Rapido Trains' newly tooled range of Caledonian Railway Diagram 67 Goods Vans have now arrived in stock!

Based on the Diagram 67 vehicles, Rapido has filled a gap in the market for early Scottish railway modelling - with this van, which is the first ever item of ready-to-run Caledonian Railway rolling stock.

A whopping range of 22 different models have been produced in all sorts of liveries - including usage by the Caledonian Railway, LMS and British Railways. Models are also available showcasing these vehicles in their later lives as industrial, mining and dockyard vans.

Spanning Scotland from east to west, the Caledonian Railway owned lines from Aberdeen to Annan, including some of the most scenic railway vistas in the UK. This widespread railway not only served the majority of Scotland's major cities but also a huge amount of industry and commerce throughout its 76-year history. Routes to the most highly populated areas of the country were the largest source of traffic. The company's goal of providing competitive cross-border services and excursion trains to the coast grew that traffic enormously.

Along with the towns and cities, access to the numerous ports that were dotted along the Firths of the Clyde and Forth meant there was a steady stream of laden freight wagons moving into and out of the area. As the turn of the century approached, a need arose for suitable stock to transport explosives safely.

In 1903, the first Diagram 67 van rolled off the production line. R.Y. Pickering constructed 150, Motherwell Wagon & Rolling Stock Co. 25 and Renshaw another 25. This initial batch was the first of many and by the time a further batch had been ordered in 1907 the initial design had been revised to replace the roof door with end ventilators. Shortly after the outbreak of WW1, the Traffic Committee authorised the conversion of several Dia.67 vans to carry cordite paste, a key component in the creation of artillery shells. 

They must have proven successful as two more batches of 150 vans were ordered in 1917. By 1918, over 1300 examples of the vans had been constructed. Continuing through the grouping era and into nationalisation the Dia.67 travelled far and wide across the UK, finding themselves much further afield than their native land. 

Several even ended up in the hands of some rather interesting private companies including Britain's most famous confectioner, Cadbury. Numerous Dia.67 Vans have survived into preservation, including the Scottish Railway Preservation Society's two examples at Bo'ness.