A detailed model of a wagon built by the Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company for The Economic Coal Company of Kidderminster.
Although not a widely known coal company The Economic Coal Company were a firm of coal factors in Kidderminster bought wagons from the Gloucester RC&W co. in 1910 and continued to trade until the company was wound up in 1966.
Coal Factors were companies who purchased coal on contract from collieries, usually undertaking to take an agreed regular tonnage per month and then sold the coal on to local merchants in wagon-loads. This allowed local merchants to offer a range of coals, including types of coal not readily available from local collieries and obtain single loads quickly when they wanted them. Coal factors' wagons often travelled widely to bring in a range of types of coal, The Economic Coal Company wagons might well have made regular journeys to the Forest of Dean, South Wales and Bristol/North Somerset coalfields and might even have been sent beyond the Midlands and Black Country to collect coal from the north of England. The fitting of a small bracket to allow a destination label to be attached after the lettering 'Empty to' suggests the company bought coal from a number of collieries rather than one regular source.
This wagon is supplied with a removable coal load.