Identifying freight carriages.

[Paul26]

Good morning!
I am a complete novice concerning trains. I moved to Basingstoke in June 2024 and we have a railway line that runs very close by (about 50 metres away). Trains became very visible from our windows in the winter when the leaves had gone.
As you certainly will know, the line here comes up from Portsmouth/Southampton so there are plenty of freight trains, many loaded with standard 40 foot containers. Periodically a freight train goes by with fully enclosed freight carriages (no windows or any markings that I can see) and all the carriages are identical in a dark blue colour. I am very interested to learn more about what these are.
Are there any online sources I can go to to find information on different carriages I may see? I tried various Google searches but didn't come up with much.
Many thanks for any enlightening information!

 

[DarloRich]

It could be a car train. I think it is usually full of Land/ Range Rovers for export. If you can give an approximate time I am sure someone could help

 

[Freightmaster]

periodically a freight train goes by with fully enclosed freight carriages (no windows or any markings that I can see) and all the carriages are identical in a dark blue colour. I am very interested to learn more about what these are.

As per DarloRich's reply, the train you saw was a car train, conveying MINIs from Oxford
for export through Southampton Docks:

66124, Kennington 31.1.25

66124 powers through Kennington, south of Oxford with the 4O39 0943 Morris Cowley to Southampton Eastern Docks loaded Mini cars on 31st January 2025

www.flickr.com

MARK

 

[DarloRich]

As per DarloRich's reply, the train you saw was a car train, conveying MINIs from Oxford

thanks - I assumed it must the same one oi see from time to time at MK. That one is Range Rovers I think.

 

[Paul26]

Fascinating! And thank you very much. I'm surprised no-one has set up a website with pictures and details of all the different types of freight carriages. I would love to see that!
Thanks again.

 

[Gloster]

Unless it is a stone train, which might look like that at a distance. They would have wagons with the tops slightly lower than passenger carriages: at the level where the side of a passenger carriage is starting to curve into the roof, a stone wagon has a simple ninety degree change. A stone wagon is basically a large, long open box without a top.

There is a site run by Paul Bartlett, try Googling Paul Bartlett wagons , and then select Private Owner Wagons and then the post-1958 option. The problem is that they are done by type and are mostly of types now withdrawn. (Be warned: you can spend hours wandering around the site. An interest in wagons is a niche one, but fascinating.)

 

[Freightmaster]

thanks - I assumed it must the same one oi see from time to time at MK. That one is Range Rovers I think.

That train looks a bit different - the wagons are predominately red rather than blue:

66013 - Halebank

Currently only a few Jaguar/Land Rover auto trains operate from Halewood with the only daylight one being on a Friday! Departing over two hours late, still full EWS livery, No 66013 approaches Halebank on 6O42 11:31 Halewood to Southampton Eastern Docks 'auto'. 10th January 2025. (Taken with a...

www.flickr.com

MARK

 

[Paul26]

(I can see I could get hooked on all this!)
Your first photo-link Freightmaster is exactly it. Definitely the one I have seen several times. I have seen the others too but I'm sure the blue covering must be the cars.

 

[DelW]

(I can see I could get hooked on all this!)

Beware, you're poised on the brink of a very large rabbit-hole

Many people on here have spent years exploring it!

You can of course embrace your inner nerd and dive right in. In which case you'll find a huge resource of knowledge on these forums, so join right in.

 

[themiller]

This is a photo of the car carriers that I took at Southampton two years ago showing some wagons with lowered hoods and some with raised hoods after unloading cars. The wagons are sets of 5 wagons permanently coupled and this particular train had at least 6 sets.

 

[Adrian Barr]

I'm surprised no-one has set up a website with pictures and details of all the different types of freight carriages. I would love to see that!

For a straightforward gallery of pictures of modern types of wagon, there are a few useful websites:

https://wagons-library.weebly.com/
https://gingespotting.smugmug.com/Wagons
https://ukrailwaypics.smugmug.com/UKRailRollingstock
https://andrewwills.smugmug.com/Wagons

The letter codes seen are from the TOPS computer system to distinguish different types of wagons. The first letter is the general kind, the second letter doesn't usually mean much but sub-divides the types further, and the third letter is the brake type. Most wagons these days are air-braked so the majority of wagon types end in A. The blue car carriers are coded WIA.

A close-up view of some WIAs with the roofs raised revealing the minis inside: https://www.flickr.com/photos/131175774@N06/51303752257/

There are a few different numbering schemes for wagons:

Air-braked series (six digits)
B-series (6 digits with a B or often DB prefix, mainly used for some older wagons that were vacuum-braked at one time)
Private-Owner series (4 or 5 digits with an owner prefix, such as VTG which is a wagon leasing company)
International series, also known as RIV, with 12 digit numbers (including the WIA wagons). More detail on the international numbering here: https://www.ltsv.com/rd/article_detail.php?id=14#typecodes

That last link is to the LTSV website which has a lot of information on wagons. It can be a bit daunting to use, but the wagon profiles (covering a selection of types) would be one place to start: https://www.ltsv.com/rd/profile_list.php

===========================================================
GENERAL KIND OF VEHICLE GROUP (FIRST CHARACTER OF 'CARKIND')
===========================================================
.
CODE DESCRIPTION
---- -----------
A COACHING - PASSENGER CARRYING(INCL.CATERING VEHICLES)
B BOGIE STEEL
C CA TRAFFIC BRAKE VANS IN REVENUE EARNING SERVICE;
C CB-S COVERED (BULK CARRYING)
D DIESEL ELECTRIC MULTIPLE UNIT VEHICLES AND DIESEL MECHANICAL MULTIPLE UNIT VEHICLES
E ELECTRIC MULTIPLE UNIT VEHICLES
F FLATS (INCL.FREIGHTLINER)
G H.S.T. COACHES
H HOPPERS
I FERRY WAGONS (FOREIGN OWNED)
J PRIVATELY OWNED BOGIE WAGONS (NOT TANKS OR 'SPECIALS')
K SPECIAL WAGONS, PRIVATELY OWNED
L 'EPS' EUROPEAN PASSENGER VECHICLES 'EUROSTAR'
M MINERAL, NOT HOPPERED
N NPCCS
O OPEN
P PRIVATELY OWNED, 2 & 3 AXLE, OTHER THAN TANKS
Q SERVICE DEPT. (EX COACHING)
R OPERATING VEHICLES, BARRIER ETC.
S 2-AXLE STEEL
T PRIVATELY OWNED TANKS
U 'ENS' LOCO HAULED EUROPEAN NIGNT STOCK
V VANS
W INTERNATIONAL CAR CARRIERS
Y SERVICE DEPT. (BOGIE FREIGHT)
Z SERVICE DEPT. (2-AXLE FREIGHT)

========================
VEHICLE BRAKE TYPE CODES
========================
:
A = AIR BRAKE
B = AIR BRAKE & THROUGH VACUUM PIPE
C = UNFITTED (SELF PROPELLED DCE PLANT WITH TRAIN BRAKE PIPES)
C = UNFITTED (THESE VEHICLES CAN BE TRAIN CONSISTED)
E = ELECTRO-PNEUMATIC
F = VACUUM (A.F.I. EQUIPMENT)
G = VACUUM AND THROUGH AIR PIPE (A.F.I. EQUIPMENT)
H = AIR AND VACUUM (DUAL) (A.F.I. EQUIPMENT)
O = UNFITTED
P = THROUGH VACUUM PIPE
Q = THROUGH AIR PIPE
R = THROUGH AIR AND VACUUM PIPE
V = VACUUM BRAKE
W = VACUUM BRAKE & THROUGH AIR PIPE
X = DUAL BRAKE (VACUUM & AIR)
Y = UNFITTED (SELF PROPELLED DCE PLANT WITH POWER BRAKE)
Y = UNFITTED (THESE VEHICLES CANNOT BE TRAIN CONSISTED)

An in-depth discussion of wagon classification can be found here: https://www.ltsv.com/rd/article_detail.php?id=12#uic