The BR HAA merry-go-round hopper is an icon of the freight scene as much as the HST is for passenger trains. MIKE WILD inspects the first of Accurascale’s all-new ‘OO’ gauge models of these longlived coal wagons.
Above: The HAAs are superbly detailed and each pack comes with optional accessories to populate the buffer beams.
COAL WAS THE commodity which built the foundations of the railway. Looking back all the way to the humble beginning of plateways and early railways, the new mode of transport was primarily used in the transport of goods with coal being one of the staples across the country.
Accurascale has been building a portfolio of ‘Powering Britain’ wagons since its launch in 2018 with its first being the 24.5ton HUO hopper followed more recently by the steam era 21ton mineral wagon and the modern day HYA bogie hoppers. However, it isn’t stopping there as it will soon be releasing the Chaldron four-wheel hoppers from the 1830s while on our review desk now is perhaps the best known of all coal wagons – the BR-introduced HAA merry-go-round hopper.
These wagons were one of the high points of Dr Beeching’s reshaping of the British railway network. He is best known for line and station closures, but he also brought in better…
