- Gwendraeth Anthracite Collieries -

SRMG’s 2023 private owner wagon commission

UPDATE!

AS OF THE 18TH. MARCH, THE OO COMMISSION HAS NOW COMPLETELY SOLD OUT.

SOME O AND N GAUGE MODELS REMAIN IN STOCK [BUT HURRY!].

After a short delay we have at last received the artwork for our 2023 private owner wagon commission, the 9th. wagon that we have now produced. The illustration below [from a works photograph] shows the wagon in the striking early colours of the Gwendraeth Anthracite Collieries Ltd. It’s artwork only at this stage, but it has been signed off for production and we have been advised that the strapping will be painted in a slightly darker shade of red than that shown below. It’s a fair bet that the livery would not have remained so bright after months in use! The wagon was constructed by Hurst, Nelson of Motherwell, making a change from the usual Gloucester Carriage and Wagon Works or Chas Roberts. Hurst, Nelson also constructed other wagons for Gwendraeth, although in a more normal livery of black with white lettering.

Gwendraeth Anthracite Collieries could, one way or another, trace its history back to 1860 and had offices in Cambrian Place, Swansea. It had two collieries – Gwendraeth and Plasbach – both very near Pontyates and, in the mid-1920’s, combined with a number of other small companies to become part of Amalgamated Anthracite Collieries Ltd.

Whilst little evidence remains of either colliery now, Plasbach colliery had a well-developed internal railway system with transfer sidings close to Pontyates station on the late Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley Railway section of the GWR. The coal trucks in the photograph above will almost certainly be Gwendraeth ones, although their branding cannot be confirmed in such a low resolution image [it may have been from a post card originally]. Gwendraeth colliery, connected to Plasbach both by a surface tramway and tunnels underground, was also the site of a considerable  tragedy in May 1852, when water burst through into the workings during a night shift: there was only one survivor from the shift, with 26 men and boys being drowned. It took a year-and-a-half to recover all of the bodies. Both collieries closed in the mid-1920s.

 Once again, we have produced this wagon in all three gauges and the prices are as follows:

N gauge - £16,

OO gauge - £18 and

O gauge - £50.

Postage, for those who will not be able to collect in person, will be £5 for up to 4 N or OO gauge wagons and £7 per single O gauge wagon [postage costs for UK delivery only, for overseas please contact Noel Blows].

 Photographs of the actual wagons will be posted once we have received them. The commission should be with us for distribution during March and orders are now being taken. Interested parties should contact Noel Blows via noelblows@btinternet.com or telephone him at 07775 895054.

STOP PRESS !!! As of the 18th. January, 170 of these new wagons have been accounted for - that’s almost half of the total order across all three gauges.

Footnote:

Our first ever Dapol commission – Harry D Evans and Rogers – had an association with Amalgamated Anthracite Collieries Ltd also, the firm having the sole agency for the not too distant Pontyclerc colliery until it was purchased by AAC [but only for its storage sidings].

This edition sold out quickly although, very occasionally, examples appear in our stocksales.