Mountsorrel Granite – 7 plank N gauge

Limited edition private owner plank wagon commissioned by Modellbahn Union and made by Dapol in 2015. Limited edition of 100, this being no 13. The Mountsorrel Granite Company Ltd was in operation as early as 1794 at its quarry in Leicestershire. Once the Midland Railway was established in the mid 1800’s the company thrived becoming the largest granite quarry in Europe. Various sidings were laid to service the companies sites at Mountsorrel, Markfield, Whitwick and Coalville. By the early 1900’s some 4,000 tons of granite or the equivalent to 500 coal wagon loads were being produced requiring a significant wagon fleet for transportation. Sadly there is little documentation or records that still exist in regards to the companies wagons but it would be safe to assume (given the output of granite) that in excess of 500 wagons would be needed, a wagon repair document gives details of numbers 401 – 450 being renewed by the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Co in 1917. The company was sold to Redland Stone Ltd in 1966. ERA: 2 and 3. Wagon is in excellent like new condition with all buffers and couplings intact. Box in very good condition.

Historical information from Private Owner Wagons A Fourteenth Collection by Keith Turton (Lightmoor Press)