Private Owner Vans & Tank Wagons

Chemicals giant Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was formed by the merger of several chemical industry companies producing a wide variety of products, may of which were used in the production of further chemical products by other parts of the groups.
In addition to it's familiar use in domestic cooking Salt (Sodium Chloride) is used as a feedstock for a number of chemical production processes, but being soluble in water needs to be well protected from the weather while being transported. These covered salt vans were based on the standard coal wagon designs with a simple ridge roof added, providing much better rain protection than a simple tarpaulin sheet and due to their specialist use many remained in service until replaced wagons to modern design in the 1960s.

Wm. Butlers' tar tanker is a well-known wagon, its' photograph is frequently used to illustrate the rectangular tank wagon design.
These tank wagons were used to collect coal tar, a by-product of coal gas production, for refining to extract more useful petro-chemicals. Butlers' tar wagons would have travelled widely to collect raw materials from gas companies, particularly around the south-west and west midlands, supplying the companys' plants at Bristol and Gloucester.

The company originates in the GWR broad gauge era, Mr Butler being appointed by Mr Brunel to run the timber treatment plant in Bristol. Later forming his own company Butlers are still operating today as suppliers of industrial oil products like heating oil.

Era 8 1982-1994

Representing the last years of rail milk tank operation this model carries the blue tank and milk lettering applied by the Milk Marketing Board in the 1970's.

The last regular milk trains ran from Devon and Cornwall to London. These fast and important trains were often entrusted to the powerful Western class diesel hydraulics until that class was replaced by class 47 and 50 locomotives in the mid-70's.

Nice model of a 6-wheel milk tank wagon with a red-brown painted tank owned by Independent Milk Supplies. These 6-wheeled tank wagons were designed to run at express train speeds, ensuring that the fresh milk was conveyed swiftly to Britains major cities. Often a daily round trip was operated from country dairy to London and back. These wagons are ideal tail traffic for your branch and local passenger trains, providing extra shunting for your trains to perform.

6-wheel milk tank wagon with the tank painted in the CWS' green livery.

United Dairies tank carried on a chassis owned by the Southern Railway. This model is an excellent companion to Hornby's M7 class tank engines, which would have hauled these wagons to loading dairies in the countryside of southern England.

Painted in the red livery of the Co-operative Wholesale Society and lettered 'Pure New Milk' for the Royal Arsenal Co-operative society at Woolwich.

Rectangular tank wagon in the slate grey colours of Clare & Co., a Liverpool based chemicals company.

This wagon is fitted with metal wheels and NEM coupler pockets.