Pick up freights were once a common sight on our railways, picking up and dropping off wagons and goods at most stations along even the sleepiest of branch lines. The goods delivered were unique to a towns requirements and could be anything from daily essentials to a bespoke piece of machinery destined for the local mill or farm. Readymade wagon loads are a good quick and easy way to add realism to your wagons or goods yards and feature a variety of goods including coal sacks, milk churns and drums to name a few, but, another less considered feature of drop off freights is tarpaulin-covered loads.

Tarpaulins were commonly placed over the loads to protect them from the elements and to keep smaller loads in situ whilst the train was in motion. Tarpaulins were an expensive necessity for the railways and as such had the company's name and identification marks painted on them. In model form, tarpaulins are readily available from several manufacturers but some older versions can appear a little pristine and papery. Modern alternatives such as Peco's range of 00 gauge tarpaulins are particularly convincing thanks to them being made from a cloth that serves well to replicate the materials once used on the prototype as well as the rapid ageing that real-life tarpaulins suffered due to a hard, working life. They are also nicely detailed with identification markings depicting the companies of the Big Four as well as BR making them a viable and worthwhile consideration for many modellers wanting to enhance the appearance of their pick up freights. 

 

Of course, the bigger the gauge you're modelling in, the more important details become and Peco's 0 gauge version of the wagon tarpaulin is a particularly welcomed edition. Their features are the same as in 00 being made from a cloth material and depicting ownership by the Big Four as well as BR. But what about 0 gauge wagon loads? For 0 gauge wagons without tarpaulins, there's a surprising choice of loads available with ready-to-go and unpainted variations being offered. A quick search will reveal Langley who's renowned for their white-metal models produces a very nice unpainted set of 0 gauge coal sacks, Unit Models can offer us painted oil drums and Peco, a set of unpainted milk churns so it's always worthwhile taking a little time to check what is available.

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