n October 1971, The Railway Magazine reported on the rail-based distribution system serving the British Oxygen Company’s new plant at Widnes, Lancashire. The article detailed the transportation of liquefied oxygen and nitrogen, including the construction and specifications of the specialised railway tank wagons.
LIQUID GAS FLOWING FROM WIDNES
A RAIL-BASED system of distribution, devised jointly with British Railways, is a vital element of the British Oxygen Company “super plant” at Widnes, Lancashire, which was officially inaugurated on July 14 when Mr. Richard Marsh, Chairman Designate of B.R.B., rode on to the site on a B.O.C. diesel locomotive hauling a train of cryogenic rail tankers. The plant, built at a cost of £12m., occupies 29 acres and has a capacity of more than 1,400 tons a day of liquid products, nearly half oxygen and the balance nitrogen.
Distribution from Widnes
Now the system is fully operational B.O.C. is running the first company-owned trains in the world to carry liquefied oxygen and nitrogen at cryogenic (very low) temperatures down to minus 196 deg. C. They work direct from Widnes to three specially-constructed terminals, at Sheffield, Wembley, and Wolverhampton. Thence the product is transported by road tanker either direct to customers or to other B.O.C. sites for re-distribution and for compressing into cylinders. One block train of ten tank wagons is equivalent in carrying capacity to 30 of the largest road tankers allowed under present legislation.
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Photos: British Oxygen Co. Ltd.
Construction of the tank wagons
Main contractor responsible for the rail aspect of the design and mounting the special vacuum-insulated tanks on the chassis of the 25 wagons in service was Chas. Roberts & Co. Ltd. External pipework and control gear are to a standard design for filling and discharge at the production centre and distribution terminal sidings.
Tanker specifications
The tanker comprises an outer carbon-steel vessel 56 ft. 10 in. long × 8 ft. 10 in. outside diameter enclosing a stainless-steel inner vessel 54 ft. 4½ in. long × 7 ft. 5½ in. outside diameter. The evacuated interspace is filled with insulating powder. The tank is mounted on a 60 ft.-long underframe with Gloucester cast-steel “Mk IV” bogies of 25-ton axleload at 40 ft. centres. Wheels are disc braked operated by a twin air pipe system. Maximum speed is 60 m.p.h. The transfer point and controls are duplicated each side, at the mid point. Capacity of the 100-ton maximum gross-weight tankers is 56 tons of liquefied oxygen or 48 tons nitrogen.
