One coach to rule them all

When the big four railway companies were amalgamated into a sole nationalised entity in 1948 it was decided that a standard coach should be created in a bid to streamline the construction process and create uniformity across a new network that was previously fragmented. The first of these was referred to as Mark 1 or MK1 stock which was introduced in 1951. Mark 1 coaches, while stronger than most pre-nationalisation designs were fairly basic internally and could only be operated at a maximum speed of 100mph, and this was only in limited circumstances.

As locomotives and services got faster and the modernisation plan called for widespread updates around the network it was decided that the Mark 1 would not be up to scratch for the future and as such, in 1964 BR introduced the Mark 2, which provided improvements and modernisation over the now ageing Mark 1s. Despite the numerous improvements of the Mark 2, this would not be enough for constant high-speed service.

Aeroplanes on rails

British Railways decided that a third new type of coach should be created specifically designed to run at 125mph on high-speed services around the UK, and thus in 1975 the first Mark 3 rolled out of BREL’s works at Derby. While ten coaches built to the same specifications were constructed in 1972, these were for the prototype HST Class 252 and therefore are sometimes not considered to be true Mark 3 coaches, at least they are not in so far as the introduction of the Mark 3 coach is concerned.

The Mark 3 coach was visually similar to the later Mark 2 coaches, specifically the D, E and F variations although in reality there is little the same between the older and newer coaches. Mark 3 Coaches would invariably appear with sliding doors on newer versions and ‘slam’ hinged doors on older versions, the Hornby retooling makes space for both of these with multiple different bodyshells being tooled to allow for as accurate a model as possible and in many different liveries.

The end of the high-speed line

The withdrawal of the Mark 3 Coach has already begun with the first few being withdrawn from service in 2020, with the first being scrapped in 2021. Of those that are not scrapped some are in storage awaiting their fate, many are still in revenue earning service and some have been earmarked for, or even used in preservation such as those hauled behind 4498 ‘Sir Nigel Gresley’ during the locomotive’s post overhaul return to steam on the Severn Valley Railway.

The Mk3 in miniature

The first Hornby Mark 3 coach was produced in 1977 to be included in a set pulled by Class 43 power cars. The livery was BR blue as the locomotives could be seen at the time. In 1978 the R693 HST train set was released featuring two Class 43 units and two Mark 3 coaches. After these initial releases, the Mark 3 coach has been in the Hornby range continually in both model and set form, with a version of the Mark 3 coach appearing in the recent R1230 GWR High-Speed Train set.

We have now retooled this ubiquitous coach and as we are aware that many modellers are now choosing to model more modern eras, the time was right to fire up the Hornby design software and create an amazing new version of this class of coach. The Mark 3s may have started to be withdrawn but our models are here to stay. Below are some of the livery options that we are proud to be applying to our new models.

God save the Queen

On Her Majesty’s 96^th Birthday, her actual birthday not the official birthdate as bestowed upon her, we announced a very special model of a very special locomotive. This locomotive is a rare beast, a limited edition model for what is a ‘limited edition’ locomotive. For the celebration of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, the royal colour of purple found itself everywhere, projected onto buildings around the world, on stamps and even all over the body of 34027 Taw Valley, based on the Severn Valley Railway.

Aside from the repainting, the locomotive has also been renamed and numbered giving the locomotive its second service name – ‘Elizabeth II’ and third number, with the locomotive originally being outshopped onto the Southern Railway as 21C127 before being renumbered 34027 under BR. For the celebrations, the locomotive has been numbered 70. The full-size locomotive has caused much chatter in the model railway community and our model is no different.

c. Jack Boskett, Daily Telegraph

After the announcement of the model the initial allocation of 1,500 sold out within an hour and a half, and 16 locomotives were sold every minute. Following this incredible demand, the production count was increased to 2,500 which sold out within days. We are incredibly honoured to be producing this model, and by the looks of it many of you are excited for it.

The Hornby model will be presented, as every limited edition model should be, in an exquisite special edition box, unlike anything we have produced before. Please note that this box, as seen below, still contains the numbering of the initial allocation, this has however already been changed on the internal artwork and therefore the pending production.

Coming Soon

We are springing into May with a whole lot of rolling stock including x8 BR and Caledonian Sleeper Mk3 coaches!

RailRoad is a range that just keeps on giving and we have plenty more where that’s concerned. Currently on the water and heading towards the Hornby warehouse is the RailRoad Plus Hanson, Class 59, PO A & H Betts Plank Wagon and x2 triple wagon packs. RailRoad is perfect for those looking to model on a budget or for those who are new to the hobby and need a starting point.

Wagons, wagons, wagons! A Meat Van, Vent Vans and Lowmacs – check them out below!

Message from Montana

Malcolm Logistics Centenary Celebration – Class 90!

The Malcolm Group proudly unveiled their newly liveried Class 90 locomotive on Tuesday 19th April 2022 at Peter D. Stirling Limited’s Mossend Railhead in Bellshill, Scotland – it’s safe to say the livery is somewhat special!

The stunning locomotive is adorned in the Group’s centenary year livery to continue their 100-year celebrations and is dedicated to Donald Malcolm. The success the company has enjoyed since its inception is largely down to the hard work and business savvy of Donald, who inherited the coal-round business from his late father. With entrepreneurial foresight and prudent investment in vehicles, plant and depots, he is responsible for building the business which we know today.   

We are pleased to confirm that the exclusive Collector Club model of the Class 90 is being updated to include the latest livery and it’s certainly one NOT to be missed! Order yours today here or if you’re not a Collector Club member join today for instant access to order.

Railway Family Week is back!

For a second year running, we are pleased to be supporting the Railway Benefit Fund’s ‘Railway Family Week’ to support current, former, and retired railway people and their families.

As part of the fundraising event, we have donated some prizes to #WIN every day this week and there are still two days to go so be sure to donate and enter! Click here for the chance to get your hands on lots of incredible models!

That’s not all! The popular Auction of Experiences is back for 2022, with over 40 money-can’t-buy rail experiences available to bid for - click here for all the details and support a brilliant cause.

All money raised will help support railway families going through difficult times.

‘Project Tilt’ update coming up!

The APT is in for a treat as Project Tilt continues to develop while hitting some milestones! There is certainly no cutting corners on this project which is full of passion and commitment. Hear directly from Michael on how things are panning out:

“I have always started my layout designs with a well-researched subject. We knew we wanted the rollingstock to be the APT which places us firmly in the 1980' and on the West Coast Mainline. 

All of the best pictures and BR promotional footage of APT came from The Lune Valley section of the line and the best sequence of back to back curves on this section is at BeckFoot, so that's how we decided our location of the model.

We have a space limitation of 30ft/8m and the two back to back cures at BeckFoot stretch over 1.2km in the real world or 15 meters in 00. So with a bit of model railway magic compression, we can in fact squeeze them into the 30ft/8m. 

The main curve of our layout is a 700m radius in the real world, which is tight for a Mainline railway, so we have reduced our version down to just a 5m radius, which stretches for 4.5m of the layout. This gives us the main photo opportunity for our model - all 14 coaches tilting into the curve which is 4m in length!

This section of the line is limited to just 80mph because of that tight curve. We actually have the original handwritten documents used during testing APT that show the enhanced line speed APT was allowed to run at on this section. They show that the in-Cab system called Control APT would have authorised the driver to run at 90mph.

To achieve this line speed the track at BeckFoot was superelevated to the maximum 6 degrees - we will need to recreate this on our model! This is also what will make our model tilt in the same way the prototype did, pushing the coaches over to one side. We are testing a method of doing this soon which we share with you soon.

Once we have all of our main parameters, I get out the graph paper, pencil and compass and start drawing to scale. Starting with the track work and then adding in the scenery to create the effect we need. Then we design a baseboard structure to support it all.

You can’t do enough design work on these projects. It has been a long time since I last built a baseboard from scratch so I had to go research some techniques and relearn some skills. There are lots of people who will build them for you if woodwork is not your thing or there are some very good standard kits you can buy and get shipped in kit form.

Looking forward to getting on to the fun bit of building the scenery.”

Keep following the layout build project on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Let’s Layout!

We love nothing more than receiving images and updates on your layout builds and model railway journeys, so much so that we dedicate every Friday to our special #FeatureFriday! The series is included on our social media channels and is dedicated to those on model railway journeys who have images and updates to share. So if you are building a layout or already have one which you’re proud of and would like to share with us, send them over to marketing@hornby.com for your chance to be featured.
 

And with that, we reach the end of the line for this edition of Engine Shed. If you think that this edition and indeed the last edition of Engine Shed flow a little different to those that came before then you may indeed be correct. This edition, the preceding one and hopefully many more in the future are written by me, Sam, Hornby’s latest Researcher and former Technical Advisor.

Keen followers of Hornby on social media may have seen that I have been a little busy recently at the Statfold Barn model event. The show was fantastic, everyone displaying their layouts should be proud of their amazing creations. Railways are my passion and as such expect to see me at more events in the future. At some point in the future, if I decide to grow a face, please feel free to say hello!

If you would like Engine Shed to cover a specific subject in a future blog or if you have any images of your locomotives and coaching stock in action, maybe you have a suggestion of a particular model that you think we should produce in the future, please do let us know. We are always keen to receive all feedback.

Be sure to follow Hornby on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and Instagram to be kept up to date on all the latest news and product updates. Don’t forget to subscribe to the Hornby YouTube channel too!

Happy Modelling!

The Engine Shed Team

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