Oxford Rail's latest batch of 'Pilchard' wagons have almost sold out again with us. These wagons offer modellers the chance to add one of BR’s more unusual and hard-worked departmental designs to their layouts.

More stock imminent - pre-order yours today!

Only fifty 'Pilchards' were built, constructed by Butterley Engineering between May 1950 and May 1951 to Diagram 1/571 and Lot 2121. Numbered DB990050–DB990099, they later carried TOPS code YCO-A and design code YC500A.

OR76PIL004B Oxford Rail OO Gauge 'Pilchard' Wagon BR Unpainted Wood DB990073 - £21.19. Add to basket.

The 'Pilchard' was a distinctive 20T bogie ballast and sleeper wagon, equipped with three drop-side doors per side and mounted on small 2ft 6in diamond-frame bogies. In appearance and purpose it was effectively a compact counterpart to the larger 'Sturgeon' wagons, sharing the same role of moving heavy track components, particularly the longer timbers and point linkage needed for junction renewals. Allocated mostly to the Eastern and North Eastern Regions, 'Pilchards' were unfitted and therefore always ran with a brake van, usually forming part of mixed engineer’s formations rather than block rakes.

Through the 1950s, 60s and 70s these wagons were a regular part of BR’s permanent way operations, appearing alongside 'Grampus', 'Dolphin', 'Salmon' and 'Sturgeon' types in trains assembled according to the specific requirements of planned engineering work. By the early 1980s unfitted departmental stock had largely fallen out of use, and the 'Pilchards' were gradually withdrawn, with examples such as DB990053 recorded as condemned by 1980.

OR76PIL004A Oxford Rail OO Gauge 'Pilchard' Wagon BR Unpainted Wood DB990090 - £21.19. Add to basket.

Oxford Rail’s models capture the character of these compact but essential wagons with authentic liveries and detailing, including the patch-paint finishes typical of hardworking departmental stock. With just a few of the final variants left, they offer an ideal opportunity to bring more interesting departmental rolling stock to collections.

Browse the last handful, here. More stock imminent - pre-order yours today!