Product Highlight: OO Scale Open Plank Wagons

Whilst many people nowadays tend to first think of passenger services when they think of the railway, many of the lines throughout the history of the UK were built primarily to carry freight. In order to do this, many open wagons were designed to a variety of shapes and sizes to suit different loads, and very similar wagons were used by the majority of railway operators. Many of these appear in the Bachmann Branchline range of OO Scale models, so let’s take a look in more detail.

1 Plank Wagons

Our first set of wagons are one plank wagons, including those classified as ‘Lowfit’ wagons, which would have been used to carry tractors, cars, small machinery and containers. These are available in pristine or weathered finish, and some include a crimson-liveried container as a load. The decks of these wagons feature engraving to define the separate wooden planks, with other details such as securing chains, anchor points, hinges and container door locking mechanisms being replicated where appropriate to the prototype. 

Below the solebar, there are depictions of the W irons, axleboxes and springs, along with separate brakes and brake levers, brake linkages, and vacuum cylinders where appropriate. There are metal buffer heads and cosmetic coupling hooks on the bufferbeams, along with NEM coupling pockets and metal wheels that depict either the 3-hole or split-spoked types depending on the prototype. 

Era	Wagon Type	Livery	Running No.	Container No.	Finish	Item No.
3	1 Plank	LMS Grey ‘Furniture Removal Service’	209346	K203	Pristine	37‑482
3	1 Plank	LMS Grey ‘Furniture Removal Service’	209343	K201	Weathered	37‑482A
4	1 Plank ‘Lowfit’	BR Bauxite (Early)	B450068	–	Pristine	37‑477D
4	1 Plank ‘Lowfit’	BR Bauxite (Early)	B450071	–	Weathered	37‑477E
5	1 Plank ‘Lowfit’	BR Bauxite (Late)	B450161	–	Pristine	37‑479B
5	1 Plank ‘Lowfit’	BR Bauxite (Late)	B450166	–	Weathered	37‑479C

3 Plank Wagons

Our next set of wagons are three plank wagons, which would have been used to transport loose loads like minerals and aggregate, as well as crates, barrels and even machinery or equipment. These include our Railway Celebrations model of wagon No. 800055 in the grey livery of the North Eastern Railway (37-944). These injection moulded wagons feature engraving along the sides and deck in order to depict the wooden planks. There are depictions of the hinges along each edge and the securing chains on the corners. 

Under the solebar, there are W irons, axleboxes and springs along with separate brakes and brake levers. The buffer beams feature metal buffer heads and cosmetic coupling hooks, whilst the wagon runs on metal wheelsets that depict either 3-hole disc wheels or split-spoked wheels. These wagons also feature NEM coupling pockets.

Era	Wagon Type	Livery	Running No.	Weathered	Item No.
2	3 Plank	GCR Grey	3118	Pristine	37‑942
2	3 Plank	GCR Grey	3123	Pristine	37‑942A
2	3 Plank	GWR Grey	34852	Pristine	37‑941
2	3 Plank	GWR Grey	34873	Pristine	37‑941A
2	3 Plank	LSWR Brown	326	Pristine	37‑940
2	3 Plank	LSWR Brown	351	Pristine	37‑940A
2	3 Plank	MR Grey	10282	Pristine	37‑939
2	3 Plank	MR Grey	10284	Pristine	37‑939A
3	3 Plank	North Eastern Railway ‘NE’ Grey	800055	Pristine	37‑944
7	3 Plank	BR Departmental Bauxite (TOPS)	DB457592	Pristine	37‑943
7	3 Plank	BR Departmental Bauxite (TOPS)	DB457271	Weathered	37‑943A

5 Plank Wagons

The next group of wagons feature sides made up of five planks and would have mainly been used to carry coal or other materials such as coke, minerals and aggregates. The majority of these wagons are decorated in private owner liveries, including Tarslag (1923) Ltd’s grey wagon No. 825 (37-026C) which is part of our Railway Celebrations range. 

The wagons all feature side doors, with engraved plank lines, moulded metalwork and rivets, and are depicted with either metal or wooden floors depending on the prototype. The buffer beams again feature metal buffers and cosmetic coupling hooks, with NEM coupling pockets to allow for a choice of couplings to be fitted. Below the solebar, there are W irons, axleboxes and springs, separate brakes and brake levers, metal door stops and metal split spoked wheels.

Era	Wagon Type	Livery	Running No.	Weathered	Item No.
2	5 Plank Wooden Floor	‘F. H. Silvey & Co.’ Brown	193	Pristine	37‑056B
3	5 Plank Steel Floor	‘Arenig Granite Co. Ltd.’ Red	205	Pristine	37‑026B
3	5 Plank Steel Floor	‘Penderyn Limestone Quarries Co.’ Grey	334	Pristine	37‑027B
3	5 Plank Steel Floor	‘Tarslag (1923) Ltd.’ Grey	825	Pristine	37‑026C
3	5 Plank Wooden Floor	‘Foster Bros.’ Green	24	Pristine	37‑063A
3	5 Plank Wooden Floor	‘J.R. Wood & Co. Ltd.’ Orange	31	Pristine	37‑053A
3	5 Plank Wooden Floor	‘R. Fred. Cole Coal & Coke Merchant’ Red	12	Pristine	37‑060A
4	5 Plank Wooden Floor	BR Grey (Early)	M360579	Pristine	37‑061D

7 Plank Wagons

Our penultimate set of wagons are all seven plank wagons, which would have also been used to carry coal, coke, minerals and aggregates. Some of these feature end doors and others with coke rails. These wagons are decorated in private owner liveries with a variety of colours. Regardless of the wagon type chosen, there are side doors, bottom discharge doors and plank lines engraved into the bodyshell, along with ironwork detailing.

Beneath the solebar, the usual details of W irons, axleboxes and springs, separate brakes and brake levers and metal door stops are all present, along with metal buffer heads and cosmetic coupling hooks on the bufferbeams at each end. The metal wheels once again depict either the split spoked or 3-hole disc types as appropriate to the prototype, and the wagons are equipped with NEM coupling pockets.

Era	Wagon Type	Livery	Running No.	Weathered	Item No.
3	7 Plank End Door	‘Firestone Tyres’ Blue	2002	Pristine	37‑082B
3	7 Plank End Door	‘Lister & Co. Ltd’ Red	L.101	Pristine	37‑094
3	7 Plank End Door	‘Park Lane Wigan’ Brown	2063	Pristine	37‑082C
3	7 Plank Fixed End	‘Charles Sinclair’ Green	15	Pristine	37‑101B
3	7 Plank Fixed End	‘North Sea Coaling Co.’ Red	26	Pristine	37‑112A
3	7 Plank with Coke Rails	‘Benzol & By-Products Ltd’ Red	1102	Pristine	37‑177A
3	7 Plank with Coke Rails	‘New C. Ransley’ Red	164	Pristine	37‑179A

8 Plank Wagons

The final group of wagons have sides that are all eight planks tall in order to carry larger loads of coal, coke, minerals and other aggregates. Once again the models feature ends that are fixed or have doors, along with one wagon that features coke rails. The planks that make up the side of the wagon are all clearly engraved, as are the doors and the ironwork is detailed. One of these wagons is available in early BR Grey, whilst the others feature private owner liveries in a variety of colours. 

Below the solebars, there are the usual metal wheels that are either spoked or are discs with 3 holes. The W irons, axleboxes and springs, brakes, brake levers and metal door stops are all present, as are the metal buffer heads and cosmetic coupling hooks on the bufferbeams, and NEM coupling pockets allow you to use the couplers of your choice.

Era	Wagon Type	Livery	Running No.	Weathered	Item No.
3	8 Plank End Door	‘Manners’ Red	1055	Pristine	37‑136
3	8 Plank End Door	‘Stephenson Clarke & Assoc. London’ Grey/Red	7861	Pristine	37‑129A
3	8 Plank Fixed End	‘Osborne & Son’ Green	9	Pristine	37‑156A
3	8 Plank Fixed End	BR Grey (Early)	P322485	Pristine	37‑158D
3	8 Plank with Coke Rails	‘Bedwas’ Grey	624	Pristine	37-205A

Wagon Loads

If you’re looking to to provide extra realism to your model railway layout, then our Scenecraft range also contains several different kinds of wagon loads. Each pack contains 4 individual loads that can each be placed into our open wagons, and some can also be used as a scenic items on a layout.

Load	Item No.
Coal (x4)	44‑551
Ballast (x4)	44‑552
Wood (x4)	44‑0518
Tarpaulin Covered (x4)	44‑545

These wagons are all available from retailers now, so head to the Bachmann Europe website where you can find more information. Once you’ve selected your models, get in touch with your nearest retailer to order yours!