Wagons stored at Leith

[Amlag]

On Google earth for some years there are showing on two long disused sidings lots of by the looks of things, long bogie wagons ..possibly in the past experimental wagons for carrying lorries or lorry trailers .
they have bushes and trees growing around them.
does anyone know if these wagons are still there, what they are and why stored there for so long ?

 

[Cheshire Scot]

On Google earth for some years there are showing on two long disused sidings lots of by the looks of things, long bogie wagons ..possibly in the past experimental wagons for carrying lorries or lorry trailers .
they have bushes and trees growing around them.
does anyone know if these wagons are still there, what they are and why stored there for so long ?

The red ones look like Piggyback wagons which were trialled with Royal Mail lorries and possibly others probably 20 years plus ago, also some which might be container flats too (or are they more piggybacks?).

There appears to be a former rail connected warehouse (perhaps still rail connected through the undergrowth!) close by - was that JG Russel's one time depot?

I have no idea if the wagons are still there - unless anyone based locally fancies popping down for a look?

 

[3973EXL]

The red ones look like Piggyback wagons which were trialled with Royal Mail lorries and possibly others probably 20 years plus ago, also some which might be container flats too (or are they more piggybacks?).

FHA Eurospine https://gingespotting.smugmug.com/Wagons/F-TOPSCode/FHA/i-zz5P5SL

Some were used with purpose built Parcel Force trailers between Willesden ET and Scotland.

The rest spent most of the time stored at various locations.

 

[HamBuoy]

On Google earth for some years there are showing on two long disused sidings lots of by the looks of things, long bogie wagons ..possibly in the past experimental wagons for carrying lorries or lorry trailers .

Here is a screenshot from Apple Maps assuming this is what you’re referring to.

 

[furnessvale]

FHA Eurospine https://gingespotting.smugmug.com/Wagons/F-TOPSCode/FHA/i-zz5P5SL

Some were used with purpose built Parcel Force trailers between Willesden ET and Scotland.

The rest spent most of the time stored at various locations.

Given the shortage of 40ft container platforms, it is amazing these wagons have not been repurposed and pressed into use.

 

[Dunfanaghy Rd]

I worked with the FHAs when they made a brief appearance on services from Southampton. Their demise is no surprise to me. Due to their platform height they could not carry hi-cube boxes, which are the dominant type of 40ft. They could not carry 20fts at all. And ... ... , the ERIC system we still used to load the wagons for TOPS would not allow more than 2 containers! There was a lot of naivety about intermodal traffic amongst the early EWS management (some would say not just intermodal!)
Pat

 

[Oxfordblues]

This raises the question of the long-term storage of surplus and redundant rolling-stock left in yards and sidings, sometimes for decades. I'm thinking of the parcels vans at Willesden and the WIAs at Micheldever, for example, but there are many others elsewhere. With no easy road access to break them up on-site and too woebegone to be safely moved by rail, they remain stranded. Covered in unsightly graffiti and in full view of passing trains, they're an embarrassment for the railway. Yet nobody at DB Cargo or Network Rail seem remotely interested in dealing with them.

 

[Cheshire Scot]

This raises the question of the long-term storage of surplus and redundant rolling-stock left in yards and sidings, sometimes for decades. I'm thinking of the parcels vans at Willesden and the WIAs at Micheldever, for example, but there are many others elsewhere. With no easy road access to break them up on-site and too woebegone to be safely moved by rail, they remain stranded. Covered in unsightly graffiti and in full view of passing trains, they're an embarrassment for the railway. Yet nobody at DB Cargo or Network Rail seem remotely interested in dealing with them.

If these various wagons are not owned by whichever company owns the various sites would they be entitled to charge 'siding rent' - or did the concept of siding rent die with BR? Maybe they are all on home ground, but alternatively a billing regime might encourage scrapping or removal for future use.