Canadian RRP: $49.99   UK RRP: £32.95

Common features:

• Injection moulded construction with metal detailing parts
• High level of detail above and below the floor line
• Split-spoked wheels running in metal bearings
• NEM coupler pockets
• 1/76 scale (OO gauge)

The South Eastern & Chatham Railway (SECR) seven-plank wagon (Southern Railway Diagram. 1355) and the SECR's five-plank cousins (SR Diagram 1347 and 1349) is Rapido Trains UK's first open wagon OO gauge model.

The D1355 was the SECR's most numerous wagon with over 2,000 built between 1915 and 1927. Large numbers survived into British Railways service. During this time, the only design change was the addition of a sheet rail to the SR built wagons at the time of construction. This all-new model will feature a separately fitted sheet rail to allow both SECR and SR built examples to be modelled.

The five-plank wagons used the same underframe but were technically classified as 'rebuilds' though only wheels and buffers were re-used. Some 550 D1347 were built, along with 150 near-identical D1349. The D1349 wagons featured self-contained buffers which Rapido will produce as separately fitted parts to allow both the D1347 and D1349 wagons to be produced.

Due to their relatively modern design both wagon types survived into British Railways service finding their way across large parts of the railway network. The five-planks had gone by the mid-1960s while the seven-planks were not withdrawn until the 1970s. Both types were sold for further use, most notably with Port of Bristol Authority.

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