NETWORK Rail’s programme to repurpose its fleet of MRA sidetipper wagons continues at Loram UK’s workshops in Derby. Tipping bodies, hydraulic rams and associated control gear are being removed and replaced by simple open box ‘gondola’ style bodywork.
Originally delivered in fixed five-wagon rakes, with bar couplers within each set, they are being equipped with conventional screw couplings and side buffers to enable single wagon operation. Now recoded JNA-Y, up to 250 wagons will be converted over a two-year period. Recent conversions moved by rail to Gascoigne Wood for storage have been Nos. 81 70 5831 001-6 to 010-7/012-3/014-9 to 016-4/ 040-7 to 064-7.
Developed by Railtrack and Thrall Europa at York, the MRAs were a modern day variant of British Rail’s ‘Mermaid’ wagon. ABC-NACO axle Motion 3 low-track force bogies were standard and 400 wagons were built Nos. 501001-400.
There are two boxes per wagon, each able to carry 29 tonnes of fresh ballast, which could be discharged to either side of the wagon by radio control. For reasons of safety and stability, only one box per wagon could be emptied during a single operation. One wagon in each rake was fitted with a generator to supply power.