Caley Coaches - CR/LMS/BR 'Grampian' 4mm etched brass coach kits

[Barry Rhys]

Caley Coaches have just rereleased their etched brass kits for the 65' 12-wheel 'Grampians'. It isn't a new kit as such, but Jim Smellie at Caley Coaches generally produces his kits in small batch runs, and these haven't been available for quite a while now. So I'm mentioning here that they're available again because the Grampians seem to be quite popular - in fact I meant to post this in September when the rerun was announced, but within 2 weeks there was a note on the site saying "Now sold out - new batch available soon", anyway that's now changed to "All now back in stock" so I'd better post this quickly.

 

The Grampian corridor coaches were built by the Caledonian Railway between 1904-09 for express services. A total of 77 were built to 7 different diagrams, of which Caley Coaches do 4. Most of them lasted into Nationalisation, and the last ones were withdrawn in 1955.

 

The kits are pretty high quality (my opinion only!), including brass investment castings instead of whitemetal, turned brass door handles etc, in fact basically complete except for wheels (and paint, solder, glue...). Compensated 6-wheel bogies, fine for OO/EM/P4. The price isn't especially low at 55 quid each, but I think that's pretty reasonable for what you get.

 

One thing I find really good with Caley Coaches is the really full prototype details they provide with each kit, as well as good instructions. As an example, the Grampian details run to 12 pages (you can see them in .pdf form on the website at www.caleycoaches.co.uk ) and include full numbering details and withdrawal dates for all 77 coaches (even the diagrams not made)! So if you're modelling mid-50s British Railways and looking for late blood-and-custard examples, you can pick exactly the right ones.

 

Incidentally, the reason I highlight "LMS/BR" in the title is because I think long-lasting pregrouping coaches like these Grampians are ideal for breaking up trains of standard grouping or post-nationalisation stock, for example in the middle of a rake of Stanier stock. Same with other regions too, a pregrouping coach in the middle of a rake of Hawksworths or Gresleys or whatever really draws the eye. Since you only need one or two, the extra time (and money) spent on making a kit is worthwhile for the effect it has.

 

Finally, my connections with Caley Coaches (other than as customer): Well, I've rung Jim Smellie a couple of times on the telephone. And we both hail from regions of the UK known for prudency in financial matters. Otherwise, that's it.

 

Neil

[Guest stuartp]

I'll second everything Neil says there. I've built a couple of Jim's kits (the preserved McIntosh coaches, so there's two more for ScR modellers) and they practically fell together out of the box.

[coachmann]

This is of interest to me so thanks for the information in the OP. As you are familiar with these coaches, do you happen to know if they have droplights etched in or are they separate etchings?

 

Reason for my interest is I have a photo of one of these twelve-wheelers passing Diggle on the LNWR route from Manchester to Huddersfield, quite a bit off the beaten track.

 

Larry

[Barry Rhys]

For those wondering how to find out more about Caley Coaches or how to contact them, I'm afraid I mixed up the website address in the middle of all the text. Which now gives me an excuse to practice this wonderful "hidden link" feature that I finally found out how to use from this thread...wow, did it work??

 

Hmm, need a bit more practice maybe:

So here's the Caley Coaches website, and the page specifically related to the Grampian kits.

 

Ah, I feel the power surging through my fingertips...

 

This is of interest to me so thanks for the information in the OP. As you are familiar with these coaches, do you happen to know if they have droplights etched in or are they separate etchings?

 

Reason for my interest is I have a photo of one of these twelve-wheelers passing Diggle on the LNWR route from Manchester to Huddersfield, quite a bit off the beaten track.

 

Larry

 

Hi Larry, having assiduously followed all your threads, I think I know what answer you're hoping for here! So, happy to oblige, the droplights are all etched in as an integral part of the sides. Also, they're all etched in the closed position - I remember somebody mentioning in one of your threads that at least one manufacturer etches some droplights partly open, which is maybe OK when you're only making one coach (though maybe not in Scotland in the winter!) but annoying if you want more than one, because the identical droplights are open, and modifying etched 'open' droplights into 'closed' ones is not a specially enjoyable pursuit.

 

Interested to hear about the Diggle shot - was it in LMS or BR days? Certainly these coaches got around a lot, South of the border too. I don't know the LNWR trans-Pennine route at all - is the train definitely a corridor service? I only ask because, contempary with the 65' Grampian corridors, the Caley also built a similar number of 65'/68' 12-wheel non-corridor coaches for shorter routes - particularly well-used on the Edinburgh-Glasgow trains, although they probably didn't get around the system post-grouping like the Grampians did.

 

Talking of getting around, in Caley days there was a daily Glasgow to Taunton trip via Crewe and Bristol using a dual-fitted Grampian brake composite (Caley used the Westinghouse system) on alternating days with a dual-fitted Great Western equivalent! Now that would be an eye-opener on a GW layout (or a GW coach on a Caley layout for that matter)! Do any GW fans have any info about what the GW coach to Glasgow may have been? I think the service was running between at least 1911 and 1923, but any information would be very welcome. Were any Dean clerestories ever dual-fitted? - perhaps that's hoping a little too far.

 

Getting a bit off-topic here, I suspect there's reason for a separate thread.

 

Neil