GWR O4 Open A Wagon with Sheet Rail
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Prototype
This is an accurate model of a standard Great Western Railway 5-plank open wagon design for general traffic. Built in 1903 to diagram O4, these wagons originally had a sheet rail to support a tarpaulin to cover and protect the load. Many of these wagons went into the RCH common wagon pool after the grouping prior to the development of standard RCH designs. The other companies could not be convinced of the worth of the sheet rail to incorporate it into the standard design, but nonetheless found it useful. As a result, the GWR found itself losing its own wagons to the other companies, and therefore adopted a policy of removing the rails from its pool wagons, and they had virtually disappeared completely by 1930.
Model Details
Scale: 4mm:1ft (1:76)
Finish: Unweathered
Source: Built from Coopercraft kit of the original version, with sheet rail, with cast whitemetal buffers (ABS) and functional 3-link couplings. Constructed with Dean-Churchward pattern brakes; lever brakes are also provided as an option with this kit. Finished in 1920s livery and using transfers supplied in the kit. The model is shown with S4 wheels.