Wagon info

[heirflick]

a friernd opf mine found a pic of this wagon and thought i might be interested, so he emailed it to me . no info about it. never seen one before....anyone throw some light on it? have to say it looks really well - a model for the future of the past perhaps? all help appreciated as usual, seamus

 

[Glenderg]

Christ on a bike! I thought I'd seen it all, but did CIE have an over eager engineer with a fetish for transforming containers into rolling stock? Looks like a 20ft 1TEU container, chopped in half on a 20ft chassis for ballast? No ballast would have gone all over the shop if dropped from that height above the track... Perhaps a modern take on Bulleid Beets prior to the double bogie 40ft container on 42' flats. Great question seamus!

[Guest hidden-agenda]

Its for grain possibly, maybe John Maynor will have more info.

[Garfield]

Christ on a bike! I thought I'd seen it all, but did CIE have an over eager engineer with a fetish for transforming containers into rolling stock? Looks like a 20ft 1TEU container, chopped in half on a 20ft chassis for ballast? No ballast would have gone all over the shop if dropped from that height above the track... Perhaps a modern take on Bulleid Beets prior to the double bogie 40ft container on 42' flats. Great question seamus!

 

 

My first thought was that it was an experimental beet wagon as well. However, I've a sneaking suspicion it could've been intended for mineral traffic, such as the Tara Mines zinc.

 

It wouldn't necessary have been designed to dump between the rails with that setup... the plan could have been to de-mount using a crane and swing over a the hold of a waiting ship, etc.

[Glenderg]

It wouldn't necessary have been designed to dump between the rails with that setup... the plan could have been to de-mount using a crane and swing over a the hold of a waiting ship, etc.

 

 

Ahhhh, well observed!

[heirflick]

the plan could have been to de-mount using a crane and swing over a the hold of a waiting ship, etc.

 

or possibly load onto a waiting flat bed truck? im guessing they were used in the early 70's. they are extremely clean looking - i wonder did they see much use at all?

[Garfield]

or possibly load onto a waiting flat bed truck?

 

Yep, that's possible... although I dread to think what would happen if the truck took a tight corner with a top-heavy load like that!

[heirflick]

fair point garfield...well that one theory discounted so!

[Eiretrains]

I believe there were a number of these hopper containers, used for bulk gain traffic or similar produce, which as can be seen could be loaded on and off standard flat wagons. They were constructed in the 1970s along with other types of (experimental) containers as part of the Rail Plan 80 for modernising CIE freight traffic. Photos suggest that they were not utilised much(!) and did not see traffic from the 1980s onwards.

Edited October 26, 2012 by Eiretrains

[RedRich]

They would make an interesting if unusual looking model.

 

Rich,

[Garfield]

Cheers for the info, Eiretrains!

[Mayner]

They were for grain possibly to replace the existing GSR & CIE grain wagons.

 

 

They is a short piece on them but no photograph in an article on containerisation in an IRRS Journal from the early 70s that goes into the background of the various "specials" including the Guinness flats and Back to Back Fertiliser.

 

The general idea was to do away with individual wagon loads to goods yards and private sidings, with road delivery from the railhead to the customers premises.

 

A small number of these containers were built for a specific customer and height restrictions in their plant dictated the use of a hopper with bottom discharge rather than a standard container on a tipper truck.

 

The GSR built some modern looking grain wagons for Ranks and their own traffic in the 1930s while CIE built hoppers were basically standard H vans fitted with ladders walkways roof hatches and the doors welded shut!

 

 

 

Ranks Hopper at Sligo courtesy of David Malone this was probably used for the Ferns-Ballydosare traffic discontinued in the mid 1970s

Edited October 26, 2012 by Mayner

[MOGUL]

Any ideas who he customer might have been Mayner? The mill in ballysadore maybe?

[heirflick]

thanks lads for the replies. i am informed that there is more strange wagons on route by email...will post same for your attention and comments.

- thanks mayner for that pic - much appreciated. do you have any other pics of old stock that might be of interest?

[waffles]

a friernd opf mine found a pic of this wagon and thought i might be interested, so he emailed it to me . no info about it. never seen one before....anyone throw some light on it? have to say it looks really well - a model for the future of the past perhaps? all help appreciated as usual, seamus

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]3238[/ATTACH]

 

Hi there its proper title is "Demountable Grain Hopper" Code RLFE 29,

Built around 1974 were in use from 75 onwards but not for long !

8 Ft high 19' Ft- 10 and a half inches long,

8 Ft wide,

Carrying capacity of only 11 tons total weight of loaded container 20 tons,

A ladder was fixed at one end,

Approx 10 built maybe 12 were built.

used to transport grain mostly barley for a well known Dublin brewer and anyone else who needed grain transported.

They were useless top heavy not stable and had a very low capacity for carring the grain it was designed to carry.

The containers were soon asigned to cie s room 101 by the late 70s.

[Glenderg]

used to transport grain mostly barley for a well known Dublin brewer...

 

Aha! Uncle Arthur strikes again - a definite scratch build project for my little "Arthur's Quay" shelf layout/diorama.. .

Waffles, fantastic bit of info that nails down heirflicks quandary. Thanks indeed. I'll try and rustle up some drawings and post them up next weekend based on that info, we can all have a go!. richie

[heirflick]

waffles - many thanks for the info! thats another mystery solved:)

[DartStation]

From John's photograph I see reference to Clara on it too ....as a nipper growing up near the area we grew wheat on the family and it went to Clara for milling it was Ranks then and I think later it became Goodbodies of Clara , not sure if this helps

 

Paul R

[waffles]

From John's photograph I see reference to Clara on it too ....as a nipper growing up near the area we grew wheat on the family and it went to Clara for milling it was Ranks then and I think later it became Goodbodies of Clara , not sure if this helps

 

Paul R

 

The idea was there would be a fleet that could be used for various grain crops barley and wheat the were trailed on various tasks and found to be quite useless at the time ISO container were being designed left right and centre for all sort of jobs to be used on those block trains that were going to save cie railfreight.

 

The ranks wagons and old grain vans were used in Co wexford a lot and when out of use were stored at wexford north station awaiting there final trip to the cutters tourch.

[Mayner]

The idea was there would be a fleet that could be used for various grain crops barley and wheat the were trailed on various tasks and found to be quite useless at the time ISO container were being designed left right and centre for all sort of jobs to be used on those block trains that were going to save cie railfreight.

 

The ranks wagons and old grain vans were used in Co wexford a lot and when out of use were stored at wexford north station awaiting there final trip to the cutters tourch.

 

Ranks private siding at Clara was set up to received or dispatch bulk grain, Goodbodies used to process jute and more recently artificial fibres.

 

Bulk grain seems to have been fairly widespread in loose coupled days with rail connected mills at Ardee, Limerick, Portarlington, Clara, Ballydosare, elevators at Dublin and Waterford Ports and traffic also originating at Ferns and possibly Enniscorthy.

 

No serious effort seems to have been made to maintain this traffic once the decision was made to shift from individual wagon load to block train operation, besides the additional cost of road-rail transhipment at each end the forklifts provided the Wexford Line were not man enough to lift a laden grain container.

[heirflick]

thanks again for the replies lads.

[jhb171achill]

In case anyone's interested, the colour in the photo looks brownish, but the actual containers were the then standard CIE container orange colour. The wagons were just standard 4w flats, painted brown, but looking like the livery was a mix of brake dust and rust, as on Tara wagons today. And, yes, they were for grain.

[heirflick]

thanks for the info jhb!

[patrick]

I remember these containers in Tralee in the mid/late seventies. They were transfered to lorries in the North Kerry yard but I dont remember where they were loaded. I believe they they were used for barley for Guiness.