GWR Centenary Stock to Trans Channel Sleeper Coaches

[SteveyDee68]

If you are of a nervous disposition, I suggest you stop reading this thread now, as it will be filled with an enormous amount of “whatifery” and “justsupposeforamomenting” together with modeller’s license applied far beyond the recommended dosage…

 

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Hopefully that now means that anybody still reading this is ready to “suspend their disbelief” for a while and travel down this particularly strange and totally non-prototypical rabbit hole with me, in lieu of a heroine by the name of Alice…

 

Wagon-Lits Type F sleeper coaches, as used on the Dover train ferry, have long been on the wish list of items to be produced RTR in OO - after all, there’s just ONE coach design, in a stand out livery, and which can legitimately be pulled by a selection of RTR “top flight” locos, and there’s plenty of modellers who would use Rule #1 to justify buying a rake to run on their layouts. To fully complete the (OO scale) train, ONE design of fourgon wagon is needed. Why the major manufacturers have not produced these coaches is beyond me, especially the one which has previously gone to great lengths producing a large variety of different Pullman stock!

 

I could scratch build them. Well, I could if I had the skills, that is! There are also body shells available on Shapeways - but the cost of a carriage (with appropriate bogies) would rival the most expensive RTR coaches and - I hate to say - probably would not be anywhere near as detailed if I built them myself… assuming, again, that I have the skill set.

 

The Type F sleeper coaches were specially built by Wagon-Lits to fit within the UK loading gauge, as by necessity they needed to run in the UK as well as in France (with its more generous loading gauge). 

 

Meanwhile the GWR built it’s Centenary coaches to the maximum loading gauge possible, in order to make them more luxurious than the Pullman’s in use on the Southern Railway. 
 

So far, we are in the same time line as our own…

 

What if …

 

The GWR, rather like the Southern, liked to improve upon what it had rather than strike out with innovative ideas. So, when there became the possibility of running a second, cross channel train ferry service from the port of Broadhaven over to France, the GWR decided they wanted a slice of the action! The extra width Centenary stock would easily fit the wider loading gauges on the Continent, and so a programme of rebuilds was instigated to adapt the coaches.

 

The first decision was to keep the compartment divisions as originally built, with each compartment being fitted with fold down bunk beds along one wall of each compartment. A wash stand and wardrobe were built into the opposite wall in first class cabins; a washbasin and hanging storage space in second class.

 

The end compartment in each coach was given over to the coach attendant’s office, a boiler (for hot water) plus cooking facilities such as tea, coffee, cocoa. Any other “cabin service” for passengers would be provided from the restaurant car as part of the boat train service.

As the coaches were to be used on the continent, suitable additional braking systems were added to make them compliant with European locos. Additional steps were also added to the bogies to allow passengers to alight at European stations.

 

The GWR insisted upon keeping their chocolate and cream paint scheme but British Railways upon nationalisation took a different view; being in competition with Wagon-Lits, they decided to repaint the coaches in a dark blue colour similar to their rivals. 
 

To further distinguish these coaches from standard stock, a decision was taken to use the “Through to the continent” branding, as was being applied to ferry wagons.

 

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- I have Airfix Centenary coaching stock

- Suitable paint is readily available

- Extra battery boxes etc can easily be added to underframes, as can tanks to hold “waste water”

- Suitable transfers are available

- Interiors can be adapted/rebuilt using plasticard or 3D printed items (to be sourced)

- I can ignore the window profile changes made to the prototype coaches - these retained the original drop down windows, as seen on Continental coaches.

 

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Why post about all this? Well, I’m open to suggestions regarding the. conversions! Should the bogies be changed, for example? Do I plate over one door each end for the boiler (as per the Type F ferry stock)?

 

Of course, the modifications will render my coaches totally worthless for resale, as they will be one off oddities for my own layout. Although, then again, in the event of disposal perhaps Gostude might be persuaded that they are “rare” and buy them in his (forlorn) hope of a massive profit when sold by himself on eBay?!

 

HOURS OF FUN!

 

Edited April 11, 2022 by SteveyDee68
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