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‘Standardisation’ is a word often used in association with the Great Western Railway but it didn’t just apply to locomotives: the GWR used the same underframe from its ‘Iron Mink’ van under a new open wagon too. So having announced the ‘Iron Mink’, we thought it rude not to produce what became the Diagram O21 open wagon too. The GWR’s open wagons evolved from simple, archaic one-plankers to this more contemporary looking four-plank design in just 16 years. The number of body planks increased, buffers replaced wooden dumb buffers and, in 1886, the steel underframes from the new ‘Iron Mink’ was also used under a new four-plank, 10 ton capacity body. The GWR built thousands and thousands of four-planks with either single-sided lever brakes or DCI brakes (with minor detail differences) until a fifth plank was added to the design in 1902. In 1927, the Board or Trade ‘Either Side’ brake regulations came into force and resulted in over 18,700 single-sided four-plankers being given an additional lever brake and shoe. These wagons finally appeared in the diagram book as Dia. O21. Despite being built in huge numbers, these wagons remained in the shadows for all their lives. They kept the railway moving but never grabbed the headlines and it’s difficult to track when they finally disappeared from the network. If it were not for the GWR 813 Preservation Fund, it’s likely that the Dia. O21 would have slipped unnoticed into history. It managed to acquire the final three survivors (Nos. 41277, 52137 and 52243) but only No. 41277 is anything more than a rusting underframe. This vehicle was saved from Sharpness Docks in 1984 where it had apparently lain since being withdrawn in the 1930s. Restored in the 1980s, it’s based at the Severn Valley Railway where it requires a full overhaul to bring it back to its former glory. These are available to order now (RRP £32.95) and are available to pre-order from any Official Retailer or direct from ourselves. The orderbook will close on the 1st May with delivery scheduled for later this year.

The Great Western Railway’s V6 ‘Iron Mink’ is one of the most recognisable designs that came out of the Swindon wagon drawing office – and now it has been released by Rapido Trains UK! What made these wagons so recognisable was the fact that they shunned traditional wooden construction and were made from metal instead. Shortages of timber forced the GWR to investigate building vans from metal but it wasn’t until 1888 that what could be called the ‘standard Iron Mink’ appeared. This boasted a 16ft 6in underframe and a capacity of 8 tons. Over 4,000 were built up to 1901 when the GWR reverted to wood bodies. The ‘Iron Minks’ were long lived with examples surviving through until British Railways days in revenue and Departmental service. They could be found all over the UK railway network and some were recorded as far north as Inverness. The V6 ‘Iron Minks’ received many modifications over the years. Larger vent hoods were introduced in 1899, grease axleboxes gave way to oil, different brake styles were fitted and, when required, metals doors were often replaced with wood. With war looming, the ‘Iron Mink’s’ metal construction made it an ideal gunpowder van. Wooden doors were replaced with thick metal ones and the end ventilators were covered with a plain panel. After the First World War, these ‘Iron Minks’ were converted back to goods traffic. The Second World War led to further need for gunpowder vans and, once again, the ‘Iron Minks’ were called upon again. The GWR loaned 100 to the Southern Railway in 1937 (complete with SR lettering) where they stayed until the end of the war. ‘Iron Mink’ withdrawals started in the 1930s and continued through to the mid-1960s. Despite being condemned, many of the vans found alternate uses such as sawdust and sand vans in depots, lamp rooms and tool stores. Two van bodies even found usage as stop blocks at Machynlleth and were fitted with self-contained buffers! Luckily, four complete ‘Iron Minks’ (alongside several van bodies) have survived into the preservation at the Severn Valley Railway, Didcot Railway Centre, Swindon and Cricklade and South Devon Railway. As usual they are available direct from us or from any Official Retailer. RRP is £32.95 and the order books will close on the 1st May.

Seeing as we have lost some images I thought it best to show off a few of our latest images...

Glad you like it! We thought it deserved a box that would make it stand out.

Hi Gerry, I am glad you like it! It looks fantastic after a little weathering. Would we be able to steal a copy of the photo to use on our various pages and website? Many thanks Andy

Thank you! There is always room to improve and we are working on even better things so watch this space! we can also improve the spelling on the back of the box. That one was our bad - oooops!

Well, I have been looking into it. The drawings we have show the chamfer, however all the preserved ones are straight (not something you can wholly rely on) and what can be seen in period photos show straight. As a result we have changed the CAD and tooling to give them straight stanchions - after all the Titfield one is straight!

Physical progress....

They are currently somewhere in Tilbury docks. We hope to have them this week but it is likely they will arrive at the same time as a container full of APT-E models. Logistically we can only deal with on at a time so the larger APT-E load will be dealt with first followed by the Chathams. Not long now!

They are the wagon label clips (which were mounted on a wooden back piece). Not all of them had them so they have been included as optional parts for those that want to fit them. Enjoy your GPV!

Oooops I let that slip…. Interestingly everyone says they are identical to the MR ones. Having studied the works drawings I can say they certainly were not identical. Andy

A slightly better view...

I currently only have the one side to hand. If you have anything that shows what it should be like I would love to check it out for you (and correct it if we have it wrong). We always appreciate the help!

Some of you may have seen todays Facebook post of the 3D printed sample of the W&U / Titfield tramcar. For those that haven't here are a few pictures of the printed and hand assembled sample which allows us to check various bits and pieces out: Happy modelling!

Good question - I haven't tried removing the finish from any of our wagons so far. I will see if I can locate a donor model to try it on. For those of you interested we have had a minor update to the artworks: Andy

We are tooling up both types as they changed at some point in time. I will ask the project manager but as I understand it both the straight and flared type will be produced as correct for the liver/number. Thanks Andy

I did wonder about that - I have a thing about paint. However one of the photos we have shows the loco nearly new and I (personally) doubt it would have chemically changed within months.

Well here is a quandary. Some descriptions say white while others don’t. Likewise period photos show a mixture (not just sooty). We have a few good photos of 106 on this livery and I’m fairly certain it’s a painted dark colour cab roof. The Highland Railway Society experts have also been over it and say there is no definitive answer either way in records - so we took the photos as the best bet.

Regarding the lining on 17924 the Highland Railway Locomotives Book 1 Early Days to the Lochs states: ‘ The second style, with ‘LMS’ on the tender and number on the cab side, was first applied, probably at Lochgorm, in 1928-28 to 17917/8/9/24/6/8/30, all of which received red lining and 10in numerals.' Andy

We do look an awful lot at the metrics and sales for items when we decide what to produce in the future. I can't say what the statistics will show as it is too early but if the consensus is 'I have enough and don't want another' then we will have to think very carefully about future releases where a rtr or kit item is available (which for Western stuff seems to cover quite a lot). There are certainly more items available for the GWR against some other regions etc. Generally we have found people do want to own the best versions on the market - but if that doesn't pan out then we will have to re-evaluate our thoughts. It is complicated because it does involve Titfield (the primary reason to do it) but if does show that GWR modellers are happy with things that are already produced that would be interesting. Regarding the interior - well it didn't take a lot of effort to include so we thought why not. We are also looking at making the first (as far as I'm aware) RTR models with the correct two tone interior colour scheme.

Sorry - my mistake. In my haste dealing with the 2 year old on my day off I didn’t read the flying crate section. It is already on our corrections list. Andy

There is no definitive date at present but we are hopeful for spring next year. We are finishing the design as we speak and will then go to tooling. When this is received and inspected we will announce the orderbook deadline. When that is reached we will close it off and go straight into production. Andy

It is nearly time for the orderbook to close! Our recently received 2nd sample (well chassis sample) has arrived, been assessed and painted. The new wheels look so much better with revised tyre thickness and adjusted counter weights. The orderbook closes on Tuesday 1st March - don't delay and order yours today. Production will start almost immediately for a planned delivery late summer. Happy modelling!

Morning all, Sorry - buys weekend with the family so not had time to get on here until this morning. So to answer a few questions: Axleboxes. Yes these will be sorted - its actually an issue with the render - the proper model has the full detail! Horizontal angles on the roof will painted roof colour. On the post '36 livery one should have a dark roof and this is being corrected. The other was built in 38 so would have been white. Regards the two large letter examples from the later batch - these are based on the preserved examples in return for the help received. Preserved ones also sell well - I will amend the website to show that tomorrow. Happy modelling!

We do have a number of photos at say British Rail - I think there are even some on Paul Barlett's site. Regards 'Ferrylink' I will enquire with the person in charge of the project. For other people who have asked - we have tested these on 2nd radius curves and set track points with no issues found in both trains or being propelled/shunted.