Trailers and Tenders
Hello all, and welcome to another edition of the Engine Shed. It’s been a pretty cold month, but spring is just around the corner and there is lots to look forward to over the next few months. Here at Hornby the development team have been hard at work as usual. The Mk4 Coach project is progressing well and we have received the first set samples including the DVT and Restaurant/Buffet coaches. Additionally, The GBL Van, one of our most detailed pieces of rolling stock, has reached its final form, we have more 9F CAD images to examine, and we’ll be looking at the latest arrivals.
Mk4 DVT & Coaches:
Designed as part of the InterCity 225 sets, the first Mk4 Driving Van Trailers (DVTs) were introduced in 1989 along with the Mk4 passenger coaches. 32 Mk4 DVTs were built by Metro-Cammell, with the bodyshell manufactured under sub-contract by Breda in Italy. Whilst they were designed to operate with Class 91 locomotives as part of the InterCity 225 set, Mk4 DVTs have also operated with Class 90 and Class 89 locomotives.
Last month’s Engine Shed featured CAD imagery of the upcoming Mk4 coaches including the Driving Van Trailer (DVT). We’ve recently received unbuilt samples for the Mk4 coaches and look forward to bringing you photos of the assembled models in future editions. For this month we have the first engineering sample for the DVT. The Model below represents the later version of the DVT, identifiable by the large roof dome.
In addition to the DVT, Mk4 samples were recently delivered. The below images compare two Mk4 Restaurant/Buffets of different eras. Please note these are early samples assembled by hand and are subject to change.
This first image shows the later buffet design.
This second image shows an earlier restaurant layout with external differences to the later variant including the kitchen side windows and roof vents. Those of you familiar with the Mk4s may notice the accidental omission of a window at the right-hand end of the model which will be rectified for future versions.
GBL Van:
Gangwayed Bogie Luggage Vans (GBL) were built by the Southern Railway as luggage vans, although their use extended to Newspaper, Parcels, Dairy and Bicycle traffic. The design came about when the railway found itself with a large surplus amount of ex-LSWR underframes, as many of the former LSWR Bogie Block 4-coach sets had been converted to EMUs on new 62’ underframes. During the Second World War many of the coaches were converted to perform casualty evacuation and to become ambulance coaches. The GBL vans were rapidly replaced in traffic by BR bogie GUV vans and virtually all were withdrawn during 1959 and 1960. Van no. 2464 was famously used as Sir Winston Churchill’s funeral hearse in 1965 having been kept aside and painted into pullman colours for such use.
These images show the very latest production samples which improve upon already promising decoration samples received towards the end of last year.
R60020 - SR, Luggage Van, 2362 - Era 3
R60021 - BR, Luggage Van, S 2477 S - Era 4
R60057 - Pullman, Sir Winston Churchill's Funeral Hearse, S2464S - Era 5
9F:
This month we have the opportunity to explore the numerous tenders that have been designed for the 9F. There are 5 main types of tender including the BR1K featuring a mechanical stoker. All 9F tenders were built upon a common frame but featured different features and capacities to optimise them for their intended workings. The following CAD images are preliminary models and changes may be made to the final design.
BR1B – This tender featured the standard water tank with a capacity of 4725 gallons but had a coal partition limiting coal to 7 tons. This was the most fitted tender type.
BR1C – This design is very similar to the BR1B, however the partition is placed further back in the coal bunker allowing up to 9 tons of coal.
BR1F – The largest of the tenders, featuring higher walls to accommodate 7 tons of coal whilst making room for a larger capacity water tank. This design was most commonly used in the eastern region.
BR1G – The tender fitted to the first batch and the final batches of 9F, and the preferred tender of the western region, the stepped upper section resulted in greatly improved visibility enabling tender first running.
BR1K – Features a lower water capacity of just 4325 gallons, but a larger coal capacity, along with being fitted with the mechanical stoker feature. These tenders were only fitted to 92165-92167.
The below CAD images show the latest work on arguably the most iconic of all British Railways locomotives, and British steam’s swansong, 9F 92220 ‘Evening Star’. This model will represent the locomotive as it would have been seen towards the end of its British Railways service. The locomotive features some key differences compare to last month’s 92167 with changes among others including a standard cab interior, BR1G tender, ATC and western region-specific changes such as western region lamp irons.
These CAD images also demonstrate and evolution of the 9F CAD model, with some finer details such as the smoke deflector supports, front steps and changes to the faces of the wheels when compared to the images of locomotive 92167 previously featured.
Latest arrivals:
We have received the fantastic news that the next batch of Peckett B2s will be arriving earlier than anticipated in March. Towards the end of March we should also be receiving Merchant Navy 35017 ‘Belgian Marine’ which is also arriving earlier than expected. The best bit about this news is that the following locomotives are still available to order on our website right now!
R3765 – Bloxham & Whiston Ironstone Co. Ltd, Peckett B2 Class, 0-6-0ST, 1456/1918 - Era 2
R3766 – NCB, Peckett B2 Class, 0-6-0ST, 1426/1916 - Era 6
R3870 – NCB, Peckett B2 Class, 0-6-0ST, 1203/1910 'The Earl' - Era 6
R3871 – Port of Bristol Authority, Peckett B2 Class, 0-6-0ST, 1264/1913 ‘Henry’ - Era 6
R3861 – BR, Merchant Navy Class, 4-6-2, 35017 'Belgian Marine' - Era 4
Message from Montana:
It’s been another busy month at virtual Hornby HQ – there’s no time for slowing down! This month we would have normally spent part of it at the Nuremberg Toy Fair in Germany and of course in Glasgow for Model Rail Scotland, but although events are all on hold for now, it has meant we’ve had more time to focus on future plans, which is always exciting! Moving forward we’re going to start off with a thank you….
Model Rail Magazine Awards 2020
Earlier this month the Model Rail Magazine Award winners were announced and we were thrilled to have won not only one award but three! We are so thankful to everyone who voted and for your continued support!
Winner of the ‘00' gauge steam locomotive category for the Stephenson’s Rocket.
Winner of Overall manufacturer of the year.
Winner of ‘00' gauge manufacturer of the year.
All the details regarding the awards and winners can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/modelrail/
British Railway Modelling Awards 2020
Still on the topic of awards, the British Railway Modelling Awards are open for entry! To have your say and place your votes visit the below link. The poll is open until 3rd March and the results will be announced at the World of Railways Virtual Exhibition on 13th and 14th March. Happy voting!
Click HERE to vote.
Mother's Day
Hornby isn’t just for Dads, it’s for Mums too, so if you have a Hornby loving Mum treat her like royalty this Mother’s Day and gift her with a ‘Princess’! If you’re after something more compact then visit our selection of train sets, or if you’re after a smaller loco or something at a lower price point then explore the range of Railroad models.
Don’t forget the date – 14th March!
SteamPunk
Last year we announced our brand new SteamPunk range, which we’re going to be sharing more of on our new SteamPunk social channels. If you or anyone you know is a SteamPunk fan be sure to like and follow the official Bassett-Lowke Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages for some exciting updates coming soon!
Finally, we would like to give you a quick update on the Hornby Forum and Club. Unfortunately, due to various technical glitches, the Forum has not been active for some weeks, however we are pleased to confirm it is now back up and running! Should you experience any technical issues when using the Forum, please don’t hesitate to let us know by contacting marketing@hornby.com. Thank you all for your patience.
We have encountered similar glitches with our Club as well, however we are pleased to confirm that our UK Club is back up and running – you can join or renew your membership via the website or through our Customer Services Team. Due to Brexit our ROW Club is currently not live, but we are working hard to ensure it’s back up and running as soon as possible. For more information on this and the Club in general please click here.
Be sure to follow Hornby on Facebook, Twitter 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!
Finally...
This ends the February edition of the Engine Shed. Thank you all for reading and thank you to everyone who has been in contact since the last edition, either by leaving a comment below the blog, or by e-mailing engineshed@hornby.com. Part of the reason we share updates as we develop our products is because we know readers have invaluable knowledge and it’s always a pleasure to receive feedback from you all. In the coming months we’ll have some really exciting announcements, deliveries and development news to share with you so make sure you come back next time. Until then, stay safe and keep modelling!
All the best,
The Engine Shed Team
© Hornby Hobbies Ltd. All rights reserved.
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