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Abandoned RES vans at Willesden

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Milo T.K

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I been past quite a bit on the train and was looking on Google earth how comes these have been abandoned here for a while
 

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PG

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Not working on the railway I don't know but I'd suspect that at the end of the day it boils down to the cost of moving them or not:
  • Any charges due for stabling
  • Any maintaince needed to be fit to move
  • Cost of providing traction
  • Availability of a path
  • Availability and cost of other storage
  • Cost of disposal if declared surplus to current owner
 

31160

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its a pity no Pres line steps up and buys them there is very few RES vans painted as such in Pres, its like the 90s and early 2000s ever happened
 

Nym

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They're also a good graffiti magnet, keeps people off the other stock, they've been there since I started commuting that way >8 years ago, and I believe much longer than that.

Also quite good at hiding what sometimes stables behind them.
 

davetheguard

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I can see some of them being scrapped for spares soon - there had to be some decent 100MPH B4/B5 Bogies under those vans.

That's assuming they even have an identified owner? What happened to Rail Express Systems on privatisation; did it become part of EWS, or was it just closed down?
 

ExRes

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Res was given away to EWS on 9 December 1995, even though it was rumoured within Res that we had put in a bid equal to that of Bandit Burkhardt, it was given to him as a sweetener for the purchase of the freight companies, all locos and rolling stock became EWS property

Knowing EWS these vans in the yard are probably still full of mail from 2004 .......
 

fgwrich

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Will they still be decent after sitting for so long?

I cant see why not - give them a thorough strip down and refurbishment, renew what needs to be renewed and possibly replace the wheel sets if in poor condition. WCRC moved a load of ex RES Vehicles a few years ago for similar purposes, and have also recently moved the ex BR ECML Wiring Train Mk1s from Edinburgh Portobello as well (commonwealth bogies under those).
 

Rhinojerry

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I think there are still some at Hellifield.There was a move of some to Carnforth last year,was watching Alberta a few weeks back and there was some vehicles in the shed, ut not close enough to see. Anyone know ?.
 

BigB

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I cant see why not - give them a thorough strip down and refurbishment, renew what needs to be renewed and possibly replace the wheel sets if in poor condition. WCRC moved a load of ex RES Vehicles a few years ago for similar purposes, and have also recently moved the ex BR ECML Wiring Train Mk1s from Edinburgh Portobello as well (commonwealth bogies under those).
Mostly these are actually bought for the wheelsets, rather than the bogies themselves, and they will find their way to the WCRC Mk1/2 fleet as required. Many of the wheelsets on the main line stock have been turned many times already and the cost of re-tyreing can be more than buying "scrap" parcel vans, even including the movement.
There is not a lot of weight in a parcel van so the bearings themselves may still be okay if good to start with - locomotives sitting stationary for long periods may see localised indentations but less common with carriages.
There are also benefits of keeping the parcel vans in one piece - it's easier to move them round the country and if you have storage e.g. Hellifield then why not use it?
 
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