Dapol OO Stevens & Co 7-Plank Open Coal Wagon Antics Special Edition (ANT043)

Based in Oxford, Stevens & Co., operated a large number of depots across a very wide area during the inter-war period.

This model is of wagon number 298, supplied by the Gloucester RCW Co. in 1906 and painted in a very colourful livery of green body with lettering in white, finished with red shading. In addition to the company base in Oxford this wagon advertises depots in Leamington, Warwick, Reading and London.
It is thought that this green livery was a 'one off', Stevens wagons were normally painted red. This wagon will be an excellent partner for the recently produced red Stevens wagon from Dapol on your layout.

In addition to the depot locations on painted on the wagon Stevens are known to have had coal depots in London Road Gloucester and New Street Cheltenham. It appears that orders were also taken though arrangements with several post offices in the Cheltenham area. Gloucestershire and Warwickshire were clearly well served by the company, no doubt they had depots in many more towns and their substantial fleet of wagons would have collected a wide selection of coals from collieries across Britain.

Dapol OO Worcester New Co-Operative & Industrial Society 5-Plank Open Wagon Antics Special Edition (ANT044)

Continuing the series of Co-Operative societies this wagon represents the Worcester New Co-Operative & Industrial Society.

The original wagon was built by the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon company in 1914, with the unusal livery feature of a grey painted plank, no doubt intended to make the wagon more noticable.

Dapol OO Gloucester Co-Operative Society 7-Plank Open Coal Wagon Antics Special Edition (ANT042)

Antics Limited Edittion

This model is of the Gloucester Co-operative & Industrial Society wagon number 47, built in 1916 by the Gloucester RCW Co. The Gloucester Co-op had it's wagons painted chocolate brown, an unsual colour for a co-operative society.
The model features Dapols' new fixed end style body and wooden frame style chassis.

The Gloucester Co-op coal yard was located within the Midland Railways' yard, provided with direct rail services from the Midlands, Bristol, Somerset and Forest of Dean, a choice of coals could be obtained from hundreds of collieries. Vast quantities of coal were unloaded here, with 20,700 tons handled in 1910, during which year the society ordered at least 18 new wagons. A total of 42 being operated that year. The Gloucester RCW photographer captured the company shunting engine with numbers 34-42 fresh from the paint shop. The last wagons purchased brought the total up to 52, which appear to have been still in operation when wagon pooling arrangements were enacted for WW2.

To represent this large fleet we will produce further models with different number if this model proves popular.

Dapol OO Bristol & District Co-Operative Society 7-Plank Open Coal Wagon Antics Special Edition (ANT041)

This model is of Bristol & District Co-Operative wagon number 12, supplied by the Ince Waggon & Ironworks of Wigan. This company supplied a number of wagon orders to co-operative societies, possibly as part of a batch purchase. The Bristol & District society had a particularly elaborate livery, including the initials B&D enclosed in a diamond on the door. The societys' depots are listed as Lawrence Hill (GWR), on the edge of central Bristol, Montpelier (GWR&MR/LMS joint line to Avonmouth), part of the fashionable Edwardian suburban area including Redland, and Fishponds (MR/LMS), home of several manufacturing companies and their workers. Operating from depots on both the GWR and Midland/LMS routes into Bristol the Bristol & District co-op would have had easy access to most of Britains coal fields, so this wagon could have travelled very widely.

The Bristol & District Co-Operative was formed in 1884, merging with the Bedminster Co-operative in 1916. Trading in coal had started by 1902, with depots at Montpelier, Lawrence Hill, Stapleton Road, Avonmouth and Fishponds by 1914. The company certainly operated a fleet of up to 15 wagons, with number 13 surviving until 1947.

Dapol OO Cainscross & Ebley Co-Operative Society 7-Plank Open Coal Wagon Antics Special Edition (ANT040)

This model is of the Cainscross and Ebley Co-Operative wagon number 1, built in 1908 by the Gloucester RCW Co. The company had the wagon marked for despatch to Stockingford Colliery (Nuneaton) and return loaded to Dudbridge station on the Midland line to Stroud and Nailsworth. Clearly the society recognised that Cainscross was not a well-known place, not possessed of it's own station, so appended 'near Stroud' to identify the location on their new wagon.

The Cainscross and Ebley Co-Operative was formed in 1863, opening a shop in Cainscross, near where a modern Co-op supermarket exists today. The society grew, opening branches in several villages as far away as Wotton-under-Edge and operated at least four wagons, with records indicating that more wagons may have been purchased second hand.

Dapol OO Sheffield & Ecclesall Co-Operative Society 7-Plank Open Coal Wagon Antics Special Edition (ANT034)

Featuring Dapols' new 7-plank fixed end bodyshell and wooden solebar style chassis, this model was commissioned to mark the opening of the Antics shop in Sheffield. This will also be the first wagon in a series of co-operative society wagons.

This OO wagon is a model of wagon 12 operated by the Sheffield and Ecclesall Co-Operative Society, painted in Indian red with shaded lettering.

Coal was a common product sold by Co-Operative societies, the society being able to order coal in wagonload quantities and obtain good pricing from collieries. We will be featuring other Co-Operative wagons in our future releases.
The Sheffield and Eccleshall Co-Operative was formed by the merger of the original Sheffield society with the Eccleshall Society. Through further mergers the society has enlarged considerably, now being the Sheffield branch of the Yorkshire Co-Operative.

Dapol OO Sutton Cardiff 7-Plank Open Coal Wagon Antics Special Edition (ANT039)

A new addition to our range of private owner wagons.

This model of Sutton Trading number 48 represents the wagon photographed by the Gloucester RC&W company in 1939, an example of a batch of 25 wagons supplied. Based in Cardiff, Sutton Trading would have had access to a wide range of South Wales collieries and the Great Western routes to the West Midlands via Gloucester and London via Bristol. Built in 1939 it would be expected that this wagon would still have been in good condition when requisitioned under the wartime pooling arrangements, so near-new Sutton wagons could have travelled anywhere in Britain from 1940 onwards!

Number 48 was marked for return empty to the National Pit at Wattstown in the Rhondda Fach. This colliery was owned by United National Collieries, originally served by the Taff Vale Railway, and was noted for the high quality steam coal produced.
Sutton Trading owned a substantial fleet with older wagons carrying much higher numbers than this, so it is most likely that this order was a replacement for a batch of old wagons. The marking 'For repairs advise Sutton Trading...' indicates that the company may well have had their own repair depot.

The Sutton Trading Company still operates in the coal business today, still from offices in Mount Stuart Square, Cardiff.

Dapol OO Severn Valley Gas Corporation Cheltenham Antics Special Edition (ANT037)

Antics Special Edition Model

The Severn Valley Gas Corporation were suppliers of gas to the Cheltenham area and, through the aquisition of smaller gas companys, many other areas across Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Shropshire.

This model is of wagon 105, part of a batch built by the Gloucester RC&W Co. in the autumn of 1935. Coal supply was vital to the steady production of town gas, so the company would have obtained its' own wagons to ensure consistent supply.

The model features Dapols' newly ervised chassis, fitted with NEM coupler mountings and metal wheelsets.

Dapol OO T H Harvey Chemical Works Plymouth Rectangular Tank Wagon Antics Special Edition (ANT038)

A new addition to our range of private owner wagons featuring Dapols' new rectangular tank wagon.

This model of a rectangular tank wagon owned by T H Harvey, a chemical processing company in Plymouth, represents one of two wagons ordered. The companys business concerened mainly the extraction of useful chemicals, particularly petro-chemicals from coal tar, the residue by-product of town coal gas production. This residue contained many useful chemical products, including benzene and creosote which could be extracted by refining.

T H Harvey would have sent these wagons to town gas plants to collect the coal tar, so this wagons could have travelled to many small towns in the South West, travelling by either the Great Western or Southern mainlines and branchlines from Plymouth.

Dapol OO John Rogers & Son 7-Plank Open Wagon Antics Special Edition (ANT033)

A new addition to our Stroud valleys range this wagon is painted and lettered in an attractive style John Rogers & Sons, coal merchants at Nailsworth Glos.
John Rogers appears to have taken over the business of Cecil Thompson, who in turn had taken over from Henry Heaven whose wagon we have previously produced. Wagon number 3 was bought new on a 7-year agreement and photographed at the Gloucester RCW works in October 1913.

In the mid-1920s a new partnership was formed of Rogers & Dennis Ltd. of Nailsworth. It appears that Dennis' business was the supply of fertillizer, lawn sand and lime, expanding on the coal business run by John Rogers and the partnership continued to trade at least into 1939. We are seeking information and a photograph of the railway wagons in Rogers & Dennis livery, please contact us if you can help!

Lightmoor Press Private Owner Wagons of Gloucestershire (POG)

A new book from wagon reseacher Ian Pope covering wagons owned by companies and merchants in Gloucestershire. Featuring over 450 high quality illustrations, accompanied by captions and details of the owners and operators. Often colourfully painted and sometimes with extensive lettering private owner wagons offered mobile advertising for their owners. Mostly used to haul coal, there are many other businesses who owned wagons in Gloucestershire, plus the city of Gloucester boasted one of the most prolific and successful railway wagon building companies.
This book covers Gloucestershire, north of the Badminton route and the Bristol county boundary, with a book on Bristol in the future.

Lightmoor Press Private Owner Wagons of the Forest of Dean (FOD)