OAA/ OBA 'Bass' & 'Squid open Profile and Models

OAA/ OBA 'Bass' & 'Squid open

100028 at Newport in July 2001. ©Steve Jones

The OAA and OBA were the first air-braked open wagons designed for British Rail. 100 OAAs were initially built, with a further 800 to a very similar design, with revised highers, introduced and classified as OBA. The wagons were used across the UK on a variety of duties, including coiled steel wire, paper for newsprint and timber. With the decline in general goods traffic from the 1980s onwards, most of the wagons were transferred to engineering duties, with other vehicles heavily modified to take on new specialist roles. A small number remain, either in active service or storage.

 

Type of Vehicle

Open wagon

Builder

British Rail, Ashford Works
British Rail, Shildon Works

Build Dates

1971 - 1979

Total Built

900

Wheel Configuration

4 wheel

Operated By

British Rail
Plasmor Ltd
Transrail
EWS
DB Cargo UK

Main Duties

General freight
Engineering duties

In Service Until

Present

Surviving Examples

Several