Private Owner Wagons : A Sixteenth Collection

Private Owner Wagons : A Sixteenth Collection

Ian Pope & Keith Turton

128 pages. 275x215mm. Printed on gloss art paper, casebound with printed board covers.

ISBN13: 9781915069221

£25.00

Once again the author’s have joined together to create a volume covering a widely diverse selection of Private Owner Wagons. Coverage is across England and Wales and from beer to salt via coal. Each wagon operator is written up as fully as possible and illustrated with all known views of their wagons. The businesses range from the highly successful to the very short-lived, from large companies to the ‘one man band’. Once again the volume gives an insight into the period when ‘king coal’ reigned. It was collieries, coal merchants and coal factors that made up the largest section of wagon owners. It adds yet more detail to the social history of a group of tradespeople, often overlooked, who played a huge part in the fabric of society with many coal merchant’s having a big part to play in local politics and some rising to quite high office as documented in other volumes in this series.

Private Owner Wagons : A Sixteenth Collection - Sample Images

Seven more wagons, numbered 4955 to 4961 were ordered in September 1939 but this time they were rated at 13-tons and were also fitted with bottom doors as witnessed by the ‘monkey tail’ hanging under the wagon. ‘Empty to’ instructions this time are to Bestwood Colliery, Nottinghamshire, on the L&NER with whom the wagon, like the previous batch, is registered. GRC&WCo.

The livery adopted for new wagons is shown by number 8725, built by Charles Roberts and delivered in January 1934 from an order for 100 wagons numbered 8690 to 8789. It is the standard 1923 RCH pattern with 7 planks, side, end and bottom doors, and was painted red with white unshaded letters. Repairs advice at bottom right is to Walkden Yard, LM&SR. Charles Roberts, courtesy late Bill Hudson collection