Henley-on-Thames - GWR in the 1930's

[Coach bogie]

I made up and painted the body shells for a 10 coach train of Centenaries with window frames but sort of lost interest in it.

 

When David Geen took over the Hayes range, we both went through the films and discovered a never released underframe to fit the Airfix Centenaries. I have a couple of test etches called off but with the move, never got around to ordering more. I might sort some more underframes and bring everything back on my next trip home. 

 

Mike Wiltshire

[Tim Dubya]

17 minutes ago, Coach bogie said:

David Geen

 

Is he still trading in any capacity?

[Coach bogie]

12 hours ago, Tim Dubya said:

 

Is he still trading in any capacity?

Yes. Complete coach and wagon kits of remaining stock. Etches only can be supplied of all the Geen and Haye development Coach range. It is castings that cannot be produced.  Also most of the Mitchel loco kits are also available as the castings for these are bought in. Do not go asking for lists of current stock. If you know what you want, then he will be able to tell you what can be supplied.

 

Phone number still 01429 269600

[Neal Ball]

14 hours ago, Coach bogie said:

I made up and painted the body shells for a 10 coach train of Centenaries with window frames but sort of lost interest in it.

 

When David Geen took over the Hayes range, we both went through the films and discovered a never released underframe to fit the Airfix Centenaries. I have a couple of test etches called off but with the move, never got around to ordering more. I might sort some more underframes and bring everything back on my next trip home. 

 

Mike Wiltshire

 

Interesting Mike thank you.

[Neal Ball]

The e111 Composite is now glazed and door handles added etc. The rear / other side is still to be glazed.

 

I am very pleased with how it looks and also how it runs - its as smooth and easy running as an RTR carriage.

 

 

Glazing and door handles are very much the order of the day at Henley-on-Thames as my stock of carriages queue up for attention!

[checkrail]

Lovely looking carriage Neal, finished beautifully.  I think the 1934 livery suits them well.

[Neal Ball]

2 minutes ago, checkrail said:

Lovely looking carriage Neal, finished beautifully.  I think the 1934 livery suits them well.

 

Thanks John, very kind. I want to add roof boards and seat numbering panels, I am also going to try adding corridor handrails as well.

 

Looking at the photo in Russel, the seat numbers seemed to finish at 368 and it looks as if it starts at 304

• 3rd class x 5 compartments at 4 across = 40
• 1st class x 4 compartments at 3 across = 24
• Which gives a carriage capacity of only 64 which doesn't seem very much.

In Russel, some photos show carriage seat numbers, which always seem to be 3 digits - but some photos show letters - does anyone know when seat numbers were changed for carriage letters? It is possible that this is a post nationalisation scheme.

 

Incidentally the typical rake for the 70ft South Wales stock was (Taken from the Comet models instructions):

• Brake third = 4 compartments = 32
• Third = 10 compartments = 80
• Composite (above) = 64
• Restaurant carriage H26 (1st x 18; 3rd x 32) = 50
• Composite = 64
• Third = 80
• Brake third = 32

Giving a train capacity of 402 - many years later a GWR 8 carriage HST would accommodate 487 or 557 depending on the configuration: https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/hst-trainset-capacities.73196/

 

To be continued!

[ChrisN]

3 hours ago, Neal Ball said:

 

Thanks John, very kind. I want to add roof boards and seat numbering panels, I am also going to try adding corridor handrails as well.

 

Looking at the photo in Russel, the seat numbers seemed to finish at 368 and it looks as if it starts at 304

• 3rd class x 5 compartments at 4 across = 40
• 1st class x 4 compartments at 3 across = 24
• Which gives a carriage capacity of only 64 which doesn't seem very much.

In Russel, some photos show carriage seat numbers, which always seem to be 3 digits - but some photos show letters - does anyone know when seat numbers were changed for carriage letters? It is possible that this is a post nationalisation scheme.

 

Incidentally the typical rake for the 70ft South Wales stock was (Taken from the Comet models instructions):

• Brake third = 4 compartments = 32
• Third = 10 compartments = 80
• Composite (above) = 64
• Restaurant carriage H26 (1st x 18; 3rd x 32) = 50
• Composite = 64
• Third = 80
• Brake third = 32

Giving a train capacity of 402 - many years later a GWR 8 carriage HST would accommodate 487 or 557 depending on the configuration: https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/hst-trainset-capacities.73196/

 

To be continued!

 

Neal,

Just food for thought, as I am not completely certain, but I have found on RMWeb, if you state something then someone will come along with the correct information almost immediately.  🙂

 

Would the 3rd class not be 5 across?  I am fairly certain non corridor stock was 6 across.

 

Also, When seats were numbered, at least in BR days, sorry for the foul language, the seats facing each other had the same number, so it would be defined as say, 5 facing the engine, 5 back to the engine, although this may have only been for non compartment stock.

[Coach bogie]

4 hours ago, Neal Ball said:

 

 

• Brake third = 4 compartments = 32
• Third = 10 compartments = 80
• Composite (above) = 64
• Restaurant carriage H26 (1st x 18; 3rd x 32) = 50
• Composite = 64
• Third = 80
• Brake third = 32

That was certainly the plan. D83,C45,E109,H26, E110, C44, D84 was allocated to the 3.55 ex Swansea in 1923. It changed immediately with the addition of a 70ft brake compo of a different vintage as Swindon did not design a South Wales brake compo.

 

Oddly they were never classified as South Wales stock in the registers.

 

A batch of ten, upon completion, went straight into the Cornish Riviera until the 1929 stock was introduced. Even LNER A1 4474 (nameless) Victor Wild was hauling a full train on the CRE during the 1925 exchanges.

 

Three of the buckeye sets went straight on to a Cheltenham working and a similar set was soon working on Worcester trains as far as Great Malvern.

 

If I have done my sums right (probably out by a few) there were 117 built in total plus the Dreadnought rebuild, far too many for one specific route.

 

I love this stock. I have been building them from the MAJ days, so they always have a special place on my layout. In later years there were bogie changes so I have a couple running on 7ft bogies. 

 

For me the SW Stock stands for Send Wherever as this is what happened.

 

Great build Neal

 

Mike Wiltshire

Edited March 21 by Coach bogie

[Coach bogie]

27 minutes ago, ChrisN said:

 

 

Would the 3rd class not be 5 across?  I am fairly certain non corridor stock was 6 across.

 

 

Third class was four across upholstered in red with black flecs. First class was three across in brown with gold and brown lace.

 

For once there is accurate information about this stock as the Great Western Magazine covered their introduction in great detail photographing both inside and out.

 

Mike Wiltshire

[Neal Ball]

1 hour ago, ChrisN said:

food for thought, as I am not completely certain, but I have found on RMWeb, if you state something then someone will come along with the correct information almost immediately.

Most definitely the case Chris, thank you.

[Neal Ball]

 

57 minutes ago, Coach bogie said:

That was certainly the plan. D83,C45,E109,H26, E110, C44, D84 was allocated to the 3.55 ex Swansea in 1923. It changed immediately with the addition of a 70ft brake compo of a different vintage as Swindon did not design a South Wales brake compo.

 

Oddly they were never classified as South Wales stock in the registers.

 

A batch of ten, upon completion, went straight into the Cornish Riviera until the 1929 stock was introduced. Even LNER A1 4474 (nameless) Victor Wild was hauling a full train on the CRE during the 1925 exchanges.

 

Three of the buckeye sets went straight on to a Cheltenham working and a similar set was soon working on Worcester trains as far as Great Malvern.

 

If I have done my sums right (probably out by a few) there were 117 built in total plus the Dreadnought rebuild, far too many for one specific route.

 

I love this stock. I have been building them from the MAJ days, so they always have a special place on my layout. In later years there were bogie changes so I have a couple running on 7ft bogies. 

 

For me the SW Stock stands for Send Wherever as this is what happened.

 

Great build Neal

 

Mike Wiltshire

 

49 minutes ago, Coach bogie said:

Third class was four across upholstered in red with black flecs. First class was three across in brown with gold and brown lace.

 

For once there is accurate information about this stock as the Great Western Magazine covered their introduction in great detail photographing both inside and out.

 

Mike Wiltshire

Thanks as ever Mike. 
 

Have you seen that the GWR magazine is available on line? https://didcotrailwaycentre.cook.websds.net
 

Fascinating to see it. 

[Coach bogie]

I haven't. Will have have a play on there when I get home.

I am using a photocopy of a frail edition in a friend's collection.  Wish I had a scanner at the time.

 

[The Fatadder]

7 hours ago, Neal Ball said:

 

 

Thanks as ever Mike. 
 

Have you seen that the GWR magazine is available on line? https://didcotrailwaycentre.cook.websds.net
 

Fascinating to see it. 

I hadn’t seen that was available, look forward to a read through 1947 this evening.

[Neal Ball]

As we are talking about the Great Western railway magazine, my copies are from 1936/7/8 and I thought this might be of interest.

 

At Rick’s @The Fatadder Inspired by Brent, we have been talking about a farm being transported. Plus recently there was a conversation with @Miss Prism about windows changing on Restaurant carriages.

 

Ive not seen an article about farms, but I did find a piece about restaurant carriages being refurbished - 105 of them!

 

 

Of course what caught my eye was one of the last Barnum locos.

[Miss Prism]

3222 looked a bit different to that in its last years, with a P class topfeed boiler and an extended frame at the front (to accomodate a set of Bulldog cylinders). Seen here at Chester shed. I think the class were predominantly northern division locos in their later years.

 

[Neal Ball]

57 minutes ago, Miss Prism said:

3222 looked a bit different to that in its last years, with a P class topfeed boiler and an extended frame at the front (to accomodate a set of Bulldog cylinders). Seen here at Chester shed. I think the class were predominantly northern division locos in their later years.

 

Having seen the little loco trundling across the viaduct at Pendon, I’ve been a fan!

You are right though, they are not a London based loco in my time period.

[Miss Prism]

Pendon always picked the prettiest locos.

 

[Neal Ball]

Today I have glazed the e112 Composite carriage. I have run out of time to add the door furniture today.

 

 

Both 1st/3rd Composite carriages are seen together, although they are the wring way round - the 112 should be this side of the 111. (With a Restaurant carriage in between.)

 

[Neal Ball]

Reported in the January 1935 GWR magazine!

 

[Coach bogie]

I have just accessed the article (July 1923). The quality is much better than my faded photocopies. Thanks again. Also found some useful van images and plans as I got carried away looking through other months.

 

Mike Wiltshire

[Neal Ball]

48 minutes ago, Coach bogie said:

I have just accessed the article (July 1923). The quality is much better than my faded photocopies. Thanks again. Also found some useful van images and plans as I got carried away looking through other months.

 

Mike Wiltshire

 

And there is an index for every year! - I haven't seen that before.

 

I was looking through 1935 earlier and searching "Henley" or "Regatta" ..... there was an interesting article about the new Centenary carriages. interestingly, I found a photo of the new train with a fully streamlined Manorbier Castle at the helm.

[Mikkel]

On 22/03/2024 at 00:55, Neal Ball said:

Have you seen that the GWR magazine is available on line? https://didcotrailwaycentre.cook.websds.net
 

Fascinating to see it. 

 

Thank you Neal, this is quite a development. Well done by the GWS. 

 

[Neal Ball]

59 minutes ago, Mikkel said:

 

Thank you Neal, this is quite a development. Well done by the GWS. 

 

 

I am still wading through 1935.

 

When it was launch onto the GWS website, I think the idea is that it will remain free for a short while and then for a fee. But still free for GWR members.

[Neal Ball]

Both 70ft carriages now have glazing and door furniture down one side. I am very pleased with how these carriages have come along.

 

Edited March 24 by Neal Ball