Our OO/4mm model of the EALNOS bogie box aggregate wagon was the second model we produced in OO/4mm and we are currently developing the same wagon in N/2mm. Since we produced our first run of the OO/4mm EALNOS wagons more have been built and new liveries have been introduced which we will look to produce in a future re-run of the OO/4mm JNA/MMA EALNOS wagons.
Prototype details
Built by Astra Rail and introduced in 2016, there are now well over 500 of these box wagons on the network. Those in use with DB are coded MMA under TOPS; the remainder are coded JNA. In UIC nomenclature all are referred to as ‘Ealnos’.
The wagons have a number of differences – 9- and 11-rib variants; with and without bodyside access doors; prototypically accurate variations in brake arrangements – all of which are covered by our tooling. We are also offering a version with a switchable, battery-operated tail lamp.
Revolution would like to thank DB Cargo and Tarmac for allowing us access to Barrow Railhead in Leicestershire to measure and photograph the prototype so these models can be as accurate as we can make them.
The wagons operated by VTG have different brake equipment. Some are dedicated for Mendip Rail traffic and carry a branded or unbranded silver livery; others are available for spot hire and in a dark blue.
Others are in service with Ermewa/Tarmac and feature further variations of bodystyle and braking. Earlier in 2020, several more batches of Ealnos arrived in the UK and entered service with VTG, Cappagh and Touax. The Touax wagons, in their eye-catching dark red livery, have 11 bodyside ribs with no door and combine the longer air tank of the VTG versions with the body-mounted parking brakes of the DB MMAs.
They’ve been in operation since 2016 and have spread across England and into parts of Wales as their open, rugged construction allows for easy unloading using a mechanical grab in locations where a dedicated terminal for hoppers with underfloor discharge gear would be uneconomic. The route map shows how widespread they have become.
They are most usually associated with Class 59, 60, 66, 68 and 70 haulage as can be seen on this selection of sample consists observed on real trains.
