Bachmann Auto Trailer

[spikey]

I've been after a GWR one but alas no joy.  Was it actually produced in GWR livery, and if so, when and under what part number?

[mozzer models]

I've been after a GWR one but alas no joy.  Was it actually produced in GWR livery, and if so, when and under what part number?

if i remember rightly this Dia of the coach were all built by BR but Bachmann have done it in BR WR chocolate & cream cat No 39-580   

Edited September 28, 2018 by mozzer models

[chrisf]

Bachmann did issue it in GWR livery but as the prototype was introduced in 1951 most of them came out in blood and custard.  Only preserved examples and the one that ended up in departmental use carried chocolate and cream.

 

Chris

[spikey]

Oh.  Thanks gents.  So what's the choice (If there is one) if I need a GWR-liveried auto trailer?

[trevor7598]

Oh.  Thanks gents.  So what's the choice (If there is one) if I need a GWR-liveried auto trailer?

 

Airfix produced the Collett auto trailer in GWR livery in the 1970's.

This model is now in the Hornby range, and although an old tooling, it's not too bad.

[spikey]

Airfix produced the Collett auto trailer in GWR livery in the 1970's.

This model is now in the Hornby range, and although an old tooling, it's not too bad.

 

I guess that's also the one which shows up on Ebay as a Dapol product.  Hmmm ... maybe one of those in decent condition plus a flush glazing kit (If I can still get one from somewhere) wouldn't look too bad from distance with the main room lights off if I squint a bit ... ?

[chrisf]

The Hoenby/Airfix/Dapol trailer is a good reason to do some good honest modelling.  As it comes it is a hybrid of two diagrams, A28 and A30.  Extreme Etchings do a set of flush glazing for the A30 and Dart Castings supply a detailing kit.  Phil Parker describes using the detailing kit in the last BRM but even better IMHO is the article by Tim Shackleton in Hornby Magazine for December 2017 which shows how to make both diagrams.

 

Chris

[The Johnster]

I have 2 of them, and am after a 3rd.  They are, as Chris says, a hybrid of A27 (not A28, which is panelled) and A30, and correct for neither.  They have the flush glazing of the A27, but the recessed driver's doors and 9' bogies of the A30.  The A27 is a slightly shorter vehicle with less space between the windows, so you can't quite pass it off as an A27 by flushing out the driver's doors and putting 7' bogies under it.  I tend to regard the models as whatever is correct for the running number; life's too short!

 

Liveries can be anything from 1920s GW to lined maroon BR, and I am considering a repaint of one of mine into wartime austerity brown, which AFAIK has never been available RTR.  They respond well to working up a bit; I'd suggest painting the very visible interiors at least, and detailing the cabs.  I paint the underside of the roofs white to spread the light about more effectively in there.  The real let down is the bogies; Hornby are still using the old Airfix mouldings that do not have the brake blocks in line with the wheels, despite having suitable better bogies from the Hawksworths available; sadly these mount differently and are not a straight swap.  There are plenty of articles available about improving them.

 

The A38 is too modern for a GW layout.  The initial order was completed in crimson/cream, which the WR applied to auto trailers in the early BR period until Riddles found out and they were told that auto trailers were not main line stock and to toe the all over crimson unlined line.  The GW had traditionally turned out trailers in full main line livery. A later order appeared in all over crimson, and two of these were named, 'Thrush' and 'Wren'; there were apparently plans to name more.  There were detail differences in the interiors of this batch.

 

Bachmann's A38 is a very good model indeed, about as good as one can reasonably expect from RTR, though expensive.

 

There are kits for other types of trailer, but their availability nowadays is questionable.  It is my view that any pre-A27 trailer would sell well, and I am hopeful of a diagram N from Dapol who already have one in 0 gauge.  Pre-A27 trailers are harder than later ones to scratch build as they are either panelled or matchboarded.

 

Of course, nobody can object to your using an A38 in GW livery under the supreme authority, Rule 1.

[chrisf]

Johnster, what makes you think that A28 is panelled?  I am virtually word perfect on John Lewis's books on auto trailers!  The A27 is shorter than A28 and A30, which are the same length.  A28 has recessed glazing, flush drivers door and 7 ft wb bogies, A30 has flush glazing, recessed drivers doors and 9 ft wb bogies.  Is that clear?

 

Chris

[spikey]

Thank you to one and all for all the information.  My Bachmann Hawksworth auto-trailer in maroon will shortly be Ebay-bound, and i'll be on the lookout for a decent Airfix/Dapol/Hornby one.  I've even managed to lay my hands on the December 2017 Hornby Magazine to which chrisf alerted me above.

 

One final (hopefully) question.  I'll be buying s/h online, so assuming the mould tool's been looked after since Airfix days and all 3 makes are generally much of a muchness structurally, which would be my best bet for a decent paint finish - "as new" Hornby, Dapol or vintage Airfix?

[The Johnster]

Senior moment, Chris; they are starting to coalesce into senior days now!  I meant A26 of course.

[PMP]

 

One final (hopefully) question.  I'll be buying s/h online, so assuming the mould tool's been looked after since Airfix days and all 3 makes are generally much of a muchness structurally, which would be my best bet for a decent paint finish - "as new" Hornby, Dapol or vintage Airfix?

Hornby will give you the best factory paint finish out of the three, and the more recent the model the better the paint finish should be.

[The Johnster]

Yes, the old Airfix was cutting edge in it'd day and doesn't hold up badly now.  There have been some improvements; recent Hornby versions have metal wheels and much better turned metal buffers as well as a better finish.  It's not just the livery, more recent models feature better quality printing for numbers and lining as well.  A particular one to avoid is the Airfix early BR liveried version in plain crimson, which Airfix interpreted as an odd purple sort of colour; their similar livery B sets were the same, but if you're modelling GW period this won't matter to you.  They are very common and cheap on 'Bay.  Watch the roofs if you're buying secondhand; the ventilators were easily knocked off!  Damage easily occurred at the top of the body sides as well, where the ventilator tops leave a rather flimsy piece of plastic between the top of the side and the roof.  I got the impression, which may be incorrect, that the Airfix plastic became brittle with age and this occurred to my old models, as well as some damage in storage to underframe truss rods, resulting in their replacement by modern Hornby.

 

The Bachmann A38 shows how much RTR standards have improved; better bogies, much more underframe detail, finer steps, separate lamp irons, and very good printing and finishing.  The flush glazing is much more flush as well.  But the Airfix/Dapol/Hornby model passes muster at normal viewing distance and does the job well enough for the money; £30 new and very much less for older secondhand models.  I'd say the price is low enough to warrant buying brand new models, and I don't have particularly deep pockets.  Only one GW livery is currently available AFAIK, a post war double lined version, and it might be necessary to go secondhand for other versions.  No wartime austerity brown version has ever been marketed AFAIK, but I'm happy to be proved wrong on this point!

 

It is well worth replacing the wheels with metal ones if you buy one with plastic wheels; they run much better and will not spread crud around your layout like plastic wheels do.  Even the current Hornby ones feature large loop fixed tension lock couplers, and compatibility with modern NEMs is questionable.

Edited September 29, 2018 by The Johnster

[Steamport Southport]

This is the current version.

 

https://www.hattons.co.uk/337806/Hornby_R4831_GWR_A30_autocoach_190_in_GWR_chocolate_and_cream/StockDetail.aspx

 

 

Here's the real one.

 

http://www.didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk/coaches/190/190.html

 

 

 

Jason

[Wellyboots]

  I got the impression, which may be incorrect, that the Airfix plastic became brittle with age and this occurred to my old models, .....

 

 

That was certainly the case with the one I got in the early 80's, it had become very fragile by the late 90's ending up in the bin as it was beyond repair. It might have been just one batch that had the problem but I would recommend avoiding the original Airfix versions and go for the Dapol or Hornby ones. 

[Dunsignalling]

That was certainly the case with the one I got in the early 80's, it had become very fragile by the late 90's ending up in the bin as it was beyond repair. It might have been just one batch that had the problem but I would recommend avoiding the original Airfix versions and go for the Dapol or Hornby ones. 

It presumably isn't a general problem, unless it's down to prolonged UV exposure. One of mine (BR faded red) was bought new in the early blue Airfix box, not even GMR, and appears unchanged in almost 40 years. Mind you, it has probably been in a cupboard or stock box for at least thirty of them.

 

I also have a Dapol one in plain crimson and Hornby examples in both crimson/cream and lined maroon.

 

Hornby's finishes are way better than any of the predecessors, though, and make them the ones to go for nowadays.

 

John

[The Johnster]

I'd agree with John; you don't need 10 coach rakes of them and they're not expensive.  Buy new.

[RJEB]

I don't have J. Lewis' book to hand and have a query about the blood and custard liveried Bachmann auto trailers. 

I have seen on eBay BNIB a version with the carriage number at the right hand end and another with the larger carriage number at the left hand end.

Can anyone enlighten me as to the correctness / periods?

[chrisf]

Off the top of my head, BR initially placed coach numbers at the left hand end on inherited coaches and at the right on the new standard stock.  Then it was decided to use suffixes on coaches of pre-nationalisation design, eg W231W, and all numbers were gradually moved to the right hand end.  This process began around 1952 but, as with all livery changes, was accomplished far from immediately.

 

Chris

[The Johnster]

The 'suffix' letters were introduced as a result of the introduction of the mk1 stock to prevent number duplication I believe, and this explains the 1952 start date for them.  It is very probably that they appeared fairly quickly once the instruction was issued, though, as they could be applied in carriage sheds without needing a works visit and the attention of the paint shop.