Hi all I've split this off from my Nuclear train models thread as I think it stands on its own merit. Before I retired one of my, many, last projects was to help Revolution Trains in their research to produce a model of the new-build FNA-Ds. These were designed to replace the ageing FNA-C wagons that were life expired and were deemed to much of a risk to take apart for a general repair due to the nature of what they had carried during their workig life Now my history with these wagons goes right back even before the design stage and as the guy in charge of the maintenance team it was reckoned by the DRS management that Ben and Mike from Revolution ought to talk to me. Those of you who follow my threads in the International Railways forum and on youtube will already be familar with the working of these vehicles as they go back and forth between the huge Sellafield Nuclear complex and the remaining Nuclear power station in the U.K Seen above are a couple on a Sellafield to Heysham Power Station working at Lidgate UWC at Kirkby in Furness in Cumbria. The Heysham workings are always run 'Top and Tailed' with a loco at either end to make life easier accessing and exiting the single line Heysham Harbour branch from Morecambe station Brand new wagons from the last batch wait for me to sign them off into traffic at the manufacturers W H Davis in Derbyshire, England Very early on there were certain criteria that had to be met. The Well, where the flask sits, the sliding canopy and fixed bulkhead and the length over buffers had to be exactly the same as the cooling of the flask and the handling operations in the Hoistwells had to be a seamless transition from the older wagons.. What did change was the requirement for the wagons to be completely clad in Stainless steel and only the well to be lined with stainless as no contamination had ever been found outside it. More to come tomorrow But as a taster Redundant FNA-C loaded to be taken for scrapping at a licenced nuclear site in front of one of its proteges Kev
So the fruits of Revolutions' labours arrived RMSD (Royal Mail Special delivery) last week. First impressions of the packaging were very good. A stout card box with the usual clear plastic insert and an informative instruction and spares sheet On the underside was a brief description of the wagons history and useage The model did not disapoint. The hours they spent at at Kingmoor has paid dividends The underframe detail is separetely applied and reflects the stainless steel pipes specified as an upgrade from the Mild steel (And rust prone) originals You can see the stainless steel 'planks' that span the well. This finish is carried up into the flask well where the flask guides and well sides The structure is plastic and the compromise is ,that to give the vehicle enough weight, a metal slab is sat in the bottom of the well However, we have a cunning plan for that More soon Kev
Typical formation for Sellafield to Heysham Power station. This service is currently running once or twice a week Two class 68 Top and tail a single wagon. 68 005 Defiant and 68 001 Evolution For the far north of Scotland route to Georgemas Junction PFA spacer wagons are used for the light route loading During the transition between the FNA-Cs and FNA-Ds mixed trains were common. The earlier FNA-C was released as a model by Bachmann in 2011 but is now showing its age and is in need of an upgrade. They come fitted with NEMs couplers as standard but there is an accesory pack with Screw couplers and air hoses to make conversion easier The bulkhead shows the detail on the inside of the roller bearings fitted to the latches The canopy end. The tiny hanbrake on-off indicators on the sides of the BER 22.5T trucks can be seen.I was pleased to see the Brass Zeni locks on the placard holders so nicely modelled The cost converted per unit for an FNA-D comes out at $39 (£32 in the U.K) I need to check how many different road numbers they are going to release. Going to get some more I think Kev .
