Time for another addition to our Accurascale Exclusives range; and this time it's the turn of our humble little Chaldron wagons.

The Chaldrons have caused quite the stir and our model was met with a surprise when we first announced them in October. The genesis of our "Powering Britain" range has gone down very well indeed, with over 80% of the production run now sold out.

We were able to sneak one more pack onto the production line, which is now busy assembling our first batch of these distinctive hoppers. Welcome to the NCB internal user pack!

The Prototypes

Our exclusive pack consists of Ex-S.C.C National Coal Board - Three early period Darlington built Chaldrons, as present at Stargate Colliery in the 1950s to the early 1960s.

At Stargate Colliery, the lines from Emma and Greenside Collieries converged, with the Emma branch being worked by a stationary engine based at Stargate, which itself was joined to the ex-NER lines near Heathfield, halfway between Stella and Addison, by a self-acting incline.

The stationary engine at Stargate was replaced in 1948 by locomotive working and this practice continued until 1961, when the whole system closed down, the Chaldrons having been in continuous use since the mid-19th century.

Used to supply coal for the boilers at Stargate and Emma, the Chaldrons were also used as service vehicles, with waste and building materials being transported to and from the collieries, while others were used as runner vehicles on the incline between the two collieries. This enabled wagons to be moved into the headshunt at Emma above the screens, as well as to bring empty wagons up from the bottom of the incline.

As a result of their longevity in service, it was not uncommon to see both NCB and S.C.Co. legends mixed together in rakes of Chaldrons, an incongruous sight among the more modern wagons being used.

The Models

As can be seen from the artwork, we have given these NCB hoppers a distinctive distressed look, with replacement planks in grey primer part of the artwork for these packs to represent the 'patch repairs' the prototypes received working for the NCB. This makes them an excellent basis for weathering.

This pack is due with the rest of the Chaldron production run in Q2 2022 and is only available via Accurascale, made in strictly limited numbers of 300 packs. Order your NCB back by clicking here, or browse the full Chaldron range here!