Britain’s Railways were developed primarily to move freight and by the early twentieth century, hundreds of independent companies were operating their own wagons to transport their goods around the UK by rail. Fleet sizes ranged from small concerns with a single wagon to large enterprises whose wagon count could run into the hundreds. The majority of wagons in private ownership were wooden bodied open wagons and by far the most common commodity that they carried was coal, although other materials, including coke, minerals and aggregates might also be transported depending on the nature of business conducted by the wagon’s owner.

This model forms part of our new Railway Celebrations range, selected because of its close links to the Stockton & Darlington area and because it symbolises the revolution that the railways provided. Tarslag operated a fleet of hundreds of wagons to carry furnace slag and road asphalt and their operations embodied the freedom of movement afforded by the railway revolution, with concerns in Wolverhampton on the Great Western Railway and Stockton on Tees served by the LNER amongst others, trains including Tarslag wagons would be seen across the UK.

The Bachmann Branchline model portrays a 5 Plank Wagon with side doors to aid loading and unloading, and a steel floor. These details are faithfully replicated on the model, with neatly engraved plank lines and finely moulded metal work and rivets. Below the solebar the W irons, axleboxes and springs are all reproduced to great effect, with separate brakes and brake levers and metal door stops completing the look. The model runs on split spoked wheels which are of metal construction whilst metal buffer heads and cosmetic coupling hooks adorn the bufferbeams. Authentic colours and typefaces are employed during the livery application process, completing this high-fidelity model.

MODEL FEATURES:

• Bachmann Branchline OO Scale
• Era 3
• Pristine ‘Tarslag (1923) Ltd.’ Grey livery
• Running No. 825
• NEM Coupling Pockets
• Length 83mm (over couplings)