New PO wagon kits.

[rob]

I am posting this as a sort of public information service and because we tend to concentrate on loco's a lot around here! I suppose we all like loco building best,but after that my next favourite are wagons and especially P.O's.I ues a lot of the POWsides products,along with Modelmaster but it can be a struggle to find a kit to suit the prototype.For example for 3plk wagons I use the Slaters MR wagon,for coke you have to add PECO rails to Slaters or Parkside RCH wagons etc.
Therefore I was delighted recently to note in Dave Cleals lists that Cambrian had introduced 3 new bodies to the range(their chassis are generic in most cases)a 16' 12T Glos 1907 type,with flat or raised ends,a 15' Hurst Nelson 5plk with straight or round ends and,quite obscurely,a 15' Wheeler and Gregory 4plk with rounded ends.I contacted them to enquire about other types and was told they were unlikely though a 6 1\2 plk and a large LNER 20t two door type were on the way.I was surprised then to get an email shortly before Christmas to announce the addition of some of those I had enquired about! They are a(most useful) Glos single plank(11 1\2 inch),an RCH 5plk china clay and an RCH 7plk convertible coke,fixed end,bottom doors.They are due for release in the new year and I thought it worth posting the info as Cambrian do not seem to advertise in the mainstream press and I think this sort of venture into new prototypes deserves our support.I have suggested to both Cambrian and Parkside that a Scottish "Jubilee" wagon would be good-anyone agree?If so,Email them and suggest it,Parkside already have one in 7mm but I've not seen them in 4mm unless there is a little known W/M kit somewhere.It would need all-new tooling so would have to be a big seller for the brave manufacturer,but it should be popular,they were long-lived
At any rate,some of you might be interested in knowing these are available,and could look very interesting as horribly run-down post war remmnants for the BR era as well as being useful in more glamorous PO liveries!Note with the Cambrian kits it may be best to file the locating lugs off the solebars and position by eye!They do not fall together like Parkside but I like them a lot,good value for money and great variety.

[barrycambrian]

From Cambrian Models:

I've just found this posting via Google, so it hasn't really taken this long to reply!

We've just added two further PO wagon kits to our range –

C74 Wheeler & Gregory 4 plank Open
with three plank door and raised end
(as opposed to C53 which has a full height door & rounded end)

C76 RCH 8 plank Acid Jar Wagon
for POWsides 122 "Chance & Hunt" transfers.
This wagon had 8 jars for acid held in place by a flat "roof" through which the tops of the jars protruded.

We've also just released kit C66 SECR 7 plank, if anyone wants to recreate the picture on page 98 of Peter Tatlow's LNER Wagons book (OPC).

Please note that as Dave Cleal has greatly reduced his range, our kits will no longer be available from Mainly Trains once the current stock are gone. Our kits are available from other Model Shops, as listed on our website.

We have a couple of LNER wagon kits planned but will put that on the News page.

Regarding construction, the underframe moulds of our PO wagons were made rather a long time ago, and suited the bearings then available. In the next couple of months they will be altered to remove the locating studs from the solebar edges, and locating ribs put on the underside of the floors instead. This will be to use 26mm axles and Alan Gibson wheels. We will be ordering some of these from the new owners, in case anything has changed, before altering the moulds.

If there are any other types of PO wagon bodies wanted, that would fit our underframes, please let us know, either via this forum or email from our website.
Underframes are 15' 0", 16' 0" Gloucester (although other builders' were pretty similar); and 16' 6" RCH (wood or steel).

A "Butterley" steel type would be a useful addition, but we don't at present have a picture of the door end, or a drawing of the inside.

Barry,
Cambrian

[rob]

Hi Barry,have been meaning to reply for a while! Great news and great prototypes,I've had a look at your site and particularly appreciate the way the "roof" and jars are represented on the acid wagon.I'll be having at least two,must get onto POWsides soon!
The rest of your proposals sound great too,the only extra I would still suggest is the Scottish "Jubilee" wagon.I know it involves a lot more tooling(chassis I think you said is not similar to any of your existing ones) but I imagine it should sell-it has been in Parksides 7mm range for years!They had long careers,variable usage and POWsides offer a lot of liveries,presumably selling in 7mm rather than 4mm at the moment.
I'll probably move over to the general thread thats going after this post but great to have you on here,welcome!
Rob