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Heaviest trains

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Chris M

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In a conversation elsewhere the subject of heaviest trains came up. I think its the stone trains from the Mendips to Acton that are the heaviest on the network, certainly in terms of total consist weight, but am I correct? The other person is convinced that the nuclear flask trains are the heaviest, or at least the heaviest per wagon, but I'm not so sure?
 
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greatkingrat

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I suspect the flask wagons may be the heaviest unloaded, but I doubt they would be heavier than a stone train when fully loaded.
 

The Planner

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Stone trains out of the Mendips are regularly timed at 4200 tonnes plus, some as high as 4800 tonnes. Compared to an Intermodal at 1400 tonnes.
 

Domh245

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Even if the nuclear flasks are quite heavy, the fact there's only a handful of them in a consist vs ~20 in most other freight trains would be pretty decisive
 

Grannyjoans

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Nuclear flask trains only tend to have 1- 5 wagons so are not very heavy. However they have far more horsepower on the front than the stone trains typically 2x 68!


The Class 60 hauled Oil trains out of Humberside are very heavy and can be 3000-3600 tonnes.

The High Output Ballast Cleaner is another contender.
 

Far north 37

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Nuclear flask trains only tend to have 1- 5 wagons so are not very heavy. However they have far more horsepower on the front than the stone trains typically 2x 68!


The Class 60 hauled Oil trains out of Humberside are very heavy and can be 3000-3600 tonnes.

The High Output Ballast Cleaner is another contender.
The most flasks i ever seen in a consist was two.
 

sprinterguy

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I suspect the flask wagons may be the heaviest unloaded, but I doubt they would be heavier than a stone train when fully loaded.
Indeed, the tare weight of a common or garden FNA flask wagon is 50 tonnes, whereas the tare weight of a typical bogie hopper, box or tank wagon is typically around half that. A train of two or three FNAs is a flyweight working compared to heavy stone or oil trains.

Nuclear flask wagons must be one of the few freight vehicles where their unladen weight is significantly greater than their payload - The nuclear waste that each wagon carries amounts to 2.5 tonnes, whereas a big bogie hopper or box wagon can carry around 75 tonnes of material against a 24 tonne unladen weight.
 

furnessvale

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A 4000t trailing steel train has recently started from Scunthorpe to Teesside.

But the Mendips stone trains are still the daddies.
 

PeterC

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I used to work in offices across the road from the GWML in Slough and we could feel it when the loaded stone trains went past.
 

hwl

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Heaviest individual wagon on NR will be the 8 axle KUA MOD flask wagons.

Heaviest in the UK will the the molten steel torpedo wagons.

Heaviest train the high output ballast cleaner followed by the Mendip stone trains.
 

The Planner

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Heaviest individual wagon on NR will be the 8 axle KUA MOD flask wagons.

Heaviest in the UK will the the molten steel torpedo wagons.

Heaviest train the high output ballast cleaner followed by the Mendip stone trains.
HOBC is normally timed at the 3200 tonne mark.
 

Far north 37

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Heaviest individual wagon on NR will be the 8 axle KUA MOD flask wagons.

Heaviest in the UK will the the molten steel torpedo wagons.

Heaviest train the high output ballast cleaner followed by the Mendip stone trains.
Maximum weight of the HOBC is given as 3200 tonnes while the mendip traffis runs at up to 4800 tonnes.
 

4F89

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Yes, trailing load, very exciting. But load per powered loco is a more interesting stat. Running 6x66's all powered can pull 25000t if you were so inclined.... hardly exciting. But 1 loco with 6000, much more so
 

Far north 37

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In may 1991 59005 set the european haulage record hauling a train weighing 11,982 tonnes at 1,650m long
 

Crepello

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Back in my care-free days, heaviest loads were reputedly steel coils - certainly, the load density seemed very low on the flat wagons that carried them. Mind you, that was before the days of t'internet, when the collective wisdom of mankind could only be tapped by a personal visit to the south end of platform 6 at Crewe any Saturday... good times!
 

43096

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Just found a photo online of the commemorative plaque attached to 59005, it was in the UK, between East Somerset Junction and Berkley.
Some way to go to the world record set in Australia in 2001: over 99,700 tonnes, 682 loaded iron ore hoppers and over four and a half miles long. It needed eight General Electric AC6000 locos to shift it.
 

Dunfanaghy Rd

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Why would the load quoted be trailing? TOPS lists give load including power, as does the load limit for the route. Have FLHH gone to to the bother of subtracting the engine weight?
Pat
 

D365

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Some way to go to the world record set in Australia in 2001: over 99,700 tonnes, 682 loaded iron ore hoppers and over four and a half miles long. It needed eight General Electric AC6000 locos to shift it.

Bloomin eck that would have needed some mighty strong couplers.
 

daikilo

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Bloomin eck that would have needed some mighty strong couplers.

Principle reason why locomotives were distributed in pairs throughout train and remotely controlled. Same method is used in US but I have not seen it in the UK.
 
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