Oxford Diecast - NAH007 - Truck, Horsebox - Great Western - HXA 865

Specific Item Information: The N Gauge 1:148 scale - Oxford Albion Horsebox has been given a makeover in the famous GWR brown and cream colour scheme and although not an authentic GWR vehicle, this Express Horse Box Hire Service vehicle, numbered HXA 865, could well have transported animals to any station on the Great Western route for their onward journey by rail. The attractive little model is enlivened even further with bright red wheels and a red flash immediately beneath the cab doors, as well as a great many silver masked features to the sides. The printing even extends across the back of this two-tone truck, completing a highly detailed model, considering its size.

Prototype History: In the UK, a horsebox may also refer to a motorised vehicle adapted to carry horses (generally known as a horse van in North America or Australasia), or a railway vehicle specifically designed to carry horses.

Horseboxes (motorised) can vary in size, depending on the number and size of horses to be carried. In Europe, horseboxes are developed from vehicles ranging from 3.5 tonne gross vehicle weight, through to legal maximums of over 40 tonnes. Some horse trailers are designed to contain human living accommodation, as competitions may involve staying at a venue for one or more nights.

Road Name History: The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England, the Midlands, and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838. It was engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who chose a broad gauge of 7 ft (2,134 mm)—later slightly widened to 7 ft 1⁄4 in (2,140 mm)—but, from 1854, a series of amalgamations saw it also operate 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard-gauge trains; the last broad-gauge services were operated in 1892. The GWR was the only company to keep its identity through the Railways Act 1921, which amalgamated it with the remaining independent railways within its territory, and it was finally merged at the end of 1947 when it was nationalised and became the Western Region of British Railways.

The GWR was called by some "God's Wonderful Railway" and by others the "Great Way Round" but it was famed as the "Holiday Line", taking many people to English and Bristol Channel resorts in the West Country as well as the far south-west of England such as Torquay in Devon, Minehead in Somerset, and Newquay and St Ives in Cornwall. The company's locomotives, many of which were built in the company's workshops at Swindon, were painted a Brunswick green colour while, for most of its existence, it used a two-tone "chocolate and cream" livery for its passenger coaches. Goods wagons were painted red but this was later changed to mid-grey.

Great Western trains included long-distance express services such as the Flying Dutchman, the Cornish Riviera Express and the Cheltenham Spa Express. It also operated many suburban and rural services, some operated by steam railmotors or autotrains. The company pioneered the use of larger, more economic goods wagons than were usual in Britain. It operated a network of road motor (bus) routes, was a part of the Railway Air Services, and owned ships, docks and hotels.

From 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.