WRRC Forum

Interesting question Nigel. At that time the GWR was very short of open wagons itself (see History of Great Western Railway Goods Wagons OPC 1986 A. G. Atkins et al p279) and was having to both hire them in and contract construction out to others (see TNA Ref. RAIL 252/1682 Contract between Metropolitan Amalgamated Railway Carriage and Wagon Co Ltd and Great Western Railway Company for supply of one thousand 10 ton open goods wagons; with specification, October 1911) so I wonder whether the GWR was in a position (or indeed inclined) to build for the Cambrian. Could the Cambrian wagons just be to GWR designs?

The GWR did build wagons for the Rhymney and Taff Vale just before the Grouping, so it is possible that they built some for other Welsh railways. IIRC the designs involved were O11 opens, V16 vans and a 3 plank dropside.

On a similar theme, I was given a 7mm scale resin-cast wagon kit a while ago. It's made by Just Like The Real Thing and sold as a Cambrian / GWR two plank open wagon. It's similar in size to the well known Cambrian 2 plank opens, but it intrigues me as it has fixed sides rather than drop sides, a steel channel underframe rather than a wooden one, steel channel end stanchions, and oil axleboxes. The kit doesn't come with any historical information, and from talking to Laurie and Pete on the JLRT stand at the Warley show, they knew little of the wagon's origins. I gather that it wasn't a kit they developed themselves, but one they agreed to produce quite a long time ago, following a request from a 7mm modeller who had made the masters and who wanted a number of them produced for himself.

I have an idea that I've seen what might be part of such a wagon in a picture of the wagon shop at Oswestry, but can't lay my hands on the photo at the moment. Also, it doesn't appear to be a GWR design that might have been bought from them / copied by the Cambrian, as a quick look through the OPC GW Wagons book suggests that the GWR built very few two plank wagons except in the early days.

Any thoughts much appreciated.

Richard