6 February 2012
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Spring 2012 plans
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Beer Container on GNR fitted conflat now available
The production container is on the right!
Two fit neatly on my conflat No.711. These containers (I think I am right in saying that they almost always appeared two to a flat) were a common sight on the Dublin to Belfast main line in the late 1950s and 1960s, hauled by GNR steam, or later CIE diesel locos.
Price: £24 €28.75
GNR(I) Cattle wagon as a KIT! Available now
Want lots of my cattle wagons, and enjoy building kits? Here's the answer - the wagon as a kit, includes, wheels, couplings and transfers.
Price £18 post paid
Coming March -
Scale SLNCR Cattle wagon
Other plans include a scale 9 ton GNR(I) covered van (there were over 600 of these, rebuilt in the 1940s and 1950s from older 7 ton vans). These should be available for sale, or at least to order, at the Bangor Show in April.
Later in the year, I hope to complete my collection of bakery containers with the Derry bakeries.
Old news - but a useful reminder, now being widely used -
I have now got my Euro Account at the Ulster Bank in Monagahan up and running. See "ordering from us" for full details - no more Paypal surcharges!
Who are we?
Now, for new viewers, the original introduction from
2008, so you know just what Provincial Wagons is about! Since then, I have produced and sold over 2,000 wagons, which are running on layouts as far apart as Ireland, Norway, Canada and New Zealand.
My name is Leslie McAllister and I hope over time to be worthy of my chosen trading name Provincial Wagons, by producing replicas of wagons from the railways of all four of Ireland’s provinces. Our first wagons were be from Leinster and Ulster, the provinces through which the Great Northern Railway of Ireland ran.
While there are a number of model Irish locomotives available, there is very little for them to pull! To date, a number of people have approached the problem with wagon and coach kits. There are also a number of ready-to-run passenger vehicles. Not everyone has the skill to build a whitemetal or brass kit, so Provincial Wagons has looked at other ways to produce model wagons to pull behind the locomotives which many of us have collected over the years.
A chance meeting with Martin Dean, late proprietor of Wessex Wagons, who just happens to be an enthusiast for the railways of the Emerald Isle, encouraged me to produce some Irish outline wagons using the “specially commissioned wagon” route.
Another name must be mentioned - David White. He had been looking at the possibility of commissioning exact scale models of Irish wagons, but discovered that the set-up costs were pretty prohibitive, so that must wait! He has been instrumental in encouraging me to get started on this venture and continues to give enthusiastic advice and input.
We realise that simply painting British wagons in Irish colours is not good enough for many modellers, but we hope that our wagons will allow others to make a start in Irish modelling, rather than not start at all because it’s all a bit too hard! The Provincial Wagons range of Irish Goods wagons will now allow you to make that start into Irish railway modeling more easily.
Provincial Wagons has been created because of my interest in Irish Railways. This grew from railway modelling activities in my ‘teens. When a railway society was formed at my school, I joined to gain an insight into “the real thing”. My interest in railways blossomed from there and my travels in search of working steam have taken me to about 25 countries. (I have detailed logs to prove it!). I have served twenty years on the RPSI’s council and am currently the publications officer for the Irish Railway Record Society in London. Although my greatest love is the steam engine, I am first and foremost a railway enthusiast, so my model collection includes a very large number of diesels and electrics (and steam, of course!) from countries for which I have a particular affection. My first Irish models were two railcar sets in Great Northern colours. The steam engines, built from Terry McDermott’s excellent kits followed. Now, I want wagons to pull behind them and while there are kits of some wagons, the time to get them built and the cost encouraged me to look at other ways to populate my trains!
Provincial Wagons has commissioned Dapol to create some Irish wagons, which will be sold as certificated limited editions with around a hundred of each wagon being offered. The wagons will have to be "OO" gauge, because they are based on existing British "OO" scale models. All of the wagons are the subject of much research to get the livery and lettering as close to the real Irish Railways thing as is reasonably possible. Each wagon will include some description of building dates (where known), purpose and if possible, its fate! Other wagons are in the pipeline. Watch this site for news or register your interest by sending your e-mail address to us at news@provincialwagons.com.