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Dapol A010

Cattle Wagon Unpainted

Manufacturer catalogue image - please note that pre-release images may be CAD renders or CGI/AI images rather than photographs

Prototype Era
Era 7 (1972 to 1982) British Rail Blue (TOPS)

Manufacturer description

Cattle wagons were the first of the specialised wagons to be produced and reference to their manufacture and use has been established as far back as 1848. Cattle wagons were made in large numbers by all four of the pre-nationalisation rail companies and were a very common sight on rail systems until their use was eclipsed by road freight vehicles.

Once road freight was established as the prime method of transporting livestock many of these cattle wagons were either destroyed as unusable for anything else, or the more lightly soiled examples were converted quite commonly into ale vans for the transport of beer. The Dapol model is based on a GWR design, of which over 1300 were built and only a few survive into preservation.

Catalogue listing

Model details

The Dapol Cattle Wagon (part number A010) is an OO gauge model presented in an unpainted livery. It measures 88 mm in length, 33 mm in width and 49 mm in height, with a pristine finish and a minimum curve radius of 1. The model represents the British Rail Blue (TOPS) period.

Cattle wagons were first produced in the mid‑19th century, with records of their use dating back to 1848. All four pre‑nationalisation railway companies built them in large numbers, and they remained a common sight on the rail network until road freight largely supplanted them.

When road transport became the dominant method for moving livestock, many cattle wagons were scrapped, while some lightly soiled examples were often converted into ale vans for beer transport. This Dapol model is based on a Great Western Railway design; over 1300 of these were built historically, and only a few have survived into preservation.