BR created 60 Diagram 1/60 Conflat P wagons for the introduction of the Anglo-Scottish CONDOR (Container Door to Door) express goods service in 1959. They were rebuilt from Diagram 1/431 and 1/432 Plate wagons, fitted with roller bearings and 'J hanger' suspension with rubber auxiliary springing better suited to higher train speeds. An additional girder support was was added to allow one 16ft Type BD 16ft and one 8ft Type A container to be carried on each wagon.
The Conflat P wagons operated on the Condor service until 1964 when they were replaced with a batch of bogie container flat wagons wagons able to carry BR's Speedfreight containers and the ISO containers being increasingly used for seaborne traffic. The redundant Conflat Ps were rebuilt as Timber Ps and were a common sight on timber traffic on the West Highland line until 1981.Due to the dearth of research material consequent from these wagons being conversions rather than newly-built these have proven a challenging project. There are literally only a handful of published photographs and drawings are just as scant. Combining official drawings of the Plate wagons with with Paul Bartlett’s and Trevor Mann’s research to make as best a guess on the internal structure as possible. The other challenge is that, unlike something the Conflat A, the Conflat P has no floor. All the chassis beams are visible, providing very few places to attach fine details such as the brake pipes.
Rapido Trains N gauge Conflat P models feature:
- NEM coupler pockets
- Metal bearings for smooth running
- Finely detailed with chassis members visible.
- All-new Type A and Type BD containers.