GLOUCESTER RAILWAY CARRIAGE AND WAGON COMPANY LTD

WAGONS FOR HIRE

Indeed, in May 1936 it was stated "There are 544 15 tonners, 120 of which have been dealt with but I rather question whether the right policy has been adopted by GR [Generally Repaired ] plating them as they are a wagon of a very bad design, with long frames overhanging the axleguards which causes "hunch-back", the axleboxes and brakework are most unsatisfactory. These 15 tonners were mostly built in 1904 and 1905 for William Cory & Son."

During the later 1860s a financial dip occurred which Gloucester's General Manager - Isaac Slater - put down in part to the fact that the company was selling large numbers of wagons on the "deferred payment" system - a form of hire purchase where the wagon purchaser would pay for his wagons over a set period of time, usually seven years but but terms varied between three and fourteen years. This system meant that payments for a wagon was slower coming in than if the wagon had been sold outright. or even let out on simple hire. However, with the deferred scheme there was an element of interest added to the wagon price so the wagon company did not lose out on its investment over seven years. It did mean that the company had to have a large amount of capital invested and thus a large shareholding.

It was also why, in some cases, the deferred purchase was sold off to wagon hire companies such as the North Central Wagon Company or the Bristol & South Wales Wagon Company so that the builder could get their money back straight away. This practice was more often used by the smaller wagon builders such as the Cheltenham and Swansea.

The Gloucester Wagon Company continued to grow but by the mid 1870s another trade depression was setting in. For example in 1877, 2 159 wagon purchase agreements expired but only 325 new ones were taken out. Again this was partly due to the great increase in the number of wagon building companies - many cashing in on what appeared to be a very profitable business. By 1880 the Gloucester Wagon Company owned 9 948 wagons with 13 067 on repair contracts.

The problem of capital and the large number of shares issued came to the fore again in the 1880s. It was decided that it would be desirable to reduce the share capital but some shareholders dissented and attempts by the company to buy its own shares back were thwarted by a legal judgement made elsewhere. Thus in 1888 it was decided that, for the purposes of restructuring, the Gloucester Wagon Company would be wound up voluntarily and everything would be transferred to a new company named The Gloucester Railway Carriage & Wagon Company Limited (Gloucester RCW).

Just before the restructuring, the company had been going through hard times - along with many other industries - with the price of a wagon dropping from £80.00 in 1887 to £ 45.00 in 1888. However, things soon improved and dividends of 10% became normal. Much foreign business was also gained from North and South America, India, Africa and Russia.

As well as building wagons the company also maintained them and to do this had built up a network of repair stations throughout England and Wales. Some of these were located at strategic junctions and employed a number of men with facilities contained in sheds such as at Lydney Junction. others may have been a single man who could change a brake shoe or carry out simple repairs to keep a wagon in traffic. Altogether some 1 000 depots were maintained by Gloucester RCW and here the 25 000 wagons on repair contract with Gloucester RCW were looked after.

However, all of the other wagon builders were doing the same, many with duplicate facilities at junctions where three or four companies could have repair sheds side by side. it was this situation which led to the major wagon building companies forming Wagon Repairs Limited in 1918 to streamline the business of repairing.

Gloucester RCW went through a rough patch in 1930, although the problem dated back to the mid 1920s when an enterprising Welsh businessman - Henry G. Lewis - had bought a large number of wagons from The Wagon Works on deferred terms. He also became a director of the company and in 1929 Gloucester RCW bought a controlling interest in his business. With a downturn in trade the Lewis shares became virtually worthless and Gloucester RCW's financial reserves were decimated. Fortunately previous careful management of finance enabled the company to survive.

Gloucester RCW's books show that during the early 1930s there were few orders for rolling stock and so there was a diversification into such activities as omnibus body building. Things improved by the late 1930s with wagon hirings again increasing - but at the start of the Second World War the pooling of the national wagon fleet and the following 1948 Nationalisation changed the entire situation.

Gloucester RCW continued to build wagons for British Railways including Presflo cement vehicles although most complete rolling stock building withered between 1962 and 1968 in favour of specialisation in bogie construction. However, even this was to finish - along with the company - in the 1980s.