As coal production increased in the coalfields of the North-East during the mid-19^th century, by 1867 the rapidly expanding North Eastern Railway found itself inundated with traditional Chaldron waggons, as well as the six ton Chaldron derivatives. Costly to maintain, and of limited capacity, from 1872 the NER were committed to eliminating the humble Chaldron from its increasing network of running lines, and experimentation with eight, nine and ten ton hopper wagon designs led to a second, larger generation of hopper wagons being developed. 

This range of NER Hopper wagons, completely new to the RTR 00 market, bridge the gap between the use of small Victorian, wooden planked waggons, like our existing Chaldron waggons, and the arrival of the much improved steel bodied hoppers for the transportation of coal and coke in Northern England and the Borders. As such, they represent an important period of modernisation for mineral wagons as the railway companies evolved their designs from the Victorian era, and fully deserve their place in our POWERING BRITAIN range of models.