Exley

[Golden Fleece 30]

Here is my latest acquisition, a Formo 0-6-0 in very good condition.  It was only built as a 3-rail loco as far as I know.  She is pulling 4 SR Exley SR suburbans and a Lima SR horsebox without any trouble.  The camera has amplified the noise as it is a fair bit quieter in real life.

 

[Golden Fleece 30]

Over the last few years, and recently, I have been asked why I prefer Exley coaches to Dublo ones so I wrote a little on the HRCA site and included the photos that are on here.  The Dublo coaches were used for others to see the difference between similar vehicles although I could not find a Dublo Mail coach.  I always liked Dublo coaches but Exleys had the edge over them.

 

The Exley's attached here only came today and have not been cleaned yet but still in near mint condition (to me anyway). I know someone has replaced the bogies with Tri-ang ones but I will be changing those myself anyway for the Bachmann ones as previously done. These 3 were part of 8 coaches that arrived today all for less than £10 each so my best bargain yet. I have paid more for scrap ones to repaint which you have seen on here.  One of the coaches was my first 4 wheel LMS parcels coach and looks nice, not as good as Tony's earlier post on here though,  but does need a good clean and the roof respraying, a summer job I think.

Over the last few years, and recently, I have been asked why I prefer Exley coaches to Dublo ones so I wrote a little on the HRCA site and included the photos that are on here.  The Dublo coaches were used for others to see the difference between similar vehicles although I could not find a Dublo Mail coach.  I always liked Dublo coaches but Exleys had the edge over them.

 

The Exley's attached here only came today and have not been cleaned yet but still in near mint condition (to me anyway). I know someone has replaced the bogies with Tri-ang ones but I will be changing those myself anyway for the Bachmann ones as previously done. These 3 were part of 8 coaches that arrived today all for less than £10 each so my best bargain yet. I have paid more for scrap ones to repaint which you have seen on here.  One of the coaches was my first 4 wheel LMS parcels coach and looks nice, not as good as Tony's earlier post on here though,  but does need a good clean and the roof respraying, a summer job I think.

[Il Grifone]

The Dublo Royal mail coach is a model of an ex GWR vehicle (W807 IIRC). (it's slightly short, like all Dublo coaches, but very similar to the Exley one. Possibly the Exley coach is based on the same vehicle despite the LMS livery? (I believe the LMS vans had toplights*? The Hornby model has - they have been guilty of the reverse, putting GWR livery on an LMS vehicle).

 

I would agree that the Exley coaches are far superior, but they did cost around three times as much.

 

* LMS coaches are not a primary interest.

[Golden Fleece 30]

Hi David, my GWR Exley mail coach is on page 5.  I only have 1 of those, I did not intend keeping it getting it in a job lot but it looked to good to sell on but have 6 or 7 possibly 8 of the maroon ones which I think are the best, sorry but not a WR fan lol.  For me it is ER then LM then SR and lastly WR.

 

You are correct with the Dublo number but Dublo's would ave been far better in they had re-introduced it as an S/D coach.  A friend of mine had a new brass shell made for the S/D and fitted the mechanism from the standard one.  It looks really nice, probably better than standard S/D coaches.

 

Tri-ang's very early from the 50's, and very short one had toplights.  That was only done in maroon then in the 60's re-introduced in blue and grey before the modern Hornby one appeared.

[Golden Fleece 30]

Sorry about another LMS Royal Mail but I have just bought this one and was surprised it was the later style body with tinplate base and plastic underframe which I could not see in the photo.  It is also boxed and in my opinion mint.  There are a couple of other differences like as it is the later style the roof has two small lugs to hold the ends in (I don't know why the rivet method was not used like other plastic ended coaches) and the "net" has the frame painted black as opposed to all the others which were the "net" brown colour.  You may have to zoom in if possible to see the tabs.  Also a different running number has been used.

 

[Golden Fleece 30]

As well as the Royal Mail coach above I also collected with it a few other lovely maroon coaches 4 of which are all 1st opens but all with different running numbers and I cannot see any over painting on the maroon to suggest a home made do and that was with a magnifying glass. Did Exley vary the numbers on a regular basis or were they numbered to order?  The other 3 were yet another Restaurant car, an open brake and a later style (tin floor/plastic underframe) bogie parcels in the same condition as the Mail coach.

 

Watch this space for what I think is an unusual Exley coach I have not seen in a catalogue, mine or Tony's.

[amdaley]

Hi Gary.

That mail coach looks like it was never used.

That's an interesting thought about the numbering of the coaches & one I would also like to know the answer to.

Keeping an eye out for your Exley special>

[Golden Fleece 30]

Hi Tony,  I thought that too although there seems to be a slight trace of "stuff" on the wheels but it might be just how they have gone after all this time being plastic.  I like to think it has not been used but if it had it is certainly very little.  The bogie parcels was in a similar state so did well with these.

 

Hopefully the special will be here in a day or two, having said it's special someone may say they were common at one time. 

 

Hopefully there may be something else of interest I have not seen before this week too but I have an open mind on that one.

 

Garry

[Golden Fleece 30]

Here is the Restaurant car I obtained yesterday.  As I have a few of these and I also have some spare Exley 6 wheel bogies I thought I would convert this one.  It is unlikely I will get another proper 68' one, and, if I did these bogies are really to short for them.  It gives me something different to add to a rake even though the coaches all look the same in length now.  The windows here are a little dusty as this has not been stripped for cleaning, looking at it I will see if I can "blow" the glass clean as the bodywork looks okay.

 

Tony, this is not the special yet.

Edited February 28, 2016 by Golden Fleece 30

[amdaley]

That restaurant car seems to be in excellent condition Garry.

I did notice that one of the tables seems to have a slight tilt to it but you wouldn't see that under normal viewing distances.

Like wise with the dust on the glass but you could blow that off I would say.

[Golden Fleece 30]

Hi Tony, I noticed the table top, and I think a seat is loose in another coach, but due to the conditions of these I do not really want to strip them if I can help it.  As you say they will not be too noticeable at 126mph (or 114mph if a Duchess pulls them).

 

I have a few to put on Bachmann bogies at the moment now and a handful that are on the Exley bogies I do like that need the wheels cleaning but I am waiting for some more brass wire wheels.

 

Garry

[sagaguy]

Useful little tip i found,can`t remember where or when,is that if you have any cloudy glazing,paint over with a thin coat of Johnsons Kleer or Humbrol clear.I used this on a slightly clouded cab window glazing on one of my Trix EM1s,restored it completely.

 

                          Ray.

[Golden Fleece 30]

Cheers Ray I have heard of similar but never tried it. Most Exleys have real glass in them so it is easy to wash if I strip them down.  The later ones with perspex have all washed fine too (so far), these do not seem to go cloudy just dirty.  One thing I have done is put Dublo plastic diesel windows in a mild bleach solution over night which takes a fair bit of the "yellow" out and cleans them.

 

Garry

[Golden Fleece 30]

At the moment I have classed this as a special as I cannot see any reference to it in either Tony's or my catalogues.  The only Clerestories I can work out are Midland bogie vehicles or GWR short 34', 6 wheel ones.  This as seen is a bogie version and is of different construction to all my others.  This has a shell with folded solebars, but, plastic ends with a separate roof.  It is not the same as my LMS version that has this similar but not identical window formation.  No doubt someone will now say it was common at one time, or, I have somehow mis-read the catalogues.

 

It is a little dirty around the windows but at the moment will stay that way.

[amdaley]

That's an interesting vehicle & I've never seen something like it but then I don't consider myself an expert.

I can't find any reference in any catalog or papers I have.

 

When I saw it first I thought it was a MR coach repainted in GWR livery.

The space between the window tops & the roof edge seems kind of wide like here was lining there in another livery but I'm only guessing.

 

I take it you're certain that its an Exley ?

Are the bogies two or three rail ?

[Golden Fleece 30]

Hi Tony, I am not an expert either but 99.9999999% certain it is Exley. It has the standard Exley underframe although soldered to a tin base that fits inside the solebars, probably due to the plastic ends.  This false base is identical to the ones used in the 6 and 4 wheelers where it is clipped in at the ends with small corner tabs.  The bogies and mounting plate are 100% Exley and the paint finish and lining match all my other Exley GWR main line coaches. 

 

I originally thought it was the LMS one I have but repainted in this livery but it isn't, mine is back a few pages on here.  The body is different with the lower half as the old wooden floor design but the upper is like the later type with flat false roof.  I guess this is because it has a Clerestory roof hence the smaller height plastic ends. These look like Exley made ones and certainly have Exley buffers and couplings.

 

The bogies are certainly 100% Exley and they are the type I like, a folded steel frame with plastic frames and wheels with metal tyres and thin axles.

 

A while ago I saw a couple of the LNWR and LSWR ones and this could have been the same shell but painted in GWR livery?

 

Garry

[Il Grifone]

Hi Tony, I noticed the table top, and I think a seat is loose in another coach, but due to the conditions of these I do not really want to strip them if I can help it.  As you say they will not be too noticeable at 126mph (or 114mph if a Duchess pulls them).

 

I have a few to put on Bachmann bogies at the moment now and a handful that are on the Exley bogies I do like that need the wheels cleaning but I am waiting for some more brass wire wheels.

 

Garry

 

I reckon a Duchess could have beaten 126mph under the same conditions. She is unlikely to have blown a big end for a start......

 

The clerestory is lovely, but has a certain LSWR air about it to me. (Too pedantic??). The LSWR did sell the GWR some sleeping cars of course. They could have included a brake/third in the deal.

 

(IMHO)

[Golden Fleece 30]

You have a similar thought to me David but I have only seen two (at the same time) and could not remember if they were Clerestory's or not.

 

I reckon a Duchess could have beaten 126mph under the same conditions. She is unlikely to have blown a big end for a start.....

 

 

Yes but we will never know (I doubt).  In the record books the A4 has won hands down.  Can you tell I am an A4 fan?

[Golden Fleece 30]

I have seen these advertised in catalogues but never seen any advertised for sale before, these being the BR version of the suburbans.  The 3 all came in the same state and the bottom one (also photographed on its own) has been cleaned up.  This one had a clip on roof whereas the other two have the riveted version.  There is a little touching up to be done sometime when I get a close maroon colour.  The shade does seem different to others but in real life they were (and Exleys had different variations of LMS maroon anyway).  One thing that does annoy me is the amount of silver Exley used on the sides for hinges, door handles etc as they do look like more paint chips and in my opinion not put on as carefully as they used to be.  Also the clean one has had its glazing replaced but I think I will look at getting real glass for these if they touch up well, you cannot beat glass for the windows.  Obviously the clean one has had its bogies replaced to test out.

[amdaley]

Hi Garry.

 

That's an interesting lot you have there.

I see what you mean about the silver.

It takes from the looks of the coaches.

[Golden Fleece 30]

Hi Tony,

 

I think that is what was probably meant in the description "quite a few paint chips to the sides".  Hopefully I can get a reasonable colour sometime and at least do the proper touch ups.  Looking at the handles I may, very carefully with fingers crossed, paint out the over paint on the pressings to thin the lines down.  Most likely I will paint the hinge tops too that should remove some of the issues.  I have to say the other all 1st has come up even better that the first one with only the end edges to do, and, if I can "remove" the hinges it could look quite presentable.

 

Garry

[amdaley]

I was thinking that in reality the hinges wouldn't have been silver ?

Surely they would have been dark like the body colour ?

[Golden Fleece 30]

That is one of the few things I cannot remember 100% from my life on the railway but like you I have a feeling they were painted the body colour. All new stock was fitted with chrome handles and repair with brass but in my time we never had suburban coaches in the works. I may try to over paint one in gold (brass) and see how it looks.

 

Garry

[Golden Fleece 30]

These 3 coaches arrived today and I am extremely pleased with them. These look very well but after seeing the photos I will need to strip them I think to clean the glass.  One obviously does need stripping as one of the glasses has dropped and a couple of seats are floating around inside.  It is interesting that the two full corridors have different numbers.  The brake coach has had its bogies changed but it is of no concern as they will all be getting fitted with Bachmann ones very soon.  For some reason some of the corridor connectors have been glued but that is a minor point.  What is good is the very fine door handle painting. Hopefully a video will appear in the not too distant future of these along with the 12 wheel dining car in the same livery, all pulled by a Blue steam loco which is to me the perfect combination.

 

Please note the "yellow" is actually a nice cream shade but the software has turned more into proper custard as the name implies but it is cream like the 12 wheeler on page 1 or 2.

Edited March 11, 2016 by Golden Fleece 30

[amdaley]

They look to be in top class condition Garry.

Well done on getting them.