This newly tooled RailRoad vent van carrying the name ‘Josph M Watkins Co Ltd of Cardiff’ is an ideal model to add to a steam-period freight train. Whilst wooden vent vans were mainly used during the steam era, they remained on the rails into the diesel era and there are many still on preserved railways around the UK today making this a timeless piece to add to a model railway layout.

The vent van was a small multipurpose goods van which transported all manner of items whilst keeping them protected from the wind and rain. The wagon design features a single vent on each end of the structure allowing air to flow, thereby maintaining a cooler air temperature, beneficial for the transportation of perishable food items. Closed vans would often be loaded with all manner of miscellany such as flour, meat, parcels or perhaps scale models.