Highland Railway, LMS & BR

The Highland Railway had an extensive traffic in timber and timber products. To service this traffic they developed twin wagons in large numbers. This model is based on the Diagram 36 wagon, built in Inverness and introduced at the turn of the last century. Numerous variations to the basic design were introduced over the life of the vehicles. These include drop doors at one end, methods of fixing sheeting at ends, changes to brake gear and replacement of the removable bolsters with a removable swiveling bolster. As was the pattern with other railway companies the Highland Railway did not retrofit vehicles unless required to do so after accidents, repairs and rebuilds. As a consequence many vehicles survived well into British Rail days with the original 3 bolt buffers and 'Scotch' brakes on both sides of the vehicle. Twin wagons were used for a wide variety of traffic, not just timber. Although by definition they tend to run in pairs, if the length of the load demanded they could be run in rakes of 3, 4 or 5 vehicles, with the centre vehicles having their bolster removed. When transporting cut timber or other relatively short loads either the bolster or side stanchions would be used. These vehicles would also be used to transport road vehicles or other vehicles where a flat base was required. When the bolster was removed it would be stored diagonally on the vehicle bed.

This vehicle was long lived and many survived to BR ownership, many having a working life in excess of 50 years. They would have been a common sight through out Scotland and occasionally further south, although it is doubtful they would have roamed as far south as the home counties.

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this wagon click Wizard Models.

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Our model has separate sides/solebars with springs attached, ends and floor in white metal. Grease axle boxes, white metal buffers including steel heads along with single shoe brakegear is supplied. A comprehensive instruction sheet is provided with detailed lettering and painting information. The model is supplied either as a single or a pair of vehicles, and may be built with fixed or snivelling removable bolsters. A review may be found here.

Please refer to the assembly instructions for further details. Paint, wheels and transfers are available from our sister company Wizard Models. To download the current assembly instructions:-

• Pair (to build 2 or more wagons): Current Version 1.00 released March/April 2001, 2 Sides A4 (79Kb Acrobat 3.01 file).
  

To read the instructions you will need Adobe Acrobat reader (v3.01 or better). Click 'Get Acrobat Reader' to get a copy of Acrobat Reader: Note this may involve a long download of between 0.5 Mb & 8 Mb depending on the selected version.

Items required to complete the model:-

• Wheels: 12mm diameter open spoke wheels.
• Paint - we recommend Precision Paint or in some cases Humbrol Acrylic: see Highland wagon liveries for product numbers.
• Three link couplings.
• Transfers - we recommend HMRS see Highland wagon liveries for product numbers.

To

this wagon click Wizard Models.

Information on Highland Railway rolling stock components may be found here.

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Carriages and Wagons of the Highland Railway, Hunter
Highland Railway Society, Research Index
Highland Railway Society Wagon Reference Index

A list of railway book sellers may be found here.

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