Steamport Southport Posted September 16, 2017 Share Posted September 16, 2017 They've not been a priority to be honest. Loads more things ahead of them in the queue. Southern Railway/Region things are more a side line when it comes to models I'm afraid. I haven't even started the layout yet, or planned it. Jason Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Derails Models Posted September 18, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 18, 2017 BR Crimson versions will be with us tomorrow afternoon, I've just received a delivery note Should be hitting other shelves around the same time... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold NHY 581 Posted September 20, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 20, 2017 Birdcages are in Lord and Butler.....they are gorgeous... 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold tetsudofan Posted September 20, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 20, 2017 ....and in at The Hobby Shop in Faversham, off to collect mine and some other bits and pieces tomorrow or Friday. Keith Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Godfrey Glyn Posted September 20, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 20, 2017 ...and in Alton Model Centre, will have to wait until Friday to collect mine. Having viewed them a few times in the Bachmann display cabinet and seen the photographs in the mags I do not think I shall be disappointed. Very pleased that Bachmann are spreading their arrival over three months! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iltman Posted September 20, 2017 Share Posted September 20, 2017 I must confess I've been tempted to buy a set but at the price they're on sale at they're a luxury I can't afford, for the same price I've got a Kernow Bullied diesel on order! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted September 21, 2017 Author Share Posted September 21, 2017 Right from the start I always wanted to model an alternative version of Guildford station complete with its great variance of railway routes - So Birdcage coaches are a must as they were used on the Horsham line. Preferably in green, but if all that's going is carmine or whatever shade of red it is meant to be - then so be it. I hope they do BR(S) green later.. It would fit better. So I am glad they are now here - Hours of fun await.. Meanwhile since the project was announced to reproduce these coaches, it now seems years ago, I have moved and no longer have the space to create the layout these coaches need.. Now these coaches may well not have been the specific type that saw service on that line. But they look more like the right coaches than say a Maunsell whatever.. So they'll do the job for me! Can I now die happy?.. Not quite, there are still a few small things missing. For example those essential EMUs, you know the Bulleid 4 coach suburbans for the Leatherhead line and the 4COR Nelson's? Is anyone out there listening? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trevor7598 Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 (edited) Right from the start I always wanted to model an alternative version of Guildford station complete with its great variance of railway routes - So Birdcage coaches are a must as they were used on the Horsham line. Preferably in green, but if all that's going is carmine or whatever shade of red it is meant to be - then so be it. I hope they do BR(S) green later.. It would fit better. So I am glad they are now here - Hours of fun await.. Meanwhile since the project was announced to reproduce these coaches, it now seems years ago, I have moved and no longer have the space to create the layout these coaches need.. Now these coaches may well not have been the specific type that saw service on that line. But they look more like the right coaches than say a Maunsell whatever.. So they'll do the job for me! Can I now die happy?.. Not quite, there are still a few small things missing. For example those essential EMUs, you know the Bulleid 4 coach suburbans for the Leatherhead line and the 4COR Nelson's? Is anyone out there listening? The Birdcage sets of the type Bachmann are producing are absolutely correct for the Guildford area of the 1950's. At this time they were the staple diet on the Reading-Redhill line. On the Guildford-Horsham branch there was one regular, evening service, which used a borrowed Birdcage set, and terminated at Cranleigh. Motive power for this train could be an M7, 700, Q1, or E4, anything suitable that Guildford shed could muster. Edited September 21, 2017 by trevor7598 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRman Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 Right from the start I always wanted to model an alternative version of Guildford station complete with its great variance of railway routes - So Birdcage coaches are a must as they were used on the Horsham line. Preferably in green, but if all that's going is carmine or whatever shade of red it is meant to be - then so be it. I hope they do BR(S) green later.. It would fit better. So I am glad they are now here - Hours of fun await.. Meanwhile since the project was announced to reproduce these coaches, it now seems years ago, I have moved and no longer have the space to create the layout these coaches need.. Now these coaches may well not have been the specific type that saw service on that line. But they look more like the right coaches than say a Maunsell whatever.. So they'll do the job for me! Can I now die happy?.. Not quite, there are still a few small things missing. For example those essential EMUs, you know the Bulleid 4 coach suburbans for the Leatherhead line and the 4COR Nelson's? Is anyone out there listening? The BR(S) green was only applied to stock after 1956, and even then, was unlikely to have been applied to too many of the birdcage coaches as they neared the ends of their lives. For the 1948 - 56 (and beyond) period, the Southern Railway green would have survived with revarnishing until they were repainted into the BR crimson ... if the individual coaches ever were (some might have survived to the very end in ex-SR green). If you can get the pre-1948 green (malachite) you could debrand them, but at this stage Bachmann are only offering the earlier Maunsell green, which would not have survived into the BR era, or if they did, they would have been painted crimson very quickly. Of course, all this may not be relevant if you are doing an alternative history for your Guildford. You could even paint the coaches in BR blue if you so desired! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oliver Rails Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 Take a look at our product video of the new Bachmann Birdcage coaches. Small video correction : 39-622 is just a Brake third and not a lavatory brake. https://railsofsheffield.com/groups/2255/br-crimson-secr-60ft-birdcage-coaches 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenGiraffe22 Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 These posts are getting me hyped for the Southern set! Hopefully only another month or two to go, looking forward to seeing photos of these carriages on peoples' layouts Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham_Muz Posted September 21, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 21, 2017 My review can be read here https://grahammuz.com/2017/09/08/the-first-Bachmann-ex-secr-60ft-bridcage-coach-sets-arrive/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigherb Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 Well I kept my pre order as I they are really key to my area and would have probably regretted it. Nice coaches weighing in around 140g a coach. Run nicely with no wheel wobble but not the most free running of coaches. Put together nicely just a bit of excess glue around the the birdcage glints in the light. Big question for me is are they worth pennies shy of £15 more a coach over the equivalent Hornby Ex LSWR rebuilds, that has to be a big no they are equal in quality except for those who like the gimmicks the Hornby has sprung metal buffers the birdcages moulded solid plastic. Some pictures Colour comparison with the Hornby rebuilds. Overcast light. Bright sunlight. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreenGiraffe22 Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 I'm not remotely knowledgeable about BR colours but to my untrained eye they look *almost* a perfect match to Hornby's with the latter being only slightly lighter? I really hope they're not going to have the same derailing issues as Hornby's had. One of my ex LSWR carriages still jumps points on occasion, I may well retire them and sell them on when the birdcages arrive. My E4s & Cs are ready and waiting. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattingleycustom Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 Fantastic looking vehicles, I've got six on their way to me, they should look right at home behind an N or even a C. One minor point (and I may well be wrong) but shouldn't the Set numerals be in BR Gill Sans style, rather than SR style as produced. Glenn Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted September 21, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 21, 2017 One minor point (and I may well be wrong) but shouldn't the Set numerals be in BR Gill Sans style, rather than SR style as produced. Looking at several set numbers in BR days in Michael Welch's Southern Coaches In Colour, the 9 is a very different shape, and the numerals are less bold. I will not let it deter me, though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bigbee Line Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 My review can be read here https://grahammuz.com/2017/09/08/the-first-Bachmann-ex-secr-60ft-bridcage-coach-sets-arrive/ Graham, You mention that the buffers are separate mouldings. Have you tried removing them? Just thinking of fitting shorter ones within the set. That would enable closer coupling, and the would have been close coupled in reality. I wonder how often they were actually uncoupled. I bet the couplings got seized up through lack of use.. Thanks Ernie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Brasher Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 The British Railways crimson birdcage coaches have arrived at the Swanage Railway shop. All the model railway items there seem to be Bachmann now. When I ordered the SECR coaches from Hattons in 2014 the price of £55.21 each seemed expensive but now it pales into insignificance compared with Rails' Dynamometer car. If they run freely and do not derail it will be worth paying more for the birdcage coaches than the Hornby LSWR coaches. I already have a C class in SECR livery to haul the set and my virtual fleet of SECR locomotives will include an H class and a P class. I hope that these do not take as long to arrive as the birdcage coaches. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Dunsignalling Posted September 21, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 21, 2017 (edited) Graham, You mention that the buffers are separate mouldings. Have you tried removing them? Just thinking of fitting shorter ones within the set. That would enable closer coupling, and the would have been close coupled in reality. I wonder how often they were actually uncoupled. I bet the couplings got seized up through lack of use.. Thanks Ernie If you fit Roco couplers into the linkages provided, your buffers should touch on straight track and the coaches will space-out as necessary on curves. John Edited September 21, 2017 by Dunsignalling 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Graham_Muz Posted September 22, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 22, 2017 Graham, You mention that the buffers are separate mouldings. Have you tried removing them? Just thinking of fitting shorter ones within the set. That would enable closer coupling, and the would have been close coupled in reality. I wonder how often they were actually uncoupled. I bet the couplings got seized up through lack of use.. Thanks Ernie I've been away from home so will have a look to see how easily they come out tonight but the buffers are the correct long shanked pattern for the coaches, closer coupling on the prototype would be the effect of the shank being compressed. If you fit Roco couplers into the linkages provided, your buffers should touch on straight track and the coaches will space-out as necessary on curves. John I agree, also in my review I stated that I have fitted Kadee No. 18's to mine to reduce the gap and still enable reliable running. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Brasher Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 Thank you for the information about couplings. On pages 104 and 105 of the October Model Rail Chris Leigh has rated the BR crimson birdcage coaches 94%. I have been reading his reviews since the Model Railway Constructor days. He is not easily satisfied and he is not impressed with the T3's new home near me on the Swanage Railway either. The only criticism he made of the coaches was the shade of crimson which he thought was too dark. The shade is darker than Precision Paint's B.R. coach red and is darker than an LSWR push-pull set in a picture taken on Friday 9 September 1960. It is also much lighter than British Railways' maroon livery applied after 1955. He says that Bachmann's shade is closer to that used on Hornby's LSWR stock. Perhaps the two model firms have used the correct shade of red but it appears darker on a model than it does on the prototype as the prototype reflects more sunlight. I expect the LSWR coaches may have faded by 1960. I travelled to New Romney in some pre-nationalisation coaches in 1955 but I cannot remember whether they were green or red. I can remember the leather straps to open the windows and the telegraph wires seeming to go up and down beside the track. Another suitable locomotive for the B.R. crimson coaches is the Wrenn R1. Wrenn did make some with the cycling lion emblem. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold RFS Posted September 22, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 22, 2017 (edited) The problem with correct colour representation is that any pictures of birdcage coaches are at least 55-60 years old. How good was the quality of the colour film used at the time? Were the coaches photographed in bright sunlit conditions, or overcast, and were they clean or a bit shabby? How well has the film aged? And any photos viewed online today have been scanned and then displayed on a monitor, both of which can affect the colour representation. Also the eyes of those that saw these coaches in real life (mine included) are quite elderly too! So making judgement on the colour of the models is a bit of a minefield really. I am very pleased that Bachmann have produced these and they are excellent models. Edited September 22, 2017 by RFS Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold RFS Posted September 23, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 23, 2017 Got my set of 3 today but had a couple of problems. Firstly one of the NEM pockets was too tight and I couldn't get the Roco coupling in. Also couldn't get the tension lock back in either. A little bit of filing to clear a small tag resolved that. Then I found one of the brake coaches frequently derailing. Turned out that one of its bogies was a bit tight and was restricting movement. The brake shoes are all attached to a small slab of plastic which clips into the underside of the bogie. On mine this was at a strange angle. Fortunately it was a fairly easy fix to unclip, and refix properly. Now all OK. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertiedog Posted September 23, 2017 Share Posted September 23, 2017 BR Crimson versions will be with us tomorrow afternoon, I've just received a delivery note Should be hitting other shelves around the same time... Any dates or news on the early livery versions? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Andy Hayter Posted September 23, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 23, 2017 AFAIAA post #565 still applies. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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