Covered carriage truck

Covered Carriage Truck was a type of railway van with end doors used for moving motor cars or parcel traffic. Four wheeled CCT were banned from Motorail services in the mid-1960s.[2] These vans were designed to be used for carrying motor cars in Motorail but the tight clearances inside the body of the van and closing/opening of the end doors took a lot of time and effort from staff. The vans were replaced by General Utility Vans (GUV) and car flats.[2]

British Rail covered carriage truck
CCT No. 94286 preserved on the Great Central Railway
In service1959–mid-1980s
ManufacturerBR Doncaster Works,
BR Earlestown Works
Family nameBritish Railways Mark 1
Constructed1959-1961
Number built827
Fleet numbers94100–94922, 96200–96203
Capacity10 tonnes (9.8 long tons; 11.0 short tons)
OperatorsBritish Rail
Specifications
Car length37 ft 0 in (11.28 m)[1]
Width8 ft 9 in (2.67 m)
Height12 ft 6 in (3.81 m)
Maximum speed70 mph (113 km/h)
Weight17 tonnes (16.7 long tons; 18.7 short tons)
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)

British Rail's Earlestown Works built 822 four-wheeled Covered Carriage Trucks;[1] these were preceded by a prototype, number 94100, built at Doncaster. In addition, Doncaster Works rebuilt four former LNER passenger coaches as prototype bogie CCTs numbered 96200–96203.[3]

Early years

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From the early days of railways, such as the Liverpool and Manchester Railway of 1830 road coaches were carried on flat waggons. This is illustrated in the Royal Mail 12 penny postage stamp of 1980. These were called "carriage trucks" but would later be called "open carriage trucks". The earliest open carriage trucks were basically flat waggons with fixtures for attaching ropes and chains. Covered carriage trucks came later.

References

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  1. ^ a b "British Railways CCT No.94181". Bluebell Railway. 21 July 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Railway Freight Operations - Non Passenger Coaching Stock - Private Carriages and Motor Cars". Archived from the original on 18 May 2010. Retrieved 9 January 2010.
  3. ^ "LNER 32480 Non-Gang Lavatory Composite (now Prototype CCTY) built 1930". Carriage Survey. 18 April 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2019.