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Bournemouth Limited using RTR


Christopher42
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Good afternoon

I hope someone can help me to choose some OO Gauge SR rolling stock. I want to make up a reasonable representation of the "Bournemouth Limited", as described in this article - https://www.railwaywondersoftheworld.com/bournemouth.html
This is dated as 1929, so does not cover the 'modernised' train in Malachite Green that ran from 1937.

I have a King Arthur and a Lord Nelson.

The coaches are described as "...the steel panelled rolling stock of the latest type of which the train is composed, the green finish of the vehicles giving them a very pleasing appearance" which I assume means the new Maunsell coaches, with 'low' corridor windows, in lined Olive Green. The formation at Waterloo is "...the first four vehicles are plainly marked “Bournemouth Limited”. These are a corridor brake third, corridor third and first-class coaches, and a second corridor brake third, all of which are destined for Bournemouth West. The entire train is composed of ten vehicles, the coaches for Bournemouth West being followed by a corridor brake third, a corridor composite, a dining car, and a corridor third for Weymouth, and by a corridor brake composite and a corridor brake third for Swanage. The various portions of the train are clearly marked, the destination boards of the coaches for Weymouth being lettered for Waterloo, Bournemouth Central, Dorchester and Weymouth. Those of the Swanage portion indicate equally plainly that these two coaches serve Wareham and Swanage."

The Bournemouth section is probably one of set 204-209. I don't think there are straightforward models of these, but a few years later sets 241-247 were being used. Hornby have produced the 243 set, other than the 'high' windows I'm not sure what the differences were.

I feel uncomfortable with the description of the Weymouth section, since it does not appear to be one of Southern Railway's standard sets with a brake at both ends. In contrast, David Gould (p. 50) says 'One of the 390 class sets was running as a 5-coach portion of the Bournemouth Limited, with an adaptor fitted Dining Car and an Open Third of the 7864-9 series marshalled between the Composite and one of the Third Brakes.' Hornby have made Set 392 as R4394A and R4394B for the Brakes and R4299B as the Composite, produced a Dining Car R4816 and announced R40030 – SR Maunsell Third Class Dining saloon No. 7864 to Diagram 2652 in SR Lined Olive for Q4 2021, which will give me something that is close enough.

For the Swanage portion the Brake Composite can be modelled with Hornby R4318 no. 6571-4 but I am having trouble identifying the Third Brake. Gould (p.58) has '2-coach Nos. 179 and 180, for the Swanage portion of the Bournemouth Limited' but that is for coaches built in 1930. In 1929 the Third Brake may have been an ex-LSWR coach, again I'm not sure which.

Can anyone clarify these for me, or suggest other suitable models which could be used?

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I can't clarify set numbers, but I do agree that the Weymouth portion doesn't sound kosher, unless the author started his tally at the buffer stops at Waterloo, which I think he might have by the way he describes things, coming to the loco last . Logical, if he was coming onto the platform to board the train - start taking notes immediately after showing his ticket, stroll to th front, look at the loco, wander back and find a seat just before departure.

 

That gives a train marshalling, starting at the front, which works:

 

- loco;

 

- two cars for Swanage, which can be detached at Wareham by the train engine pulling them forward and backing them into the Down Bay; 

 

- four cars for Weymouth with the brake at the rear; and,

 

- four cars for Bournemouth West, which are "left behind" at Bournemouth Central and taken forward by a different engine.

Edited by Nearholmer
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The Swanage portion may well have still been "ironclads". The sets that in BR days were converted to pull-and-push units started life as two car Swanage-portion sets (although not just for the "Bournemouth Limited").

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