Hornby R60309 RailRoad: MGR Hopper Canopy Wagon (ERA 9) (OO Gauge)

The hopper wagon is decorated in the style of Railfreight’s coal sector. The hopper body is made of unpainted metal and has a black underframe, which was standard across the eras, and it has the yellow framework that BR Railfreight introduced in 1987. The wagon is numbered 358764. 

When originally designed in 1964, some hopper wagons intended for Merry-go-Round (MGR) trains were given an extension to their tops, known as a canopy or top skirt, which allowed their carrying capacity to be increased to 32 tonnes, using the full 45 tonnes gross laden weight allowed for a two-axle wagon. There were three basic types ‘HBA’, ‘HCA’ and ‘HFA’. However, those hoppers fitted with canopies were too high to be used under the majority of colliery screens and they were confined mainly to Scotland until the canopies were eventually removed.