COAL HOPPERS
The 21 Ton steel-bodied coal hopper was based on an LNER design and was the standard BR coal hopper until the advent of air-braked types such as the MGR wagons in the mid 1960s.
The first lot was built at BR Shildon works in 1949, however subsequent wagons were built by Cravens, Head Wrightson and Metro-Cammell as well as BR Shildon. Over 23,000 wagons were eventually built by 1959, making them one of the most numerous types on the network.
Most of the wagons were rebodied at least once, to a simplified design with fewer ribs as shown by the diagram below, while over a third of the fleet eventually gained vacuum brakes.
Coded HTO and HTV under TOPS, the wagons were never fully replaced by air braked wagons but colliery closures had a major impact on their numbers. The unfitted fleet had all been withdrawn by the mid 1980s while just a handful of the vacuum braked HTVs made it into the 1990s.
A number of the withdrawn fleet survived longer as internal use wagons at various steel works; although like our example B425356 that was retained at BSC Lackenby, many had their vacuum brake equipment removed.
After withdrawal over 2000 of the 21 Ton hoppers were retained by BR for later modification into engineers fleet wagons.
The initial modifications were coded as ZDV ‘Tope’ spoil wagons in 1984, the work involving sealing the bottom doors and reducing the height of the hopper, but retaining the vacuum brakes with the cylinders on the end of the wagon. Further conversions followed in 1987 and from 1989 a large programme of modifications and re-bodying started using the former 21 Ton hopper fleet. As well as further converted hopper body ‘ZDV (later ZCV) Tope’ wagons, ‘ZCV Clam’ and ‘ZBA Rudd’ types appeared with new box bodies fitted to the 21 Ton underframes that were intended to replace the ageing Grampus wagon fleet. The Clam wagons had fixed sides with the vacuum brake cylinders being moved underneath the wagon; whereas the Rudd type wagons had 3 dropside doors and were fitted with air brakes. We have three such Rudd wagons in our fleet at Quorn Wagon & Wagon, DB972018, DB972608 and DB972681.
Over 800 Tope wagons, 450 Clam type and 800 Rudd type wagons were converted from 21 Ton hopper underframes at various works including Powell Duffryn, RFS Doncaster, CC Crump and Marcroft up until 1991.
All the Tope, Clam and Rudd wagons had been withdrawn from mainline operation by 2008.
Our Coal Hopper B425356 was and ex BSC Lackenby wagon, that was originally saved by the National Railway Museum at Shildon; it was subsequently bought by Nick Tinsley in June 2005 and came to the GCR where it was smartened up and lettered with House Coal Concentration around 20 years ago.
The Quorn Wagon and Wagon team gave it a refresh restoration in 2023. At some point we will look into the possibility of re-fitting its’ vacuum brake system that was removed before preservation.
B425356 Details
Built Head Wrightson 1957
Type Coal Hopper
Other numbers H50
TOPS HTP
Diagram number 1/146 as built. Rebodied 1970s to 1/147
Lot number 3033
Capacity 21T
Wheelbase 12ft
Condition Operational, restored Feb 2023