British Railways Presflo cement wagon

Railway wagon, British Railways, 22T Presflo wagon, No B873368, built Gloucester Railway Carriage & Wagon Company, 1961, ex Bletchley. [Built to diagram number BR Wagon 272, batch number 3361, construction span 1955-1963, number built 1820].

This is a 20-ton capacity “Presflo” hopper cement wagon with air discharge equipment and continuous vacuum brakes, built in 1961 by the Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company for British Railways.

As a goods wagon designed to carry fine powdered cement, this wagon had an ‘air fluidisation’ system which allowed air to be blown into the powder, loosening the grains. This meant that the powder could be pumped and drained from the wagon easily. Presflo stands for Pressure Flow.