Ex-LSWR Coaches - The Final Chapter plus InterCity 125 Anniversary update!

Hello and welcome to another jam packed edition of The Engine Shed – your trip behind the scenes of the Hornby Development office written by us, the Hornby developers! The next few weeks at Hornby HQ are set to be very exciting, we have a number of HUGE, highly anticipated releases making their way to us as we speak and we are on tenterhooks to give you all the info on what they are! This week however, we are closing the book on a product that we announced here in the Engine Shed almost a year ago to the day – the 58’ Maunsell Rebuilt (ex-LSWR 48’) coaches.

It all started with a video we posted here in an earlier blog showcasing the First Running Sample of the Adams Radial. Now, we may have accidentally-on-purpose left a few cheeky surprises being pulled by the Adams to see how observant and eagle-eyed the readers of our blog were. Well, it came as no surprise to see that within minutes the forums and our social media pages were alight with discussion and speculation. Had we made a mistake? Was there an announcement coming? It made for some fantastic weekend reading, I can assure you!

The following Monday, not to disappoint, a special STOP PRESS edition went live where we officially announced that for 2016, we would be producing SR and BR versions of these much requested and versatile coaches.

With a preserved coach still in existence at Bluebell Railway, we were lucky enough to be able to measure up and photograph the real thing during the development of these models. This, coupled with the archive photography of the four Diagram types' Carriage Working Notices kindly provided to us by Mike King, enabled us to ensure our versions were as accurate as possible. We also benefited from being able to keep you, the model railway collector informed of the coach’s progress along the way and to react to the feedback we received to make sure that no detail was missed.

Our R&D department in action measuring up the preserved coach at Bluebell Railway and constructing the first prototypes

For a full history of the Ex-LSWR coaches, why not take a look at the original Engine Shed blog post where we go into more detail about what makes these coaches such an important part of railway history.

      SR 58' Maunsell Rebuilt (Ex-LSWR 48’) SR Olive

  BR 58' Maunsell Rebuilt (Ex-LSWR 48’) BR Crimson

The BR versions of the Ex-LSWRs are on the water and will be with us very soon, and the SR version will be with us later in the summer. In the meantime, however, to wet your whistle, here they are in action on one of our show layouts. The BR BR 58' Maunsell Rebuilt (Ex-LSWR 48’) coaches have the pleasure of being pulled by 4-4-2T Adams Radial 415 Class in a late BR livery (available to pre order now). These are our final Approval samples of the coaches and we are really keen to know what you think. It’s been over a year in the making and we couldn’t be prouder of the results - be sure to pre-order yours now as these are sure to sell fast!

Celebrating 40 Years of an Icon

Next up this week, we are really pleased to take delivery of the approval sample of an icon of the seventies and eighties, the Limited Edition InterCity 125 Anniversary Pack!

Originally conceived as a cheaper and more reliable alternative to the Advanced Passenger Train in the early 1970s, the British Railways Board authorised the development of a prototype High Speed Diesel Train with two locomotives designated as Class 41. These aerodynamic power cars were constructed by BREL at their Crewe Works and outshopped in June and August 1972, fitted with Paxman “Valenta” 12RP200L engines which developed 2,250 hp.

After a short period, the Mk.3 passenger cars from BREL’s Derby Litchurch Lane Works completed the prototype set, which then became British Rail Class 252. The power cars, having initially been numbered 41001 and 41002, were later given the coaching stock numbers 43000 and 43001 for operating trials on the Eastern Region and subsequent transfer to the Western Region. This prototype InterCity 125 clinched the world record for traction of 143mph (230kmh) on June 12, 1973.

Following evaluation of this prototype design and a change of name to High Speed Train, British Rail placed orders for similar trains for use on the Western, Eastern, Scottish and London Midland Regions.

When originally built at BREL Crewe Works, the InterCity 125 units were considered to be diesel multiple units and allocated as Class 253 to the Western Region and Class 254 for the Eastern Region, as it was envisaged that the sets would remain in fixed formation.

Those original HST’s consisted of a Driving Motor Brake (DMB), Trailer Firsts (TF), Trailer Seconds (TS), Trailer Restaurant Unclassified Kitchen (TRUK) and a Trailer Restaurant Second Buffet (TRSB). Once the Trailer Guard Second (TGS) were introduced, the later power cars had no guard’s equipment installed. By 1987 most power cars were simply classified as Driving Motor (DM), although they still had luggage van space, retaining a window by the luggage door on each side.

Also available BR InterCity Mk3 Coaches

2016 marks the 40th Anniversary of Kenneth Grange’s archetypal high-speed locomotive and to celebrate, we have produced this Anniversary set featuring 43002 and 43003 together as set 253 001. HST service commencement was Monday October 4, 1976 (although some units were running prior to this date), with full services in operation from the following day. Running an interim timetable, with accelerated schedules between Paddington and Bristol/South Wales, the fastest recorded train that year was the 16:29 service from Reading to Bristol Parkway, with an average speed of 95.7mph.

Complete with a choice selection of BR InterCity Mk3 Coaches, check out this railway legend in our exclusive video below.

The Limited Edition InterCity 125 Anniversary Pack is set for release in the next couple of weeks and are selling fast, so be sure to pre-order yours today.

Well that about does it for this week. We’re off to see if we can get hold of a few early Father’s Day gifts ready for next week… who are we kidding, they’re for ourselves! Have you picked yours up yet?

Be sure to let us know your thoughts on the Ex-LSWR coaches as well as the InterCity 125 over on our Forum and as always, our Facebook and Twitter pages as well.

Until next time…

Happy modelling!

The Engine Shed Team

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