I’ve just taken the plunge and ordered a couple of these from Shapeways. No idea as to exactly what the quality will be like, but I’ve got the feeling 3D printed models like this may well represent the future of the model railway hobby.

The prototype is relatively obscure. A small fleet of these wagons carried china clay from Ponts Mill in Cornwall to Corpach near Fort William in Scotland. Rebuilds of earlier cement vans, they had a relatively short life, and represent the sort of vehicle that’s very unlikely to appear in ready-to-run form.