Cambrian-owned GWR wagons?

[NCB]

Just received some Cambrian drawings from the NRM. One intrigues me. It's of a 5 plank wagon, and although definitely a Cambrian drawing, labelled September 1912, it's described as "GWR 10 ton open goods wagon". Looking at the details, it seems to me it's an O11, complete with GWR self-contained buffers..

 

So, did the Cambrian buy wagons from the GWR? The O11 was introduced in 1912, so it would have been brand new.

 

Nigel

[corneliuslundie]

The list of Cambrian wagons I have does not show any built by the GWR. Possibly they built some to a borrowed drawing though. On the other hand, the Cambrian and the GWR were not on particuularly close terms.

I wild thought. Is it Cambrian Railway or Cambrian Wagon Co? According to Welsh Archives The Cambrian Wagon Co. Ltd was registered in 1906.

Jonathan

[NCB]

Jonathan

 

Definitely Cambrian Railways. Looks like an official drawing, so stamped CAMBRIAN RAILWAYS near the top and the usual oval stamp bottom right which reads CAMBRIAN RAILWAYS ... CAMBRIAN WORKS, OSWESTRY around the edges and LOCOMOTIVE CARRIAGE & WAGGON DEPARTMENT in the middle. Near to the lower stamp there's the legend:

 

GWR 10 TON OPEN GOODS WAGON

 

SCALE 1 1/2 INCHES TO 1 FOOT

 

SEPTEMBER 1912

 

There's some written within the lower stamp, can't decipher it all but it's along the line of "??? of J.Cole ????".

 

It's drawing 8999 in the NRM OPC microfilm lists.

 

As I said before, it appears to be a bog-standard GWR O11 including GWR self-contained buffers, but not showing ant details of brake gear.

 

First time I've come across a hint that the Cambrian might have had 5 plank wagons.

 

Nigel

[corneliuslundie]

I am convinced!

There are several people on RMWeb who know a lot more about Cambrian wagons than I do - Quarryscapes, ChrisN, DonW come to mind.

The GWR also had drawings from other companies in its records and they turn up from time to time at York.

Could it have been that the Cambrian was looking at GWR practice to see if it was worth adopting? I can't imagine that D&C brakes would have appealed because of the royalties payable.

Jonathan

[NCB]

It's possible. Was it somewhere around then that the BoT decreed that brakes needed to be operable from both sides of the wagon, with the handle at the right hand end of each side? Maybe the Cambrian was looking to see how the GWR did it, although as I said the drawings don't show brakes. Alternatively, if a number of outside contractors were starting to build the O11 maybe the Cambrian thought of getting them to build them a few!

 

Nigel