Conflat

For the vacuum flange called Conflat, seeVacuum flange.For other uses, seeConflat (disambiguation).

Two Conflats with an insulated container, atRuddington

Conflatis aUnited Kingdomrailway term for a short wheelbaseflat wagoncontainer wagon.

British Railwaysused several standard types of wagon. The Conflat A, which could carry one type 'B', or two type 'A', containers, was the most common. It was regularly used to carry AF (frozen food) containers: while the Conflat L, which could carry three smaller containers forbulkpowders,was also produced in large numbers.

The Conflat B wagon could carry 2 AFP (frozen food) containers. These were slightly wider than the standard AF containers, and were designed to carry loads onpallets.

History

'Conflat' is thetelegraphic codewithin theGreat Western Railway's coding of railway wagons for a container wagon. Unlike normal wagon loads, containers were only listed to carry furniture or goods (unless they were refrigerated containers, which carried frozen products kept cold by ice) which needed to be placed on a specialistflatbed wagonwhich had train braking capability due to the fragile nature of the products carried.

The wagons were removed from service (as were the containers themselves) whenmore modern containerscame into use.

Gallery

• 
  Preserved Conflat A withtractor(not a normal load)
• 
  Conflats andBR Container
• 
  BR Type B container
• 
  Conflat with a mobile canteen of theLNER

See also

• Condor (express freight)
• Flatbed trolley
• Flatbed truck
• Flatcar

External links

• Model Railway Site featuring some detail on Conflats
• GWRR fleet