These wagon had a very
colourfully life on the QR Network stretching over forty plus year. At first as
Baggage Cars, express freight louvered wagons and maintenance wagons.
Reading John Armstrong book “Iron and Steel Wagons of the Queensland Railways steam era” the contract for the wagons was called in 1948 and the wagons entered service in 1955/56 with running numbers 30801 to 30841, 41 wagons in all. Commonwealth Engineering made the louvered body and Evan Deakin made the underframe. The body shape was similar to the “M” series air-conditioned Lander cars. The wagon had “Fox” bogies similar to the wooden passenger cars at 18 foot centres. The wagons came into the spotlight due to the number of derailments. Plan P 50 (Drawing 5504) shows there Red Diamond status for passenger trains were revoked in 1958.
24/4/57 - 408.5m Julia Creek – Gilliat. Derailment of CLC 30806 on 42 Up (hauled by C17 785), possibly due to a buckle.
14/3/58 - 44m60c Main Line. Derailment of CLC 30823 on 17 Down, due to cant of the track and a sudden application of brakes due to a detonator exploding - gang at work lifting track.
21/3/58 - 743.5m Guthalungra – Gumlu. Derailment of three CLC wagons on 247 Down, due to swaying caused by varying uneven cants of track. Springs are being modified on these wagons.
18/4/58 - 487m NCL. Derailment of two CLC wagons on 247D, due to a hole in the road and the springing of the CLC wagons not of a design to give good riding characteristics
21/12/58 - 645m39c Yalboroo – Bloomsbury. Derailment of CLC 30838 (loaded with general goods and fruit) on 247D, due to the modified springing not being sufficient to counter the conditions existing (curve and soft spots).
22/12/58 - 743m60c Guthalungra – Gumlu. Derailment of CLC 30824 (loaded with fruit and general goods) on 247D, due to a hole under the sleepers, irregularities in track, speed, loading of the wagon and the spring arrangement of the wagon.
CLC 30802 As
built – Fox Bogies, Red Diamond, Stem buffers.
Reading the Working Time
Table for that period there are three types of trains shown, Passenger Trains,
Goods Trains and Through Goods. Train 247D is shown as an Express fruit and
goods train.
The rear section of the Time Table shows the following. Train 247D will convey ordinary goods in addition to fruit and other perishables may be made up to a gross load of 520 tons and must be worked with a diesel electric locomotive. The train must be composed of bogie wagons, ("C," "CLF," "CJF " "CM " '•CMIS" and "HJ") which may be fully loaded to marked carrying capacity. As far as possible box wagons ("CJF," "CMIS," &c.) must form the make-up of these trains but when necessary wagons of other types may be attached to make up the train to full load or length on the approval of the General Manager or District Officer. Care must be taken to distribute the load evenly and to place light packages on top off heavier packages on the floor of the wagons. 247D will not shunt or stop at Intermediate stations.
Reading on a bit more in the Gympie and Bundaberg section the following is stated, No. 247D will be worked with a diesel electric locomotive and may be made up to a gross load of 520 tons. (See instructions on page 126 regarding composition of this train, as above.) The train will not stop for passengers, shunt nor perform roadside work for stations south of Mackay except to attach a CMB of butter at Theebine when required for Townsville, which will be marshalled next to the engine. Preference must be given to 247D Down over all trains, except Mail Trains. Bundaberg to Rockhampton section indicated the train could convey 650 tons between Rockhampton and Townsville.
Most of the wagons listed on the train are ordinary goods wagon rated at 35 MPH wagons, not 50 MPH wagons (Red Circle) required for Express Freight Trains a few years later. The train must be worked with a diesel electric locomotive, thus no water stops and changing engines at depot stations. Express train in the 1960/70’s had a through load of 650 tons for a single loco, this train has a limit of 520 tons.
The back pages of the Working Time Table gives sectional running for trains, that is time allocated for a train to run between two stations. Trains under 75% of the full load are given less time between the two stations. With express type running on a faster time table, goods loading in Brisbane on Monday morning was available for delivery in Townsville Wednesday morning.
Over the next couple of years the bogie centres were altered to 21 feet (2 wagons) and 22 feet 3 inches on the rest. The wagons were fitted with QR 2 cast steel bogies and in 1961 the wagon were given “Red Circle” status and were allowed to run on express freight trains at 50 MPH.
CLC 30811 QR 2 Bodies
Cooroy Jan
1961. QR 2 Bogie extended. No speed marking
The class was not over
popular with loaders, the area between the doors the loading area was around 8½
feet, little less in the door opening and 7 feet 7 inches between the door
shields on the end of the wagon. The height at the sides was 6 feet 5 inches
and in the centre was 8 feet 4 inches. The inside sliding doors allowed water
to enter the loading area during wet weather. The underframe was 32 feet long,
with a 32 feet 6 inches long body that was 9 feet wide. Average Tare of the
wagon was 13 ton 3 cwt and they could carry 22 ton 17 cwt. Gross 36 tons. At
first the wagons were painted Red Oxide/Tuscan with black bogies.
In the mid 1960’s a
number of the class were allocated to Brown’s Transport, these wagons were
repainted and looked quite smart. Grey roof, underframe and bogies, yellow body
lined with a red strip top and bottom and a red lighting flash with black lines
the full length of the body. Words “Brisbane Co-ordinated Toowoomba” in black was
along the flash. The Turntable Hobby shop produced a decal for this colourful
wagon, I understand Wuiske Models now has the decal. Caintode Flats website
site also shows a decal for this wagon on his web page. In the instructions from
the Turntable decals, the running numbers of the wagons are different to that
in John Armstrong book. John shows 14 wagons, 30801, 30806, 30807, 30812,
30813, 30816, 30817, 30824, 30826, 30827, 30832, 30834, 30837, 30841. In
Brisbane the wagons were loaded on the Milton end of the Roma Street Parcels
shed. Ipswich Workshop Museum has one on display showing running number 30826.
CLC 30801 White Wall Types.
Ipswich
workshops.
In the early 1970’s the co-ordinated wagons returned to general traffic. Others were painter yellow all over with black bogies, 30802 was one such wagon with a red QR logo on the L/H end door.
Other were painted freight grey in the same manner as other goods wagons from 1969 on wards. With the removal for wooden wagons from traffic in the late 1980’s, many replaced wooden material wagons attached to camp wagon, breakdown trains etc. The final fling for the class was on the Cairns to Forsayth “Great Train Journey” carrying general freight from Cairns for the Atherton Tablelands as roadside wagons.
Around 1978, some of the class had the bodies removed and the underframes were use to make single slot 20’ container wagons as the PCE class. The first few being 30805, 30831, 30834
A number of CMIS refrigerator
(ice) wagons made up other members in the PCE class. One PCET wagon converted from a CMIS wagon was
modified with a recessed floor to transport two smaller transforms within the
loading gauge for Main Line Electrification Project, the wagon could still carry
one 20’ container when not required for transformers. This wagon carried PT
classification.
Cowan Shelton No 7 Supply Wagon.
Panels on the door suggest the wagon was a Co-ordinated wagon.
Workshops Dump
Wagon.
CLC 30826 Ipswich Workshop Museum
Models
A number of manufactures over the years have produced a model of the wagon.
This wagon was a Fox Model produced about 25 plus years ago. This wagon has now been placed in the Westgate SWR Museum.
Currently, Caintode Flats produces a one piece body kit that requires very little effort to make a very nice model with great detail.
On the layout at present I have three Caintode Flats wagons, two painted red and one in Toowoomba Co-ordinated colours.
The decals used were purchased
from the Turntable some 25 years ago. They were somewhat past there use by
date. The red lining was applied in various small sections, on the prototype
the names on the doors are on panel sheets attached to the wagon. I forgot to
paint these when painting the wagon. The red flash did not match photos I had
of the wagon, it was far to wide for the Canitode Flats wagon. On side one the letters
were cut from the sheet and the flash decal ripped when being slid into
position. Red paint was used to patch the gaps. Plus I was using new decal
setting solutions and I keep on mixing up the two, that didn’t help the situation
any. When building the kit I added all hand rails that just happen to be where the
decal were to go, bugger, more issues. Side two in an effort to place the flash
in the correct position the names were cut from the sheet and some sections of
the flashed was reduced, the flash was cut into three sections. One section I
over lapped the flash, this showed up and is still visible after a weathering.
After I finished the wagon I saw photos
of a wagon completed by a modeller in Toowoomba using Caintode Flats decals,
the end result was much better than my effort. Well done Gary.
(Toowoomba
Model Train Club, Train Talk Newsletter August 2021 Issue # 362).
Trust my mistakes can assist you to make a better model.
Acknowledgements.
IRON and STEEL Wagons of
the Queensland Railways Steam Era by John Armstrong.
QR Working Time Tables
QR Derailment Reports
QR General Appendix’s
QR Plans
Australian Model Railway
Association Queensland Library
Toowoomba Model Railway
Club “Train Talk” Newsletter.
Arthur H.