Andy Y Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 A tale of two cities from Branchline Bachmann Branchline has announced that following the successful launch of the ‘City of Truro’ for the National Railway Museum (NRM) in 2009, it is releasing two other members of the GWR 3700 Class as part of its standard Branchline range. The ‘City of Truro’ continues to be a NRM Exclusive Edition and is available only from them. Ten locomotives were built new between March and May 1903 at Swindon, with No. 3440 becoming the 2000th locomotive to be built there in April of that year. Originally numbered in the series 3433 - 3442 they were renumbered in 1912 to become 3710 – 3719, with ‘City of Truro’ becoming No. 3717. A further ten locomotives (3400 – 3409) were rebuilt from Atbara Class locomotives between September 1902 and February 1909 to make a total of 20 locomotives in the class. The two new models depict No. 3443 ‘City of Bath’ in GWR green with garter crest (31-726) and No. 3439 ‘City of London’ in GWR green with monogram crest (31-727). Each model has a recommended retail price of £123.50 and will be released on to the market shortly. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matabiau Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 I can see my City of Truro getting some stablemates in the not too distant future! Does this foray into the pre-grouping era mean we may expect some coaching stock to go with these locos sometime? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Bigcheeseplant Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 No. 3439 ‘City of London’ in GWR green with monogram crest (31-727). If this is the case then the loco would be in early livery but late condition, unless the model has been changed without top feed, short smokebox, cast iron chimney, running plate sandboxes and many other differences. David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwd Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 No. 3439 ‘City of London’ in GWR green with monogram crest (31-727). Is this the same as 'shirtbutton' 1934-1943? What time frames can these two citys run in? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Bigcheeseplant Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 No. 3439 ‘City of London’ in GWR green with monogram crest (31-727). Is this the same as 'shirtbutton' 1934-1943? What time frames can these two citys run in? The citys were all withdrawn by the early 1930s so would have not got the shirt button livery, the locos at the end of there lives would have lost the brass beading to the splashers and had a larger 3500 gallon tender, and would have been plain unlined green. David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwd Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 The citys were all withdrawn by the early 1930s so would have not got the shirt button livery, the locos at the end of there lives would have lost the brass beading to the splashers and had a larger 3500 gallon tender, and would have been plain unlined green. David So city of bath livery ~1900 and city of london livery 1920's, interesting, no BR interest there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted March 14, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 14, 2012 Interesting venture these two and I wonder how successful they are going to be although the price (in 2012 RRP terms) suggests they might be attractive to those who thought the NRM's price a bit steep especially if they had knife and paint jobs in mind. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium rprodgers Posted March 14, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 14, 2012 So city of bath livery ~1900 and city of london livery 1920's, interesting, no BR interest there. Other way around the City of London is for the earlier period and City of Bath with the garter crest early 1920's. Other than Cof T all Cities had been withdrawn as said earlier by the 1930's. Yes some coaches would be good especially if Mr Hornby does not reissue improved GWR clerestory coaches with "raised" panelling. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matabiau Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 As has been mentioned before on this forum, some four or six wheel coaches would be good. At least we will soon be able to express to Bachmann our wishes through this website, if I am not mistaken. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwd Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 indeed, some decent passenger RTR rolling stock for the earlier GWR period would be extremely welcome. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach bogie Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Other way around the City of London is for the earlier period and City of Bath with the garter crest early 1920's. Other than Cof T all Cities had been withdrawn as said earlier by the 1930's. Only three lasted until the 1930's. 3711 City of Birmingham withdrawn 28/7/30 from Leamington. 3712 City of Bristol outlived Truro in service by a couple of months not being withdrawn until 23/5/31 from Reading. 3717 City of Truro was withdrawn 12/3/31 from Shrewsbury. Challenge for Bachmann if there are to depict a later locomotive is they need to change the tender. From the mid twenties until withdrawn the last cities had a wide 3,500 gallon tender attached as did Truro. Shall be buying a later livery City of Bath . I really need a late City of London (Bath Road 1929) for My layout so some renaming required. Mike Wiltshire Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWR-Fanatic Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 This is most interesting, I may even look at perhaps acquiring one for myself. I also view this story with a hope that Bachmann/Graham Farish may perhaps consider releasing a version in N-Gauge, as that is the scale I actually model and would love to acquire a "City" class for my personal layout in that particular scale. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Wintle Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 As has been mentioned before on this forum, some four or six wheel coaches would be good. At least we will soon be able to express to Bachmann our wishes through this website, if I am not mistaken. Four or six wheel coaches really wouln't be appropriate for the Cities. You really need an expansion of the Hornby corridor clerestory range for them. I can see getting one of each of these. Adrian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I seem to remember the strengthening plates on the outside frames of other "Cities" were different to those on "City of Truro". Bachmann might have to consider a change to the tooling for that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Bigcheeseplant Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I would have thought that by withdraw no two of the class were the same, other minor changes were the two whistles changed the small one originally on the right changed to the left. The brass beading on the spashers and bogie was also removed, if modelling the early edwardian livery then the lamp bracket would have been sqare sockets rather than angled strip. David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roy P Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I can see my City of Truro getting some stablemates in the not too distant future! Indeed! The Bachmann website is showing City of Bath in the "due in next 60 days list". RP Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmann Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Deeper strengthened outside frames are needed (I suspect) for the post 1923 GWR era. Coaches? Anything that was around on the kind of trains these 4-4-0s hauled up until the engine's withdrawal, although lets be honest here....how many purchasers are seriously modelling the GWR before the 1930's and how many are impulse buyers of the engines? I fit the latter and would probably use the engine for society specials on the pretext that CoT had been renamed for the occasion... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmann Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 More workaday in plain green Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwd Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Deeper strengthened outside frames are needed (I suspect) for the post 1923 GWR era. Coaches? Anything that was around on the kind of trains these 4-4-0s hauled up until the engine's withdrawal, although lets be honest here....how many purchasers are seriously modelling the GWR before the 1930's and how many are impulse buyers of the engines? I fit the latter and would probably use the engine for society specials on the pretext that CoT had been renamed for the occasion... GWR before the 1930's is exactly what i'm modelling so the more RTR of this period the poorer i will become Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
antrobuscp Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 I'm sure I'll go for one of these locos, despite the fact that I've got a kit one to build - which I will still go ahead with, I've a Flower class in largely completed state also, which work commitments in the last few years have prevented me from completing. I'm hoping to start getting a bit more modelling time from later this year. I've always thought that a model of the o/s frame GW 4-4-0s would sell well. There are so many variations on a largely similar theme - same basic chassis but curved/straight frames, a range of different boilers, two wheel sizes, cab and tender variations, shallow/deep frames - that with carefully designed tools I would imagine the cost of providing those variations would not be excessive, but could provide a supply of "new" models for quite some years. I really hope these prove to be the success - along with the Dukedog - that I think they will be. The only slight reservation I had when Truro was produced was over the outside cranks being "plastic". I didn't buy that version as I thought it a bit pricey when I already had the kit to do. Has anyone who bought one had any problems with the cranks? Colin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Neal Ball Posted March 16, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 16, 2012 Interesting that Bachmann have gone for a loco that was finished by the 1930's - wonder how many more pre-war loco's we can expect. The Dukedog is due soon.... oh dear! 2012 is going to be expensive; City; Dukedog; 72xx.... Oh well,. let's hope for a profitable year at work!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmann Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Interesting that Bachmann have gone for a loco that was finished by the 1930's - wonder how many more pre-war loco's we can expect. LNWR Jumbo's and Claughtons, MR Singles, L&Y and NBR Atlantics, Caley Cardean, GCR 4-6-0s, Baltic Tanks, Kirtley outside frame 2-4-0s, a veritable goldmine for impulse purchasers... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Barry Ten Posted March 17, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 17, 2012 My recollection from doing the Dapol/Branchlines City kit was that the boiler band positions for Truro differed from the other Cities. It was one of the things that needed to be changed if you doing a different loco. Personally I wouldn't lose too much sleep over boiler bands... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Siberian Snooper Posted March 17, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 17, 2012 So city of bath livery ~1900 and city of london livery 1920's, interesting, no BR interest there. City of Truro appeared in BR lined black in one of the mags as an April the 1st spoof (early to mid eighties if the grey cells arn't to depleted) when she was at the Severn Valley for an overhaul, she was painted on one side only so that when a rep from the NRM came to see her he was only shown the green half. Cheers SS Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach bogie Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 My recollection from doing the Dapol/Branchlines City kit was that the boiler band positions for Truro differed from the other Cities. It was one of the things that needed to be changed if you doing a different loco. Personally I wouldn't lose too much sleep over boiler bands... Frame strengthening plates are different too. On COT there are two separate strengthening plates over the axle boxes on the left/firemans side ( a stage 3 repair I believe), whereas on the right/drivers side, it is one continuous plate (stage 5 repair). The two sides are totally different, faithfully recreated by Bachmann. Photo evidence may reveal two locos the same, but the repairs were made as required rather than a preventional cure to the whole class. I am sure it has been covered before, but the red frame locos did not receive the top feed pipework leading to the safety valve until later after 1911, at a time that the simplified livery was about to appear. COT had no topfeed during the time of the high speed mails run. It has been written that COT only received the earlier livery in order for the original number of 3440 to be used. In 1957, the BR books already had a 3717 in the form of a Pannier tank. (now there's a marketing opportunity for Bachmann to produce - both 3717 locomotives in a boxed collectors set). Non of this is going to stop me buying another one (or two) though.Etched plates for 3712/6 already ordered. Mike Wiltshire Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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