RAILEASE Ltd was set up in 1976 as a subsidiary of the Standard Railway Wagon Company, which had workshops in Reddish and Heywood.
In 1985 a small batch of PFA 82-tonne container flats were built for general hire - Nos. RLS 92543 to 562. They rode on Sambre-et-Meuse VNH-1 bogies, giving a maximum speed of 75mph. Tare weight was 20 tonnes.
Though few in number they have carried a wide variety of cargoes. They were firstly hired to Ciba-Geigy for the transportation of amino resins and plastics to Ireland via Fishguard and Stranraer in curtain side containers.
Others were later fitted with cradles and hired to Isis Link, carrying steel coils from Ravenscraig steelworks.
By 1995 most of the fleet was deployed carrying daily trainloads of red gypsum from Grimsby to a landfill site at Roxby.