Four MHA ‘Coalfish' wagons have arrived at the Churnet Valley Railway near Leek in Staffordshire.
The wagons were built in the late 1990s. They were constructed using the chassis of old HAA ‘Merry Go Round' coal wagons, with a total of 1,150 produced.
Merry-go-round trains were introduced in the 1960s, and were block trains of hopper wagons, most often delivering coal to power stations.
The MHA Coalfish wagons were also used for ballast, spoil, stone, and anything else that an engineer's train might need. This meant that they were versatile and useful wagons.
Network Rail recently decided to phase out two-axled wagons from the national network. This has created the opportunity for heritage railways to buy the wagons and preserve them.
The Churnet Valley Railway is a standard gauge heritage railway in the Staffordshire Moorlands, operating along part of the former Churnet Valley Line which was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway.
The railway is around ten-and-a-half miles (16.9 km) long, and runs from Kingsley and Froghall to Ipstones.
The Railway, which yesterday announced its Saturday evening Pie and Mash specials, has recently been raising funds to buy a BR Sealion wagon.
That is a shame as the Coalfish were a very useful wagon, with sides high enough to take a decent load, but not so high as to be awkward if you were doing something like drainage. Coalfish were way better than Turbots with there weak doors that were always getting bent out of gauge. Or the horrible Seaurchins which could carry more spoil on their numerous ledges than inside the wagon.
If I had a pound for every MGR and Coalfish wagon that I have shunted over the years I would be a rich man 🤣
Block trains were originally introduced to transport oil products, a common train being hauled by 9F 2-10-0s from.Fawley to Kingsbury. They still run today hauling fuel from Robeston and Lindsey to Westerleigh and Kingsbury, as well as stone from Merehead.