Rapido Trains is expanding its popular 'OO' private owner wagon range with this new Gloucester seven-plank private owner wagon range.

These will be the first 'OO' ready-to-run private owner wagons with internal ironwork strapping that includes rivet details, all of which are fully decorated. The range includes body tooling variants that cover wagons that had a length of 15ft over their bodies, and those fitted with and without end doors. This creates a distinctly different wagon profile to add to your rakes.

Pre-orders are open here at £27.95 each, with models already tooled and engineering prototypes undergoing review.

Back story

The Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company was 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 seven-plank design, which underwent very few changes between the 1890s and early 1920s.

Examples of these wagons were both sold and hired to private companies across the UK, with the hired versions being maintained by the GRC&W.

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

Rapido's new 'OO' Gloucester seven-plank Private Owner wagon range feature full external, internal and underframe details, including brass bearings for smooth, friction-free running, NEM 362 coupler pockets and a high-quality livery application. The internal details are fully decorated and include the stylish inside strapping supports with moulded rivet details. Wagons are available with or without end doors, as appropriate.

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 its previous private owner 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 private owner wagons.

Explore the range, here.