35t Rectank Wagon BR Grey (Pipe Load) M279133

35t Rectank Wagon BR Grey (Pipe Load) M279133

Model

1:76 Scale model produced by Rapido Trains. This model is ready-to-run and will make a great addition to any model railway collection.

Model Features

• 1:76 Scale Model
• WD 35 Ton Rectank Bogie Flat
• BR Grey Livery No. M279133
• Pipes Load
• Jacks removed
• Chain Boxes removed
• Extra Tie-downs fitted
• Spoke wheels running in pinpoint bearings
• High level of detail above and below the floor line
• High quality livery application
• UK designed
• This model is best suited to 438mm radius curves
• This model is fitted with NEM style couplings

Details

The Rectank wagon was developed during the First World War to transport Britain’s newly introduced tank to the front line. First used in 1916, tanks required efficient movement from factories to ports, prompting the War Department to commission 200 purpose-built 35-ton bogie machinery wagons, officially known as Rectanks, short for Railway Executive Committee Tank Wagon.

Most were constructed by the Midland Railway at Derby, with additional batches from the Great Western Railway and Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. Measuring 34 feet over headstocks, these wagons featured robust frames, diamond bogies and integrated screw jacks to stabilise them during loading. Tanks were carefully driven onto the wagon, turned, and secured with chains for transport.

Rectanks operated widely across Britain’s railway network, often carrying vehicles from factories such as those in Lincoln to ports including Richborough for shipment to France. After the war, they passed into the fleets of major railway companies and later the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, London and North Eastern Railway and the GWR following the 1923 grouping.

Requisitioned again during the Second World War, Rectanks continued their vital role before passing to British Railways in 1948. Withdrawals took place between 1959 and 1962, although a number survived in departmental use. Today, preserved examples remain an important and distinctive subject for model railway enthusiasts recreating wartime and post-war freight operations.