DB983905 was built at Shildon in 1961 to lot 3340. It weighs 24 tons, has standard OLEO pneumatic buffers and Timken roller bearings. This four-wheeled vehicle is designed to drop ballast between the rails and on both sleeper ends via separate controllable openings, codenamed dogfish. If differs from the catfish ballast wagon (DB992568) which can only drop ballast between the rails. Withdrawn from BR service in May 1990, it arrived at Quainton in 1999.

With our "catfish" ballast wagon and "shark" brake van, we can now make up a complete permanent way train.