# Bogie bolster wagon > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Bogie_bolster_wagon > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Bogie_bolster_wagon.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogie_bolster_wagon > Source revision: 1276991671 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) British railway term for a wagon for long thin cargoes 'Gane A' at the [Dean Forest Railway](/source/Dean_Forest_Railway) A **bogie bolster wagon** is a British railway term for a wagon designed to carry long thin cargoes such as timber or rails and other steel sections. The sides and ends are minimal and there is no roof. The load is carried longitudinally and borne by three or more bolsters (half baulks of timber) fixed transversely. The load is constrained sideways by movable metal [stanchions](/source/Side_stake) fitted into the ends of the bolsters, and secured with [chains](/source/Chain) and [shackles](/source/Shackle). ## Design 'Bobol D' at the [Dean Forest Railway](/source/Dean_Forest_Railway) 'Salmon' at the [North Tyneside Railway](/source/North_Tyneside_Steam_Railway) A bogie bolster has both [bogies](/source/Bogie) and bolsters. Bogies are four-wheeled, articulated carriages beneath the main load bed. They allow a long wagon to carry long loads, but still have individually short wheelbases, and so go round [tight curves](/source/Minimum_railway_curve_radius). Bolsters are [baulks](/source/Beam_(structure)) of [timber](/source/Timber) fixed across the bed. The bed is thus not flat, but most loads such as [girders](/source/Girder), [rails](/source/Rail_profile), timber lengths, [signal](/source/Railway_signal) posts etc. are stiff enough that they only need to be supported at intervals, not continuously across a flat planked bed. The space between baulks allows room for tie-down chains or lifting straps, making the bolster design easier to work with than a completely flat bed. Bolsters could be fixed in place, or be removable. Some had as many as five bolsters.[1] Some designs had multiple sockets and a pair of bolsters could be moved between them. The bolsters could even be allowed to swivel around a central locating pin, and curved steel rubbing strips on the wagon deck.[1] The design of bogie bolster wagons had developed from earlier timber wagons, which were short four-wheeled wagons, each carrying a single swivelling bolster.[2] A pair of such wagons could carry a large tree trunk to a sawmill, but they required either the tree to take the full tension of the train,[i] or a suitable number of [match wagons](/source/Match_wagon) to be marshalled between the two bolster wagons. The long, but relatively lightweight, bogie bolster replaced that arrangement with a single wagon. Most designs also had ["stakes"](/source/Side_stake), which are removable vertical steel bars to restrain a load from rolling or sliding sideways. They could be either fixed through the bolsters, or inserted into pockets along the edge girders of the wagon body.[ii] Bolster wagons are relatively lightweight. Heavier well wagons, used for machinery loads, had deeper and stronger side girders. They had a cranked side profile, so that the [centre of gravity](/source/Centre_of_gravity) was of the load was lower. Bogie bolsters could carry typical loads of 15 or 30 long tons (16.8 or 33.6 short tons; 15.2 or 30.5 t).[3] The [GWR telegraphic code word](/source/GWR_telegraphic_codes) for a bogie bolster was 'Macaw'.[4] Other codes for specific types were 'Beaver' or 'Gane'. ## Rail wagons Bogie bolsters were particularly useful for permanent way loads, such as [rail](/source/Rail_profile). Many such wagons were not part of the railway's commercial stock, but were included as part of departmental stock (stock used for engineering works on the railway itself). Codes for these wagons included 'Salmon', Bobol[5] and 'Gane'[4] A number of bogie bolsters have been preserved on British heritage railways, as they are convenient for moving rails, [telegraph poles](/source/Telegraph_pole) and other [permanent way](/source/Permanent_way) loads.[5][6] ## See also - [Skeleton car (US)](/source/Flatcar#Skeleton_car) - [Truck bolster](/source/Truck_bolster) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** This was sometimes done on narrow-gauge forestry railways 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** See the 'Gane A' illustration for visible, but empty, pockets 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-NBR,_bolster_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-NBR,_bolster_1-1) Hooper, John (1991). *Wagons on the LNER: North British*. Irwell Press. pp. 58–59, 79, 96. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1-871608-22-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-871608-22-8). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEHooper199180–81_2-0)** [Hooper (1991)](#CITEREFHooper1991), pp. 80–81. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEHooper199196_5-0)** [Hooper (1991)](#CITEREFHooper1991), p. 96. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-GWR,_codes_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-GWR,_codes_6-1) ["Code Names for Great Western Carriage Stock and Vans"](http://www.greatwestern.org.uk/stockcode.htm). *The Great Western Archive*. 2013. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-NLR,_Bobol_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-NLR,_Bobol_7-1) ["42 ton Bogie Bolster 'D' Wagon № B942667"](http://www.nlr.org.uk/about-nlr/stock-list/wagons/42-ton-bogie-bolster-d-wagon-%E2%84%96-b942667/). *Northampton & Lamport Railway*. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-FRT,_bolster_8-0)** ["FRT buys only known remaining FR wagon"](http://www.furnessrailwaytrust.org.uk/vintagebolster.htm). *[Furness Railway Trust](/source/Furness_Railway_Trust)*. v t e Rail transport freight rolling stock Enclosed equipment Autorack Boxcar (US) British railway milk tank wagon Cattle wagon Coil car Intermodal car Covered goods wagon (EU) Covered hopper Livestock wagon Milk car Refrigerator car (US) Refrigerated van (EU) RoadRailer Stock car Tank car Wagon with opening roof Open equipment Bogie bolster wagon Chauldron wagon Class U special wagon Conflat Double-stack car Flatcar (US) Flat wagon (EU) Gondola (US) Hopper car Kangourou wagon Lowmac Minecart Mineral wagon Modalohr Open wagon (EU) Pocket wagon Quarry tub Rollbock Rotary car dumper Schnabel car Slate wagon Specialized flatcars Transporter wagon Non-revenue equipment Ballast cleaner Ballast regulator Brake van Caboose Clearance car Crane Crew car Excavator Flanger Rail adhesion car Revenue collection car Power shovel Rotary snowplow Scale test car Stoneblower Tamping machine Track geometry car Work trains --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bogie bolster wagon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogie_bolster_wagon) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogie_bolster_wagon?action=history)). 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