An Illustrated History of British Railways Hopper Wagons by David Monk–Steel is a detailed history of the 37 designs of specialised hopper rolling stock built for bulk delivery of coal and other commodities by BR through the second half of the 20th century. The book details the history of these wagons from those built by BR to LNER designs through to the later, and various, air-braked designs. This A4 format book has 248 pages with over 150 colour/monochrome photographs and over 100 A4 drawings reproduced at 7 mm/ft scale. A special binding allows the book to lie flat for ease of use. David and his colleagues spent many hours visiting freight yards so that they could measure and photograph British Rail's hopper wagon fleet when they were still in revenue service. This excellent book is an authoritative reference to this fleet and will serve both modellers and historians well.
The book is available now for purchase via the HMRS website: https://hmrs.org.uk/british-railways-hopper-wagons.html The book is also available at exhibitions where the HMRS has a stand, or from specialist bookshops. Prices are non-members: £40 (+p&p), HMRS members: £27 (+p&p) and trade prices are available on application. NB: Those who join HMRS between 1st July and 31st October do so at the special rate of £16 and once signed up get the members' price and all the other benefits. See https://hmrs.org.uk/membership-preamble to join.
