Rapido Trains UK has announced two new ranges of OO Gauge wagons – South Eastern Railway (SER)/ South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR) 10-ton open wagons and SER /SECR 20-ton six-wheel brake vans.

10-ton open wagons

South Eastern Railway (SER)/ South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR) 10-ton open wagons would be ideal when forming a train coupled to SECR O1 Class locomotives, with variants having full round, low-D and flat ends, and with SER, SECR, and Southern Railway (SR) liveries. The Low D versions will be supplied with parts to depict the wagons with Williams Pattern sheet rail in either operational or stowed positions.

The range of wagons will cost £33.95, and include three in SER red, six in SE&CR Wainwright light grey, six in SECR Maunsell Dark Grey, six in SR pre-1936 brown, and three in SR post-1936 brown.

The history of SER/SECR five-plank 10-ton open wagons goes back to the final decade of the 19th century, when the South Eastern Railway was experiencing a dramatic increase in freight traffic. To ensure services weren’t interrupted, the South Eastern Railway implemented a programme of hiring wagons, until it placed orders for 2,000 wagons to be constructed at the company’s Ashford Works and from independent builders.

20-ton six-wheel brake van

This model is based on brake vans built in 1898 that were similar to Midland Railway brake vans. An initial order of 40 was built, then in 1910, after the amalgamation of the South Eastern Railway and the London Chatham and Dover Railway into the South Eastern and Chatham Railway, another 50 were built that had enclosed verandas at both ends.

Between 1914 and 1920, the single veranda versions were converted into dual-ended examples. All 90 passed into Southern Railway ownership, and 86 survived into BR days, but only one has been preserved.

The new models will cost £39.95, and include both single and dual-veranda versions, and will be available in liveries covering service with SER, SECR, SR, BR, and in preservation. Plain grey and brown liveries will also be available for modellers who wish to create bespoke versions.

Other models recently released by Rapido include Great Western Railway (GWR) lined crimson lake carriages, and GWR ‘Small Prairie’ 45xx Class 2-6-2 tank engines.