Blue Riband Mk1s

[Joseph_Pestell]

i spotted one trader at TINGS selling new farish sleepers with one B4 bogie and one commonwealth!

 

Farish are not the only offenders. Many years ago now, there were Hornby Carmine & Cream Stanier coaches with B4s.

[Bomag]

i spotted one trader at TINGS selling new farish sleepers with one B4 bogie and one commonwealth!

 

Now if it was a B5 bogie it would not be so bad

[John M Upton]

Looks like the Mk1 BCK in breakdown train yellow is now arriving. Can't make up my mind on whether to get this one or not.

 

It probably will sell quickly though just because it's yellow...

[bigP]

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Edited January 31, 2021 by bigP
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[acourtrail]

Big P, the Intercity BCKs are out and about.  If you are looking for one, I saw some at Osbornes, Bideford yesterday and at Cheltenham Model Centre had at least one when I was there less than a month ago.  Both of these shops have websites and their stock can be bought online.

 

I have had trouble with the close couplings on some of my MK1s, usually they are stiff, and will not spring back when the trains come out of curves, causing derailments.  Often this is because there are slight flaws in the cutouts in the underframe, or lumps underneath the interior mouldings.  When ever I "refurbish" (paint the interior, change bogies as required, any other modifications) one of my coaches, I always test the finished vehicle inside a train in all four possible directions on a continuous run of track (Let us say for arguments sake I am testing a MK1 TSO.  I put the coach on the track toilet end facing left, run it both clockwise and anti clockwise for approx 15 minutes each time, rotate the coach so so the toilet end is now facing right and repeat the clockwise/ anti clockwise procedure).  If I find any problems, I can address them as I go, and then repeat the testing until the coach runs properly.

[John M Upton]

Just noticed that the Breakdown Train yellow Mk1 is advertised as being a Brake Corridor Standard (BSK) but is actually a Brake Corridor Composite (BCK) a rather different animal, most notable five saloon windows per side as opposed to a BSK's 4.

[bigP]

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Edited January 31, 2021 by bigP
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[TomE]

The model itself is correct in being a BCK, it appears to be a mistake in the labelling. 

 

http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/pics/adb977109.html

 

Tom. 

[bigP]

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Edited January 31, 2021 by bigP
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[John M Upton]

Managed to pick up a InterCity BSK at the Southampton show and am now trying to solve an enigma.  It clearly has the number M35451 on it but all the combined volumes I can round up say it was in blue/grey well into 1989 at least and in 1990 it vanished.

 

Did this one actually carry InterCity colours?  If it was repainted as late as 1989 out of blue/grey it most certainly would not have had the M prefix on it.  The Commonwealth bogies are correct for the number however.

[kintbury jon]

I think that the only two bsk mk 1's were 35454 and 35465.

[bigP]

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Edited January 31, 2021 by bigP
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[John M Upton]

Indeed it is my stack of battered Platform 5 combined volumes that I am referring.  I don't know if I have mentioned it already but 'Diesels In The Highlands' on page 28 shows a Intercity Mk1 BSK with Commonwealth bogies on the 4th of July 1992 at Loch Eilt behind 37406 which I reckon must be 35465 as that is the only one in Intercity livery I can find for that date, the other 35454 having also vanished from the lists.  However this one has Intercity Swallow type fleet names so I shall be changing those along with the number.

 

All in all it makes Farish's IC BSK a bit dubious....

[acg5324]

The BR Mk1 and Mk2 book by Hugh Longworth shows M35451 built 1963 Wolverton, Commonwealth bogies. Stayed a midland coach throughout until withdrawn Feb 1989 when it became preserved but mainline passed 99313 in Sept 1989 until December 1995. No liveries carried are shown. The coach appears to be on the K&WVR at least until 1998.

http://www.railfaneurope.net/pix/gb/car/Mk1/MK1-BSK/99313-10.jpg

 

https://www.rcts.org.uk/features/preservedcoaches/Preserved%20Coaching%20Stock%20of%20British%20Railways%20-%20Part%20One%20-%20Jul%202013.pdf

This shows that the vehicle is a NR registered support coach for K4 61994 so it's still running. but no IC livery.

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/camperdown/6812159207/

Shows the coach in SR green on the WSR in March 2010.

Edited February 1, 2016 by acg5324

[John M Upton]

With some Railtec transfers my BSK is now the much less spurious 35465 with later Swallow style Intercity names:

 

Meanwhile one of the Breakdown Train yellow BCK's has also arrived and it is a pretty impressive model:

[John M Upton]

The Mk1 BG in InterCity colours has now started to appear at last.  I have plans for one to be ScotRailed......

[woodenhead]

My B/G sleepers on B4 bogies have just gone back into their boxes.

 

Not happy on any curve (3rd and 4th radius) and couplings a bit high for my Dapol locos, my other MK1s are fine runners.

 

As they don't strictly fit my new layout then for the time being they are going out of sight, 4 Dapol MK3s with buffers joining them as I no longer want a push pull set.

[John M Upton]

Interesting.  I have found that nearly all my modern tooling Mk1's have been good runners except for the pair of blue/grey BG's I have which as a result see little real use.  Oddly the Mk1 GUV which is the same shorter length runs absolutely fine.

 

Some investigation may be required I think!

[woodenhead]

It's not all bogies but some seem to hang low at one end, I do wonder if the wheels have been badly fitted resulting in them being loose.

 

This might explain the upward pointy nature of the coupling and the derailment at the lower end.

 

Anyway, too much stock now for my latest railway so into the boxes they went, bogie swap for another day, the maroon sleepers have commonwealth bogies and don't look dodgy.

[John M Upton]

I have found that on these it is very easy for the wheel sets to get displaced when they have been heavily handled during major workbench attention.

 

It is not immediately obvious until the first corner they go around and one bogie starts wandering off on its own.

 

It is then only by looking very carefully at the underside of the coach you notice the pin points of the axles have become displaced and need popping back into the holes inside the bogie frames.

 

I think it is only certain bogie types that have this problem though.

[woodenhead]

I did try that but it didn't seem to fix it, they're back in their boxes now and going into storage along with my mk1 Pullmans, mk2 air cons and a whole Dapol HST.

 

Still too much stock though.

[Crepello]

I did try that but it didn't seem to fix it, they're back in their boxes now and going into storage along with my mk1 Pullmans, mk2 air cons and a whole Dapol HST.

 

Still too much stock though.

 

You shouldn't give up on the Sleepers. From my experience they're extremely tolerant coaches that will run through curves and junctions without problems. Mine are fitted with Dapol short NEMCOUPS both ends which seem less prone to separate than rapidos if heights differ a bit. I would take every bogie off and check it for free running before replacing on the coach. You could replace the couplings when the bogies are off as it's easier this way. Good luck!

[John M Upton]

I can thoroughly recommend the usage of the Dapol magnetic Kadee type knuckle couplers, one reason why I have mostly exorcised all the old Poole tooling coaches off my roster (although you can fit them but its a major faff!!).  At the moment certain semi- fixed rakes only possess them on the outer ends but I am gradually changing them all over as time and spare funds permit.

Edited February 27, 2016 by John M Upton

[woodenhead]

You shouldn't give up on the Sleepers. From my experience they're extremely tolerant coaches that will run through curves and junctions without problems. Mine are fitted with Dapol short NEMCOUPS both ends which seem less prone to separate than rapidos if heights differ a bit. I would take every bogie off and check it for free running before replacing on the coach. You could replace the couplings when the bogies are off as it's easier this way. Good luck!

They're away not because I don't want them but because they don't suit my latest layout, I'm keeping them though as they are a lovely model as are the other Blue Riband Mk1s.

[Les1952]

I have on Hawthorn Dene an entirely prototypical rake consisting of a Mark 1 brake (next to the loco) with a Mark 1 second carrying the tail lamp- loco is a pacific.  The prototype was detached from a Kings Cross to Newcastle train at Darlington and run round the Durham coast, and was used as a means of getting a Tyneside pacific (or at worst a B1 or V2) home from Darlington having worked to that place on a terminating parcels train.

 

For six exhibitions this train has run faultlessly behind a Dapol A3 (usually 60051 or 60085) or an A4 as a wheel-clean changeover.  

 

This weekend I substituted a Farish A1 (60124).  It lasted less than a dozen laps before removal as the Mark 1 wouldn't stay coupled to the loco tender.  Substituting the spare A2 (still running as Blue Peter) made no difference- the train would not remain coupled.  Nothing apparently amiss with loco or coach coupling.

 

Putting a random A4 out of the box resulted in - the train remaining coupled impeccably.  Not only that, when I noticed the A4 had lost a lamp and substituted a different one the train remained coupled to that one for the rest of the day!  AND the A1 stayed coupled to the train I'd taken the A4 off.

 

Funny old world isn't it when a Farish coach seems to prefer to be coupled to a Dapol loco than to a Farish one.

 

Classic example of a silly and unexplainable phenomenon, but we often judge our purchases by chance random flukes like this......

 

Just a thought

Les

 

Edit-Mr Simon reminded me that the A1 pulled the 2-coach set for a time at Doncaster until the loco failed, though this was exhibition number (unlucky) seven.

Edited February 28, 2016 by Les1952