Revolution Trains unveiled EP1 samples of its forthcoming PTA and JUA/JTA ‘tippler’ wagons, along with the first sample of the later JSA conversion, and DEMU Showcase exhibition in Sutton Coldfield last weekend.
All EP sample photographs courtesy Tom Everitt.
Tipplers for iron ore and stone
The tippler wagons were built by Redpath Dorman Long in the early 1970s to transport iron ore for British Steel, and saw service across north east England and south Wales.
They were built as inners and outers, and usually marshalled in sets of ten with a pair of outers and eight inners.
They were designed to be ‘tippled’ – that is, the whole wagon spun about its axis for unloading and to enable this without uncoupling each wagon carried a rotating coupler at one end. This end was painted orange.
PTA tipplers in British Steel blue (south Wales) and grey (north east England.)
The chunky box bodies have a very slight draft to optimise unloading, and the outer wagons feature standard drawgear at one end with buffers and distinctive strengthening fillets behind the bufferbeam. They also feature an access ladder on one side only.
Inner wagons have no drawgear, and packs are supplied with conventional N couplers or, for those who want them, NEM compatible working ‘buck-eyes’ based on the prototype.
Photos clockwise from top right: 66026 at Newport in 2001 (Steve Jones); 56040 + 56044 at Cardiff Central in 1982 (John Turner/Creative Commons); 59002 Westbury in 1991 (Richard Szwejkowski/Creative Commons.)
With declining need for the wagons, in the 1990s many were repurposed for aggregate work. The rotating coupler was fixed and the wagons were used by Foster Yeoman and ARC Southern on stone traffic from the Mendip quarries. In time they also received new TOPS codes – JTA for outers, JUA for inners.
JTA/JUA tipplers in Foster Yeoman grey and ARC mustard
In the 2000s the wagons drifted in and out of store and some were acquired by VTG and given a slightly darker livery.
Photos clockwise from top: 59101 at Hallan (Train Photos/Creative Commons); 59002 Westbury in 1991 (Richard Szwejkowski/Creative Commons); unidentified JTA at Wandsworth Road in VTG service (Mike Hale.)
Revolution is offering 5-wagon packs in both inner and outer versions to allow modellers to assemble complete trains with correctly numbered wagons. These are available at a discounted pre-order price of £174.95. This works out at just £34.99 per wagon, and offers a saving of £25 on the post-production MSRP of £199.95.
JSA steel carrier conversions
By the 1990s British Steel also had a need for covered wagons to carry ‘bright’ steel and some of the redundant PTA box wagons were repurposed for this, with the removal of the box body and the addition of a three part telescoping cover.
Again the Revolution models feature kinematic couplers and separately fitted plastic and wire detail parts, including a fully detailed underframe.
In the 2000s the fleet was acquired by VTG and the blue hoods were replaced with unpainted metal, though they remained in use on largely the same traffic.
For each of these variants Revolution is offering two twin packs with differently numbered wagons. The pre-order price for each twin pack is £69.95, or £34.98 per wagon; a saving of £10 on the post-production MSRP.
Revolution is assessing these EP samples and will feedback minor modifications and corrections to the factory before production. Decorated samples are expected by September, and the models are expected to be delivered in late 2025 or early 20256.