Hornby BR Shark Ballast Brake Vans
The 'Shark' ballast brake vans were built between 1954 and 1960 and were fitted fore and aft with ballast ploughs. Although they were a BR design, they had similarities with a 16 ton LMS ballast brake van. Each weighing 20 tons, the 'Sharks' were built by the Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Company. They had a very short wheelbase and all ballast laying trains had one or two of them to spread the ballast. With the introduction of TOPS in the early 1970s, they were given the code 'ZUV'. The 'V' referred to vacuum brakes and the vacuum cylinder is nicely modelled between the wheels
When the model
appeared in 2008, it was the most detailed wagon model that Hornby had so far designed. An
alternative design of ploughs is provided with each model, along with the tall vacuum pipe
standards and other detail. Two models are reviewed here. The first is in BR 'weathered'
grey and yellow and numbered 'DB993738' (R6456) while the other is in BR 'weathered' olive
green and numbered 'DB993834' (R6455).
Model Railway Express
Run by model railway enthusiasts, Modelfair is an online shop specialising in new, pre-owned and collectable model railways. http://www.modelfair.com for friendly and reliable service.
For Hornby and spares for Hornby, Electrotren, Lima (HO), Jouef and Rivarossi visit www.hornbyspares.co.uk
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