Over the years, London Underground

London Underground

The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...

 has acquired various types of engineering stock to help with the construction of new lines and maintenance of existing lines. Some of these wagons were inherited from its predecessors, many were built new and some were acquired second-hand from British Rail

British Rail

British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...

. Several types of specialist wagons have been used, which are described below.

Overview

London Underground uses a numbering system comprising the wagon number prefixed with a letter which designates the wagon's type. These are summarised below.

Wagon prefix	Meaning	Description
B	Brake van Caboose A caboose is a manned North American rail transport vehicle coupled at the end of a freight train. Although cabooses were once used on nearly every freight train, their use has declined and they are seldom seen on trains, except on locals and smaller railroads.-Function:The caboose provided the...	Manned wagon used for guard's accommodation and for braking purposes. No longer used.
BW	Ballast wagon	Open wagon Gondola (rail) In railroad terminology, a gondola is an open-top type of rolling stock that is used for carrying loose bulk materials. Because of its low side walls, gondolas are used to carry either very dense material, such as steel plates or coils, or bulky items such as prefabricated pieces of rail... , for transport of ballast Track ballast Track ballast forms the trackbed upon which railway sleepers or railroad ties are laid. It is packed between, below, and around the ties. It is used to facilitate drainage of water, to distribute the load from the railroad ties, and also to keep down vegetation that might interfere with the track...
C	Crane	Powerful crane Crane (machine) A crane is a type of machine, generally equipped with a hoist, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of...  for track laying/lifting and/or recovering de-railed rolling stock
DEC	Diesel-electric crane
DHC	Diesel-hydraulic crane
CM	Cement mixer wagon	Specialist flat wagon, with a cement mixer Cement mixer A cement mixer is a shot drink. It often consists of:*1 part Bailey's Irish Cream *1 part Lime juice... . These wagons have been modified and now form part of Tubelines's DISAB ballast sucking machines.
CW	Cable drum wagon	A short wagon for transporting cable drums through deep level tunnels. For signal Railway signal A signal is a mechanical or electrical device erected beside a railway line to pass information relating to the state of the line ahead to train/engine drivers. The driver interprets the signal's indication and acts accordingly...  wiring
FW	Flat wagon	Flat wagon Flatcar A flatcar is a piece of railroad or railway rolling stock that consists of an open, flat deck on four or six wheels or a pair of trucks or bogies . The deck of the car can be wood or steel, and the sides of the deck can include pockets for stakes or tie-down points to secure loads... , for transport of rails Rail tracks The track on a railway or railroad, also known as the permanent way, is the structure consisting of the rails, fasteners, sleepers and ballast , plus the underlying subgrade...  or sleepers Railroad tie A railroad tie/railway tie , or railway sleeper is a rectangular item used to support the rails in railroad tracks...  Now only used in train formation with tampers 771,772 and 773.
FB	Flat brake	Flat wagon, with brake van compartment. No longer used.
GP	General purpose wagon	General purpose wagon
HD	High deck wagon	to carry a stack of track panels no more than 4 panels high.
HW	Hopper wagon	Hopper Hopper car A hopper car is a type of railroad freight car used to transport loose bulk commodities such as coal, ore, grain, track ballast, and the like. The name originated from the coke manufacturing industry which is part of the steel industry .... , for transport of fresh ballast Track ballast Track ballast forms the trackbed upon which railway sleepers or railroad ties are laid. It is packed between, below, and around the ties. It is used to facilitate drainage of water, to distribute the load from the railroad ties, and also to keep down vegetation that might interfere with the track...
J	Jib carrier	Specialist flat wagon, for carrying the arm (jib) of a crane
JC
JLE	Jubilee Line Extension	The same as General Purpose wagons (GP), used in the construction of the Jubilee Line Extension Jubilee Line Extension The Jubilee Line Extension is the extension of the London Underground Jubilee line from to through south and east London. An eastward extension of the Jubilee line was first proposed in the 1970s and a modified route was constructed during the 1990s... . Only difference is that the JLE's wagons have larger handbrake wheels.
MW	Match wagon	Wagons paired with the cement mixer wagons. Now used as GP wagons semi-permanently coupled together.
RW	Rail wagon	Specialist flat wagon, for transport of rails
SB	"Turbot" ballast wagon	Specialist ballast wagon, that will deliver ballast to the trackbed. Can also be used to transfer plant, used ballast or scrap.
TMM	Tamping machine	Ballast tamper Ballast tamper A ballast tamper or tamping machine is a machine used to pack the track ballast under railway tracks to make the tracks more durable. Prior to the introduction of mechanical tampers, this task was done by manual labour with the help of beaters...  for packing ballast to make lines more durable. Numbered 771, 772, 773 and 774. 771, 772 and 773 can only be transported through deep-level tunnels in train formation. 774 is for sub-surface lines only.
WPW	Well wagon	Specialist flat wagon, with lowered central section to enable larger loads to be carried. All have prefix JLE. Commonly known as a 'Low Loader'.

Brake vans

London Underground has used various designs of brake van

Caboose

A caboose is a manned North American rail transport vehicle coupled at the end of a freight train. Although cabooses were once used on nearly every freight train, their use has declined and they are seldom seen on trains, except on locals and smaller railroads.-Function:The caboose provided the...

. They were used for the guard's accommodation and for braking purposes (when wagons in the train were not fitted with automatic brakes).

Two brake vans of interest were numbers FB578 and FB579. These were 'flat' brake vans, converted from flat wagons. The conversion consisted of building a small guard's compartment on one end of the flat wagon. Therefore, these wagons could be used for carrying small items, such as sleepers

Railroad tie

A railroad tie/railway tie , or railway sleeper is a rectangular item used to support the rails in railroad tracks...

, in addition to their role as a brake van.

Several brake vans have been preserved. These are listed below.

Number		Year built	Builder	Preserved location	Comments
B	557	1935	Hurst Nelson Hurst Nelson Hurst, Nelson and Company Ltd was a railway rolling stock manufacturer based in Motherwell, Scotland. The company also built many railway wagons, as well as trams for several local authorities.-Products:...	Buckinghamshire Railway Centre Buckinghamshire Railway Centre Buckinghamshire Railway Centre is a railway museum operated by the Quainton Railway Society Ltd. at Quainton Road railway station, in the far depths of "Metro-land", about 5 miles west of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire. The site is divided into two halves which are joined by two foot-bridges, one of...	-
B	560	1935	Hurst Nelson Hurst Nelson Hurst, Nelson and Company Ltd was a railway rolling stock manufacturer based in Motherwell, Scotland. The company also built many railway wagons, as well as trams for several local authorities.-Products:...	Spa Valley Railway Spa Valley Railway The Spa Valley Railway is a standard gauge heritage railway that runs between Tunbridge Wells, High Rocks, Groombridge, and Eridge railway station, where it links with the Oxted Line. En route it crosses the Kent and East Sussex border, a distance of 5 miles , along the former Three Bridges to...	-
FB	578	1935	Gloucester RC&W Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company was a railway rolling stock manufacturer based at Gloucester, England; from 1860 until 1986....	Buckinghamshire Railway Centre Buckinghamshire Railway Centre Buckinghamshire Railway Centre is a railway museum operated by the Quainton Railway Society Ltd. at Quainton Road railway station, in the far depths of "Metro-land", about 5 miles west of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire. The site is divided into two halves which are joined by two foot-bridges, one of...	Converted from flat wagon F330

Rail wagons

Specialist wagons

External links