Bogie Waggons
Two high-sided bogie waggons Nos 88 and 105 were built at Boston Lodge in 1874 as 12 ton ballast wagons, later used for coal. One at least bore the painted legend 'Permanent Way Ballast Truck'. They were dismantled about the time of the First World War.[1]
Four ex-WD bogie open wagons were acquired in Oct 1925 for Beddgelert coal traffic [2]. These were probably Welsh Highland property and were WD type D, as used on the Ashover Light Railway where they were rated at 10 tons. These were built for the WD in large numbers by many firms, not just Hudson, and were designed for a 3 ton axle-load, which with a tare of about 2.5 tons (varied according to builder) meant a capacity of about 9.5 tons, adjusted to total exactly 12 tons with the tare weight, according to works photos of several varieties[3]. However the WHR/FR seem to have rated these as 5 ton wagons. A photo shows one with the number 14[4] but other numbers are not known.
Five similar wagons, allegedly new, also rated at 5 tons, were received in March 1926 for Brookes Quarry traffic to Blaenau. These were FR property, numbered 1B to 5B. These five might have included some German-built wagons also used for Brookes traffic (Boyd is contradictory on this point) but it seems that some of the WD-type ones ended up on the Beddgelert traffic after 1930[5]. A well-known photo of Beddgelert in 1930 (with Little Giant and Russell[6]) shows a WD wagon marked FR but the number is not legible.
The German wagons were probably Feldbahn (German Military Light Railways) type, built 1916-8, and may have been additional to the five and possibly owned by Brookes, not the FR, according to Boyd. However Sydney Leleux[7] was of the opinion that the German wagons were definitely owned by the FR. These might be the wagons shown in the background of this picture. The bogies do not appear to be Hudson or WD type.
.
The Hudson open coaches 37-42 had underframes and bogies of WD type and sometimes had their bogies taken as spares for the coal wagons. Two of the Hudson coaches were converted to flat wagons in 1926 and two more in 1928.
Four of the WD type wagons survived into the preservation era, and some Feldbahn bogies.
This page covers pre-1946 bogie wagons on the FR. Bogie open wagons acquired by the post-1954 administration and survivors of the above are here
[edit] References
- ^ Boyd, James I.C. (1975 / 2002). The Festiniog Railway 1800 - 1974; Vol. 2 Locomotive and Rolling Stock and Quarry Feeders. Blandford: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 085361-168-8. , page(s): 345
- ^ Boyd, James I.C. (1975 / 2002). The Festiniog Railway 1800 - 1974; Vol. 2 Locomotive and Rolling Stock and Quarry Feeders. Blandford: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 085361-168-8. , page(s): 362
- ^ Gratton & Band, The Ashover Light Railway, Wild Swan 1989, pp226-231
- ^ Boyd, James I.C.. Narrow Gauge Railways in South Caernarvonshire. Lingfield, Surrey, England: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 9780853611158. OCLC 707587. "(Later editions split into 2 volumes)" , comment: 1972 edition, before p321 - photo is not in later 2-vol edition
- ^ Boyd, James I.C. (1975 / 2002). The Festiniog Railway 1800 - 1974; Vol. 2 Locomotive and Rolling Stock and Quarry Feeders. Blandford: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 085361-168-8. , page(s): 346/362
- ^ Boyd, James I.C.. Narrow Gauge Railways in South Caernarvonshire. Lingfield, Surrey, England: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 9780853611158. OCLC 707587. "(Later editions split into 2 volumes)" , comment: 1972 edition, before p321 - photo is not in later 2-vol edition. It also appears, better reproduced, in Boyd's Festiniog Railway vol 2 1962 edition but, again, is not in 1975 edition.
- ^ Ffestiniog Railway Magazine - Society House Magazine Issue No: 052 , page(s): 021
