B886162 is a Covhop to BR diagram 1/210. This distinctive design carried loads as diverse as soda ash, sand, and sugar at different times. Over 1300 of the type were built, most having no fitted brake, although the final few batches were piped for vacuum, and the very last batch had vacuum brake. Only about two appear to have survived into preservation, of which one is awaiting restoration on the Glos/Warks Rly. The model is scratchbuilt, mostly in plasticard, but with roof walkways made using brass strip.

British Rail re-bodied the underframes on the 21ton minerals, but just to be different I'm 're-underframing' the bodies! Some of my 25 year old 21 tonners, from the original Ian Kirk kit, are having the much more detailed Parkside 12ft underframe kit fitted. They've stood the test of time well, although one literally shattered while being worked on due to the plastic going brittle.

Here they are again, the two 21ton minerals shown previously..... after starting on the underframe replacements I realised that the bodysides were too low compared to true scale. Extensions have been fitted and blended-in using a similar method to that shown by Paul James on his Eastwell wagons page.

A couple of Ratio BR diagram 1/051 Clay Hoods are being reworked after being bought 2nd hand in part-built condition. Watch this space for the finished items.

Some wagons from the same era have also recently been completed:- BR diagram 1/001 'Lowfit' with a tractor delivery as a load. One morning spent surfing the web turned me into a minor tractor expert, so I now know this is a 1960 Fordson Power Major in standard factory colours, and a superb replica of the original too, once the front wheel width spacing is reduced a little (available from Oxford Di-cast / Hornby Skaledale).

A ex-GWR 'Conflat A' of 1947 with an insulated container. This wagon design continued in production almost unchanged under BR, so makes for an easy conversion from the Parkside kit. The main visual change is the chain shackle points as BR added more positions down each side.

Vans lacking vacuum brakes such as this 1930 vintage (M178129 ex-LMS metal-side), were eliminated by BR during the early-sixties. This model was based on a photograph from 1962, and the design was unusual for having metal sides as well as ends. One of this type is now preserved on the GCR at Loughborough.

E224320 ex-LNER wood-sided coal wagon from 1938, typical of many which BR inherited in 1948, and then set about replacing with the all-steel 16 ton mineral wagon during the 1950s. This wagon, in very dirty bare wood, was modelled to a photograph from 1964 when it was probably awaiting scrapping.

P38290 ex-private owner wood sided coal wagon, some of the inherited wooden bodied wagons did receive re-paints into standard BR grey, as modelled here. These were the exception rather than the rule however, as the imminent replacement by new steel wagons caused maintenance to be minimised.

P99335 is perhaps more typical of how the ex-private owner wagons were looking by 1960. Most were hastily re-marked by BR, with the number, load, and tare weight presented in the standard BR manner on roughly applied black patches.

The original bold colour schemes of the previous owners were normally retained, but not maintained, so gradually became very scruffy, most had been withdrawn and scrapped by 1965.

P75748 is an ex-Vauxhall wood-sided coal wagon. The once striking red, white, and black markings are a dull shadow of their former self. Wagons of this appearance were common fare during the later BR steam years, but it is still surprising how rarely they appear on layouts of that period. More often the continued use of colourful well kept private owner fleets is portrayed within the nationalised railway, not truly authentic, but maybe more eye-catching than the reality!

Van B752654 to BR diagram 1/202 is an example of how BR adopted existing wagon building programmes in the first couple of years after nationalisation. This filled the vacuum while new 'standard' designs were being formulated. This design, from Ashford works in 1949, is to the basic Southern Railway ply-sided pattern, but with some early BR influences on the underframe. It is modelled in post-1964 condition with the new 'datablock' style markings applied on patches of fresh paint, and would have probably survived in traffic until the early seventies.

Highfit B481774 to BR diagram 1/041 was a similar situation, this time with an LNER steel-bodied design. BR never came to an early decision on a 'standard' design for open goods wagons however (unlike vans) and instead continued building wagons based on LNER, LMS, and SR practice, although with some changes to the underframes. The tarpauline is modelled using the printed paper sheets available from traders....suitably crumpled and distressed before gluing in position.

Pete Johnson's Iron Ore hoppers..... with these and some other photos, there's probably enough material for a page of their own. These are the mixture of adapted Ratio kits and cut-down Dapol bodies with Parkside underframes which have been appearing OMWB for far too long.

The final chapter of a long running OMWB story! An ex-private owner Iron Ore hopper from 1938, as indicated by the 'P' prefix to the running number, now weathered to a typical mid-sixties rust-spotted condition. Wagons such as these lasted into the mid-1970s on limestone traffic around the Peak district and elsewhere.

Shown here and below are another couple of rusty ore hoppers, this time to the BR diagram 1/162. This design was a direct carry-over from the private owner fleets built before 1948, and again lasted into the 1970s, rivets and all.

One of very few survivors is now on display (with several other unusual BR wagons) at the NRM Shildon out-station, still in true-to-life rusted condition!