Revolution Trains is offering the ubiquitous Cargowaggon twin ferry van as its next RTR model in British N-gauge 1:148 scale.
100 twin sets were built by Duewag of Germany for Cargowaggon in 1986, and the vast majority remain in service.
Coded IZA under TOPS, under the continental UIC system they were initially designated Habbfis, though this was later changed to Hfirrs 3. Their success led to further builds of 50 pairs each in 1989 and 1991.
When introduced they were used on the Dover-Calais train ferries and they are certified for Channel Tunnel use. The primary traffic for these wagons from the continent is mineral water, however they are or have been used to transport a wide variety of goods within Britain including bagged clay, newsprint, whisky, beer, cider, pet-food and metal.
They have been recorded across the network, from Cornwall to the north of Scotland, from Kent to South Wales, from East Anglia to the Midlands and North West, and to the south of France, the Netherlands and Germany.
They can be seen both in block trains, or in smaller cuts in Enterprise (formerly Connectrail) wagonload trains, as well as MOD services.
They were built in permanently coupled pairs to take advantage of European grants available at the time aimed at encouraging the use of wagons with 4 axles. The brake gear is such that the they cannot operate separately; if one derails then the pair must be taken out of service.
When introduced, the majority carried Cargowaggon branding, though a small number of sets carried the Perrier logo as they were used on mineral water traffic from central and southern France to Britain.
We will be offering both liveries, along with the slightly revised Cargowaggon livery brought in later, when the wagons were given modified lettering and the ferry hooks and axleboxes were painted yellow.
We are working with Touax, the present owners of these wagons, to ensure our model is as accurate as possible and we would like to thank them for all their assistance in drawings and site visits.
Our model will feature expected levels of fidelity and detail, with injection-moulded plastic bodies, separately fitted detail parts and handrails, kinematic NEM couplers on the outer ends and a inner coupler ensuring the wagons are a scale distance apart.
We are also offering one pack with a factory fitted, battery powered flashing tail lamp at one end, for additional authenticity and realism.
The models are priced at £36 for each twin, £108 for a triple pack with different numbers and £40 for the twin fitted with a flashing tail lamp.
Once we have enough pre-orders we will authorise tooling to begin and, as ever, we will only produce enough models to satisfy pre-orders.