DB993217 is a 24-ton vacuum-braked Ballast Hopper Wagon to diagram 1/587, designed by British Railways
and codenamed 'Dogfish'. The wagon was designed specifically for the use of the Civil Engineering
Departments to carry new track ballast from quarry to worksite and to drop it at a controlled rate over
track which was to be machine-packed or 'tamped'. It has three independently controlled chutes, one on
each side and one in the centre. These are operated by large handwheels mounted at one end of the hopper,
a platform with guardrails being provided for the operator. All Dogfish wagons were built with vacuum
brakes and carried the 'DB' prefix to their numbers from new.
DB 993217 is one of 161 vehicles built between February and April 1957 under lot 2822 by Charles Roberts
and Company Ltd. at their Horbury Works, near Wakefield in Yorkshire. Initially it was allocated to the
Eastern Region and was based at Santon slag heap near Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire. Blast furnace slag is
a waste product of the iron and steel industry and was sometimes used as a lightweight ballast for sidings
and yards.
Having served the Bluebell well for over a quarter of a century, it was sold on to the Llanelli & Mynydd Mawr Railway in September 2024. See the Railway Heritage Register entry for 993217.
But why a Dogfish?
The exact origin of the BR practice of allocating 'fish' names to civil engineering vehicles is unknown.
When railway operations messages were conveyed by morse telegraph or teleprinter, if the number of words
in a message could be reduced, it could be transmitted more quickly. There were lists of code words for
certain regular instructions and also for wagon type and capacity. The Great Western Railway favoured
fish names for engineering wagons, and this may have been the origin. However, whatever the reason, if
one refers to a 'dogfish', any railwayman will know that one is not referring to the similar 'catfish'
or 'trout'!
And what is a dogfish?
The term 'dogfish' usually refers to a type of shark belonging to the order Squaliformes or to one of
its constituent families; one of these families, the Squalidae, being known as 'dogfish sharks'. The
Spiny Dogfish (Squalus acanthias) is found in many parts of the world, especially in shallower,
temperate waters. The males mature at around 11 years of age, growing up to a metre in length; females
mature in 18-21 years and are slightly larger than males, reaching up to 1.6 metres (about 5' 2"). In
Britain this and other dogfish are sold in fish and chip shops as 'rock salmon' or 'huss'.
Recommended reading:
Civil Engineers Wagons Volume 1 - British Railways: 1948-1967 by David Larkin
Published 2011 by Kestrel Books, ISBN 978-1-905505-23-4
This book may be available from the Bluebell Railway's shop