Model Chaldron Waggons now available for purchase…
In October 2021 we were delighted to reveal that one of the model railway manufacturers was producing a range of chaldron waggons in 4mm scale to run on 00 model railways. Accurascale had used our surveys, drawings and surviving chaldron waggons to include the Londonderry chaldron within a range of models that would include other north east chaldron designs, as well as the NER P1 diagram waggons.
A parcel arrived this week containing two packs of waggons (they are sold in boxed sets of three), including NER P1 types and, appropriately, the Londonderry design. Firstly, here is the post that included the announcement and background history to the waggons and project:
Below: It seemed appropriate to take these models to the Colliery to pose them alongside the prototypes, starting with the three Londonderry models.
Below: The waggons are plastic bodied with die-cast chassis. The variation between models is impressive – compare the spokes on the wheels of the waggon below (the repaired style) with the one in the middle in the photo above (which has the forged spokes and cast centre boss pattern of wheels). The moulded bodies are superbly detailed, with variance between types accurately represented. The printed lettering is also spot-on; always a distinctive feature of the Londonderry waggons.
Below: These are the NER P1 type – notice the further detail variations and different body mouldings used for these.
Below: This is a huge enlargement of one of the Londonderry waggons… Note the accurate multi-link chain coupling (not a three-link), with magnetic ends to attract the opposing couplings automatically.
Below: Whilst this photo gives a better impression of how tiny these really impressive models really are!
If you are looking for more information on this range and where to purchase them, more information can be found on Accurascale’s website via the ‘Chaldron’ link below (note – we don’t have them in stock here at Beamish):
the new chaldron waggons look great but i think it is a bad move not having them on sale at beamish i think a lot of sales in the shop are impulse sales and you may miss out.not everyone will go on the transport blog and wont know about them.
are there any ready to run model locos ie steam elephant,puffin billy,locomotion no1,etc not the same putting the chaldron behind a pug or a jinty etc.
These caldron wagons look really good.
I have so far held off ordering any as I have been unable to find out about the choice of spokes in the wheels.
I would like a variety of different spokes – split spokes, star spokes, forked spokes and waved spokes but there doesn’t seem to be any consistency in the pictures I have seen. Can anyone please enlighten me ?
I agree with another writer that Beamish seem to have missed an opportunity to sell them.
Good luck with your projects. Cheers. Richard Capstick.
Hi Richard
With regard to the spokes – earlier chaldrons tended to have the curved spokes (so shaped to allow for contraction when the cast metal was cooling and usually featuring an integral boss/hub and spoke plus tyre assemly), though by the time the Londonderry Railway were building them, they were using the split spoke – a series of forged ‘U’ shapes, narrower at the end with the gap and then arranged in a circle into which the centre boss was cast. They were then tyred, and fitted onto axles. The Londonderry waggons started life with these, then as the spokes deteriorated, over years, they were often repaired by cutting out the forged spoke and welding in straight plate – creating the star spokes (which look like a series of triangles). Therefore the Londonderry ones tend to have split and star, whilst the earlier waggons, the curved spokes. Over time they were all mixed up too – so you see waggons running with different types, between the two axles. So almost anything goes in terms of these. The split spoke design was perpetuated on RCH style outside journal wheelsets (coal waggons etc.) and these were later modified to fit chaldrons too – by removing the external journal (that would have run in the axlebox) and machining an inside journal behind the wheel itself – to allow it to sit in a pedestal bearing. We also have some of these on the Londonderry waggons at Beamish – you can tell teh differnece as they have a circular axle stub and no foundry letters cast around the boss.
Best wishes, Paul
Richard,
Only the Stella set has curly spoke wheels on two out of three chaldrons. The Londonderry and Seaham sets have a mix of split and star. Whilst the remaining sets are all split spoke. Go to the web site to see more clearly
https://www.accurascale.com/collections/chaldron