With the Large Prairie's release rapidly approaching it's time to take a look at the accompanying rolling stock.
First up is the GWR 20T "Toad" Diagram AA13/15 brake van in GWR grey and BR Bauxite. This van is compatible with the "Active Guard" system that was also included with the
4200/5205/7200 DLC and allows you to use the second "deep tone" whistle of the locomotive to alert the guard to apply and release the brake van handbrake. This can be used to slow the train on a steep decent or to bring it to a halt whilst keeping the wagon couplings tight. Note that the AI will also use this system and can be heard to whistle for the brakes to be applied and released at the start and end of steep gradients.
Up next is a British Railways wagon: Gunpowder Van, Diagram. 1/260. These were used to carry military and commercial explosives up until the 1970's when they were replaced by generic air braked vans. In the latter days of BR in some areas, Llantrisant for example, the sole freight being carried by the railways were mining explosives.
Built in Swindon from 1947, the 20 ton P22 "Herring" Hopper was used to carry the millions of tons of ballast required by the railway network. Textured in a typical worn BR style and available loaded or empty these wagons were vacuum fitted and could run at speed.
Next is an old faithful, the GWR 8 ton Cattle Wagon as seen in BR days. With a majority of livestock traffic moving from the railways to the roads these old wagons were used for any kind of bulk traffic that did not require a specific van. They were invariably worn out and uncared for.
Some of them found very specific uses and this next van is one of those cases. Converted with a flat roof and access hatch and under the control of the civil engineering department a number of cattle wagons became tunnel inspection vans and were used to check the state of the ceiling by climbing up onto the roof as the department train was pulled slowly through the tunnel.
An ex-GWR Iron Mink (Diagram v6) is next, repainted in bauxite under BR but left to fall into disrepair. Carrying goods that required a watertight container (wooden vans being unable to guarantee this) they also found themselves in yards being used as static sand containers in their later lives.
Another ex-GWR van, our old friend the 12 ton Mogo van. Originally used for carrying brand new motor cars from their factories these become all purpose vans under BR when road vehicles were almost exclusively carried by road and had become too large to fit in these vans.
Finally we have the 3 lives of the GWR 6 ton Fruit "A" van. Built from the early years of the 20th Century these were used to carry fruit produce all over the country.
From left to right: as new in GWR livery, worn and neglected in the late 1940's/early 1950's, and then re-born in BR bauxite livery.
The GWR Large Prairies DLC will come with all of this rolling stock, as well as the 5100, 5101, 6100 and 8100 classes in GWR Green and BR Black (Clean and Worn) and will be available on Steam very soon.
