OO Gauge Hornby R60014 L&MR, Flat Bed Wagon Pack – Era 1 (For Rocket)

OO GaugeHornbyR60014 L&MR, Flat Bed Wagon Pack – Era 1 (For Rocket) Brand new item direct from our new Yorkshire shop. General goods vehicles, or ‘Merchandise Waggons’ of thelater Stephenson period were simple four-wheeled platform vehicles with sprung3’ diameter wheels and were typically around 14’ in length, ‘with a superficialsurface of platform area of seventy-five square feet’ able to carry ‘aconsiderable quantity of light goods’ of ‘about four tons weight.’ By 1841dumb-buffers and coupling chains were fitted and as the decade progressed, thelength of the wagons shortened and the width increased, creating a greater loadarea.The fitment of loose sides of around 2’ in height allowedfor the carriage of coal and loads were protected by canvas tarpaulins paintedwith the company initials to prevent their theft, with each waggon having itsnumber, weight and gauge clearly marked in white paint on a black background.As travel time by railway was superior to that of road travel by coach, coachcompanies sought new ways to compete, leading to mail coaches and stagecoachesbeing loaded onto the ‘open carriage waggons’ for onward travel to places suchas Liverpool or Manchester. These connecting, or ‘branch coaches’ were tobecome the antecedent for the Branch Line railways of the future.