Scale: 1:48. A waterline exhibition model of the Severn trow ‘Alma’ (1854), showing the vessel at anchor, the sails stowed and a small dinghy moored astern. The cargo hold is partially loaded with coal over which are laid loose planks to provide a safe working platform. Like many of its kind the ‘Alma’ was extremely long-lived and survived well into the Second World War as the last of the rigged trows. Their longevity has been attributed to the many cargoes of salt which they carried, the salt acting as a preservative to their oak frames and pitch pine hull.

Measuring 75 feet in length by 16 feet in the beam and a tonnage of 47 gross, she was practically rebuilt in 1916, when its sloop rig was changed to a ketch rig. The iron standing rigging that supported the mast was set up to wooden deadeyes and lanyards, and the flax or cotton sails were controlled by manila rope sheets and halyards – all typical of the small 19th-century merchant sailing vessel. The cargo hold was protected by the removable canvas covered washboards at the sides and by tarpaulin hatch covers as seen on the model.

A distinctive feature of the trow was the ‘D’-shaped stern, well established by the early 19th century. The ‘Alma’ ended its days carrying coal (as seen on the model) between Lydney, Bristol and Cardiff.