Coaches

Portwilliam finally has some typical coaching stock, and one or two more atypical ones. As with the other pages I’ll add new items to the top to save you all scrolling:

LMS Period 2 D1735 Brake Third

“Mundane (adj) – dull, lacking interest or excitement.” (OED)

“Mundane (adj) – dull, lacking interest or excitement.” (OED) – part 2

This is the Dapol nee Airfix Lav Brake Third with the sides adjusted to create the more numerous non-lav 6 compartment version. The additional beading hopefully represents corrosion repairs to a thirty year old vehicle near the end of its life, it’s based on a 1962 photo:

Caledonian Preserved Corridor Third and Corridor Brake Composite

Coming of Age

In the late 1950s the ScR rounded up a couple of surviving Caley coaches and restored them to their original condition. One was retrieved from the Southern Region and was apparently swapped for a Bulleid vehicle which had found its way into ScR stock. (When I remember where I read that I’ll post the details !) By the time they reached the Whithorn branch in 1962 they had acquired electrification flashes on top of their Edwardian livery so that’s the condition I’ve modelled them in. I’m going to weather them too when I’m feeling brave !

LMS ‘Porthole’ BTK and CK
These are Comet kits, bought at York Show when they were still Comet Coaches and the show was still in the Assembly Rooms ! I finally finished them a couple of years ago. There are errors, but after 26 years I just wanted to get them finished ! Plenty of lessons were learned for the next batch though. This combination of CK+BTK was common on the Port Road and the Kirkcudbright branch – as the WR had no passenger service after 1950 the Dalmellington and Kirkcudbright branches stand in as my surrogate prototypes so these are currently providing the normal passenger service.

LMS D1995 ‘Inter-district’ Articulated Set

A mammoth kit bash from several Airfix/Dapol suburbans, at least one of these sets was in use on the Port Road in the late 1950s. Designed by committee and intended to meet the needs of all LMS Divisions for high-capacity sets with minimal luggage space, they appear to have been popular only with the Northern Division and most of them apparently ended up there. Construction was basically a matter of salami-slicing four coach bodies then scratch-building a chassis from Evergreen strip, Comet castings and 1mm brass angle. Bogies are by Bachmann. The paint job went a bit awry and most of the door vents should be missing for this period, but it will do until I get around to getting some sides etched.

CR Dia 95a “Grampian” Brake Composite

For years you had a choice in 4mm coaching stock. You could have BR Mk1s from Tri-ang, or a Mk1 chassis with panelled sides, or a Mk1 chassis with Thomson(ish) sides. Most were available in a variety of BR and Big Four colours, some of which nearly looked like real ones. We really have never had it so good. The panelled coaches were based on the Caledonian Railway’s ‘Grampian’ prestige stock, presumably to match their CR Single, but were compromised to fit the Mk1 chassis. They’re a bit too short, the side profile isn’t quite right (although surprisingly it isn’t a Mk1 profile) and the waist panelling isn’t deep enough. The tooling is a bit basic by modern standards but the general layout isn’t far off the Grampian CK and one of BCKs. I’ve wanted to tart one up for a long time just to see if it could be done, although I have to say that if you want a proper Grampian you should really get onto Jim Smellie at Caley Coaches and buy one of his etched ones.

Tri-ang sides and floorpan, Coopercraft ‘Thompson’ roof, scratchbuilt ends, underframe and bogies, and gangways and detail castings from Caley Coaches and Comet.

Ex-GER Cafeteria Car

Two ex-GER restaurant cars were transferred between the GER and GNoSR sections in the 1950s, prior to going they were converted at Stratford to Cafeteria Cars. I’ve never actually seen one in ordinary revenue service yet but one finished up in the RCTS/SLS Joint Scottish Tour of 12th-17th June 1960 along with a Mk1 SO, a Gresley BTO and the two preserved CR coaches. The Mk1 and the Caleys I had (of which more later), the BTO was available from Comet, but the catering vehicle took some tracking down as I had no idea what it was at first. Eventually, through the kind assistance of Mike Bootman and Adrian Marks of the GERS enough information was gathered to enable Bill Bedford to etch the thing, and here it is:

The Joint Scottish Tour never actually got as far as Galloway but with five vehicles in three different liveries it was quite a sight, even without one of the ScR’s preserved locos on the front. The BTO and CR coaches all appeared in Galloway on other tours, a pool of a dozen or so vehicles will enable all of them to appear eventually.

More details on the tour itself here: http://www.sixbellsjunction.co.uk/60s/600612rc.html