This list was prepared by Chris Free from data on the LTSV wagons website, HMRS Paul's invaluable photographic archive website, British Railways Wagons by Don Rowland, Modelling British Railways Engineers Wagons by Simon Bendall, Modern Private Owner Wagon on British Rail by David Ratcliffe, BR Air-Braked Wagons also by David Ratcliffe and the GOG Products Directory

British Rail rolling stock has been numbered according to the TOPS system for fifty years now and many wagons have been classified under it that pre-date it, in some case back to pre-British Railways days.

The following tables are an attempt to identify the TOPS codes of wagons available to O Gauge modellers that might have run on the system since the 1970’s.

Note, that, of themselves, TOPS codes are a poor guide for modellers, being only concerned with functional use and braking system. For example the SSA/POA scrap wagons currently used by EWS were build in several batches that differ noticeably in detail and have been modified or rebuild over the years. The modeller could thus make a rake of scrap wagons, all different to each other but all still classified SSA or POA.

This is a far cry from the days of the British Railways diagram book when design changes generally resulted in the issuing of a new diagram number and wagons being numbered in a different number series.

I have started with the Zxx series of two-axle departmental wagons because the departmental fleet contained a much higher proportion of pre-TOPs wagons than the revenue fleet, particularly during the make do and mend later British Rail years and many of these older wagons are available in O Gauge

Available Departmental Two Axle Wagons (“Z”)

Two-axle wagons that existed in significant numbers but are unavailable in O Gauge include:

• ZJV Ballast (side tipping) Mermaid Diagram 1/575 (639 built)
• ZCV Ballast and Sleeper Plaice (204 built)

Available Departmental Bogie Wagons (“Y”)

Bogie wagons that existed in significant numbers but are unavailable in O Gauge include:

• YAO Rail/Sleeper Wagon Dolphin BR 1/639 (90 built)
• YBO, YBQ, YBA & YBB Rail/Sleeper Wagon Sturgeon BR 1/638, 1/645 &1/647 (883 built)
• YMA, YMB & YMP Rail/Sleeper Wagon Salmon LMS and BR (894 built)

Available Air Braked Revenue Wagons

By the start of the TOPS era BR had developed a fleet of long wheel base air-braked vehicles capable of running at 75 mph, some of these were utilised in the Air Braked Network (ABN) that guaranteed next day delivery to and from a limited number of depots. The fleet was augmented by some older vehicles converted to air-brakes, some with through vacuum pipes and a few of these are listed below.

Air-Braked Network / Speedlink Conversions