Uc2471 nearly finished.
The tank and underframe having been
sand blasted and primed.
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Weight in working order: 17 tonnes (Tare), 37¾ tonnes (Gross)
Overall length: 40 feet. (12.2 metres)
Bogies: Davis & Lloyd, with package roller bearing wheel sets.
This vehicle is one of a batch of 93 similar vehicles built between 1947 and 1955 for the use of various companies including Shell, Caltex, British Petroleum, Associated Motorists, Tasman Pulp & Paper Company, and New Zealand Railways. Sixty two of the wagons were designed to carry 6300 gallons of motor spirit (petrol) and the remaining thirty one, those for Tasman and NZR, 6000 gallons of fuel oil.
Uc2471 was one of the petrol tankers, built in 1954 as Uc1315 for British Petroleum. Little is known of the wagon's history in everyday service. Like most wagons, it probably travelled many hundreds of thousands of miles all over the system and suffered its share of accidents, derailments and shunting damage. The original bogies were the Davis & Lloyd type fitted with plain bearing axleboxes. At some time in its history the bogies were converted by NZR to take package roller bearing wheel sets. The underframe, complete with bogies, was purchased from Tranz Rail in 2001 and the tank body donated by the BP oil company.
Soon after delivery to Steam Incorporated a survey of the wagon was carried out to determine what work was required to enable it to be certified by Tranz Rail for main line operation. It was intended that the vehicle be converted to carry water for use as a steam locomotive support vehicle, when required, in passenger excursion trains. As far as was possible, the wagon should retain the appearance it had when in every-day service as a petrol tanker.
To meet the intended use the following modifications to the original design were carried out during the restoration:-
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| The internal filler pipes before fitting to the tank. These are designed to minimise aeration of the water when filling the tank. | Some of the additional baffles with their diagonal bracing. | The internal filler pipes fitted inside the tank. Some of the internal baffles can also be seen. |
The first steps in restoring the vehicle were to remove the bogies, the drawgear, the brake cylinder, brake piping and other components below the under frame, the straps that hold the tank down to the underframe, and the rotten wood platforms and handrails. The underframe was then put up on stands and the under frame and tank sand blasted all over and painted with primer.
The bogies were completely overhauled, the underframe repaired and straightened, the drawgear overhauled, new brake piping and water feed pipes fitted, and the original tank emptying pipe modified to become the tank filling pipe. Inside the tank, additional baffles were fitted so that the vehicle can safely run part full. When these vehicles were in every-day service they either ran completely full or completely empty, so movement of the contents was not a problem. As a locomotive water tanker, they are required to run with the water level slowly lowering, so means must be provided to control the movement of up to 20 tons of water. Hence the extra baffles required.
The vehicle is finished in the traditional gloss black paint, with the hand rails, ladders, footsteps, and hand brake picked out in white or yellow as needed by present day requirements. In addition, the tank will display a logo appropriate to the time when it carried petrol in everyday service in order to keep its appearance authentic.
As at August 2004, all the work is finished except for the last of the baffles to be fitted inside the tank. Subject to a final inspection by Tranz Rail engineers, the vehicle should have it's first main line outing by Christmas.
Updated 25 Oct 2007