025. Colas Rail Class 66 loco 66847 with a train of KFA-T Timber Wagons arrives at Newton Abbot

Whilst on a walk into Newton Abbot (Devon, England) with my mate Tim Jewell (who lives there), we decided to have a look around the station for a while. We found a few guys hanging around on the platform with cameras in hand, so enquired what they were up to. They said a new weekly logging train was due in. A bit novel I thought, so we also hung around waiting.
I wasn’t into making YouTube videos back then, so wish I had filmed more of the movement (run round, coupling up & onward journey etc). There is another YouTube channel showing this.
To see the details, are you aware you can zoom-in on your smartphone using two fingers, in a similar way you do when viewing still photos.

KFA-T wagons :
With info gleaned from the internet (so I hope it’s correct), the KFA-T open sided timber carriers were built by WH Davies Ltd in 2007, re-purposed from redundant KVA Cargowaggons, which were originally built by Linke Hofmann Busch (now Alstom) in 1985. I think the chassis were originally blue ?
I found this train fascinating & as I’m also a railway modeler in 00-gauge, I found out that no manufacturer made these interesting wagons & I want to duplicate this train. They are quite different from other timber carriers, with very unusual ends. However, as these timber trains take their load to Kronospan in Chirk (a town on the English / North Wales border) for making into various boards & laminates. This town just happens to be the location of model manufacturer Dapol. So at the March 2022 London Festival of Railway Modelling, I challenged the MD of Dapol to produce them as they had a related history. We shall see if anything is produced, so you heard it here first.

Colas Rail Class 66 loco 66847 :
This loco has been produced in model form. Made by Hattons Originals as H4-66-029. I have one.
Video shows minor livery errors around the buffer beam details, which I have corrected on mine.

Venue :
Newton Abbot Station on the Great Western Main Line & up the old Moretonhamstead branch line.

Filming :
Camera – Canon PowerShot SX 20 IS bridge camera.

Video creation :
Software – Microsoft HD Movie Maker PRO
Background music – free with software – Doctor Turtle-The Ants Build a City on His Chest