Tank transport

It all depends what you mean by tanks.... Main battle tanks have been too large for the UK loading gauge since the advent of the Centurion in 1945, though the BAOR used a fleet of modified Warflats to move these and their successors around Germany. Lighter AFVs are still conveyed by rail to and from railheads for Catterick, Salisbury Plain ,Castlemartin and other destinations. Depending on their height and width, they travel either on Warflats (a new design built in the 1980s) or rebogied Warwells (built in the 1940s but rebogied and air-braked in the 1980s). I can't recollect ever seeing one of the BR Rectanks loaded with an AFV, though I have seen a photo of one with some RE plant. The wagons usually work as block trains, usually with a VGA van carrying bits and pieces, though I did see an MoD train at Didcot yesterday which had a couple of Warflats with APCs on board in a mixed train of containers and vans. There have been a few articles in the model press on modelling MoD trains. Brian

In message , Tim Christian writes

Tanks are too big for the UK loading Gauge. Warrior AFVs are about the largest vehicle the MOD moves by rail and they travel on rebuilt Warwells. (KWA?) Scorpions, FV432s, Sultans, Samaritans, Saxons, Landrovers and suchlike are transported on Warflats

... Scorpions and others at Didcot last year

About 10 years ago they were on transporters on the roads. I had the pleasure of following a convoy of eight or so for a few miles.

Simon

Only 8 that's less then Half a sqn.

Mark,

That's brilliant, thanks for sharing.

Looking at the pictures, a KFA is what I'd call a warflat and a KWA is a warwell. So, what's a PFA, and what would it normally carry ?

Cheers, Martyn

you can get warflat kits from Model Rail - look quite nice in the picture... might get some myself.

MOD cutbacks :o)

(kim)

M Roberts wrote: So, what's a PFA, and what would it normally carry ?

Don't know, but I do know what a SFA carries, if that helps ;-)

Kevin Martin

"M Roberts" wrote

Here's a shot of a PFA - the container on this is used to carry Gypsum.

John.

Thanks, guys. Anything after 1968 is a mystery to me!

Ta, so it's a four-wheeled, single container version of a Freightliner/intermodal wagon (I'm assuming that shown in the picture is a standard sized container type box.) ?

Cheers, Martyn

"M Roberts" wrote

I've no idea of the box size, and not sure if it's a standard 20' container. Originally these (or very similar) were used for carrying coal - see this

1983 shot at the Cobra depot at Wakefield Kirkgate:-

these look to be loaded on some modified carriage chassis. It suspect the PFA/KFAs were somewhat later.

John.

Both Warflats and Warwells are available from Genesis Models:-

disclaimer applies. Brian

"BH Williams" wrote

Thanks Brian, a lot of useful information there. :-)

John.

"kim" wrote in news:8N2dnT7-npYDPo snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

...

You beat me to it, I was going to say, "Half a sqn? Nowadays that's half a Rgt". :-)

Martyn

It's a container flat and carries leased 20' footers [ if I can find time I'll upload some examples to fotopic being transported on mod PFAs ] or 'mod' side door boxes as seen in the background here ...

Mark