Dapol Streamlined Railcar

[Rugd1022]

John - any idea where that photo of W13 was taken please..?

 

 

[The Stationmaster]

John - any idea where that photo of W13 was taken please..?

 

Nidge there's an awful lot in that pic which would fit for the Windsor bay at Slough but I'm not so sure about the row of windows at the top as they don't look right for what I can remember of the footbridge although it has changed over the years.

[cctransuk]

Ooops ! Well spotted - I don't think that any of the reviews - printed or digital - have spotted that.

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

 

Wot !!!! No-one got an opinion / response to this?

 

..... not even Dapol?

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

[The Stationmaster]

Wot !!!! No-one got an opinion / response to this?

 

..... not even Dapol?

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

 

The original CADs were a mix of features from several different batches of the railcars so therein might lie an answer?

[Metr0Land]

Nidge there's an awful lot in that pic which would fit for the Windsor bay at Slough but I'm not so sure about the row of windows at the top as they don't look right for what I can remember of the footbridge although it has changed over the years.

This old pic looks to have the same windows albeit the Up side of the station

 

http://i1.wp.com/www.adrianvaughan.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/2580.Slough-c1921-copy.jpg

[adb968008]

The original CADs were a mix of features from several different batches of the railcars so therein might lie an answer?

They had CAD in 1934 ?

 

If you mean line drawings, i’d Expect they wouldn’t all be on one canvas.. the designs were different and made over several years, perhaps overlays to represent layers ? But they would be different sheets. I doubt AEC foresaw all the different permutations that the GWR would need in advance of ordering !

Edited March 8, 2018 by adb968008

[truffy]

They had CAD in 1934 ?

 

If you mean line drawings, i’d Expect they wouldn’t all be on one canvas.. the designs were different and made over several years, perhaps overlays to represent layers ? But they would be different sheets. I doubt AEC foresaw all the different permutations that the GWR would need in advance of ordering !

 

 

He's referring to Dapol's CAD

[Karhedron]

Wot !!!! No-one got an opinion / response to this?

 

..... not even Dapol?

 

It's hard to tell. The bogies on 2-4 were different in detail from 8-14 but not massively so. The Dapol ones look a bit in-betweenish to be honest. The thing that makes them look more like the preserved bogies in my opinion are that they are a bit light on relief.

[dibber25]

Nidge there's an awful lot in that pic which would fit for the Windsor bay at Slough but I'm not so sure about the row of windows at the top as they don't look right for what I can remember of the footbridge although it has changed over the years.

 

I reckon the destination board probably says 'SLOUGH'. However, it would be quite unusual I would think, for one of these to be running a branch service as they were restricted from such because of their poor brakes. It has been suggested that this is because one of them went through the stop blocks at Staines West*. However, there's a downhill run in to Staines West, while the Windsor branch is pretty much level, the terminus being elevated to match the river crossing and the viaduct across the flood plain. (CJL)

* Something certainly went through the stop block as there was a canopy column immediately behind the stop blocks which didn't match the rest, and the stop block was latterly mounted on a whopping concrete block. 

[The Stationmaster]

I reckon the destination board probably says 'SLOUGH'. However, it would be quite unusual I would think, for one of these to be running a branch service as they were restricted from such because of their poor brakes. It has been suggested that this is because one of them went through the stop blocks at Staines West*. However, there's a downhill run in to Staines West, while the Windsor branch is pretty much level, the terminus being elevated to match the river crossing and the viaduct across the flood plain. (CJL)

* Something certainly went through the stop block as there was a canopy column immediately behind the stop blocks which didn't match the rest, and the stop block was latterly mounted on a whopping concrete block. 

 

Agreed the destination board reads Slough (it's what started me on a cross-check of Slough, and Windsor, features).

 

The allocation list on the Great Western Archive only gives a 'snapshot' of railcar allocations and places No 13 wholly in South Wales but that is misleading as Mike Morant's site features a number of photos of it at various London Division stations and branches on a railtour in September 1954 and Mike also suggests that it is probably the streamlined car which appears in an undated photo of Southall depot.  It's hardly likely to have been transferred to the London area just for a railtour when there were cars allocated there so it presumably spent some time in the London Division.

 

Railcars were being used on a London District branch as early as 1938 with one covering some trips on the Henley branch and the number of these covered by a diesel car had increased considerably by 1947, and GWR streamlined diesel car workings continued on the Henley branch until the arrival of the Gloucester SPCs in the late 1950s.  The only GWR diesel car working on the Windsor branch which I can trace in the Service timetables I have was a parcels car in 1947 and this was still running in the Winter 1949 service; unfortunately I don't have any early 1950s WTTs and can't find any online.  The 1958 Winter book simply refers to trains as 'Diesel' which fits with the delivery of the Gloucester cars although there is a bit of a mixed picture with a couple of trips on the Windsor branch still described as 'Engine & trailer' while Henley has a mixture of steam and diesel trains which might mean a GWR car was still in use as both Southall and Reading are shown on the GW Archive as still having cars until the very early 1960s and they are shown (underlined!) in my Winter '62/'63 Combined Volume.  I can certainly remember a GWR car in use sometime in the latter half of the '50s on the Henley branch although there's no way I could date it.

[melmerby]

No. 13 ended it's days parked up next to No. 17 at Tyseley in 1960.

Was No. 13 used around the Birmingham area? No. 17's last allocation was at Leamington.

 

Keith

[chrisf]

One thing that is not tracked terribly well is the allocation of diesel railcars, be they ex-GW or more modern.  I do not doubt for one moment that GW No. 13 worked in the London Division at one or more times but the two books I have at my disposal give the following allocations:

 

British Railways Motive Power Allocations 1948-1968, Vol 7, by Jim Grindlay - 1950 and 1952 Landore, 1955 and 1957 Ebbw Junction, 1960 Leamington

 

The History of the Great Western AEC Diesel Railcars by Colin Judge - 1947 and 1950 Landore, official last BR shed Ebbw Junction.   

 

As you see, these are snapshots and there is a discrepancy as to its last resting place.  It would not surprise me if someone with a complete set of Locoshed books came up with a different answer.

 

Chris

Edited March 11, 2018 by chrisf

[chrisf]

Windsor branch - the winter 1955-56 WTT shows 27 return trips as Diesel.  In addition there is a 9.5 pm Paddington to Windsor parcels diesel, retirning empty to Southall at 10.20 pm.  I have a vague recollection of reading that there was increased use of diesel railcars in the London division due to shortage of steam crews.  I've checked and the Greenford branch was solid autos [three sets] plus a couple of trips by the parcels car.  A diesel car divided its time unevenly between the Uxbridge and Staines West branches, taking in an early morning trip from West Drayton to Paddington and back to Uxbridge with a Siphon in tow.  One car was in use on the Henley branch at this time.

 

Chris

[TheSignalEngineer]

No. 13 ended it's days parked up next to No. 17 at Tyseley in 1960.

Was No. 13 used around the Birmingham area? No. 17's last allocation was at Leamington.

 

Keith

13 did work through Birmingham at least once (twice actually) on one of the longest runs attempted with a GWR Railcar, the Talyllyn special from Paddington to Towyn in 1953. By Lapworth on the return it had lost its coolant and the engine seized. It was reportedly rescued and towed to Leamington by 2830.

 

Rail Online also has a shot of it at Snow Hill in 1960.

Edited March 12, 2018 by TheSignalEngineer

[dibber25]

Windsor branch - the winter 1955-56 WTT shows 27 return trips as Diesel.  In addition there is a 9.5 pm Paddington to Windsor parcels diesel, retirning empty to Southall at 10.20 pm.  I have a vague recollection of reading that there was increased use of diesel railcars in the London division due to shortage of steam crews.  I've checked and the Greenford branch was solid autos [three sets] plus a couple of trips by the parcels car.  A diesel car divided its time unevenly between the Uxbridge and Staines West branches, taking in an early morning trip from West Drayton to Paddington and back to Uxbridge with a Siphon in tow.  One car was in use on the Henley branch at this time.

 

Chris

 

Yes, I've have also heard - including first-hand from railwaymen on the Staines branch - that the diesel railcars largely replaced steam because of a shortage of staff. Staff were recruited particularly from Wales with the 'carrot' of railway accommodation. At Staines the Station Master's flat was divided to make two separate apartments and at Colnbrook part of the station building was turned into domestic accommodation. Though the WTT shows services as 'diesel' I guess it doesn't distinguish between the streamliners (5-16) and the 'branch line' cars (19-32). There are plenty of photos of railcars on the Staines branch but all were the later type (Lima/Hornby model). (CJL)

[Guardian]

Dear All

 

Unfortunately I seem to have missed the GWR Railcar - at least the pre-war versions with the bright rooves.

 

How likely may a re-run of the shirt button version (item no. 4D-011-001) be?

 

Cheers

Mark

[No Decorum]

Dear All

 

Unfortunately I seem to have missed the GWR Railcar - at least the pre-war versions with the bright rooves.

 

How likely may a re-run of the shirt button version (item no. 4D-011-001) be?

 

Cheers

Mark

 

Hard luck. They are very striking models. It’s purely speculation on my part but Dapol has a history of doing re-runs of popular models. If you are prepared to wait, you might well get one but with a different running number.

[jwd]

At ally pally i asked someone at the Dapol stand (he seemed like the boss tbh) if they we going to do re-runs as i missed the twin cities version, his response was yes nearer the end of the year.

Edited June 11, 2018 by jwd

[amdaley]

Dear All

 

Unfortunately I seem to have missed the GWR Railcar - at least the pre-war versions with the bright rooves.

 

How likely may a re-run of the shirt button version (item no. 4D-011-001) be?

 

Cheers

Mark

 

They have some available here & the price seems good as well.

https://www.dbmodels.co.uk/shop/Dapol?cat=8

[SRman]

DougN and I went to a local exhibition today (at Brandon Park in Melbourne's suburbs), and there were several British layouts on display, with several BRMA members owning and/or participating in operating them. Our friends on the Vale of the White Horse layout swapped over from GWR and SR steam to modern post-privatisation GWR trains while we were chatting to them, but left the Dapol GWR railcar running as before. The modern trains were a Hornby HST in latest GWR colours, and a Hornby IEP class 800. They were being run at a nice sedate pace and I jokingly said "Crank them up guys; full throttle." ... they promptly did so!

Initially they weren't game to run the HST at full speed, but raised it somewhat, but then turned the GWR railcar up to full speed, so it actually overtook the HST several times.

It was interesting to watch the railcar as the operators reported it as running very smoothly, and I can now add to that and say it is capable of very high speeds as well as very smooth slow speeds.

As an aside, there was a near disaster when the IEP derailed after a good many uneventful high-speed laps, but the operators were able to stop the other trains before they could run into the derailed vehicles.

[The Johnster]

Which begs the question, given that the railcar is a smooth runner, how much better would it be if the gearing was altered so that it could not achieve such unrealistically high speeds.  IIRC the real ones topped out at about 80mph; there is no need for a scale speed higher than that.

[GNR Dave]

With all the Dapol and Lionheart / ex Lionheart GWR O gauge stock available / imminent, I think it would make sense to up-scale the streamlined railcar to O gauge.

[ndg910]

I don’t doubt that O gauge is an option but a rerun of different numbers and production of the parcels unit 17 would be better in my view but then I’m biased and am only interested in GWR with a slight dabbling in the Southern.

[dantimmy]

Anyone know if Dapol plan to re-release these models as everywhere is sold out?

 

Many thanks

[County of Yorkshire]

Anyone know if Dapol plan to re-release these models as everywhere is sold out?

 

Many thanks

 

There are a few of the BR Chocolate & Cream Livery version knocking about here and there, but not in GWR livery or Carmine and Cream i'm afraid. Although, my local model shop do not sell online and tend to have things in stock long after those elsewhere have sold out - give 53a Models a call. 

 

CoY