Hornby releases new beer tankers

Hornby is certainly not unique in this respect, and all the major manufacturers have done the same. The six-wheelers appear to be the ex-Lima product (but with better wheels, giving excellent running) and the nearest prototypes to it I can find are the milk tankers built by the GWR, with the design perpetuated by BR (though with roller bearings).

As such, they'd have carried the branding of the Independent Milk Suppliers and Express Dairies (among others), but never any breweries (beer tank wagons usually had two tanks). What makes these wagons even more unlikely is that Wensleydale Brewery was founded in 2003 and Northdown Brewery in 2018, decades after these six-wheelers were withdrawn. Nonetheless, the liveries are attractive and beautifully-applied, so treat them for what their intended purpose is; to appeal to collectors. 

Priced at £24.99 each, the new six-wheeled tanker wagons are available to order from Hornby’s website now.