Open & Hopper Wagons

Build Date 1947-1957
Operators Various
Livery Various
Status: In Service
Owned By
 NNR & M&GN Society

Open & Hopper Wagons

Railways were originally built primarily to carry freight traffic and basic open vehicles were useful in carrying products that could be moved in the open air. There were many different products that fell into such categories so a multitude of designs were produced all suited for their intended cargo, though there were crossovers and wagons were able to often carry multiple traffic types. The NNR has a selection of examples, mainly from the British Railways era, and pleasingly all of them are restored in a state where they can operate in the demonstration goods train.

Preservation

Hopper wagons were used for carrying aggregate and often had the facility for top and bottom loading/unloading. HW426 was designed for track renewal work and for dropping stone ballast between the rails. However, it is slightly unusual in being built for London Transport and used on the underground network rather than for British Railways. As a result, it was air braked when most wagons at that time were vacuum. By the 1980’s HW426 was surplus to requirements and put up for sale, at a time when BR were not selling any ballast hoppers. Many growing heritage railways, including the NNR, were looking for ballast hoppers at that time to use for extension projects and ongoing maintenance of track work.

Due to the shortage, many of the ex-London Transport hoppers were snapped up and in 1981 the NNR purchased two of them for use on the Holt extension project. They were not restored but instead used for their original purpose. After the extension was completed the hoppers fell out of regular use but were still occasionally brought out to drop ballast along the NNR. The lack of demand led to one of the wagons being sold on, with HW426 being retained.

The external condition of the wagon was by this time however very poor. In 2022 however a project to restore HW426 to use was undertaken and the vehicle was mechanically repaired and fully restored cosmetically. Today, HW426 runs in the demonstration goods train and is also available if required for its old job of dropping ballast.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, and with need for a quick expansion in railway carrying capacity, the then Ministry of Transport developed a specification for a standard un-braked 16 ton wagon for carrying a variety of different aggregate products such as coal, stone, iron ore and other minerals. On creation of British Railways in 1948 the new organisation inherited 55,000 original Ministry of Transport wagons. BR through various large orders eventually brought the total number to over 300,000.

This included a late-1950s order towards the end of their construction including our example, this order having the addition of vacuum braking. Mineral wagons were phased out by BR in the 1970s, following reduction in demand for household coal and the development of “merry-go-round” trains, which used much larger air braked hopper wagons.

558090 survived after the end of its conventional service life stored at Kings Lynn on the Harbour Branch long after the freight line had been pulled up, sitting on the ground with a willow tree growing up through the middle! The reason it had been left behind was due to it having been used since 1984 as an extra buffer stop owing to the weak handbrakes fitted to Poly-bulk wagons that frequented the yard during the 1980’s. 558090 did not pass a “fitness-to-run” exam to allow it to be moved when the sidings were lifted so instead it was left behind.

By now in an appalling state, in 2012 it was rescued for the NNR who wanted a common 16T mineral example to add to the wagon collection. A 16-month intensive major restoration followed with a lot of the wagon’s steelwork being renewed. It was launched back into service in 2014 and has operated in the demonstration freight set ever since. The wagon in unusual in having had a false roof fitted during the restoration with a small amount of stone on top, giving the impression that it is loaded. Underneath the false roof is a storage space.

726631 was built for the London Midland & Scottish Railway in 1947 (just before nationalisation) and was intended for carrying steel plate and other similar materials. The wagon is basic and is un-braked with a flat bed and very short sides. This also made it quite versatile and it could carry almost anything on its flat bed during its service life. After withdrawal from BR it was used internally at the Boulton & Pauls works in Norwich for some years before finally being condemned.

726631 was later preserved at the NNR (date unknown) where it lost its rotten wooden deck which was replaced by steel plates which proved easier to maintain. It was used as a works/service vehicle for many years and was never restored or considered suitable for any public use as it had a slightly bent chassis which made the wagon unstable when moved, so it was restricted in its use with a 15mph speed limit. However, in 2018 the vehicle was selected for a more thorough restoration and the chassis was heated up and bent back to the correct shape which allowed it to return to full duties and full 25mph speed again. It was also cosmetically restored and repainted and has been running in the demonstration freight set since. It carries “North Walsham Reach Wagon” lettering which was applied to a sister wagon based locally.

This open wagon has high sides and was originally built to carry pipes though it would also have been used for general purposes and have a much greater variety of loads. Four large side doors hinge down turning the vehicle into a flatbed for loading and unloading. After a standard service life, in the 1980’s 740918 was transferred to the Signal & Telegraph department and was painted a bright electric blue for use on signalling infrastructure projects. It also had a steel framework with mesh roof fitted inside the body.

By 1994 the S&T use had been completed and 740918 withdrawn and sold into preservation at the NNR. It was restored and fitted with a covering hood over the load to protect it better and has spent most of its preserved life running in our demonstration goods set.

Number Type Built
426 20T Ballast Hopper 1955 Gloucester RC&W
558090 16T Mineral Open 1957 Pressed Steel
726631 21T Plate Open 1947 Wolverton
740918 13T Pipe Open 1954 Wolverton