |
| DB 972677 | 1958 | BRBritish Rail or British Railways Shildon | 1/149, 3120 | B 430362 | 1990 Marcroft | Link | Sold September 2023, awaiting removal |
| DB 972688 | 1957 | BRCWBirmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Company | 1/146, 3030 | B 423151 | 1990 Crump | Link | |
| DB 972724 | 1957 | Head Wrightson | 1/146, 3034 | B 426121 | 1991 Marcroft | Link |
The wagons arrived in 2007 filled with ballast[4] and were used extensively during the repair project. They were then put into use for other purposes, including moving ballast, waste ash and similar materials.
At the end of 2008 the P-Way department were notified that the wagons were required in Cardiff at short notice. Seven were collected from various locations at Bridgnorth, Highley and the Tenbury siding. After being emptied, they were moved to Kidderminster and re-united with the other eight which were parked on carriage siding CS1. However they were then moved back to Bridgnorth for use in a New Year's Eve log collection train,[4] after which they returned to their regular duties.
During 2012 the mechanical maintenance exam procedure for the SVRSevern Valley Railway’s wagons was reviewed and updated in the light of past experience; the reasons including "the variations in some GWRGreat Western Railway wagon handbrake ratchets, and the peculiarities of the Rudd wagons on long-term loan". All 15 Rudds were examined and some minor repairs carried out.[5]
In 2015 an SVRSevern Valley Railway NBINotice Board Issue. The SVR's on-line method of circulating information to working members. announced DB Schenker contacted the SVRSevern Valley Railway this year to inform us that the wagons were available for purchase, and following negotiation I can announce that they have been bought for a competitive price. I would like to thank two individuals who have provided finances to assist with the cost of purchase.[6] Having become SVRSevern Valley Railway property, the following summer all fifteen RUDDs underwent air brake reservoir internal inspections and working exams, for insurance purposes and at the same time all the wagon identification numbers were repainted on the wagon sides by sign writer Clive Hyett, making identification of the individual wagons easier[7].
RUDDs 972513 (nearest) and 972724 carrying ballast at Highley, April 2015.
One of the numbers repainted in 2016
DB 972677, the 'one-off' ex-Diagram 1/149 example, was sold in September 2023.
Gallery
972299
972345
972349
972359
972378
972407
972416
972467
972469
972513
972548
972655
972677
972688
972724
See also
References
- ↑ Rowland (1996) pp. 53, App. 2, 4.
- ↑ Larkin Vol 3 (2013) p22.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 LTSV.com (wagon class information)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 SVRSevern Valley Railway News 166, Track Topics, Roger Ford
- ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway News 180, Wagon Repair Notes, Steve Peplow
- ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway NBINotice Board Issue. The SVR's on-line method of circulating information to working members.
- ↑ SVRSevern Valley Railway News 197, Kidderminster Carriage Works Notes, Hugh McQuade and Nigel Hanson
