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Title:UK Wagons Reference Manual Review image
Author:n/a
Publisher:The 429 Group, Macclesfield
Format:Book
Subject:Wagons
Category:Numbers - Current
Spec:A4, comb-bound, laminated covers, 118 pages, 4 colour photos
Publication date:2007-?
Summary:Printed to order and compiled from observations and 'reliable sources', this book aimed to give status information about current and recent wagons but suffered from a few issues.
Review:This comb-bound, 166 A4 page book with laminated covers is a valiant effort to catalogue all recent domestic wagons in the UK. It is printed to order so is always up to date and the price of around £20 includes several sheets of updates through the following year. The pages are evidently produced from a spreadsheet program and there is a complex method of colour-coding to show the status of each wagon. 14 different colours are used to indicate different meanings, but several of the shades are too similar to each other. As there are five columns per side, the amount of space for additional information is limited. Although relatively compact, there are a number of issues which mean that this cannot be seen as a definitive 'reference manual'. Firstly, RIV wagons are not included. The listings are purely numerical with no prefixes (although PO prefixes are outlined in each batch header). This makes it had to identify the pre-nationalisation wagons that are scattered throughout the number ranges. Similarly, TOPS codes of individual wagons are not shown, being dealt with in the same way as the AES book reviewed elsewhere. The book shows wagons that have been disposed of in recent years but with no indication of when (or indeed what the cut-off date is). Most importantly, only one piece of information can be shown against each wagon. This means (for example) that a renumbered wagon in service will show the previous number, but one that is in store will show the storage location. This book may suit some but I would prefer to have paid twice as much for something with twice as many pages and more complete information.
Reviewed:16/02/2009 by Thomas Young (Comments made by others can appear in the notes section towards the bottom of this page)
Sample pages:(Click on any image to view full-sized in a new window)
Page image Cover
Page image A typical inside page. The colouring of certain blocks provides more information but some of the colours are hard to differentiate. Also note that pre-nationalisation wagons are included in series with the BR wagons. Without showing prefixes it is impossible to determine which number series each belongs to.
Page image Two further issues are highlighted on this page. Firstly, TOPS code are only given in the batch headings, with no indication of what code each wagon carried. Secondly, previous numbers are shown for some wagons, but others need the space to show storage/scrapping locations or subsequent numbers.
Page image When you buy this book you were also sent four quarterly update summaries. Given that individual TOPS codes were not provided in the book, the inclusion of the OAA and OBA changes is curious. Also, codes OAD and OBP do not exist. These were probably meant to read OAA-D and OBA-P.
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