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British Wagon Company


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I'm trying to find some drawings for some Whitland & Cardigan Railway wagons built by "Bristol Wagon Co."; whether this is Bristol Wagon & Carriage or Bristol Wagon Works, I don't know.

 

They were bought by W&CR in 1873-1874 and consisted of three 3 plank (18") opens, three 3 plank (21") opens, a "van with sliding doors" and a brake van. As W&CR didn't have much money I'm hoping these were fairly standard off-the-shelf items, or ones that closely followed Taff Vale designs, but I'm not sure. If I can find some drawings or some sort of pictorial history of the company I could maybe find those sold to them, or find a description that I could translate or decipher some details from.

 

I own (I think!) every book on the history of the W&CR but none of them feature any pictures of their wagons. Any help would be very much appreciated.

Edited by The Nth Degree
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Further to my post above, I've been reading my books and one of them states they bought their goods stock from the British Wagon Co., not the Bristol. That makes more sense, which makes two of the books I own incorrect. I've corrected the thread title.

 

But still, the request stands, if anyone has any drawings or knows where I can get some I would be very grateful.

Cheers

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I had a quick look through Grace's Guide, going into 'The Engineer Magazine' area, but nothing to reveal any drawings for your period.  

 

Graces guide is very extensive .... beware !!! http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/British_Wagon_Co

 

Did the W&C.Rly buy the stock, or lease it, just wondering as they didn't have much capital.   A lot of the Gloucester Wagon Cos wagons were leased.

Edited by Penlan
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Is that the same company as the British Wagon Co of Rotherham? Local history/archives unit might turn up something if you're very lucky.

 

It was indeed. The local transport museum closed down a few years ago but I'm planning on contacting Coleford GWR museum. I've already emailed NRM and HMRS today.

I had a quick look through Grace's Guide, going into 'The Engineer Magazine' area, but nothing to reveal any drawings for your period.  

 

Graces guide is very extensive .... beware !!! http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/British_Wagon_Co

 

Did the W&C.Rly buy the stock, or lease it, just wondering as they didn't have much capital.   A lot of the Gloucester Wagon Cos wagons were leased.

Thanks, I did find that site in my web search and have used it before researching W&CR and other nuggets. I'm not totally sure whether the wagons were originally leased or bought outright, but by the time the GWR took over they had been taken into ownership, along with two of their three locos – the third still had an outstanding balance.

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  • 4 weeks later...

The British Wagon Co was founded in 1869 in Rotherham but with head office in London. Primarily a finance house, they still exist sort of. The company expanded taking over various other wagon and finance companies including the bankrupt Wheeler & Gregory Ltd in Radstock. The wagon repairing side of the business was hived off to the newly formed Wagon Repairs Ltd in 1918.

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The British Wagon Co was founded in 1869 in Rotherham but with head office in London. Primarily a finance house, they still exist sort of. The company expanded taking over various other wagon and finance companies including the bankrupt Wheeler & Gregory Ltd in Radstock. The wagon repairing side of the business was hived off to the newly formed Wagon Repairs Ltd in 1918.

Did they then become Marcrofts?
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No, it became part of Procor Group and subsequently part of Bombardier. No records survive of its wagon manufacturing/leasing operations. This whole subject has become dead in the water I'm afraid.

 

I'm wondering if the Taff Vale also commissioned some wagons from them, as their history is better documented?

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  • 2 weeks later...
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  • 4 years later...

Just wondering, is the British Wagon Co the same as the British Wagon Works in Radstock?

 

As shown on this old map of Radstock, close to the collieries.

https://maps.nls.uk/view/106019828

 

 

What's shown on the map is the old Wheeler & Gregory wagon works, previously the Somerset Engineering Co, which went bankrupt in 1904 and was bought up by the British Wagon Co of Rotherham (and elsewhere). So yes it is the same...

 

Further down the map, alongside the GWR line is Radstock Wagon Works which became Marcrofts.

 

[plug] Further details in 'The Private Owner Wagons of Somerset' by Richard Kelham (Lightmoor Press 2014) [/plug].

Edited by wagonman
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