OO Gauge GWR Toplight Mainline & City Coaches announced

[Pteremy]

Did they ever provide an update anywhere on the corridor versions they intend to produce, since the reference in the original announcement?

[BVMR21]

2 minutes ago, Pteremy said:

Did they ever provide an update anywhere on the corridor versions they intend to produce, since the reference in the original announcement?

Not as far as I am aware, though there may have been a few Facebook replies that one is unaware of.

[Neal Ball]

44 minutes ago, Pteremy said:

Did they ever provide an update anywhere on the corridor versions they intend to produce, since the reference in the original announcement?

There were comments about possible carriages that were shared a while back. At the time there was no official comment to confirm exactly which ones were being considered.

[checkrail]

2 hours ago, Neal Ball said:

There were comments about possible carriages that were shared a while back. At the time there was no official comment to confirm exactly which ones were being considered.

Dapol keep their cards close to their chest don't they? But I recall some hints - or speculation - that they were looking at the steel sided ones (so perhaps C32, D56, E98 - plus a K22?). If so they'd provide a nice bit of variation for those of us who've been building numbers of panelled toplights from Slater's kits or other sources. 

[gwrrob]

There's now an advert for these in this month's BRM ,arriving soon and there's a photo of the actual item which is rather nice.

[The Johnster]

I've lulled my wallet into a false sense of security, but with this and the Rapido toad it's about to take a bit of a hammering...  Perhaps just a brake 3rd for now and wait for the others later (BR maroon for use as South Wales miners' coaches as at Glyncorrwg).

[Coach bogie]

I was watching 'The Smallest Show on Earth' british movie on talking pictures. What must be one of the last uses of the toplight non corridor stock- being used in a movie in 1957 at Uxbridge High St.

 

Mike Wiltshire

 

[checkrail]

The pic in the latest Dapol advert in BRM certainly looks good.  They're no good for my layout but I hope they sell well and that the corridor toplights do materialise in due course.

 

John C.

Edited July 12, 2023 by checkrail
typo

[MartinTrucks]

Please pardon me for being thick, but does the 'twin cities' livery pre-date the shirtbutton?

Thanks,

Martin

[Neal Ball]

32 minutes ago, MartinTrucks said:

Please pardon me for being thick, but does the 'twin cities' livery pre-date the shirtbutton?

Thanks,

Martin

 

Yes! - if it's just the twin city shield with GWR above then it will be the 1920's livery through to 1934.

 

If the shield is used with Great (shield) Western, then thats post WW2.

 

Obviously though carriage liveries did not get changed as quickly as locos, just because the shirt button was introduced in 1934, it would have taken a few years before all the carriages were changed.

[Compound2632]

2 hours ago, Neal Ball said:

Obviously though carriage liveries did not get changed as quickly as locos, just because the shirt button was introduced in 1934, it would have taken a few years before all the carriages were changed.

 

Is that true, though, I wonder? Carriages were (are) the most public-facing item of rolling stock; I would be surprised if at least main-line carriages were not kept up-to-date as the greatest priority? Those familiar with the photographic evidence can perhaps comment, bearing in mind that the photographic record is loco-centric rather than carriage-centric.

[phil-b259]

5 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

 

Is that true, though, I wonder? Carriages were (are) the most public-facing item of rolling stock; I would be surprised if at least main-line carriages were not kept up-to-date as the greatest priority? Those familiar with the photographic evidence can perhaps comment, bearing in mind that the photographic record is loco-centric rather than carriage-centric.

 

Most likely, yes it is true.

 

By the 1930s the railway companies were under quite a bit of financial stress (even the GWR) so they would not go round repainting things for the sake of it.

 

Instead its far more likely that apart from coaches used in their most important trains (which in effect acted as their 'shop window' and showcased the brand) , coaches only received new liveries when the existing paintwork was in poor condition and a repaint was required as part of routine maintenance.

[Neal Ball]

23 minutes ago, phil-b259 said:

 

Most likely, yes it is true.

 

By the 1930s the railway companies were under quite a bit of financial stress (even the GWR) so they would not go round repainting things for the sake of it.

 

Instead its far more likely that apart from coaches used in their most important trains (which in effect acted as their 'shop window' and showcased the brand) , coaches only received new liveries when the existing paintwork was in poor condition and a repaint was required as part of routine maintenance.

Yes agreed.

 

35 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

 

Is that true, though, I wonder? Carriages were (are) the most public-facing item of rolling stock; I would be surprised if at least main-line carriages were not kept up-to-date as the greatest priority? Those familiar with the photographic evidence can perhaps comment, bearing in mind that the photographic record is loco-centric rather than carriage-centric.

I think…… carriages had a 10 year carriage painting schedule.

 

Locos generally got painted at every overhaul.

 

@Miss Prism would be able to confirm

[Compound2632]

1 hour ago, Neal Ball said:

Locos generally got painted at every overhaul.

 

That does seem surprising, to someone of LMS orientation. I wouldn't have thought green was harder to touch up than black! But it depends what you mean by overhaul...

[Miss Prism]

http://www.gwr.org.uk/liveries.html#:~:text=In general%2C a,after c 1930.

 

Kensal Green, 1930. The Mainline & City set has been repainted from its original crimson into 1927 livery, with double waist lining and a coat of arms below G W R at the waist.

 

 

[The Johnster]

Overhaul on the GW/WR meant a heavy general overhaul, stripping the loco down to components, refurbishing the components, and rebuilding it.  This took place  at specific mileages, so express passenger locos might easily rack up enough distance to get a full overhaul every two years or so, with repaints and livery changes to match.  A loco used on local goods work would have to go a much longer period of time before it amassed the mileage to qualify for an overhaul, hence the survival of certain pannier tanks in post-war G W R initials livery into the 60s. 

 

Coaches were overhauled and repainted at a specific period (I thought seven years rather than ten, but I am not certain of this) rather than by mileage.  Their condition in the meantime varied; this was in the days before carriage washing plants, and not all depots had the cleaning staff to stay on top of them.  I can remember seat cushions being very dusty; we thought it was a great game to hit them to raise clouds of dust in the compartments. 

 

Wagons were also theoretically overhauled at specific periods, but a good few slipped through the net in the post-war and early BR periods, especially XPO minerals...  It was common to see wagons 'touched up' if parts of them had gone too far, but I don't recall seeing this on locos or coaching stock.  That said, the restored City of Truro lost a fight with the coaling stage at Llanelli in 1958, and went to Caerphilly Works for repairs to the dented cab side sheet.  Caerphilly wanted to do a full repaint, but permission was not forthcoming; the side sheet had to be painted, though.  It was quite noticeably different, brighter in colour, than the rest of the loco which had been painted the previous year when it was re-introduced to service.  This is recounted in Eric Mountford's Caerphilly Works book.

[Miss Prism]

3 hours ago, Neal Ball said:

Locos generally got painted at every overhaul.

 

Generally yes, but the extent of the new paint varied, particularly for the lowly classes. Here's 1789 on 28 June 1936 after a refit (probably a new smokebox and blastpipe) and only the front end and chassis have received new paint. Maybe lack of time in the erecting shops was a factor. Get 'em out and get 'em running was the rule.

 

 

[Neal Ball]

5 hours ago, Miss Prism said:

 

Generally yes, but the extent of the new paint varied, particularly for the lowly classes. Here's 1789 on 28 June 1936 after a refit (probably a new smokebox and blastpipe) and only the front end and chassis have received new paint. Maybe lack of time in the erecting shops was a factor. Get 'em out and get 'em running was the rule.

 

 

Nice photos, thanks for posting @Miss Prism. It’s interesting to see the loco in obviously good condition and a repaint was decadent wasn’t necessary. Traffic needs being such that it was needed back at its home depot ASAP.

 

Its hard to think these days with our corporate branding, that at the very least it didn’t get any company insignia applied….. The “Great Western” or perhaps the shirtbutton has already faded due to regular cleaning.

 

Different times.

[rovex]

Any more news on when these are hitting the shops?

[gwrrob]

A couple more images have surfaced on these courtesy of Miss Marple. She advises being with retailers between September/October .

 

 

Edited July 27, 2023 by gwrrob
added detail.

[Mitch91]

4 hours ago, rovex said:

Any more news on when these are hitting the shops?

 

One of September or October according to the email I've just received from Hattons.

[Rugd1022]

Having just dug out my two Russell GW coaches books I really fancy a few of these in weathered post 1948 choc & cream with W prefixes added and the GW company id painted over, even though I'm veering towards going 7mm. It's very apparent that Jim must have spent all his spare time wandering up and down the carriage sidings at Old Oak! It's a pity that most of us don't have room for proper full length carriage sidings...or perhaps it's a blessing... 😉

[checkrail]

5 hours ago, Rugd1022 said:

even though I'm veering towards going 7mm

So you tell us, but I feel that with every new 4mm scale GW item announced that resolve weakens a bit!

[Rugd1022]

1 minute ago, checkrail said:

So you tell us, but I feel that with every new 4mm scale GW item announced that resolve weakens a bit!

 

Perhaps i should meet myself in the middle and go 5.5mm...? 😉. I'm definitely torn, what with these Dapol Toplights (and hopefully the corridor stock to come), Hornby's bow ended stock, Accurascale's lovely Siphon G and Manor, Rapido's 15xx Pannier... on the other hand I'm really drawn to the chunkiness and weight of 7mm stuff.

 

The two Russell books are going to get a thorough seeing to over the weekend, which reminds me I need to have a look for the other Appendix on brown vehicles, I lent my copy out years ago and never got it back!

 

 

[No Decorum]

1 hour ago, Rugd1022 said:

 

Perhaps i should meet myself in the middle and go 5.5mm...? 😉. I'm definitely torn, what with these Dapol Toplights (and hopefully the corridor stock to come), Hornby's bow ended stock, Accurascale's lovely Siphon G and Manor, Rapido's 15xx Pannier... on the other hand I'm really drawn to the chunkiness and weight of 7mm stuff.

 

The two Russell books are going to get a thorough seeing to over the weekend, which reminds me I need to have a look for the other Appendix on brown vehicles, I lent my copy out years ago and never got it back!

 

 

I got a Dapol Terrier in 0, although I only have a yard of track to run it on. I have to say the bigger scale is most impressive and, thanks to Dapol, not wildly expensive. However, I can’t imagine ever leaving 00 because of the vast range of stuff available and already acquired. How about an 0 scale plank for fun and 00 for the rest?

 

Never lend a book! I’m sure you’ve realised that now. People never seem to think of returning them, I don’t know why.