SHARK BRAKE VANS

The IOWSR has a "Shark" whose vacuum brakes are naturally, on an air braked railway, redundant. However, she is through piped for air braking to run with the four fully fitted ballast hoppers. All five vehicles are cosmetically smart at present, so have featured in charters and demonstration ballast trains with steam haulage.

PH

 

There is (or possibly was) a Shark parked out of use at the east end of Shenfield station adjacent to platform 1, been there for years and is clearly visible on Google maps. AFAIK it's still there but havn't been through Shenfield recently, can anyone confirm if it is still there...??

 

I believe it's still there. There have been numerous attempts to purchase and remove it, the most recent, AFAIK, by the EOR a couple of years ago, who got as far as obtaining a detailed agreement with NR for its removal, but it still failed to happen.

The problem is that it is on an electrified siding, so use of a crane is a non-starter, the end of the siding, where it was once possible to remove the stops and roll a vehicle out onto the adjacent car park, is now blocked by S&T "loc" boxes and the van itself, being "red carded", cannot be moved via the mainline except in engineering possessions, which are rare and usually subject to strict time limits at Shenfield.

The last time that I saw it, about 12 months ago, the body was noticeably sagging!

 

Many thanks for the update Flaman, I should have guessed that you would probably know the answer as it related to Essex.

I had wondered why this van had sat there for so long without any obvious signs of someone trying to preserve it, now I realise why.

 

Sent you a PM cct man

 

Perhaps its worth remembering why a contentious brake is required for passenger operations - namely to stop a train should it become divided. It is not there for comfort, etc.

If you think about it, the HMRIs concern is that were the coupling to break then the van could run away etc and cause a nasty accident. However a brake van has a handbrake which should be suitable to prevent this - what you need is a suitably qualified member of staff to apply it should it be necessary (plus the handbrake having been tested / serviced / maintained in a fully working condition).

Therefore an unfitted brake van can legitimately be used to carry passengers provided it also has a qualified member of staff on board.

 

The requirement for brakes changed with the Railway Safety (Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 1997. Clause 6, which relates to brakes, simply states:
"The operator of a vehicle shall ensure that a suitable and sufficient braking system is provided and maintained for that vehicle and, where the vehicle is part of a train of vehicles, for that train of vehicles."
There is no longer a specific requirement for a continuous brake although a continuous brake obviously fulfils that requirement. As you say, a manned handbrake would also fulfil that requirement.

 

Thanks Dan, however I cannot appear to open it, am I looking in the right place I wonder ?

Chris.

 

Reviving an old thread but keeping on topic; I'm hearing from some NR apprentices / staff that there is a plan to do some work to the site at Shenfield (related to Crossrail?) and that as such, the infamous Shenfield Shark could be required to move / vanish. Wondering if any of our members here have contacts or can shed any more light on this - I have heard for a while there are plans for Shenfield?

A previous attempt to save it was made by EOR, when NR offered it to them for free, but when it came to be moved, one of the big rail firms stepped forward saying it was actually theirs and it went no further. Indeed, so far advanced was this at the time, there was actually a wheel skate put on the affected axle; the picture may well still be online somewhere but I am unable to find it myself at the moment.

Condition aside, it would be a shame if this were to go as it has become something of a local railway landmark - whether that's for better or worse is for you to decide.

 

NR's Twitter photo posted in 2017 (so condition not improved since then!): https://twitter.com/networkrail/status/936294162047160320?lang=en
A view from the platform: https://www.flickr.com/photos/waddosworldofrailways/43042922521
[Neither my copyright]

 

Interesting how the shade of the paint on the pipe up to the vacum hose and just above it - in the middle of the balcony's rail - has changed within about 8 months.