SR 25t Pill Box brake van

[flapland]

Ian, my layout is late era BR steam with the odd intruder. It's not really modelled as its an outside layout on a large 1st floor patio physically situated between the North London Line and the former site of Haverstock Hill station on the Midland Mainline.

 

I need to get some more books on that era of around London although do have the excellent Dennis Lovett North London Railway latest edition.

[roundhouse]

Here is one at March in 1985... a little distance away in the photo though.

[Oldddudders]

Ian, my layout is late era BR steam with the odd intruder. It's not really modelled as its an outside layout on a large 1st floor patio physically situated between the North London Line and the former site of Haverstock Hill station on the Midland Mainline.

 

I need to get some more books on that era of around London although do have the excellent Dennis Lovett North London Railway latest edition.

I used to use an architectural practice called Haverstock Associates - and they were good! Looking below your item, there you are - IDL's (Roundhouse's) pic shows these fine vehicles were long-lived. Any steam-era layout in the London area, or obviously, South of the Thames, should be able to justify their use.

[JZ]

Fit okay the otherway i.e. with the trapeze parts nearer the axle. So what is the right way?

 

They do indeed, as I discovered later

 

 

Would not a vac pipe have got in the way of the couplings?

 

Probably, if you have working ones both ends. I fit Kadees one end and screw link the other, plus tail lamps, vac pipe and maybe a guard on the verandah.

[31A]

Here is one at March in 1985... a little distance away in the photo though.

I wonder whether that's the same one that's still rotting away on its disconnected siding a few miles away, at Manea?

[pete_mcfarlane]

I wonder whether that's the same one that's still rotting away on its disconnected siding a few miles away, at Manea?

I think the legendary Manea van (which was there when I lived in Cambridge over 15 years ago) is a BR design.

 

There used to be a four wheel SR van in Mainline freight blue in New England yard at about the same time, which appeared to still be active but I've not seen in on recent trips through Peterborough. Are there any of these still still in departmental use?

 

The models look really good.

[2ManySpams]

My two arrived by post yesterday and S55583 will be on Treneglos this weekend at Loughborough show. Had a good look through Mike King's excellent Southern Wagons books. In th Pictorial edition on page 170 is the exact same van. It has vac pipes and screw couplings fitted. The only error I can see so far is that the real van has W axleguards, whereas the Bachmann model has plate versions. Oh, just noticed the axleboxes seem different in the April 1959 shot. Great model though.

 

 

 

[roundhouse]

Funnily enough, I have just been doing a dry run trying to fix the brake rigging.

[colin penfold]

Got my BR version today, very nice model, just needs a bit of weathering now, anyone know where the bag of bits that come with it go ? 6 pieces in all. No info in the box.

 

I too got a BR version and it's excellent, but really would it hurt Bachmann to put a small instruction sheet in with what to do with the extra bits????

[Coach bogie]

This one was a regular at Princes Risborough during the line doubling project to Ayno Junction about ten years ago.

 

MIke Wiltshire

[BrushVeteran]

Ian, my layout is late era BR steam with the odd intruder. It's not really modelled as its an outside layout on a large 1st floor patio physically situated between the North London Line and the former site of Haverstock Hill station on the Midland Mainline.

 

I need to get some more books on that era of around London although do have the excellent Dennis Lovett North London Railway latest edition.

You must live somwhere near Rosemont Road then?...........................I lived there a very long time ago and that is my inspiration for interest in the North London Line.

I photographed and observed many freights meandering their way between Feltham Yard and Temple Mills during the early sixties through to the early seventies and 'dog kennels' as we called them were regularly to be seen swinging their way through Finchley & Frognal station in between the EMU services. I spent quite a lot of my school holidays in Finchley and Frognal signal box........but I am digressing off topic here. You don't need much of an excuse to use them anywhere between the south coast and the Midlands.

[Bernard Lamb]

All solebars should be brown like the body,

 

But be aware that there is a world of difference between "should be" and "were".

Brake van history is a baffling subject. Nobody can give the definitive story regarding the BR standard vans let alone any from the more obscure companies.

However on the other hand Bachmann do have a history of producing some odd combinations of features on their brake vans.

As ever it's back to the dated clear photograph.

Bernard

[31A]

Just received my 4 SR versions. LH Ducket equal planks and white roof, and RH Ducket Grey roof and uneven planks. A number of errors, The worst is that on the white roof LH ducket version the chimney/stove pipe is next to the ducket! So thats got to be changed. All solebars should be brown like the body, buffer shanks should be brown or red. Pictures of both vans are in "Illustrated Southern Wagons Vol 4" so why Bachmann got the roof wrong on 55975 I don't know.

 

Other than those faults above a nice model sorely needed by us SR modellers and long overdue.

 

It appears (I'm not an expert on Southern wagons!) that the same applies to the chimney position on the BR grey version, which is also LH ducket, equal planks.

[flapland]

You must live somwhere near Rosemont Road then?...........................I lived there a very long time ago and that is my inspiration for interest in the North London Line.

I photographed and observed many freights meandering their way between Feltham Yard and Temple Mills during the early sixties through to the early seventies and 'dog kennels' as we called them were regularly to be seen swinging their way through Finchley & Frognal station in between the EMU services. I spent quite a lot of my school holidays in Finchley and Frognal signal box........but I am digressing off topic here. You don't need much of an excuse to use them anywhere between the south coast and the Midlands.

No I am not near Rosemont road, half between Gospel Oak and Hampstead Heath. Nice to have confirmation that they were seen along the North London Line. I have to admit the loose basing in this area makes it easy to get away with nearly anything although not sure how I am going to get away with the Bachmann Directors. My grey one arrived this morning and very nice it is too, just need to fit the axle guards.

[autocoach]

Is the roof removable and reversible? Would that solve the issue for the LH ducket version? My SR pair are still floating their way from the UK and may not arrive in time before I go on holiday end of next week.

 

I just looked at my Cambrian version and it too has plate axle guards. The Cambrian website also says that the single window end was SR original as built and that the double window was a BR modification. Is this correct? I think I purchased and built my Cambrian version before they started shipping the single window end with the kit.

[Trofimow]

Just an observation - out of the box, both of mine had a waxy deposit on the wheel treads - which I only noticed while fitting resistors to the axles for DCC detection.

 

I've not noticed this before on other wagons, but worth checking and cleaning off before it gets deposited on the rails....

 

Alan

[TonyA]

The vans built for the MoS in 1941/2 had double end windows so my guess is that this was an SR feature.

 

As regards the possibility of removing the roof, has anyone tried dismantling one yet? I would like to do a complete repaint to army green when I get one and that means completely dismantling as well as making various other changes..

 

Tony

[bbishop]

 

 

As regards the possibility of removing the roof, has anyone tried dismantling one yet? I would like to do a complete repaint to army green when I get one and that means completely dismantling as well as making various other changes..

 

Tony

 

Why do you want to buy one, he says, looking at the half finished one that I'm building for you.

 

Bill

[TheSignalEngineer]

Can anyone offer any information as to when the sandboxes were removed?

 

I have seen a photo allegedly 1958 with sandboxes on but it was not clear whether the vans shown were 25T or 15T. The latter seem to have kept their boxes much later.

[31A]

The vans built for the MoS in 1941/2 had double end windows so my guess is that this was an SR feature.

 

As regards the possibility of removing the roof, has anyone tried dismantling one yet? I would like to do a complete repaint to army green when I get one and that means completely dismantling as well as making various other changes..

 

Tony

 

The 'body' unclips (very easily) from the underframe; inside the body is a floor piece which wasn't glued on mine, and was easily prised out. The roof and sides / ends are a one piece moulding, and the 'inner ends' and duckets seem to be glued pretty firmly into that.

[Graham_Muz]

My review of the 'Pill box' brake vans can be found on my blog here. Although primarily written around the SR versions my comments are applicable for the BR versions too, and I have also noted the chimney error on the LH ducket verison and also a couple of small livery errors on what is otherwise an excellent range of models and great for the Southern modeller.

Edited September 30, 2012 by Graham_Muz

[Graham_Muz]

Can anyone offer any information as to when the sandboxes were removed?

 

I have seen a photo allegedly 1958 with sandboxes on but it was not clear whether the vans shown were 25T or 15T. The latter seem to have kept their boxes much later.

 

The later 1947 built versions to diagram 1582 did not have the sand boxes from new and as far I am aware they started to be removed from previous versions from mid 1950s but will vary considerably from van to van as to the actual date of removal.

Edited September 30, 2012 by Graham_Muz

[Butler Henderson]

The 'body' unclips (very easily) from the underfame

 

I found that out whilst weathering mine - pretty awkward moment and the whole is now glued together.

[steve1023]

Hey Guys. Would these still have been in use in the SR in the period 1966 - 1969, specifically the Central or SouthWestern divisions and if so what would they have been used for and what would represent the correct livery for this period?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Steve

[roundhouse]

Today I weathered the brake vans including moving the stove chimney on the grey van. I I used a scalpel to carefully remove it then sanded the roof where it was removed. The roof paint was scraped away at the new location of the chimney and then it was re stuck and the roof repainted.