Metropolitan Railway E Class - Met No.1

[D9020 Nimbus]

I'm from the opposite end of the country,  but must admit I'm tempted. Just need some suitable stock for it.

 

I know it ran on the Chesham branch,  but did locos of this class even run on the Brill branch?

[drt7uk]

1 hour ago, Mark Dickerson said:

As they've now taken out LNWR Oerlikons as well as the entire Underground category, I can only hope this Only Way To Win Is Not To Play strategy continues to bear fruit... 😛

 

Hopefully good news for the LT Museum Shop, too.

 

LNWR Oerlikons would be sweet. After Gladstone though please! :)

[Schooner]

Gosh, well that's a positive reception!

 

Anniversary aside, my finger is obviously well off the pulse. Given...

 

E Class: 7 built, 1 preserved. 24-69 years service (primary - ultimate) with 1 operator. No major variety in detail or livery.

A/B class: c.150 built, 2 preserved. 43-84 years service with the Met and successors, also in use with more than 10 British operators (on top of the Met and District, these include the Cambrian, LNW, LSW and Midland Railways in numbers to challenge the E class; also GWR and SER and numerous private owners) and sizable use in Spain (where the other is preserved), Germany and Australia. Enormous scope for liveries and detail differences, up to and including tender conversions.

Great fit for many of Hattons coaches and the small layouts (inc tight curves) they are spawning and supporting.

...and especially considering Rapido is moving into the 'generic' but proto-literate space with their Minkalikes and RCH stock (woop woop!), I know which I thought made the most viable proposition. No major point to make, it's just interesting to see that my logic is so far off the money!

 

Edited March 16, 2023 by Schooner
Pics added

[Mark Dickerson]

Then again, you don't have to be that old to have seen a working E Class, let alone ridden behind one. I thought the variety of A Class and derivatives had counted against Rapido considering them(?)

[adb968008]

1 hour ago, Downer said:

 

Great news about the new loco though. And please let’s have some Dreadnoughts.

If you mean this…

100% yes…

 

 

[Schooner]

Good point @Mark Dickerson, which I'd perhaps not given enough credit.

 

With detail differences I suppose it's a balance between cost of production and sales unlocked. More clearly, I meant 'variations which could net extra sales' - like those who bought an enclosed and open cab W4 despite not really needing either!

 

There is are many ways to approach this. My personal favourite reminder is that two modellers I admire very much hold opposite positions. One only models wagons which have been photographed, because how else would they be right. The other only models wagons which have not, because then how can they be wrong?!

 

If one feels it's unacceptable to have any inaccuracies or anachronisms in a model, then a large varied class is a nightmare (see GWR pre-Grouping tank classes *shudder*). If we're comfy with the idea of plausible or accurate-enough models, then variations strike me as a way to make two sales instead of one for limited extra investment. That said, I've nothing to do with the industry and really don't know!

[The Stationmaster]

36 minutes ago, D9020 Nimbus said:

I'm from the opposite end of the country,  but must admit I'm tempted. Just need some suitable stock for it.

 

I know it ran on the Chesham branch,  but did locos of this class even run on the Brill branch?

I'm pretty sure they didn't as the line always seem to have been operated by an A Class engine once the original motive power was superseded.  The Es hada rather mixed lofe losing their main line passenger work during the 1920s with withdrawals starting as early as 1925 according to one source.  the survivors saw limited use in passenger wrking in the early post-war period due to poor availability of the booked engines taking Met train through ti Aylesbuty 

[Schooner]

2 minutes ago, The Stationmaster said:

...the line always seem to have been operated by an A Class...

 

😇

 

 

[phil-b259]

1 hour ago, Mark Dickerson said:

 Even so: potential Shiny Thing for tourists with deeper pockets (who probably won't be bothered by the lack of period stock).

 

Given No.1 is a preserved loco, has visited numerous Heritage railways etc. there is a huge range of stock you can put behind it - and you don't need to be a 'tourist' to do so!

[TrevorP1]

1 hour ago, D9020 Nimbus said:

  but did locos of this class even run on the Brill branch?

 

Definitely not I'm afraid. But wouldn't an A class make a fantastic model!

[Michael Hodgson]

 

1 hour ago, The Stationmaster said:

I'm pretty sure they didn't as the line always seem to have been operated by an A Class engine once the original motive power was superseded. 

Some I've gained the impression the original motive power had been called Dobbin.  Don't know if that's correct.

[Mark Dickerson]

Looking at the 1888 Act to extend to Oxford, which appears to stipulate a maximum speed of 8 MPH (if I read it correctly), that doesn't surprise me. Might be faster than some contemporary Oxford rush hours though...

[No Decorum]

1 hour ago, adb968008 said:

If you mean this…

100% yes…

 

 

I’d like one of those rather more than their firemen did. It gave the lie to the expression, “If it looks right, it is right.” 

[PhilJ W]

If you want authentic stock to run behind it it should be the Jubilee four wheel stock.

[Erixtar1992]

10 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

If you want authentic stock to run behind it it should be the Jubilee four wheel stock.

Jubilee, ashburys, or dreadnoughts would be cool.

dreadnoughts i think would be the most popular accross all eras though, 3 still exist luckily up at KWVR.

 

[nightstar.train]

I’d really like a 4-TC set in London Transport maroon. Pity that Kernow haven’t made one, and they’re far too dear to buy one for a repaint. 

[locoholic]

Excellent - I've cobbled together a rake of Graham Farish teak suburban coaches for my Heljan Met electric loco, but would invest in some Dreadnoughts, or the Chesham set that ended up on the Bluebell Railway.

[Jeff Smith]

4 hours ago, Michael Hodgson said:

I can't really justify it, though it does appeal, but 0-4-4Ts are notorious for needing plenty of weight in the nose end to run adequately, so I'll reserve judgment on it for now.  Should sell well all the same.

As the centre of gravity is probably behind the rear driver it really needs proper four wheel (twin beam) compensation for the drivers, with weight bearing on the bogie to keep it level.  This would be quite easy to do even for RTR, with maybe some lateral bogie movement to accommodate set-track radii.  Alternatively have a fixed front driver sharing the weight with the rear bogie, and a 'sloppy' centre driver with light downward springing.

 

I always meant to get the SEF E Class but never got round to it, however the chassis would probably fit the Rapido body......

[JSpencer]

My order went in!

 

Now I am wondering if we will see the 4 preserved Met coaches to go with it: https://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/bash/relaunch.html

 

All in good time Rapido. ;-)

 

[James Harrison]

Sorely sorely sorely tempted, it would look nice paired with the Met Bo-Bo. 

 

Which of the Metropolitan liveries should I be looking at for the early 1920s?

[Compound2632]

4 hours ago, Schooner said:

A/B class: c.150 built, 2 preserved. 43-84 years service with the Met and successors, also in use with more than 10 British operators (on top of the Met and District, these include the Cambrian, LNW, ...

 

You know what the LNWR did with theirs, I'm sure:

 

 

[Embedded link to Wikimedia Commons.]

[Schooner]

Upgraded to A Premier Class

 

and/or

 

Vandals!

 

YMMV

Edited March 16, 2023 by Schooner
Other opinions are available

[PhilJ W]

1 hour ago, James Harrison said:

Sorely sorely sorely tempted, it would look nice paired with the Met Bo-Bo. 

 

Which of the Metropolitan liveries should I be looking at for the early 1920s?

The current preserved livery.

[Jeff Smith]

1 hour ago, James Harrison said:

Sorely sorely sorely tempted, it would look nice paired with the Met Bo-Bo. 

 

Which of the Metropolitan liveries should I be looking at for the early 1920s?

The one with METROPOLITAN in large letters would be appropriate for the 1920's right up until LT in 1933.

 

Tho other Metropolitan lettering is a bit suspect.  Earlier lettering tended to be a crest or number surrounded by METROPOLITAN on top, and RAILWAY below in an oval shape.

[roythebus1]

All this waiting, don't forget South East Finecast done a cast metal kit for this quite a while ago, and the Met Railway F class 0-6-2T. I too produced the F class kit a bit before Finecast in my GS models range.

 

I'm currently building the last of my kits on Finecast  etched chassis kits. 

 

Someone done a vacuum formed kit for the Chesham set many years ago. I had a set but never got round to making them as they required all the windows to be cut out! Made by a Mr. Brook-Smith of Protofour fame IIRC.