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Choice of GWR carriages for GWR mainline


MoonMonkey

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I'd be grateful for thoughts about the 'more appropriate' choice of carriages for 1945 GWR Wiltshire mainline but with local traffic too.... 

I like the older Hornby Collet shirt button carriages - such as Hornby R4759 or R4760, because these seem more prototypical with connecting corridors and insignia.  But I'm wary of the lack of the 'joined up' connectors with massive gaps between them which might look too much like 'model train'.  I did see there are ways to make/buy those bellowed connectors though.  

As an alternative, I'm also wondering about the current Hornby range of 57' bow ended nine compartment ones, such as R4875A or R4874.  These don't have the connecting gangways, so removes my concerns above.  BUT these are all marked as Chester or Birmingham Division.  It's 1945 so I could claim they've been relocated at short notice to plug a gap or something.  I could even remove the 'B'ham/Chester Division writing at the ends to make the regional glitch less obvious.  

In time, I'll probably get some other types of carriage to 'mix up the rake'.  I'd like to get Traintech lighting into them and passengers, and weather them a bit too.  

But I need somewhere to start.  Any thoughts???

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I would recommend checking   www.gwr.org.uk    look in Listings.

 

Edited by jcm@gwr
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Providing your layouts curves are not too tight,  fitting close couplings is not too difficult, then  the bellows connectors.  It's not often,  you split and shunt carriages.  Normally they're left as a fixed rake. 

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I’d also suggest buying the David Geen “Great Western I the 1930s” books.  These books list the diagrams of the coaches In each picture.

 

 

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Most GW trains were made up ad hoc, the carriage working notice would specify what was required, but not the specific diagram of coach, this was down to what was available to whoever was marshalling the train.  70 foot coaches would be specified as such,  if required in the train and were mostly used on west country expresses. On a few occasions such as the introduction of the 70ft coaches for the South Wales expresses and the introduction of the Centenary stock for the Rivera would trains have uniform stock and that didn't last very long,  as the sets got split and remarshalled.

 

Have you looked at the Keen Systems close coupling system?

 

 

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Local traffic was handled by B sets and auto coaches, don’t forget “stoppers” on the mainline could be a pretty motley collection of usually non corridor stock. Also mixed trains with tail traffic and “brown” non passenger coaching stock should be included in passenger workings for variety and authenticity. 
Livery wise you might have some stock in wartime all over brown, check the excellent sites linked by previous commentators. There were even a few old top lights about until the early 50’s.

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Thanks for all the pointers, and I got some insight from books as suggested.  It looks like the suburban sets were Birmingham, I think, rather than making it down to Wiltshire.  So the Hornby 57' corridor carriages with gangways between seem to be more prototypical for the area.  I think I'll focus on that type of rake, using the gangway connectors and maybe the closer couplings if the tight curves will permit.  It'll offer more scope for mixing up the rake too with different liveries (eg wartime brown/grey) and carriage types, including some Bachmann Sunshine stock and a Hornby Clerestory or something.  If Hornby produce the B-sets, and something to haul the autocoach, than I can indulge in those too for more local workings.  

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Hornby do a 14xx, Bachmann do a 64xx both of these were good for autocoaches!
Dapol do the B set and with some minor work are good!
 

Khris

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