I have just got myself a book on Ferry wagons from europe to the UK. Arfter research i discovered that Roco and Liliput both make Ferry wagons. Not wishing to go to the Dark side just yet i woundered if this wagon made by Marklin is in British loading gauge! see picks!

Not being Dan, but I believe he means that in scale 1:1 the British loading gauge is smaller than those of continental Europe. This means that a model of a ferry wagon is also both narrower and lower than a similar wagon for use on the continent only.

I have an old Electrotren Transfesa wagon of this type and a newer Roco and it shows that they are smaller.

There are a number of things to consider when talking about wagons and their accessibility to the UK via a ferry -

1. their physical size
2. their braking system
3. their suitability for conveyance on a ship.

Before the Channel tunnel, BR had a fleet of dual-braked (air/vacuum) wagon for specific use on train ferries and some of the mainland European railways had matching wagons. These could go anywhere in the UK and on the continent (I remember seeing two BR ferryvans in northern Iran in 1975). You could also see Transfesa wagons of all varieties between Dover and the Transfesa depot at Paddock Wood in Kent because there were air-braked locos in the area and that stretch of line was specifically loading-gauge cleared for the purpose.

A must for a ferry van is the provision of lugs or hooks to tie the wagon down the the ship's deck in bad weather. The wagons illustrated on your Marklin leaflet have these hooks and as they are Dutch Railways wagons, I guess they must be intended for use on the Hook of Holland - Harwich ferry.

Everything changed with the opening of the Channel Tunnel and the extensive gauge clearance work of the 1980's, so you now see more standard UIC wagons in the UK.

Here is a link which has more information on Ferry Wagons and may answer some of your questions -
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/gansg/4-rstock/04arstock9.htm

Hi,

these hooks are used on ferries, too. But their primary use is for shunting-winches. A cheap and easy way to move cars on small distances. Some pictures can be found on: http://www.windhoff.de/e/it/ran/sra/welcome.htm .

Regards

Markus