TTA Tank Wagon
TTA tank wagon
£20.00
Unleash your creativity with this unpainted, high-detail model of the TTA Air braked tank wagon, resin 3D printed with laser cut bass walkway and wagon detailing.
The TTA is one of the most significant and numerous four-wheeled freight wagons to operate on British railways for over four decades. Our model captures the classic structure of these mid-20th-century workhorses, perfect for customisation in any livery from the transition era (1960s) right up to the early 2000s.
This model offers an authentic canvas for recreating any classic British freight scene from the 1960s to the turn of the century.
The Standard Bearer: Introduced in the early 1960s, the TTA was developed to modernise Britain's aging fleet of petroleum wagons. Built to a standardised, higher-capacity design (typically 45 tons Gross Laden Weight (GLW)), they featured an important technological upgrade: air brakes. This allowed them to run in faster, modern freight trains, often in long, dedicated "block trains" of fuel.
Widespread Service: Thousands of TTA wagons were built throughout the 1960s and 1970s. As was tradition, these were not owned by British Rail but by private oil companies (like Shell, Esso, and BP) or specialist leasing firms (such as VTG and Procor). This system led to a colourful and highly varied fleet, providing a perfect opportunity for diverse liveries on your layout.
Longevity: TTA wagons could be found moving essential liquids across the country until they were phased out in favour of larger, bogie-mounted wagons (like the TEA class) in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The TTA design was a staple of UK rail logistics, engineered to safely carry a broad range of liquid products.
When finishing your model, you can choose any of these prototypes:
Petroleum Products: Diesel Fuel, Kerosene, Gas Oil, and Aviation Fuel were the primary traffics, typically moving from coastal refineries to inland distribution depots.
Chemicals & Solvents: Various industrial chemicals and solvents, often requiring specialist internal coatings or linings.
Bitumen/Tar: Specialized insulated variants (often appearing slightly larger or 'lagged') were used for thick, viscous products that needed to be kept warm during transit.
💡 Note: To ensure realism, remember to apply the correct Hazchem markings and TOPS coding for your chosen load type and era
The TTA is a modeller's dream, with a huge range of colour options depending on your chosen era:
Company/Era | Typical Colour Scheme | Notes |
Shell/BP | Plain Grey or Black | The most common owners, sometimes featuring dual branding. |
Esso | Grey or Dark Blue | Often with high-visibility white markings and bands. |
Gulf | Distinctive Grey and Orange | A favourite for its eye-catching appearance in the 1970s. |
Leasing Companies | VTG Green or Procor/Algeco Schemes | Leasing wagons often carried simpler, bright corporate colours. |
BR Era | Standardised Yellow Panels | All wagons from the late 1960s onwards carried the distinctive yellow TOPS panels, regardless of the tank's main colour. |