GWR O11/15 Opens and V14/16 Vans - order book now open!

[rapidoandy]

Afternoon all!

 

Its a bit mad here but there is just enough time before Christmas to mention a few new wagons we are working on - the O11/O15 5 plank opens and the V14 and V16 vans. Take a look at the website for a little more info! Oh and we listened on the opens - these will be supplied with parts for the sheet rail in the up or stowed positions.

 

To find out more head to the website:

 

GWR ‘Mink A’ (V14/V16) – Rapido Trains UK

 

GWR 5 Plank Open (O11/O15) – Rapido Trains UK

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 22, 2023 by rapidoandy

[cctransuk]

This'll never catch on - wagons that not merely, vaguely resemble a prototype, but are actual accurate models of a specific prototype!

 

Next - they'll be finishing them in accurate liveries!

 

CJI.

[Wickham Green too]

Careful what you wish for - accurate liveries might put you out of business ! 😢

[BMacdermott]

Hello everyone

 

Many congratulations on the announcement of these much-wanted wagons and vans. Many have queried why haven't these ever been done before! Well, here they are.

 

We wish Rapido every success with them!

 

We listed the O11 wagons in The 00 Wishlist Poll 2019 where they were High Polling. We deleted them for 2022 on the basis that Rapido announced some (nominally) similar types earlier in the year and listed the Diag.031 etc instead.

 

The V14 and V16 vans have been High Polling for many years and were still high in 2019 (the last Poll to run). We have them listed for 2022 - and we hope voters will still vote for them so that we don't slightly distort the results.

 

A very nice early Christmas present!

 

Brian (on behalf of The 00 Poll Team)

 

 

Edited December 23, 2022 by BMacdermott

[cctransuk]

15 minutes ago, Wickham Green too said:

Careful what you wish for - accurate liveries might put you out of business ! 😢

 

At age 73, and with Alps printers and consumables rapidly entering the 'hens' teeth' category, the time will come!! 😧

 

John Isherwood.

[SteamingWales]

Another good announcement (or 2) from Rapido.

 

For us BR modellers when were these wagons withdrawn? I see in the newsletter the build dates but no withdrawal dates

[gwrrob]

I hope these sell by the bucket load, bravo Rapido.

[The Johnster]

More stuff that I’ll find it impossible to resist;  have a thought for my poor battered wallet!  TTBOMK, they lasted into the 50s and some of the V16s might have made it into the 60s, so ‘small GW’ and early BR liveries will be suitable for use on Cwmdimbath. 
 

At last, a proper RTR GW general goods open as opposed to a generic in GW livery or BR W- prefixed numbers, kudos Rapido.  The Wishlist Poll scores another success, so kudos Mr.Mcdermott & co as well

[robertcwp]

Can someone post a link to the website page with more details, please?

[J-Mo Arts]

10 minutes ago, robertcwp said:

Can someone post a link to the website page with more details, please?

https://rapidotrains.co.uk/gwr-5-plank-open-o11-o15/

https://rapidotrains.co.uk/gwr-mink-a-v14-v16/

 

[rapidoandy]

May favourite van - and one we will probably produce - is a GWR V14 van in black marked up as "To work between Eastleigh and Motive Power Depots Only". I think a nice BR(S) GWR van is called for...

[Miss Prism]

Beware the V14 - it has offset vees (not mentioned or diagrammed in the Bible). Similarly O15, which also has offset vees.

 

Here is a somewhat chaotic thread.  (Perhaps @Craigw can re-instate some images there, cos it makes more sense with the pics!)

 

I can't imagine you want to produce two underframes.

 

 

[Aire Head]

2 hours ago, The Johnster said:

At last, a proper RTR GW general goods open as opposed to a generic in GW livery or BR W- prefixed numbers,

 

Is the O21 already announced by Rapido not a proper merchandise wagon?

[Dunsignalling]

4 hours ago, SteamingWales said:

Another good announcement (or 2) from Rapido.

 

For us BR modellers when were these wagons withdrawn? I see in the newsletter the build dates but no withdrawal dates

In Twilight of the Goods, there's a photo of a similar unfitted Mink, W105468, albeit the slightly later V18 type with Morton brakes instead of DC. Hopefully Rapido might do this too. 

 

Freshly painted, still with the original outside-braced doors; caption states 1960. All that sounds highly improbable (not to mention wasteful) but Don Rowland's notes can be trusted. I wonder how long it survived after it's day in front of his camera....

 

On the opposite page, there's a 1962 pic of a vacuum fitted V14 (W112513) in a somewhat more careworn state, but still clearly in active use.

 

Their 9' wb would have led to most disappearing by around 1964 I'd think, with the unfitted ones generally a bit earlier.

 

John

 

EDIT: Loads more in The Acquired Wagons of British Railways, Vol.4 (David Larkin) including a couple more shiny 1960 repaints!

 

Edited December 23, 2022 by Dunsignalling

[The Johnster]

1 hour ago, Aire Head said:

 

Is the O21 already announced by Rapido not a proper merchandise wagon?

It is, but I meant 5-plank, and you were reading what I wrote as opposed to what I shoulda wrote but didna, mea culpa…  The 4-plank O21 is less likely on my layout, nominally set 1948-58; not impossible especially in late GW livery, but nowhere near as essential as the 5-plankers.  

[RapidoCorbs]

4 hours ago, Miss Prism said:

Beware the V14 - it has offset vees (not mentioned or diagrammed in the Bible). Similarly O15, which also has offset vees.

 

Here is a somewhat chaotic thread.  (Perhaps @Craigw can re-instate some images there, cos it makes more sense with the pics!)

 

I can't imagine you want to produce two underframes.

 

 

This is a real noodle-baker. I'll try and summarise what we have.

 

John Lewis wrote an article in Great Western Journal in 2007 on GW 16ft Vans, which had this in a section on DC.III brakes:

 

This matches with what we've been looking at, as there are several preserved V14s where the V is in the centre of the vehicle:

101720 at Didcot and 101961/103592 at the SVR are examples of this.

In this photo it is below the central body support stanchion (which is shown as being dead-centre on drawing 78302). This is mid-restoration and hasn't had the vac cylinder refitted yet, it is down as a V14.

 

This tallies with some of the works drawings we have for underframes where both the unfitted and fitted versions have the V marked as 'centre line of vehicle'.

Here is a comparison to show just how offset the V was.

Note that in these two pics, the van with the offset V has the slim buffers too. Unsure if there may have been a changeover year we can pin this down to, any ideas?

 

 

 

Edited December 23, 2022 by RapidoCorbs

[Dunsignalling]

2 hours ago, Miss Prism said:

Beware the V14 - it has offset vees (not mentioned or diagrammed in the Bible). Similarly O15, which also has offset vees.

 

Here is a somewhat chaotic thread.  (Perhaps @Craigw can re-instate some images there, cos it makes more sense with the pics!)

 

I can't imagine you want to produce two underframes.

 

 

All V14s? Or perhaps just the older 10T ones?

 

Looking at the photo of W112513 (12T fitted) mentioned in my earlier post, the brake push-rods appear to be of equal length.

 

Ditto two similar vans pictured at the top of page 62 in the Larkin book.

 

John 

Edited December 23, 2022 by Dunsignalling

[Aire Head]

10 minutes ago, The Johnster said:

It is, but I meant 5-plank, and you were reading what I wrote as opposed to what I shoulda wrote but didna, mea culpa…  The 4-plank O21 is less likely on my layout, nominally set 1948-58; not impossible especially in late GW livery, but nowhere near as essential as the 5-plankers.  

 

We have all done it 🤷🏼‍♂️

 

To be fair one of the O21s is in GW grey but with BR lettering which would be ideal for your chosen period.

[The Johnster]

I’ve just done up a Dapol steel GW 21ton mineral, the old Airfix model, in exactly that livery, Aire, but of course it was quite possible to see big 4 wagons without the BR prefix in the very early BR period; this sort of thing is part of the fascination.  There are one or two wagons in big 4 ‘large initials’ livery as well, under a lot of weathering; these will not have been repainted since before the war.  

[MarkSG]

Well, I'm not a GWR modeller, but another 5-plank and another van are always welcome, and I presume these were pool wagons so they'd have shown up elsewhere.

 

What I would really like, therefore, is a version in realistic early BR condition. That is, not painted in BR grey, but simply with the BR running number patched over a very tattered and worn GWR livery. As far as I'm aware, this has never previously been offered by any manufacturer. Bachmann have done some ex-PO wagons with patched numbers over the PO livery, but I've not seen any examples of ex-Big 4 liveries done like that. So this could be yet another first for Rapido 😀

[Dunsignalling]

6 minutes ago, MarkSG said:

Well, I'm not a GWR modeller, but another 5-plank and another van are always welcome, and I presume these were pool wagons so they'd have shown up elsewhere.

 

What I would really like, therefore, is a version in realistic early BR condition. That is, not painted in BR grey, but simply with the BR running number patched over a very tattered and worn GWR livery. As far as I'm aware, this has never previously been offered by any manufacturer. Bachmann have done some ex-PO wagons with patched numbers over the PO livery, but I've not seen any examples of ex-Big 4 liveries done like that. So this could be yet another first for Rapido 😀

There is also an example in the range of Iron Minks previously announced.

 

I think Accurascale's SR Banana vans will also be offered in SR livery with BR markings.

Edited December 23, 2022 by Dunsignalling

[BenL]

54 minutes ago, RapidoCorbs said:

 

Note that in these two pics, the van with the offset V has the slim buffers too. Unsure if there may have been a changeover year we can pin this down to, any ideas?

 

 

 

I’m pretty sure there’s something about the buffers in the latest version of the GWR wagon bible, I seem to recall the change didn’t exactly match the change in diagram from I think V12, but happened early in the construction of one of the subsequent diagrams - I’ll check next time I’ve got my books to hand.

[tomparryharry]

6 hours ago, SteamingWales said:

Another good announcement (or 2) from Rapido.

 

For us BR modellers when were these wagons withdrawn? I see in the newsletter the build dates but no withdrawal dates

My Mink (103966) was  withdrawn at the closure of Caerphilly workshops. Swindon had a fleet of these, for stores & spares work. Each division had a couple allotted to them, so they'd cover the system.

[tomparryharry]

1 hour ago, BenL said:

I’m pretty sure there’s something about the buffers in the latest version of the GWR wagon bible, I seem to recall the change didn’t exactly match the change in diagram from I think V12, but happened early in the construction of one of the subsequent diagrams - I’ll check next time I’ve got my books to hand.

 Buffers could & would be changed at C&W exams. Fitters wouldn't mess about with worn buffers. As long as it's the same length & bolt pattern, it would be done.

[MarkSG]

18 minutes ago, Dunsignalling said:

There is also an example in the range of Iron Minks previously announced.

 

Is there? I must have missed that. It's not one of the options on Rapido's website.

 

18 minutes ago, Dunsignalling said:

I think Accurascale's SR Banana vans will also be offered in SR livery with BR markings.

 

Possibly a little less plausible on my layout, though.