Taken in the 1930s at the Bentley Colliery, the loaded sidings are full of Barber Walker and Brentnall & Cleland wagons, the former lettered mainly for the nearby Harworth Colliery. That the photograph was taken for publicity purposes suggests that it was deliberately posed to include a representation from the company's principal distributor.




Almost identical to wagons supplied by Charles Roberts to Stephenson Clarke, London Brick Company & Forders Ltd and the Borough of Bedford Electricity, that illustrated bears a fanciful fleet number which may refer to its identification by the wagon builder, for there are no records of any being built against an order from this owner, and it is apparent that it is on hire. The small lettering below 'Bedford' is impossible to decipher but it refers to the opening and closing procedures of the hopper door, the handwheel for which is, like those of the other owners, endorsed 'This is not a brake' and does not give directions which way to turn it to open and close the door. The full stop after the word 'John' should be noted  ­ even Charles Roberts got their punctuation wrong occasionally. The wagon had a black body with white letters.

Of the four wagons illustrated, by far the most interesting is No. 219, built by Wm. Rigley & Sons of Bulwell, Nottingham. It was built circa 1935 and has eight planks, side and end doors and brakes on both sides. Internal dimensions were 16ft 1in. x 7ft 7in. x 4ft 4in. The wagon appears to have a dark red body with white letters shaded black  and with black vertical ironwork.  Italic letters to bottom left read 'Empty to Llantrisant
Junction, G.W.R.' and on the door 'Sutton Trading Co Ltd Mount Stuart Square Cardiff'. Repairs were to be by the Principality Wagon Co., Cardiff.