November 2001

    Chapman, Fletcher & Cawood, Sheffield

   This plate is taken from Volume 1 of my books on Private Owner Wagons,which is long out of print and highly sought after,and shows a 12 ton wagon from a batch of 25 ordered from Charles Roberts on 5 April 1911 and numbered 973-997. It is fitted with side, end and bottom doors, brakes one side only, Attock's 58B axleboxes and open spoke wheels. It also has side door springs either side.
   This company are now believed to have been Coal Factors and evidence shows that they were involved in the supply of coal to gasworks in the Midlands,and possibly over a much wider area.

The most interesting aspect of this wagon covers its registration The order states that it is to be registered by the GCR, yet the MR private owner register shows that on 8 June 1911 a batch of 12 ton wagons, numbered 974-998, were registered for Chapman, Fletcher & Cawood (Registration Nos. 64863-64867). They are shown as being built by Harrison & Camm, Rotherham Unless the GCR registers have now been unearthed we shall perhaps never know whether the company gave the wrong running numbers on its order to charles Roberts or the MR clerk made a mistake in the register.

Length over headstocks 16’ 6''
width over body 7’ 11’’
Plank widths 5@7’’,1@8’’,1@9’’
Wheelbase 9’ 0’’

Livery
Black overall, unshaded white letters.
No. on top plank door end.
'Chapman, Fletcher & Cawood Ltd on fixed end
                owners.'

Back