Clark Railworks have today announced their first foray into Great Western Railway modelling - the GWR's striking long-wheelbase 'Mink G' Goods Vans in OO Gauge!

There are a total of eight variations included in the range representing their full history from the 1930s, through BR and departmental usage and into present-day preservation condition.

Constructed in one batch, Mink Gs were a pretty uniform bunch, with few technical variations other than a transition from spoke to disc wheels. That makes Clark Railworks' job easy in one sense – but rest assured, their Minks will feature all the things you’ve come to love from the Clark Railworks bloodline - see more details below!

Mink Gs had self-contained buffers (where the shock-absorbing mechanism is completely within the buffer housing) with large heads so that they could be shunted around tight curves down to two chains in radius without buffer locking. This translates to around 21 inches in 4mm scale, which is roughly Radius 3. So your Minks won’t be out of place on those layout curves – and if you want to go even tighter, the models will smoothly negotiate 2nd radius trackwork.

Decorated samples are expected during November, with delivery of the final models set to follow along in Early 2027. They’re versatile companions for your express goods engines, with all of Clark Railworks' trademark ‘extra mile’ specs –so bag yourself a Mink today, and bring a touch of Western Region class to your freight operations.

The GWR’s huge fleet of dinky 4-wheel vans was useful for pick-up goods and smallconsignments bound for the furthest tendrils of the network. But as the 1930s dawned,the railway increasingly needed to transport heavier, time-sensitive loads between itsmain hubs.

100 ‘Mink G’ vans were built at Swindon during 1930/31 and at 30ft long with a capacityof 20 tons were the largest 4-wheel goods vans ever constructed*. Mink Gs could carryalmost twice the cargo of a standard box van and because they were vacuum-brakedcould do it at speed in the formations of express goods trains.

The vans’ roofs and bodysides were made from planked wood, with the former toppedoff by a lead-painted canvas sheet for waterproofing. Painted from the outset in theGWR’s dark grey freight stock livery, they turned bauxite from 1948, in line with theconvention for British Railways vacuum-braked vans. The Mink Gs were withdrawn fromthe front line during the 1960s; some then took on Departmental duties, and five havebeen preserved.

Though we’d love there to be a story about some weasel-loving GWR director, themundane truth behind the name is that it was simply a convenient telegraphic codeused by the railway. The GWR gave all its freight vehicles code names so that whentransmitting messages along the line by telegraph about the make-up of trains, theconsist would be easily recognisable to signallers, shunters and stationmasters. Theywere also used to request certain vehicle types in a formation, according to what wasneeded. About the only thing Mink Gs had in common with their animal-worldnamesakes was the fact that they were primarily nocturnal!