New train sets and Gift Packs

[Butler Henderson]

The coaches are LMS Period I.  A great many of these were seconded for ambulance use in the war.

 

Different war however, the 2nd not the first.

[brossard]

Oops, my bad.  Still, as Bachmann don't do any Midland coaches (we can only wish), their PIs have been pressed into service I think.  Nevertheless, the set is attractive, and the figures are a nice touch.

 

John

[Coppercap]

But is it the correct machine? GWR sleuths,help,please. I am probably alone in thinking it's an attractive package.Nurse.....bedpan,quick !

 

Bachmann could have used a correct locomotive -  the 53xx class. They have the tooling (not as good as the City's though), but the last time it was available it had the not-very-good-running split chassis.   

[brossard]

Here's a bit of info:  http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Medical/AmbulanceTrains.html

 

There is lengthy description in "British Railways and the Great War, Vol. 2" by E.A. Pratt, 1921.

 

A typical train consisted of nine coaches.  In the center was a pharmacy car comprising a dispensary, treatment room and linen store.  There were 5 ward cars on either side of the pharmacy car.  There was one kitchen/diner/sleeping car, another for day/sleeping accomodation for staff.  There was a brake with beds for 6 men and a store.

 

While GWR coaches seem to have the cross on a white circle, there is a picture in the book of an unidentified coach at Southampton with a cross in a white square.  All are in line with the windows though.

 

My question would be whether each railway's trains stayed together or whether they became mixed with other companies stock.

 

John

[Ozexpatriate]

Rails of Sheffield have had some  of '30-325 'Ambulance Train No.40' come in stock so have posted pictures of the actual set.

Must say that set does look superb!

WE have these sets in stock. On opening the box in front of a customer we actually got a WOW!

I wasn't going to purchase this set. Having seen the pictures, now it's tempting. That City of Birmingham locomotive really does look fine in khaki.

[SDJR7F88]

WE have these sets in stock. On opening the box in front of a customer we actually got a WOW! Not sure about liveries etc but overall impression was also a wow. The only disapointment for me was that the Medical Staff come in a normal Scenecraft Figures plastic retail case. I did suggest to the Bachmann rep that maybe an "aged" cardboard box or a Christmas 1914 Gift Tin would have been even better, For that reason only I give it 9.5 out of 10. If it was in N Gauge I would have bought one for myself.

Is it a limited edition? 

[RussellD]

Surely the safety valve bonnet and splasher beading wouldn't have been polished brass during the war?

[Hilux5972]

Looking at the packaging that the figures come in, it has a code on it. Are these available seperatley?

[nerron]

Looking at the packaging that the figures come in, it has a code on it. Are these available seperatley?

Yes they are. Hattons have them in stock.

[Ian Hargrave]

Bachmann could have used a correct locomotive -  the 53xx class. They have the tooling (not as good as the City's though), but the last time it was available it had the not-very-good-running split chassis.   

Yes,I had thought that myself. Still has the split chassis,I'm afraid.There does not seem to be evidence available either positive or negative with regard to the "City".Hardly surprising when you think about it.

[JhornG201]

After looking at the pictures on Rail's website for the ambulance train pack it seems to bode well for the Railway Children pack which hopefully won't be far away seeing as, according to Bachmann's website, both packs have the same availability date.

[Robin Brasher]

Some ambulance trains are in the Swanage station shop now.  At about £159 they are excellent value for money compared with the M7 at £129. The nurses and medical staff look very good.  Tempted to buy one but not much space in my flat for non Swanage related stock.

[Adams442T]

Surely the safety valve bonnet and splasher beading wouldn't have been polished brass during the war?

 

Could well have been, after all most of the 'grey' liveried locomotives were more cost saving exercises rather than any effort at some form of 'camouflage'. Plus train crews, being fairly individually minded persons, could well have decided that they weren't prepared to look 'scruffy', especially perhaps GWR.     In any case as is said elsewhere this is just a fictitious assembly of an 'ambulance train set' anyway though I'm sure at the price it will get many buyers.

Edited December 5, 2014 by Adams442T

[RussellD]

Could well have been, after all most of the 'grey' liveried locomotives were more cost saving exercises rather than any effort at some form of 'camouflage'. Plus train crews, being fairly individually minded persons, could well have decided that they weren't prepared to look 'scruffy', especially perhaps GWR.     In any case as is said elsewhere this is just a fictitious assembly of an 'ambulance train set' anyway though I'm sure at the price it will get many buyers.

 

I agree that this set is just a generic ambulance train set so is not 100% prototypical. I know that locos were painted in grey or khaki primarily for cost reasons and to save time . However my reason for thinking that there would be no polished brass was that there was a staff shortage on the railways due to men being called up to serve in the armed forces and given the extra workload they were under I doubt whether polishing brass was high on the list of priorities of the railway staff. I accept that perhaps on some quieter rural routes, away from the busier main lines and docks, there may have been some proud crews who had the time to devote attention to their engine.

[Coach bogie]

I agree that this set is just a generic ambulance train set so is not 100% prototypical. I know that locos were painted in grey or khaki primarily for cost reasons and to save time . However my reason for thinking that there would be no polished brass was that there was a staff shortage on the railways due to men being called up to serve in the armed forces and given the extra workload they were under I doubt whether polishing brass was high on the list of priorities of the railway staff. I accept that perhaps on some quieter rural routes, away from the busier main lines and docks, there may have been some proud crews who had the time to devote attention to their engine.

 

The history of the city class is well documented and no city ever carried Kaki livery. If they had, they would be carrying an ROD not a GWR number.  Those that received a repaint appeared in unlined green with GREAT WESTERN on the tender in a similar veign to the Star in the Hornby troop train. Certain GWR moguls however did have a full ROD kaki repaint as they were sent overseas to work in mainland Europe, along with the ambulance trains.

 

http://www.totnestrains.com/uploads/6/9/2/9/6929845/8134500_orig.jpg

 

From the few published images, the safety valve is painted over in most cases.

 

http://www.southdevonrailway.co.uk/image_uploads/5319-m.gif

 

 

The only reason I can see Bachmann has, in using the city is due to it appears to be the only early GWR tender engine they can currently produce.

 

Mike Wiltshire

[Ian Hargrave]

Thank you,Mike for your authoritative post. I suspected that the 1914 Ambulance Train is a work of fiction,be it ever so attractive. Any thoughts on the the Hornby troop train pack ? Sorry if it's O.T.

[Coppercap]

Thank you,Mike for your authoritative post. I suspected that the 1914 Ambulance Train is a work of fiction,be it ever so attractive. Any thoughts on the the Hornby troop train pack ? Sorry if it's O.T.

 

The Hornby pack is a reasonable representation as far as the locomotive is concerned. But, 4050 Princess Alice was completed in June 1914, before the war started, so would have been fully lined with polished brass etc. In the pack she is depicted unlined, safety valve bonnet painted green, and splasher brass beading removed (well, she still has the beading, only it is green). She is unlikely to have been repainted during the war, unless Hornby or anyone else knows different. So for 4050, the livery is, I suspect, incorrect. It was probably correct for older Stars that did have a repaint during the war into unlined green. (No bogie brakes fitted though, which it should have, but we'll let that one go...) 

The coaches are strictly the wrong colour for the period, for new or newly outshopped coaches. The Great Western was using Chocolate and Cream up to 1908, then all-brown to 1912, then Crimson until 1922. So, at the time of the outbreak of the war, there would undoubtedly have been a curious mixture of all three liveries on the Great Western I expect coaches still in Chocolate and Cream that were due for a repaint would have been looking a bit jaded by then, so if they were made to look a bit scruffy, it would then be reasonably convincing. They wouldn't have used their best coaches for troop train use, surely? 

Whatever, I'm going to order the Hornby pack, despite it's minor errors, but not the Bachmann pack due to it's total incorrectness.    

[Ian Hargrave]

The Hornby pack is a reasonable representation as far as the locomotive is concerned. But, 4050 Princess Alice was completed in June 1914, before the war started, so would have been fully lined with polished brass etc. In the pack she is depicted unlined, safety valve bonnet painted green, and splasher brass beading removed (well, she still has the beading, only it is green). She is unlikely to have been repainted during the war, unless Hornby or anyone else knows different. So for 4050, the livery is, I suspect, incorrect. It was probably correct for older Stars that did have a repaint during the war into unlined green. (No bogie brakes fitted though, which it should have, but we'll let that one go...) 

The coaches are strictly the wrong colour for the period, for new or newly outshopped coaches. The Great Western was using Chocolate and Cream up to 1908, then all-brown to 1912, then Crimson until 1922. So, at the time of the outbreak of the war, there would undoubtedly have been a curious mixture of all three liveries on the Great Western I expect coaches still in Chocolate and Cream that were due for a repaint would have been looking a bit jaded by then, so if they were made to look a bit scruffy, it would then be reasonably convincing. They wouldn't have used their best coaches for troop train use, surely? 

Whatever, I'm going to order the Hornby pack, despite it's minor errors, but not the Bachmann pack due to it's total incorrectness.

 

Yes,my feelings are broadly similar.

[Prometheus]

I'm reposting this from another forum for interest given the discussion above :

 

Well guys, here it is.............

At the outset, two things are clear: this is going to be a Marmite model and it really only falls into the novelty market. However, whilst detailed criticism of the product is probably irrelevant given its make-believe status, it is an interesting diversion. I will note however that the coaches described as 'Midland' are in fact early LMS stock and the livery for the loco is very much up for debate. No matter though.

Packet in a very stout box, mine still arrived with a detached front loco bogie. The screw was eventually found elsewhere in the package. No other damage to models or paintwork was evident. Whilst the choice of coaching stock was dictated by what was available, I was surprised that all three were repainted composites: no brake was included. This is a pity. The coaches carry, essentially, the same markings. They are neatly enough applied although I do not know whether they are authentic. The red cross panels show some fuzziness at their margins however. It would be easy enough to respray a brake if the colour could be at least approximately matched.

The carton of figures is well painted and is, I believe, available separately [tbc]. The box also contains the usual accessories for this class of loco, including a replacement set of front bogie frames. Expected difficulties will occur when attaching the plug from the loco to the tender: the plastic is quite fragile and if great care is not used, it will crack.

Photos will speak a thousand more words........

 

 

Tony

[Matabiau]

I have just received mine today. I can't say I'm that impressed with the packaging, a backward step from the moulded plastic cases. I struggled to get the loco out without breaking it as it was very firmly wedged into the polystyrene tray. The size of the box is staggering for what it contains, an equivalent Hornby train pack is a fraction of the size. This can only increase the shipping costs for overseas customers.

The second disappointment was that the loco shorted out my DCC layout, even with the blanking plate fitted. This is going to be costly and frustrating to return to the retailer. I have had similar problems with a number of Bachmann locos now, there is a quality control problem in their soldering, obviously not big enough to warrant any improvement though!

 

I'm not having a good day, the Hornby LSWR M7 I received at the same time doesn't correspond to the instructions making DCC conversion difficult, nay impossible! I only hope my Dapol Arriva 67 box set works!

Edited December 9, 2014 by Matabiau

[melmerby]

 

I'm not having a good day, the Hornby LSWR M7 I received at the same time doesn't correspond to the instructions making DCC conversion difficult, nay impossible!

What's the problem?

 

IIRC the DCC version has a tank weight removed to give space for the decoder.

Mine has a Lenz Silver Mini +, replacing the R8249 it came with.

 

Keith

[Butler Henderson]

Had 2 Bachmann locos short on dcc, one was due to faulty wiring on the socket, the other due to two metal conducting strips touching due to an excessive of solder on one. Assuming it works okay on dc then it should be realtively easy to trace the route of the electric feed from the socket to the motor to find the fault.

 

re the M7, keep the weights in place and either use a direct fit decoder small enough (TCS DP2X UK worked put in the wrong way around but have the size of those changed) or simply strip out the socket and Hornbys rather excessive wiring and hard wire a small decoder in place; their is only one soldered joint needed as two decoder wires are soldered direct to the motor and one of the pick uo wires to a brass tag on the chassis.

[Matabiau]

What's the problem?

 

IIRC the DCC version has a tank weight removed to give space for the decoder.

Mine has a Lenz Silver Mini +, replacing the R8249 it came with.

 

Keith

The Hornby instructions say that this weight should be released by removing a screw under the filler cap. On this latest version there is no screw and the weight has been glued in! I have had my grumble on the Hornby LSWR M7 thread rather than pollute this one.

[Matabiau]

Had 2 Bachmann locos short on dcc, one was due to faulty wiring on the socket, the other due to two metal conducting strips touching due to an excessive of solder on one. Assuming it works okay on dc then it should be realtively easy to trace the route of the electric feed from the socket to the motor to find the fault.

 

re the M7, keep the weights in place and either use a direct fit decoder small enough (TCS DP2X UK worked put in the wrong way around but have the size of those changed) or simply strip out the socket and Hornbys rather excessive wiring and hard wire a small decoder in place; their is only one soldered joint needed as two decoder wires are soldered direct to the motor and one of the pick uo wires to a brass tag on the chassis.

The fault is on the motor side of the blanking plate. At first I tried with a DCC chip installed on the programming track. That worked fine. Only when I put it on the running track and started to wind up the throttle did it trip the DCC controller. 

[macketty]

The history of the city class is well documented and no city ever carried Kaki livery. If they had, they would be carrying an ROD not a GWR number.  Those that received a repaint appeared in unlined green with GREAT WESTERN on the tender in a similar veign to the Star in the Hornby troop train. Certain GWR moguls however did have a full ROD kaki repaint as they were sent overseas to work in mainland Europe, along with the ambulance trains.

 

http://www.totnestrains.com/uploads/6/9/2/9/6929845/8134500_orig.jpg

 

From the few published images, the safety valve is painted over in most cases.

 

http://www.southdevonrailway.co.uk/image_uploads/5319-m.gif

 

 

The only reason I can see Bachmann has, in using the city is due to it appears to be the only early GWR tender engine they can currently produce.

 

Mike Wiltshire

 

Just to pick-up on "Coach bogie"'s and others assertions, in Appendix 7 of the HMRS's "Great Western Way", 3711 is noted as being observed in Khaki livery in September 1916. This would appear to support the livery choice of Bachmann.

 

Mac.