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RevolutioN Trains Announce Cartic-4 Car Carriers in N Gauge


sc2016
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Information to be added when released. Edited Information Now Released and Added 22:15.

 

https://www.revolutiontrains.com/fantas-car-tic-four-from-revolution/

Information from Above Link: 

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British Rail’s iconic and revolutionary Cartic-4 car carriers are the next 1960s era model to be offered by Revolution Trains.

 

Each four-unit articulated Cartic-4 set could carry 34 (1960s-sized) cars at up to 75mph. In total 538 Cartic-4s were constructed between 1966 and 1972, and they lasted in service until the mid 2000s.

 

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40078 with empty Cartic-4s at Peterborough. Photo courtesy Paul James.

 

The Cartic-4 was developed jointly by BR and Ford following after the Beeching report of 1963 urged British Railways to focus on efficient block trains for freight and adopt fast, air-braked bogie wagons to replace its fleet of ageing and slow four-wheeled stock.

 

The design was radical at the time for freight stock – comprising a permanently coupled four-part vehicle in which the inner cars were linked via shared bogies on articulated joints – and two prototypes were constructed and trialled on traffic from Ford’s giant Dagenham plant in September 1964.

 

The production units differed slightly from the two prototypes, and the majority were built for private vehicle transporters MAT, Silcock & Collings and Tolemans, however some were also built by BR and used to launch its Motorail brand in 1966. This offered motorists the opportunity to take their car on holiday with them, with an extensive network of services between cities including London, Birmingham and Sheffield and Scotland, the South West and North Wales.

 

Out of holiday season, the Motorail-branded vehicles were often used alongside the rest of the fleet for new car deliveries. We will be offering as-built Cartic-4s in BR Motorail, MAT-Transauto and Silcock and Collings liveries.

 

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In the 1984, following increasing incidents of vehicles becoming damaged in transit by stones, Silcock and Collings decided to add screens to the sides of the wagons. Some were also given corrugated roofs to protect vehicles from items dropped from overbridges; the roofs were hinged and could be raised to allow loading and unloading. Both these variants are being offered, and they often ran together in the same train.

 

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85005 at Stratford in 1988. Photo courtesy Phil Richards.

 

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This was a success, and within two years MAT had decided on similar measures, using Expamet mesh for its screens. The MAT fleet was inherited by STVA when it took over, and the Cartic-4s, by now coded PJA under TOPS, were refurbished and repainted into its pale grey livery.

 

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47309, also at Stratford, with MAT mesh-sided car carriers in 1991. Photo courtesy Michael Hart.

 

A very small number of the MAT sets received roofs, however they were to a different design and are not being included.

 

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STVA also decided to remove the top decks from three sets, and run them as single deck units primarily for light commercial vehicles; these lasted in use until 2013 however they are not being offered as they also featured some strengthening additions which would not be practical to tool.

 

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BR drawings have been sourced and CAD work is underway. The models will feature our usual high levels of detailing, with the brake gear on the underside, accurate representations of the deck tread arrangement and separate parts including plastic and photo etched ladders, screens and roofs.

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Preliminary CAD work has started following the Chinese New Year holiday. 

 

Once CAD is complete the models will be available to pre-order.

 

 

 

 

Edited by sc2016
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9 hours ago, TomE said:

Another welcome wagon addition to the scale. Does rather highlight that a decent range of RHD N Gauge vehicles across all periods is desperately needed! 
 

Tom. 

I’ve recently come across this new range of 3D printed 1/148 vehicles......they come either ready painted or in undercoat for you to paint yourself. They are on eBay, seller redandy767

 

So far vehicles include Mk2 and Mk3 Escorts, Morris Marina, Rover 3500, Mk1 Ford Transit and coming soon Rover SD1.

Link to more details on the road vehicles HERE 

Edited by acg5324
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48 minutes ago, RP82 said:

Yes please and the cut down versions, tops code PJA would be a nice addition

 

Hi there,

 

We decided against the cut down versions because just three sets were converted and they are very similar - in appearance, livery and use - to a variant of our existing IPA twin sets.

 

cheers

 

Ben A.

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This is a very interesting and surprising announcement by Revolution Trains! As 1980s era modellers know, the availability of decent car models is a problem so for that reason I would imagine that the Silcock Express version with side screens and roofs will do very well as it will not be so obvious whether the wagons are loaded or not. 
It is worth mentioning that Cartics did not just operate in block trains; they appeared in Speedlink trains as well, quite often just a single set, and there are plenty of images online of them in many parts of the country.

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8 minutes ago, Western Aviator said:

This is a very interesting and surprising announcement by Revolution Trains! As 1980s era modellers know, the availability of decent car models is a problem so for that reason I would imagine that the Silcock Express version with side screens and roofs will do very well as it will not be so obvious whether the wagons are loaded or not. 
It is worth mentioning that Cartics did not just operate in block trains; they appeared in Speedlink trains as well, quite often just a single set, and there are plenty of images online of them in many parts of the country.

Amongst the more obscure places they visited were  Marcroft's workshops at Burry Port, West Wales. This workshops did a lot of the fitting of canopies and side sheets; the site was somewhat cramped, so each road could only handle one set.

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5 hours ago, Fat Controller said:

Amongst the more obscure places they visited were  Marcroft's workshops at Burry Port, West Wales. This workshops did a lot of the fitting of canopies and side sheets; the site was somewhat cramped, so each road could only handle one set.


The farthest south-west that these wagons appear to have travelled (unless someone knows otherwise) is Exeter. Premier Transport used rail for various goods including cars which arrived on Speedlink and later Railfreight Distribution Contract Services from Garston, Merseyside.

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28 minutes ago, Western Aviator said:


The farthest south-west that these wagons appear to have travelled (unless someone knows otherwise) is Exeter. Premier Transport used rail for various goods including cars which arrived on Speedlink and later Railfreight Distribution Contract Services from Garston, Merseyside.

The wagons from Garston were coupled at Severn Tunnel Junction to a portion of a train that would have come from Dagenham. I've seen no evidence of them going further west, though I have seen photos of both car and light van traffic on Carflats west of Exeter.

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8 hours ago, Fat Controller said:

Amongst the more obscure places they visited were  Marcroft's workshops at Burry Port, West Wales. This workshops did a lot of the fitting of canopies and side sheets; the site was somewhat cramped, so each road could only handle one set.

One was being washed, with a broom and bucket, when I visited there! https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/silcockcarticpja/e31d176c6

 

Paul

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2 hours ago, Fat Controller said:

The wagons from Garston were coupled at Severn Tunnel Junction to a portion of a train that would have come from Dagenham. I've seen no evidence of them going further west, though I have seen photos of both car and light van traffic on Carflats west of Exeter.

Hi Brian

 

Here's a possible photo at Exeter: 45321500514_0ff5675839_c.jpg08953, Exeter St.Davids. by Jason Rodhouse, on Flickr

 

Cheers Mike

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2 hours ago, Fat Controller said:

The wagons from Garston were coupled at Severn Tunnel Junction to a portion of a train that would have come from Dagenham. I've seen no evidence of them going further west, though I have seen photos of both car and light van traffic on Carflats west of Exeter.

Carflats could have been the motor rail service to St Austell. 

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Not a model suitable for all but the latest part of the transition period, by 1966 steam was in retreat and confined mostly to just a few remaining strongholds ,so definitely not on my shopping list. That said, there's no denying it is an interesting choice, long lived and lots of variations, I would envisage it will be very popular for those modelling pre-TOPS blue diesel period onwards.

 

Roy 

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2 hours ago, Kris said:

Carflats could have been the motor rail service to St Austell. 

Not unless it also conveyed coal wagons....

The shot of the Western-hauled freight was at South Brent on 11/08/73. The cars, as far as I can identify them were: A60 van, BMC 1100 or 1300, Mini and and another 1100/1300.

I haven't found the other photo yet, but it was an entire train of yellow Ital or Escort vans

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