Oxford Diecast - NPB002 - Truck, Commer, PB - British Rail - TMV 862M

Specific Item Information: Already part of the 1:76 scale series of Oxford small commercials, this 1:148 scale version in the same British Rail livery will appeal to railway modellers of N gauge specialising in trackside vehicles from the mid/late 1970s era. This vehicle, registered RMV 862M took to the road in 1973/74 and comes in the familiar yellow British Rail livery of the period with red and black logos to the side and the back.

Model Information: Commer developed the PB as an upgrade from their successful FC vehicle. Commer became known in later years as a maker of vans for the British Post Office—particularly the Commer FC which was introduced in 1960 with many body styles, including a 1,500 cc (92 cu in) van. After engine and interior upgrades it was renamed the PB in 1967 and the SpaceVan in 1974.[ Following the merger of Rootes Group with Chrysler to form Chrysler Europe, the SpaceVan would be sold as a Dodge and Fargo model until 1976, when both Commer and Fargo names were dropped. These were rounded-front forward-control vans with narrow front track—a legacy of their Humber car-derived suspension. Utilising at first the Hillman-derived 1,500 cc (92 cu in) 4-cylinder engine in the PA series, then the larger 1,600 cc (98 cu in), and from 1968 onwards the 1,725 cc (105.3 cu in) unit in the PB, only the cast-iron-head version of this engine were used. A Perkins 4108 diesel was also available.

From Wikipedia

Road Name History: British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages between 1994 and 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commission, it became an independent statutory corporation in 1962 designated as the British Railways Board.

British Rail designed and manufactured rolling stock from 1948 to 1989, at which time its subsidiary British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) was privatised.

1997 marked the end of the privatization effort in which the last assets of British Rail were sold to 31 regional freight and passenger operators as well as Railtrack (which was later brought under public control as Network Rail), which was given the track and infrastructure.

Read more on Wikipedia.

Manufacturer Information: Established in 1993, Oxford Diecast is a British Company that specializes in high-quality die-cast metal vehicles. Produced in various scales, the firm's models are marketed as collector items, gifts, and promotional products. Their largest production goes to OO scale (1:76) and in 2015 they introduced railway products under 'Oxford Rail' brand.
Their N-scale collection is using the 1:148 scale ratio as most British manufacturers.