Best Mk2 coaches for a family layout?

[MrTea]

I've recently acquired a Hornby Railroad TTS Class 40, which is great fun (and rather noisy) and I'm interested in getting some suitable (late 70s/early 80s) coaches for it to pull.  Ideally they need to be fairly inexpensive and relatively indestructible as they will also be used by my kids when the trains are out on our dining table.

 

I've seen that there are the new Hornby Mk2E coaches (and some of these come with lights) but that relatively recently Hornby also released Mk2D coaches in blue and grey (ex-Airfix?) too.

 

There are also the original Hornby Mk2A coaches and I think Lima had a selection too? 

[Bomag]

Class 40s very rarely pulled aircon Mk2s since the only had steam heating. Mk1 and MK2 to MK2C would be suitable. AFAIK some 40s did not receive air brakes so would be limited to Mk1/Mk2 coaches

[stovepipe]

40s rarely pulled mk2d/e/f (air-conditioned) coaches, except for Sunday electric loco drags, so you might be better going for the early mk2 coaches made by Hornby or Lima (mk2b) in the 1970/80s. They're cheap, robust and easy to find. The modern Bachmann equivalents are fairly pricey and quite fragile.

[MrTea]

40s rarely pulled mk2d/e/f (air-conditioned) coaches, except for Sunday electric loco drags, so you might be better going for the early mk2 coaches made by Hornby or Lima (mk2b) in the 1970/80s. They're cheap, robust and easy to find. The modern Bachmann equivalents are fairly pricey and quite fragile.

Thanks both. Will look out for some of the Mk2a or b then.

 

Mk1-wise I don't think the new Hornby ones are available in blue and grey are they?

 

Maybe if I can get hold of some Mainline ones they might do the job?

[John M Upton]

Second hand old Hornby Mk 2's as well as the Lima variant are readily available at shows and on certain online auction sites for not very much.  Mainline ones seem to be slightly thinner on the ground though, especially in blue/grey.  

 

The one thing I would suggest you do to any Hornby Mk2's when you acquire them is re-wheel them.  Get a few packets of Hornby's metal coach wheel sets and simply swap them out as the older coaches tended to have the rather poor metal tyred plastic wheels or even worse the original wonky all plastic variety.  Changing them out will provide better running as well as add a little extra weight too.

 

You can always use the old wheels as scenic detail in a scrap pile or alternatively bung them in a bag and stick them on Ebay!

[Fenman]

Bachmann's Mk2/2A (non air-con) coaches are rather lovely. The blue/grey livery was a little out which hugely upsets some people - I can happily live with it for the joy of good quality Mk2 stock behind an all-blue Class 37.

 

If you're not too worried about prototype rakes, Bachmann appears to have massively over-produced first class stock - including brake firsts - and these were around for ages in huge quantities for little more than a tenner each. I'm not sure if they're still available. They seemed pretty robust to me.

 

Paul

[stovepipe]

Sadly it's hard to get any kind of Bachman Mk2 for much less than £20 these days.

 

Be aware that the Lima Mk2bs were also made in HO scale, these mostly, but not always have lighter blue paint and different couplers. It's fairly common for them to appear on ebay with the wrong or no description.

[sub39h]

I'd recommend the Lima Mk2s personally. No lights and not the last word in prototypical accuracy but very hard to break and cheap!

 

As above be aware of the H0 versions.

[MJI]

If not Bachman go for

 

Old Hornby Mark 2s

Old Lima/Mainline/Hornby Mark 1s

 

Not aircon as no ETH

Not 2B as 2Bs were mainly WR and 40s were not

[ess1uk]

As the above, look at second hand at shows, there usually a few going cheap.

Enjoy

[drgj]

 I remember on one summer Saturday in North Wales in the late 70s class 40s turned up on just about  everything including a rake of Mk3 coaches on a Euston Holyhead service.

 

On a model railway you can have any kind of train you want, of course.

 

Dave

[Shed]

Thanks both. Will look out for some of the Mk2a or b then.

 

Mk1-wise I don't think the new Hornby ones are available in blue and grey are they?

 

Maybe if I can get hold of some Mainline ones they might do the job?

what did you get in the end? 

[MrTea]

what did you get in the end? 

 

In the end I plumped for some of the new Hornby Mk2Es. Not prototypical I know, but they were on sale at Hattons and came with factory-fitted lights.

 

Oh and I also acquired a TTS 47 in large logo BR blue which kind of swung it... The class 40 might be relegated to freight duties.