OO Gauge Gloucester 7-Plank Private Owner Wagons.  

The Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company were a staple of British rolling stock production for over 120 years. They designed and built a multitude of railway vehicles that were shipped across the world. Their portfolio extended way beyond the humble wagon, and included coaches, railcars and even battle tanks.  

They often applied their skills to more specialist freight vehicles but continued building open wagons in their droves.  

Due to the length of the company's tenure, designs inevitably evolved as railway technology improved. One that stood the test was the company's conventional 7-plank design, featuring an internal strapping design, and was 15' in length over its body. This design underwent very few changes between the 1890s and early 1920s, but versions were produced fitted with or without end doors.  

Examples of these wagons were both sold and hired to private companies across the UK, with the hired versions being maintained by the Gloucester R. C. and W. Co.  

After World War Two, the 10,000 wagons that made up the Gloucester R. C. and W. Co. hire fleet were nationalised. However, with newer designs being introduced by the company in the 1920s, the exact number of the 1890s 7-plank design inherited by BR remains a mystery. Sadly, no examples survived into preservation. 

The new Rapido Trains UK OO Gauge Gloucester 7-Plank Private Owner Wagon range will feature body tooling variants to cover wagon types that were fitted with and without end doors.  

All versions feature full external, internal and underframe details, including brass bearings for smooth, friction-free running, NEM 363 coupling pockets and a high-quality livery application. The internal details are fully decorated and include the stylish inside strapping supports with moulded rivet details. 

As a commonly seen open wagon design that was produced in large numbers by one of the UK's most famous wagon builders, they will be the perfect complement to our previous PO range.  With visually interesting details and a noticeably different size, these will add a nice variety and clearly stand out in your current rake of Rapido wagons.