Another "mass-produced" wagon is a private owner coal wagon - No.58 of the once large fleet owned by Belfast coal merchant John Milligen and Co.
Like the prototype, numbered in a distinctive diamond on the end -
Irish
Private Owner wagons were few and far between, but Charles Friel turned
up a couple of photos of these wagons taken on GN territory, one
half-hidden behind a loco! No.58 was one of those in the photos.
We
are all indebted to him and the photographer, as they provided the
evidence on which the wagon is based. It simply had to be modelled, even
if out of most of our periods! I don't
know when the wagons ceased to be used, but it could have been as early
as World War II. Des Coakham remembers seeing some of them at Belfast
York Road about then. He remembers them as being red, so the model is in
Carmine Red. A dab of that colour will give you the equally valid
numbers 5 or 8!
I
hope that you agree that they will make a colourful addition to an
Irish goods train. Also the higher profile of a five plank wagon breaks
up the monotony of a string of four planks!
Limited edition of 130 wagons.
Recommended Retail Price: £17.25 €20.00
which includes postage.
East Downshire Steamship Co.
10 Ton Open Coal Wagon - No.2
Photograph courtesy of Dapol Ltd
This company was based at Dundrum in Co. Down and served by the Belfast & Co. Down Railway (B&CDR). The company had about twenty wagons to distribute coal to their depots at Ballynahinch, Downpatrick, Newcastle and Castlewellan.
When the B&CDR mainline was closed by the Ulster Transport Authority in 1950, they were left on the wharf at Dundrum until they were sold to another coal merchant, Lockingtons of Dundalk, for use on the quayside there. They were rescued from Dundrum on 3 September 1952 by a GNR(I) 4-4-0 No. 25, which extracted them via Newcastle and thence by the GNR line across the border.
Most of the company’s wagons were three plank and a number survived until at least 1963 when several, including No.14 (a sole surviving four plank), were found in Lockington’s sidings at Dundalk. Apparently, the RPSI considered preserving one of the wagons, but it proved impossible to extricate it!
Our model of No.14 proved popular, so a second run, with a different number has now been produced. No record has come to light of what kind of wagon No.2 was. We have reproduced her as a four plank wagon, with the ironwork picked out in black, as she may have been when brand new, a century ago!
Limited Edition of 143 wagons
STOCK: 20 left
RRP including postage £10.50 €12.00