Freightliner Guards module at York.

[38Cto15E]

Many of you will have seen the Freightliner Intermodal guards unit outside the NRM at York.
Were these ever used on trains in the 1960's? I was a freight guard in 1970 and my container train trips were in the rear cab of the loco.
I wouldn't fancy being in one of those units at the rear of a 75mph Intermodal, positioned right over the trailing bogie.
Would they have had any sort of heating, communication devices etc

 

[Gaz67]

Always thought this would make a nice display with a couple of period containers. As for its use, well a quick trawl this morning produced lots of pics of various coaching stock brakes in use on early freightliner trains, but none of the caboose. Im sure one of the resident freight experts will come up with the full story, who knows maybe the NRM will do something it in the future.

 

[robert thomas]

Many of you will have seen the Freightliner Intermodal guards unit outside the NRM at York.
Were these ever used on trains in the 1960's? I was a freight guard in 1970 and my container train trips were in the rear cab of the loco.
I wouldn't fancy being in one of those units at the rear of a 75mph Intermodal, positioned right over the trailing bogie.
Would they have had any sort of heating, communication devices etc

I remember being shown round one at Longsight circa 1966 on a Manchester University Railway Society visit. From memory we were told that the guards had refused to use them and they were being disposed of. I seem to remember that they had cooking and washing facilities and we suggested that they were better than a lot of student accomodation and could be used as such.

 

[matchmaker]

Many years ago (possibly 1967) we were on holiday in Arbroath. I saw a Freightliner pass through the station. At the rear was a white vehicle annotated "air braked, gas heated". I don't remember any other details of it.

 

[38Cto15E]

Thanks for the replies so far, I assume it has been loitering at the NRM for around 50 years.

 

[wickham]

I have a feeling that these were not used - possibly refused by the unions as suggested above. Think there was some connection to the vehicle brake pipe so the guard could apply the train brake but I doubt there would be any means of comunication, probably too early for train radio or anything similar. Another question, if anyone knows, I wonder how many were actually built? I seem to recall that former passenger full brakes (BGs etc), mainly (or wholy) pre-nationalisation design were used instead until the agreement for guards to ride the the rear cab of the loco was arrived at.