Scottish Railway Preservation Society Collections pages

Rectangular Tank Wagon, Scottish Tar Distillers No.78

Rectangular Tank Wagon, Scottish Tar Distillers No.78

Built 1877 by North British Railway, Cowlairs Works.
SRPS Core Collection, on display.

This is the oldest remaining substantially original Scottish-built railway wagon. It was built to carry coal tar, a by-product of making gas and coke, from gas works to the tar distillery where it would be refined into other products from pitch to naphtha. It is a typical 19th century tank wagon, with a rectangular iron tank on a wooden frame, with sprung buffers. It was owned by Scottish Tar Distillers Ltd at Lime Road, Falkirk, and used around their works until the mid 1960s.

Back to Tank Wagons list
Back to Tank Wagons list