Rapido Trains unveils salt vans for 'OO'
Rapido Trains UK has revealed a newly-tooled range of 1907 RCH salt wagons for 'OO'. An impressive 15 different liveries are proposed, with models in tooling and delivery expected early-2026. Pre-orders are open with us, and you can specify a 'salty-looking' weathered finish if you like, too! Learn more about these new releases, with updates on other forthcoming models from Rapido Trains, below....
RRP: £32.95
Our price: £28.01!
Salt, by rail
With the Railway Clearing House (RCH) managing inter-company wagon flow and mileage rates, it was well placed to oversee salt transport. RCH’s 1907 wagon standards allowed for shared underframe components across multiple designs, including salt vans. Due to salt’s corrosive nature, many had wooden underframes.
Several builders produced salt vans using this standard, and these wagons became common across the network. As privately owned wagons, they often featured bold, colourful liveries. Remarkably, many retained these bright schemes through WWII and even into British Railways’ early years, avoiding wartime wagon pooling and the usual grey/brown repaints.
Salt rail transport declined in the 1950s, and by the 1960s, RCH 1907 salt vans had vanished, replaced by British Railway’s own vans.
Model specification
The upcoming Rapido Trains UK OO gauge RCH 1907 salt vans feature highly detailed bodies and underframes, with options including ribbed/smooth buffers, single/double-sided brakes, and five axlebox types: square, rounded, 'Ellis' grease, Oil 116, and RCH split oil.
Each model includes brass bearings for smooth running, split-spoke wheels, NEM couplings, and finely-applied liveries. A wide variety of authentic, colourful schemes represent private owners across the UK, ideal for pre-grouping, grouping, and early BR layouts.
