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GLOUCESTER RAILWAY CARRIAGE AND WAGON COMPANY PRIVATE OWNER COAL WAGONS

  
     
 

PART ONE : INTRODUCTION, AIRFIX AND BACHMANN MODELS

  
     
 

PART TWO : DAPOL AND GRAFAR MODELS

  
     
 

PART THREE : HORNBY MODELS

  
     
  PART FOUR : ROBBIE'S ROLLING STOCK  
     
  GLOUCESTER RCW PRIVATE OWNER WAGON CHRONOLOGY  
     
 

NOTES

ANTICS SE = ANTICS SPECIAL LIMITED EDITION

GLOS.W.R. SE = GLOUCESTERSHIRE & WARWICKSHIRE RAILWAY SPECIAL EDITION

PL = PLATE REFERENCE IN KEITH MONTAGUE’S BOOK " PRIVATE OWNER WAGONS FROM THE GLOUCESTER RAILWAY CARRIAGE AND WAGON COMPANY LTD" OXFORD PUBLISHING COMPANY 1981 SBN 86093 124 2

POPE = PAGE REFERENCE FROM IAN POPE'S BOOK " PRIVATE OWNER WAGONS IN THE FOREST OF DEAN" LIGHTMOOR PRESS 2002 ISBN 1 899889 09 4

G = MODEL WAGON FITTED WITH GRCW "G" PLATES
OWNER FLEET NO TARE LOAD DATE DATA SOURCE FIDELITY TO SOURCE MATERIAL

HORNBY

8 PLANK OPEN WAGONS SIDE DOORS AND ONE END DOOR
Hornby Reference R6212. Although the 16' x 7' 7 1/4" x 4' 7 3/8" prototype left Bristol Road in September 1936 with white wall tyres, this is on the face of it one of the best models of a Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon product ever made. The body shape and markings are spot on, the G-Plate is correctly positioned on wooden solebar, the planks of the wooden floor even have a grain and the inner door planking has also been attempted. But looking at the A in ADLER and the 0 in 107, two holes appear that are definitely not on official photograph 6025. The upper hole is to take the hinge of the tipping end door and the lower one is for a horrible toy-like actuation device. This can be seen installed on the H. C. Bull wagon below and both bodies have an unprototypical "doorstop" section moulded inside to take the shaft of this piece of metal. On the basis that it is easier to take parts off an injection mould than add them, can Hornby please think about a future run of these wagons without unsightly holes and intrusions for serious modellers? They really are the only things that spoil an otherwise superlative effort, even down to the drawgear springing and vacuum cylinder moulded on the underside.
ADLER & ALLAN

107

7-2-0

12T

1936

PL3

AS PER PLATE
Hornby Reference R6212. Although the 16' x 7' 7 1/4" x 4' 7 3/8" prototype left Bristol Road in September 1936 with white wall tyres, this is on the face of it one of the best models of a Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon product ever made. The body shape and markings are spot on, the G-Plate is correctly positioned on wooden solebar, the planks of the wooden floor even have a grain and the inner door planking has also been attempted. But looking at the A in ADLER and the 0 in 107, two holes appear that are definitely not on official photograph 6025. The upper hole is to take the hinge of the tipping end door and the lower one is for a horrible toy-like actuation device. This can be seen installed on the H. C. Bull wagon below ( and cunningly placed face down when the wagon is boxed at the Hornby factory I might add! ) and both bodies have an unprototypical "doorstop" section moulded inside to take the shaft of this piece of metal. On the basis that it is easier to take parts off an injection mould than add them, can Hornby please think about a future run of these wagons without unsightly holes and intrusions for serious modellers? They really are the only things that spoil an otherwise superlative effort, even down to the drawgear springing and vacuum cylinder moulded on the underside.
Hornby Reference R6303. All the construction comments about R6212 above also apply to this model, the prototype of which left Bristol Road, Gloucester - with white wall tyres - as late as September 1942. By May 1943 coal merchants such as E.K. Shipp of Leicester and later A.J. Salter of London ( see Airfix and Bachmann page ) were taking delivery of wagons from Gloucester in plain austerity markings so this patriotically red, white and blue livery marked nearly the end of flamboyant private owner coal wagon paintwork. However, holes and metalwork aside, my gripe with this Hornby offering is that the white diagonal stripe is supposed to indicate the tipping door end to shunters working in the blackout in much the same way that white platform edges were introduced during 1939-45 for the protection of passengers. The other side of the wagon is correct, but sadly not this one! The prototype measurements were 16' 1 1/4" x 7' 71/4" x 4' 7" and the data on the side of the wagon with the unusual 13 ton load allocation reads "Depots at Tufnell Park, LNER, Upper Holloway LMS, South Tottenham LMS." Note too that although both London based eight plank wagons had just one G-Plate per solebar - indicating ownership rather than leasing - the H.C. Bull fleet did not seem to have participated in the RCH Commuted Charge and Commuted Empty Haulage Schemes. Perhaps these wagons worked on more regular duties closer to home than those of Adler and Allan.
H.C. BULL & CO LTD 101 7-0-0 13T 1942 PL74 MARKINGS ALMOST AS PER PLATE
Hornby Reference R6303. All the construction comments about R6212 above also apply to this model, the prototype of which left Bristol Road, Gloucester - with white wall tyres - as late as September 1942. By May 1943 coal merchants such as E.K. Shipp of Leicester and later A.J. Salter of London ( see Airfix and Bachmann page ) were taking delivery of wagons from Gloucester in plain austerity markings so this patriotically red, white and blue livery marked nearly the end of flamboyant private owner coal wagon paintwork. However, holes and metalwork aside, my gripe with this Hornby offering is that the white diagonal stripe is supposed to indicate the tipping door end to shunters working in the blackout in much the same way that white platform edges were introduced during 1939-45 for the protection of passengers. The other side of the wagon is correct, but sadly not this one! The prototype measurements were 16' 1 1/4" x 7' 71/4" x 4' 7" and the data on the side of the wagon with the unusual 13 ton load allocation reads "Depots at Tufnell Park, LNER, Upper Holloway LMS, South Tottenham LMS." Note too that although both London based eight plank wagons had just one G-Plate per solebar - indicating ownership rather than leasing - the H.C. Bull fleet did not seem to have participated in the RCH Commuted Charge and Commuted Empty Haulage Schemes. Perhaps these wagons worked on more regular duties closer to home than those of Adler and Allan.
Hornby Reference R6303. All the construction comments about R6212 above also apply to this model, the prototype of which left Bristol Road, Gloucester - with white wall tyres - as late as September 1942. By May 1943 coal merchants such as E.K. Shipp of Leicester and later A.J. Salter of London ( see Airfix and Bachmann page ) were taking delivery of wagons from Gloucester in plain austerity markings so this patriotically red, white and blue livery marked nearly the end of flamboyant private owner coal wagon paintwork. However, holes and metalwork aside, my gripe with this Hornby offering is that the white diagonal stripe is supposed to indicate the tipping door end to shunters working in the blackout in much the same way that white platform edges were introduced during 1939-45 for the protection of passengers. The other side of the wagon is correct, but sadly not this one! The prototype measurements were 16' 1 1/4" x 7' 71/4" x 4' 7" and the data on the side of the wagon with the unusual 13 ton load allocation reads "Depots at Tufnell Park, LNER, Upper Holloway LMS, South Tottenham LMS." Note too that although both London based eight plank wagons had just one G-Plate per solebar - indicating ownership rather than leasing - the H.C. Bull fleet did not seem to have participated in the RCH Commuted Charge and Commuted Empty Haulage Schemes. Perhaps these wagons worked on more regular duties closer to home than those of Adler and Allan.

In fact H.C. Bull 101 was ordered from Gloucester RCW in April 1942 and two other Railway Clearing House standard 13 ton 8 plankers ordered at the same time for G & S Bull of the same address - 109 Cornwallis Road, London. In all cases, oak frames were specified.However, as the three wagons - most likely numbered 100 - 102 - would have been subject to wartime wagon pooling arangements and then Nationalisation it may be that Bull's got very little use from them! Nevertheless, the company - a small coal merchant by London standards -survived the Second World War and were based at 613 Holloway Road and also Hampden Road in 1951. The Tottenham depot - now on the London Midland Region of British Railways - was by this time operated by Bull of Tottenham.

Four more wagons were delivered from Gloucester RCW in February 1946 and added to a fleet including wagons 98 and 99 built by Thomas Hunter of Rugby in 1924. Coal for Bull would have come from Warwickshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire or Derbyshire depending on the depot being supplied.

7 PLANK OPEN WAGONS SIDE DOORS, ONE END DOOR AND BOTTOM DOORS
Hornby Reference R6238. In favour of the outside of this model wagon are the correct markings and body style ( albeit with incorrect diagonal side bracing ). Against, this model does not have the white wall tyres as newly outshopped and underneath is the simple inscription "HORNBY Made in China" rather than the drawgear springing described on the larger wagons above. More obvious however is that the correct G-Plates are on a steel channel rather than wooden solebar! Similarly, on the inside the bottom and side doors are reproduced in some detail but this effect is spoilt by circular moulding marks in each corner and really demand some residual coal to hide them!
I.W. BALDWIN

15

5-17-1

10T

1906

PL19

MARKINGS AS PER PLATE
Hornby Reference R6238. In favour of the outside of this model wagon are the correct markings and body style ( albeit with incorrect diagonal side bracing ). Against, this model does not have the white wall tyres as newly outshopped and underneath is the simple inscription "HORNBY Made in China" rather than the drawgear springing described on the larger wagons above. More obvious however is that the correct G-Plates are on a steel channel rather than wooden solebar! Similarly, on the inside the bottom and side doors are reproduced in some detail but this effect is spoilt by circular moulding marks in each corner and really demand some residual coal to hide them!

Measuring 14'5" x 7'0" x 4'0", I.W. Baldwin wagon 15 was slightly wider but shallower than fleetmate 22 built by Gloucester RCW in January 1910. Number 22 was also painted chocolate with white lettering shaded black and rather than list every product just mentioned that the Ruardean based firm as sole agent for East Cannock Colliery ( Staffordshire ) and stated "Empty to Lydney Jcn.

As well as working as a factor at several of the Forest of Dean collieries - including Lightmoor, Eastern United and Arthur & Edward - Ivo Baldwin also owned the Harrow Hill pit from October 1921 to March 1924 and Addis Hill Colliery between 1931 and 1935. By the end of this period however, Ivo Baldwin owed money to the Crawshay Brothers and offered a car and plant from the colliery as part payment.

Wagon 15 was one of two let on deferred payment over seven years and in April 1908 six 10 ton second hand wagons were let to Ivo Baldwin on a similar seven year scheme, repair contracts eventually stretching to 1922. As it would have been difficult for I.W. Baldwin to trade with just eight wagons, it is possible that his fleet also included vehicles supplied by other manufacturers.

6 PLANK OPEN WAGONS SIDE DOOR ONLY
Hornby Reference R6237. Back in the "bad old days" of private owner coal wagon modelling ( about 1981 if my memory serves me right! ) Hornby offered a free special edition of this Gloucester icon to anyone buying one of their larger steam locomotives. I have not seen one of those wagons this century ( please email me if you have a picture ) but the current model has a lot going for it.
S.J. MORELAND & SONS

1

5-5-3

10T

1906

PL395

AS PER PLATE
Hornby Reference R6237. Back in the "bad old days" of private owner coal wagon modelling ( about 1981 if my memory serves me right! ) Hornby offered a free special edition of this Gloucester icon to anyone buying one of their larger steam locomotives. I have not seen one of those wagons this century ( please email me if you have a picture ) but the current model has a lot going for it.

White wall tyres and G.W. Co No 4 axle box embossing aside, the paintwork, markings, wooden solebar and body ironmongery and plates are all correct according to official photograph 3300, taken in November 1906 to record the six plank wagon. Of particular note is the diamond shaped Great Western Railway converted registration plate inside the brake gear v-hanger, indicating - in this case - that the15' 6" x 6' 10" x 4' wagon was rebuilt from a dumb buffered vehicle to one with Gloucester pattern self contained sprung buffers. In fact the model also has some nice drawgear springing detail on the underside!

As is the case with some other model manufacturers, Hornby has in this instance eschewed the account of this wagon being "black with white lettering and lead colour band with white band and lettering shaded black and lead colour ends" and gone for the near psychedelic option pictured above. I.W. Baldwin may have plumped for an essay but Sammy Moreland knew how to grab the consumer's eye a good half a century before Andy Warhol!

The very small writing near the tare weight reads " When empty to Princess Royal Colliery Co ltd, Whitecroft, Nr Lydney." ( more of which below and on the Dapol and Grafar models page ) and the only slight disappointments in the model are the lack of inner door detail and plank grain and the presence of circles at each of the corners which need covering up with matchbox crates or coal dust.

Samuel John Moreland was born in Stroud in 1828, a year after the opening of the Gloucester to Sharpness ship canal. He moved with his family to Gloucester in 1834 and followed his father into the booming timber industry. The 1851 census listed him as a lath renderer while by 1853 he was "sawing, planing, moulding and lath rendering" and 1856 - a year before his marriage - found him running a joinery works and producing "every description of building timber". He even made huts for the Britsh army during the Crimean War but it was the foundation of his match factory in 1867 - in a wooden shed that he built himself - that brought him lasting fame.

Starting with lucifer and vesta matches sold under the brand names "Arctic", "Jack Tar" and "Leopard", Samuel Moreland and his helpers were quick to use new formulas for phosphorous and usher in the era of the safety match. Just like the booming Gloucester Wagon ( later Railway Carriage and Wagon) Company across Bristol Road, Morelands had easy access to the Gloucester and Berkeley for the import of timber - including Russian aspen - and the railways to take away finished products.

Although facing competition from Russia and Poland where both labour and raw materials were cheap, Samuel Moreland thrived through strong sales promotion. The World famous "England's Glory" brand was acquired on the closure of rival matchmaker Thomas Gee in 1891 and box artwork featured the revolutionary twin turret battleship "HMS Devastation", launched in 1871 and in Royal Navy service until 1908. This was an era of British pride in both home grown technology and the expanding Empire! Harry Moreland, son of Samuel, later introduced and chose the jokes on the back of the boxes.

In 1897 the British Trade Journal noted that Morelands had two steam engines to provide power for splint and box making and hot air drying machines while by 1907 the factory was employing 640 people. Morelands survived the introduction of Match Tax and shortages of timber and chlorate of potash ( used to make match heads ) during World War One and made striker sticks for bombs between 1939 and 1945.

Morelands was taken over by Bryant and May in the early 1970s and production at Bristol Road ceased in 1975 - less than a decade after the last complete vehicle was assembled at the Wagon Works opposite. The Morelands factory is now a trading estate - still identified by its famous neon sign - and although England's Glory matches are still available, these are made by Volvo subsidiary Swedish Match in Uppsala.

5 PLANK LONG WHEELBASE OPEN WAGONS LONG SIDE KNEES AND SIDE DOORS
Hornby Reference R6235. Gloucester RCW official photograph 3785 shows a five plank wagon, but with round topped ends slightly higher than the sides, white wall tyres and vertical door ironmongery painted completely black. The side knees also do not extend over the solebar, where two G-Plates are located just to the left of the brake gear V hanger. Instead, Hornby - by using a standard moulding - somewhat derails itself in historical terms by placing the two G-plates just outboard of the side knees - on a C-section metal rather than flat wooden solebar. This wagon also substitutes underside detail for the words "HORNBY Made in China", lacks interior door detail but retains the circular moulding marks in each corner. In its favour though is the correct ( on leaving the factory ) 5-8-0 tare weight instead of the 5-1-11as applied to the Dapol model.
CROOK & GREENWAY

2

5-8-0

8T

1911

PL140

 LITTLE MORE ACCURATE THAN DAPOL
Hornby Reference R6235. Gloucester RCW official photograph 3785 shows a five plank wagon, but with round topped ends slightly higher than the sides, white wall tyres and vertical door ironmongery painted completely black. The side knees also do not extend over the solebar, where two G-Plates are located just to the left of the brake gear V hanger. Instead, Hornby - by using a standard moulding - somewhat derails itself in historical terms by placing the two G-plates just outboard of the side knees - on a C-section metal rather than flat wooden solebar. This wagon also substitutes underside detail for the words "HORNBY Made in China", lacks interior door detail but retains the circular moulding marks in each corner. In its favour though is the correct ( on leaving the factory ) 5-8-0 tare weight instead of the 5-1-11as applied to the Dapol model.

The real14'6" x 6'11" x 3'2" wagon may have been a replacement for an earlier vehicle as Crook & Greenway wagon 5 - a six plank 10 ton wagon with two side doors - was the subject of a Gloucester RCW official photograph in July 1898 painted lead colour with white letters shaded black. Five plank 8 ton fleetmate 10 meanwhile was outshopped from Bristol Road in October 1899, painted chocolate with white lettering shaded black. Wagon 12 though was another 5 plank 8 ton wagon, but this time painted a vey dark grey and, according to Mr Montague, converted from Broad Gauge in January 1910. What it had been doing since the last GWR Broad Gauge train ran in 1892 is another matter!
Hornby Reference R6219, sold from 2003 as part of a weathered trio of wagons including Mark Williams 9 ( see below ) and a larger Berthlwyd liveried vehicle of unknown origin. As Pontithel fleet 7 is sold as weathered I will not complain about the lack of white wall tyres! However, an early wagon enthusiast seems to have made off with the solebar G-Plates which should be mounted either side of the brake gear V-hanger. On the other hand, this can represent some of the works attention required on my Wagon Repairs diorama and a weathered wagon also makes a contrast to the shiny better-than-new products being readied for re-introduction to the various working fleets. The underside and inside however lacks detail and the corner circle problem persists. Dimensions (new) were 14' 5" x 7' x 3' 1".
PONTITHEL CHEMICAL

7

5-12-2

8T

1897

PL469

ALMOST AS PER PLATE
Hornby Reference R6219, sold from 2003 as part of a weathered trio of wagons including Mark Williams 9 ( see below ) and a larger Berthlwyd liveried vehicle of unknown origin. As Pontithel fleet 7 is sold as weathered I will not complain about the lack of white wall tyres! However, an early wagon enthusiast seems to have made off with the solebar G-Plates which should be mounted either side of the brake gear V-hanger. On the other hand, this can represent some of the works attention required on my Wagon Repairs diorama and a weathered wagon also makes a contrast to the shiny better-than-new products being readied for re-introduction to the various working fleets. The underside and inside however lacks detail and the corner circle problem persists. Dimensions (new) were 14' 5" x 7' x 3' 1".
Hornby Reference R 6234. On the other hand, this wagon definitely should have white wall tyres. And wooden solebars, with one G-Plate inside the brake gear V-hanger, one to the left of it and one just under the 5 in 56. Other discrepancies between this model and the official GRCW photograph from June 1904 are the diagonal side bracing ( not prototypical ) and the legend SOMERSET TRADING COMPANY which should stretch from one corner plate to the other in the same way that YEOVIL should fill the gap between side knee and corner plate. underside and inside remarks remain the same as above. The data above the tare weight reads "Empty to Trafalgar Colliery" ( near Bilson in the Forest of Dean, which closed in 1925) and the wagon dimensions are 14' 5" x 6' 11"' x 3' 1".
SOMERSET TRADING COMPANY

56

5-13-2

8T

1904

PL529

MARKINGS ALMOST AS PER PLATE
Hornby Reference R 6234. On the other hand, this wagon definitely should have white wall tyres. And wooden solebars, with one G-Plate inside the brake gear V-hanger, one to the left of it and one just under the 5 in 56. Other discrepancies between this model and the official GRCW photograph from June 1904 are the diagonal side bracing ( not prototypical ) and the legend SOMERSET TRADING COMPANY which should stretch from one corner plate to the other in the same way that YEOVIL should fill the gap between side knee and corner plate. underside and inside remarks remain the same as above. The data above the tare weight reads "Empty to Trafalgar Colliery" ( near Bilson in the Forest of Dean, which closed in 1925) and the wagon dimensions are 14' 5" x 6' 11"' x 3' 1".

The Somerset Trading Company had outlets throughout its home county and was headquartered at 25 West Quay, Bridgwater. Still trading as late as 1935, the company was a brick and tile manufacturer and also dealt in timber, cement, slate, maure, cattle cake, corn, salt, coke and coal.

4 PLANK OPEN WAGONS SIDE DOOR ONLY
Hornby Reference R 6232. The markings - G Plates included - are accurate if not complete. Shame about the design! Leaving the white wall tyres in Bristol Road and the interior circular marks in Margate ( although there is some nice underside drawgear moulding ), this was a model with side doors and wooden solebars representing a real wagon with steel solebars and no doors between the diagonal side bracing! On the positive side however, at least the inner side planking is now totally correct!
CLEE HILL GRANITE

350

5-10-0

10T

1903

POPE 154

  MARKINGS ALMOST AS PER PLATE
Hornby Reference R 6232. The markings - G Plates included - are accurate if not complete. Shame about the design! Leaving the white wall tyres in Bristol Road and the interior circular marks in Margate ( although there is some nice underside drawgear moulding ), this was a model with side doors and wooden solebars representing a real wagon with steel solebars and no doors between the diagonal side bracing! On the positive side however, at least the inner side planking is now totally correct!

The Clee Hill Granite Company worked quarries near Ludlow in Shropshire ( hence the white "Empty to Ludlow" legend above the tare weight ) and Severn & Wye Railway Letter Books reveal that Clee Hill Granite Company fleet number 431 was damaged at Lydney on 27 November 1904. It is likely that the wagon was bringing stone to west Gloucestershire as there are many references in contemporary local newspapers to various councils using Clee Hill stone - being more durable than Forest of Dean stone - for road repairs.

Between 1897 and 1904 five batches of similar four plank 14' 5" x 6' 11" x 2' 4" wagons were produced for the Clee Hill Granite Company by the Gloucester Railway Carriage & Wagon Company. The fleet was distinguished by having the diagonal side bracing picked out in a colour contrasting the body shade as well as by having no doors at all: a rare combination for Gloucester RCW!

The fleet of 101 wagons began with lone 10 ton number 331, outshopped in September 1897 with a 5-10-2 tare and also bearing the name "Thos Roberts, Manager" under the line "Return to Ludlow". It was ordered in August 1897 and paid for in cash, hence just one solebar G-Plate was mounted just to the left of the brake gear V-hanger. Another distinguishing feature was the white red-shaded words LUDLOW, SALOP mounted centrally on the bottom plank. The fleet number was thus on the right hand side over the load tonnage. In similar lettering across the top of the side of the wagon were the words CLEE HILL GRANITE CO.

It was not until June 1903 that a second order was placed, this time for thirty new 10 tonners - including 350 as depicted in Hornby model R6232. The model is accurate in the livery elements it includes, but lacks the white italic word "Comp" under the TE in GRANITE and the further legend "Richd Roberts Manager" beneath. The 30 new wagons were to be paid for over seven years and were also subject to a Gloucester RCW repair contract - hence the two solebar and one bodyside G-Plate.

The June 1903 batch set the standard for three more orders. Twenty more 10 ton wagons were ordered in August 1903 while another thirty vehicles were ordered in December 1903. The late 1903 ordered wagons included fleet numbers 375 and 398 ( photographed in May 1904 ) and a final order for 20 wagons came from Shropshire to Bristol Road in October 1904.

In addition, the Clee Hill Granite Company also hired twenty five second hand 10 ton wagons from Gloucester RCW for seven years from November 1906. The quarry firm also operated a number of seven and three plank wagons with side doors and the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company supplied an order for twenty five 15-ton coal wagons numbered 500 to 524 in April 1913. These were probably the last new wagons ordered by the Clee Hill Granite Company before merging with Field & Mackay and Clee Hill Dhu Stone to form the British Quarrying Company in 1929.

The Clee Hill Granite Company had commenced quarrying in 1867, producing both graded roadstone and stone setts for distribution via the Ludlow and Clee Hill Light Railway and, on the other side of Clee Hill at Catherton, crushed stone that was taken away along the Cleobury Mortimer and Ditton Priors Light Railway. Despite being more expensive than its rival Leicestrian products, Clee Hill granite was so hard wearing that it was used to pave London's Piccadilly between Park Lane and Regent Street and was used on busy roads in Gloucester as well as hundreds of other English locations. One ton of hand trimmed granite 3" x 4" setts could cover a road area of 5 1/4 square yards and in 1886 Gloucestershire County Council used 7 739 tons - more than 770 wagon loads - to make roads costing £ 120 a mile.
Hornby Reference R6233. The same basic model as above, but this time the diagonal side bracing is correct and the lack of internal door detail is absent. The diagonal side bracing should also be - as depicted in Gloucester RCW photograph 3789 of June 1911 - the same chocolate hue as the body and the two G-Plates and the two G-plates on the ( correct ) wooden solebar should be either side of the brake gear v-hanger. And there should be white wall tyres! The data panel on the 14 '5" x 6' 11" x 2' 6" reads "Empty to Park House Colly. Chesterton, N.S. Ry" and although the North Staffordshire Railway ( known as the "Knotty" after its coat of arms ) is well documented, The Harts Hill Iron Company is more obscure. Harts Hill station on the Great Western Railway line between Stourbridge Junction and Dudley only lasted from 1895 to 1916 and today the route is freight-only - passing under the West Coast Main Line at Dudley Port. However, this is the area of the Black Country in which the anchors for the ill fated RMS Titanic were made!
THE HARTS HILL IRON COMPANY

6

5-11-2

10T

1911

PL267

MARKINGS ALMOST AS PER PLATE

Hornby Reference R6233. The same basic model as above, but this time the diagonal side bracing is correct and the lack of internal door detail is absent. The diagonal side bracing should also be - as depicted in Gloucester RCW photograph 3789 of June 1911 - the same chocolate hue as the body and the two G-Plates and the two G-plates on the ( correct ) wooden solebar should be either side of the brake gear v-hanger. And there should be white wall tyres! The data panel on the 14 '5" x 6' 11" x 2' 6" reads "Empty to Park House Colly. Chesterton, N.S. Ry" and although the North Staffordshire Railway ( known as the "Knotty" after its coat of arms ) is well documented, The Harts Hill Iron Company is more obscure. Harts Hill station on the Great Western Railway line between Stourbridge Junction and Dudley only lasted from 1895 to 1916 and today the route is freight-only - passing under the West Coast Main Line at Dudley Port. However, this is the area of the Black Country in which the anchors for the ill fated RMS Titanic were made!
Hornby Reference R6219, sold from 2003 as part of a weathered trio of wagons including Pontithel 7 ( see above ) and a larger Berthlwyd liveried vehicle of unknown origin. As Mark Williams 9 is supplied as weathered I will not complain about the lack of white wall tyres, and similarly although Gloucester RCW photograph 3678 of June 1910 shows the diagonal side bracing as being the same chocolate colour as the body this model could easily represent ironwork painted black after a previous repair. Certainly all three G-Plates on the wooden solebar are correctly positioned. Which is nice! The dimensions for Mark Williams 9 are given as 14' 5" x 6' 11" x 3' 1" and interestingly Plate 38 in Bill Hudson's Oakwood Press book "Private Owner Wagons" ( ISBN 0 85361 492 X ) shows a May 1938 view of a John Williams & Co five planker painted grey and numbered 76 but with the words CHELTENHAM & GLOUCESTER in similar lettering. Could they belong to the same firm perhaps?
MARK WILLIAMS

9

5-11-0

10T

1910

PL641

ALMOST AS PER PLATE
Hornby Reference R6219, sold from 2003 as part of a weathered trio of wagons including Pontithel 7 ( see above ) and a larger Berthlwyd liveried vehicle of unknown origin. As Mark Williams 9 is supplied as weathered I will not complain about the lack of white wall tyres, and similarly although Gloucester RCW photograph 3678 of June 1910 shows the diagonal side bracing as being the same chocolate colour as the body this model could easily represent ironwork painted black after a previous repair. Certainly all three G-Plates on the wooden solebar are correctly positioned. Which is nice! The dimensions for Mark Williams 9 are given as 14' 5" x 6' 11" x 3' 1" and interestingly Plate 38 in Bill Hudson's Oakwood Press book "Private Owner Wagons" ( ISBN 0 85361 492 X ) shows a May 1938 view of a John Williams & Co five planker painted grey and numbered 76 but with the words CHELTENHAM & GLOUCESTER in similar lettering. Could they belong to the same firm perhaps?
Hornby Reference 6282. Hornby were modelling Princess Royal Colliery wagon 250 ( the same number as chosen by Grafar ) as part of its prestigious "Silver Seal" range way back in 1975. Fleet number 56 however is far less well documented, even Ian Pope only having a rather blurred shot of the four plank wagon in a very faded, careworn state during World War II with a white diagonal stripe along the diagonal side bracing to indicate a tipping end. This alone makes Hornby model R6282 inaccurate, but the photograph also shows a wagon with four very deep planks, giving it a height and proportion more like that of a seven planker. By the Second World War as well, any G-Plates had disappeared. Although it is highly likely that Princess Royal Colliery bought its wagons from The Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company, the precise origin of wagon 56 cannot be proved. The italic script on the drop down door reads "Empty to Princess Royal Colliery Severn & Wye Joint Railway."

PRINCESS ROYAL

56

16-10

10T

?

POPE 54

 POSSIBLY NOT EVEN GLOUCESTER RCW
Hornby Reference 6282. Hornby were modelling Princess Royal Colliery wagon 250 ( the same number as chosen by Grafar ) as part of its prestigious "Silver Seal" range way back in 1975. Fleet number 56 however is far less well documented, even Ian Pope only having a rather blurred shot of the four plank wagon in a very faded, careworn state during World War II with a white diagonal stripe along the diagonal side bracing to indicate a tipping end. This alone makes Hornby model R6282 inaccurate, but the photograph also shows a wagon with four very deep planks, giving it a height and proportion more like that of a seven planker. By the Second World War as well, any G-Plates had disappeared. Although it is highly likely that Princess Royal Colliery bought its wagons from The Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company, the precise origin of wagon 56 cannot be proved. The italic script on the drop down door reads "Empty to Princess Royal Colliery Severn & Wye Joint Railway."

Although first galed in 1842, the Princess Royal Colliery Company was not incorporated until December 1890 and finally the mine - located close to today's Dean Forest Railway - closed in March 1962.

3 PLANK DROPSIDE OPEN WAGONS
Hornby Reference R6230. Inner planking detail of this dropside wagon is correct 9 corner rings apart ) although the ends should really have a curve up above the sides. The ironwork should also match the chocolate bodyside if Gloucester RCW photograph 3834 of November 1911 is to be adhered to and although it shows three G-Plates on either side of the brake gear V-hanger on the wooden solebar the photograph also shows the lettering to be correct - even if the white wall tyres are absent. The italic lettering reads "Empty to Milkwall, GWR & Mid Severn & Wye Joint Rly" and dimensions are 14' 5" x 6' 1" x 1' 8".
EASTER IRON MINES

4

5-7-0

10T

1911

PL184

 AS PL BUT CURVED ENDS
Hornby Reference R6230. Inner planking detail of this dropside wagon is correct ( corner rings apart ) although the ends should really have a curve up above the sides. The ironwork should also match the chocolate bodyside if Gloucester RCW photograph 3834 of November 1911 is to be adhered to and although it shows three G-Plates on either side of the brake gear V-hanger on the wooden solebar the photograph also shows the lettering to be correct - even if the white wall tyres are absent. The italic lettering reads "Empty to Milkwall, GWR & Mid Severn & Wye Joint Rly" and dimensions are 14' 5" x 6' 1" x 1' 8".

The Forest of Dean coalfield lies on top of iron ore deposits which formed in the crease limestone. From early times iron was mined around the edge of the area leaving telltale "scowles", which supplied ore to blast furnaces fuelled by charcoal made from Forest trees. Later, deep mining was introduced, especially around the Cinderford, Milkwall and Bream areas. Some of the rich Forest of Dean iron ore was exported to south Wales, although coke fired blast furnaces also appeared at Cinderford, Parkend and Soudeley. This in turn led to the growth of tinplate and wire works and foundries, the latter often making castings for mine use. However, by the 20th Century cheaper foreign ores were undercutting prices in the Forest of Dean and the last major iron mine at Shakemantle, south of Cinderford, closed in 1899. The last blast furnace in Cinderford had already closed in 1894 although tinplate continued to be made in Lydney until 1957.

Easter Iron Mine was first galed in April 1846 and was worked by the Barrett Brothers until August 1874. Ore would have been transported along the horse drawn Milkwall Tramroad for transshipment at Parkend until the opening of the Severn & Wye Railway Coleford branch in July 1875, by which time the gale was being worked by the Easter Haematite Iron Ore Company Limited. This concern lasted from 1874 to 1884, during which time a range of second hand wagons was leased from the Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company.

The Easter Iron Mine was then taken over by the Milkwall Ironstone Company, formed in 1910. In November 1911 the company bought six 10 ton wagons - including number 4 -on seven years deferred payment from Gloucester RCW. In July 1916 however the Milkwall Ironstone Company sold out to the Easter Iron ore Mines Ltd which went into voluntary liquidation in 1924. The mine buildings at Milkwall alongside the Sling Branch then passed to the British Colour & Mining Company Limited, who used iron ore to make red and ochre pigments for paints.