BT SPRING 2024 24.3 LR

TRAIN OF THOUGHT

One day, back in 2008 when I was working as the News Editor on Steam Railway magazine, my desk phone rang and I answered as usual, pen and paper at the ready. There was a momentary pause, and then a voice said: “It’s Tony James from the Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway. I thought I’d give you a call as I was hoping that you might be able to help save our railway!”

Unsure if I’d heard correctly, I asked him to repeat the last part of his opening remark, upon which Tony told me the full story of the Sittingbourne & Kemsley’s desperate fight for survival. In short, the railway’s landlords, which owned both its headquarters site and trackbed in Kent, had decided to sell up and the railway was facing permanent closure. It was a tragic state of affairs for this surviving part of the famous Bowaters narrow gauge network, and the emotion in Tony’s voice told just how much the situation was affecting the line’s small, but loyal band of volunteers.

The 31st December 2008 saw what many believed to be the last trains run, despite the railway’s high-profile ‘Save Our Steam Railway’ campaign. Yet the fight was not over, and would in fact continue for the next four years; the railway managing to partially re-open in 2010 before triumphantly returning to full line operation in 2012. It was a fight that largely took place in board rooms and solicitors’ offices, and the railway’s ultimate survival is a testament to the dogged determination of those individuals who refused to let ‘their’ railway die.

In the decade or so since then, the railway has strengthened its position and its future is secure. Naturally, I have monitored its progress closely since then, as it truly is a unique and historic part of the wider railway map, and offers a fascinating day out that cannot be replicated anywhere else.

This issue includes a guide to the Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway as the latest in our ‘Introducing...’ series on heritage railways, which I hope captures something of the flavour of Kent’s paper railway.

Until next time,

Gary

Gary Boyd-Hope, Editor

Bachmann Collectors Club

Editor: Gary Boyd-Hope

Design: Wendy Bayford & Gary Boyd-Hope Printing: Greenshires

XP64 TYPE 4 GETS THE BLUES

371-825K/KSF Class 47 D1733 in XP64 Experimental Blue livery

Our latest Collectors Club Limited Edition locomotive depicts a prototype that has already been produced in OO scale and now, to coincide with the 60th Anniversary of XP64, we present this N scale model of Class 47 No. D1733 in XP64 Experimental Blue Livery.

No. D1733 was built at Brush Falcon Works in Loughborough and was outshopped in primer in April 1964, being despatched to Deby Works for painting into the new XP64 Experimental Blue Livery.

XP64 was British Railways’ first attempt to develop a new ‘corporate’ image, with a standard livery which would be applied to all locomotives and rolling stock. The official launch of XP64 took place in May 1964 with No. D1733 hauling a train of matching blue & grey coaches around the country to gauge public opinion of the new livery. Ultimately, the scheme was not adopted by BR – instead a darker shade of blue was chosen for locomotives and whilst the double arrow logo remained, the red background was dropped.

In 2002 and carrying No. 47853, the locomotive was repainted back into its original Experimental Blue livery whilst operating with Virgin Trains to mark the end of Class 47 haulage on their CrossCountry services. No. 47853 remains in service today with Locomotive Services Limited, currently numbered 47614.

Our new model is available in standard and SOUND FITTED formats and takes full advantage of the new and upgraded Class 47 tooling from Graham Farish. The powerful Coreless motor drives all axles on both bogies whilst DCC provision comes in the form of a Next18 decoder socket. With a pre-fitted speaker installed in every model, SOUND FITTED models benefit from a ES Loksound V5DCC sound decoder allowing the model to produce realistic sound effects straight from the box when used on Analogue or DCC. Directional lighting is fitted whilst cab lights can also be enjoyed when the model is uses on DCC. Detailed and decorated to reflect No. D1733 in its 1964 condition, why not add this masterpiece in miniature to your collection today!

Both versions are available now and can be ordered via the Club website, by calling 01455 245565, or by returning the enclosed order form. The standard model is priced at £161.96 (a 10% saving on the RRP of an equivalent main range release which is £179.95) and is limited to 300 certificated pieces. The SOUND FITTED version can be purchased for £251.96 (RRP for an equivalent main range release is £279.95) and just 200 certificated pieces have been made.

ISLE OF WIGHT STEAM RAILWAY TICKET COMPETITION

Congratulations to BCC member, Roger Blake from London, who won our Isle of Wight Steam Railway ticket giveaway from the Winter 2023 issue of the Bachmann Times. We asked by what name IoWSR ‘Terrier’ 0-6-0T No. W11 is also known, and the correct answer, as supplied by Mr Blake, is ‘Newport’.

For a chance to win tickets for the Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway, turn to page 37.

DEPARTMENTAL ‘DANCE

HALL’ BRAKE VAN IN N SCALE

NEW FOR SPRING 2024

378-025K

SE&CR ‘Dance

Hall’ Brake

Van BR Crane

Mess Van

Following the release of a OO scale model of this vehicle in Winter 2022, we are delighted to present this terrific model in N scale to coincide with the Spring 2024 British Railway Announcements, in which the new Graham Farish ‘Dance Hall’ Brake Van was revealed. The ZPO Crane Mess Van in Departmental Olive Green and Yellow depicts No. DS55466 which was based at Stratford Motive Power Depot in London.

Although it carries its new TOPS code and departmental livery, this prototype is very much still identifiable as an original 1921-built ‘Dance Hall’ and was one of the most long-lasting of its kind, surviving well into the 1980s as part of the BR Departmental fleet. This example served as a break room for staff operating the large rail cranes for engineering work but would be at home on any layout as part of an engineering train.

This model is limited to 504 certificated pieces and is priced at £31.46 (a 10% saving on the RRP for an equivalent main range release which is £34.95). The model is in stock now and can be ordered via the Club website, by calling 01455 245565, or by returning the enclosed order form.

‘TANKS’ A MILLION

NEW FOR SPRING 2024

37-576K

BR 45T TTA Tank Wagon ‘Gulf’ Grey & Orange

Gulf Oil (GB) Ltd started operating rail tank wagons in Britain around 1960, initially using second-hand 14T Anchor mounted tank wagons from the 1950s. By the mid-1960s Gulf had placed orders for new tank wagons, these being the more contemporary TTA 4-wheel tanks and later, the larger TEA bogie tanks with the attractive grey and orange colour scheme featuring prominently on the latter. The wagons operated primarily from the Gulf refinery at Milford Haven, where they moved almost 1/4 of the plant’s output around the UK by rail, whilst 3/4 was moved by sea.

Our new OO scale model is limited to 504 certificated pieces and is available to purchase at £31.46 (a 10% saving on the RRP of £34.95 for an equivalent main range release). Due to arrive during February, orders can be placed now by calling 01455 245565 or by returning the enclosed order form. Once in stock, the model will be available to order online.

WELCOME FROM THE CLUB

Hello and welcome to this, the Spring edition of the Bachmann Times.

Well here we are in another year, which again promises to offer plenty to interest both railway modellers and collectors alike.

On that subject, our

cover star this issue is Type 4 No. D1733 in original XP64 livery, which is sure to be popular with N scale modellers. The models are available to purchase right now online, or by phone on 01455 245565.

Meanwhile, the recent Club models of OO9 scale Mainline Hunslet 2-4-0STT ‘Linda’ in Ffestiniog Railway Midnight Blue, the N scale Ivatt 2MT No. 46441 in BR Lined Maroon in N Scale, and the OO scale BR Mk1 POT Stowage Vans in Post Office Red have been selling well since their releases in the Autumn and Winter issues of Volume 24. You can see the full list of Club Limited Edition and Exclusive Tooling models to purchase on the Club pages of the new Combined Catalogue for 2024, which will be mailed separately to the Bachmann Times

This issue sees the winners of our 2022/23 Photographic Competition announced, and again I would like to say thank you to those members who contributed entries. You can expect to see the photographs of the winners and runners up in our 2025 Calendar issued in November. So whether you take pictures with a digital SLR camera or your high definition camera on your smart phone, as they say, you have to be in it to win it, so take a chance. There are fewer entries in some categories, so your chances of being a winner are higher.

You may have noticed we have changed the emphasis on the Club website for membership renewal. You will now see we offer the option for Direct Debit for UK only members or one-off annual sign-up side by side.

We advise that the cost of membership to cover increases in postage costs will rise by £1 for most options on the 1st March 2024. UK Single scale will be £39 with the EU/ROW at £49. Whilst the UK Dual Scale membership will remain at £60 with the EU/ROW becoming £77.

We have encouraged as many UK Members as are able to sign up for the peace of mind that Direct Debit brings to continued membership, to take away the problem of renewal reminder for thousands. You can still set up a Direct Debit now, even if your membership is not due until later in the year or even the start of next, just follow the instructions on the membership page of the Collectors Club website. If anyone has issues with using the Collectors Club website to renew or purchase Club items please drop us a line using the email address collectorsclub@bachmann-europe.co.uk and we will try to find the solution for you. We do try to improve the users experience where we can, and feedback is always helpful.

Best regards Vaughan Young, Collectors Club Supervisor

OUT & ABOUT

FEBRUARY 2024 ASHFORD

MODEL RAIL SCOTLAND

Hall 3, Scottish Event Campus, Exhibition Way, Glasgow, G3 8YW

Friday 23th − Sunday 25th February 2024

Friday 10.30 – 18.00 | Saturday 10.30 – 18.00

Sunday 10.30 – 17.00

Model Rail Scotland will return once again to the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow, for the biggest show north of the border. The event will house over 70 layouts, traders and demonstrators for an exhibition that is sure to entertain and inspire.

The Bachmann Collectors Club will have on hand the latest Spring announcements as well as the range of Club products available to purchase.

www.modelrail-scotland.co.uk

MARCH 2024

THE LONDON FESTIVAL OF RAILWAY MODELLING

Alexandra Palace, Alexandra Palace Way, London, N22 7AY

Saturday 16th – Sunday 17th March 2024

Saturday 10.00 – 17.00 | Sunday 10.00 – 16.30

The Bachmann Collectors Club is proudly sponsoring the exhibition that will have layouts covering a wide range of scales and gauges from the UK, Europe and further afield. Some big exhibition favourites are attending, as well as some layouts that haven’t been seen at a show before.

Bachmann will be showcasing our range of products as well as demonstrating our new Kinesis, Digital Command Control (DCC) system in the Kinesis Theatre and the full range of Collectors Club exclusive products will be available to purchase over the weekend.

www.world-of-railways.co.uk

YORK MODEL RAILWAY SHOW

Knavesmire Stand, York Racecourse, York, YO23 1EX

Saturday 30th March – Monday 1st April 2024

Saturday/Sunday 10.00 – 17.00 | Monday 10.00 – 16.30

The York Model Railway Show returns at Easter for its 3-day exhibition and the Bachmann Collectors Club stand will be there with all our Collectors Club exclusive products to purchase along with the latest Bachmann and Graham Farish announcements and our new Kinesis, Digital Command Control (DCC) demonstration layout will be on show.

www.yorkshow.org.uk

APRIL 2024

Ashford College, Elwick Rd, Ashford, TN23 1NN

Saturday 6th -- Sunday 7th April 2024

The Ashford International Model Railway Education Centre (AIMREC) is organising a series of events to celebrate the anniversary of the South Eastern Railway arriving in Ashford in November 1842. With the support of Ashford Model Railway Club, Ashford Borough Museum Society, Ashford Library, South East Community Rail Partnership, Tales from the Tracks and ModelU, a programme of events are being held across multiple venues in the Kent Town, including a model railway exhibition, a photographic display, and guided tours of Ashford’s railway history. See page 44 for more information.

Please note this is a multi-venue exhibition.

www.aimrec.co.uk/ashford181

STATFOLD MODEL RAILWAY EXHIBITION

Statfold Narrow Gauge Museum, Ashby Road, Tamworth Staffordshire, B79 0BU

Saturday 13th – Sunday 14th April 2024

Saturday & Sunday Times TBA

This Model Railway Exhibition is excellent for enthusiasts and families alike. With over 25 model layouts, the museum will also be operating its award-winning railway with five narrow gauge locomotives in steam. The Bachmann Collectors Club will have the latest announcements from the Bachmann ranges on show as well as our new Kinesis, Digital Command Control (DCC) system. We will also have the Collectors Club exclusive products available for you to purchase.

www.statfold.com/modelrailwayexhibition

10.00 – 17.00 |

10.00 – 16.00

This new event combines various modelling disciplines, with the best model railways, the best scale modelling displays, demonstrations, presentations, manufacturer support and traders offering the best in both worlds. Highlights of the event include a second chance to see all three Making Tracks layouts joined together - and with a new extension to make this amazing award-winning layout over 200ft long - together with layouts from travelling from far and wide as well as from the Warley Model Railway Club in Birmingham.

www.keymodelworld.com

BACHMANN EUROPE TO SPONSOR MODEL WORLD LIVE

Brand-new for 2024, Model World LIVE is brought to you by the organisers of the Great Electric Train Show to bring together railway and scale modellers at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. The event will take place on 27th - 28th April 2024 in Hall 12 and discounted advance tickets are on sale now.

This new event combines various modelling disciplines with the best model railways, the best scale modelling displays, demonstrations, manufacturer support, traders and more. The event is sponsored by Bachmann Europe and its Model Collect Create (MCC) store, and will feature a special ‘Make & Take’ area at the event for visitors.

The centrepiece of Model World LIVE is Pete Waterman’s Making Tracks: The Final Frontier. Pete Waterman and the Railnuts are taking the Making Tracks layout to a new level by adding over 100ft of scenery to make a single 208ft x 14ft OO scale model of the West Coast Main Line to debut at Model World LIVE. The layout will incorporate Making Tracks 1, 2 and 3 from 2021-2023 and add new scenes modelling Blisworth, Watford Junction, Bushey viaduct and Bushey station to this epic model railway.

In total there will be 35 model railways covering scales from N to Gauge 1 including stand out layouts from the pages of Key Publishing’s Hornby Magazine such as Steve Thompson’s 1980s O scale layout Allerby, Hillingdon Railway modellers stunning O scale steam era layout Grindley Brook, the first showing of Ian and Callum McCreadie’s outstanding Blair Atholl towards Drumochter in OO gauge outside of Scotland, Redditch Model Railway Club’s Southern Region OO gauge Dagnell End and many more.

The event will be open 10am-5pm on Saturday 27th April and 10am-4pm on Sunday 28th April with advance ticket holders being allowed entry from 9.30am each day. Parking is managed by the

NEC with the option to pay for parking in advance and save £5. Advance parking costs £12.95 (available up to three months in advance of the event), on the day parking costs £17.95.

There will be also be modelling demonstrations throughout the weekend while the trade list currently stands at more than 60 across railways and scale modelling.

Discounted advance ticket prices are £16 for adults and £9 for children (Saturday). On the day prices are £19 for adults and £10 for children. On Sunday up to two children will be admitted free with each paying adult.

Full details of Model World LIVE are available on its dedicated site at www.keymodelworld.com/modelworldlive

Key Publishing is offering Bachmann Collectors Club members a discount for advance adult tickets reducing the price to £15. Use code BCCMWL24 at the checkout at www.keymodelworld.com/modelworldlive/tickets to get your discount.

WARLEY 2023 - A SUCCESSFUL SHOW BUT THE LAST OF ITS KIND?

The Warley National Model Railway Exhibition was held at the NEC, Birmingham in November and once again Bachmann Europe was in attendance with a wide ranging display of products - including the launch of Kinesis DCC - alongside our popular hands-on Woodland Scenics demonstrations. As event sponsors, we were delighted to judge the Bachmann Trophy which is awarded to the best 4mm layout on show and the 2023 award was given to Long Melford Junction - congratulations from us all here at Bachmann!

At the start of 2024 the Warley Club announced that they would no longer host an annual model railway exhibition at the NEC, Birmingham. The club staged their first show at the NEC in 1993 and since then, the event has established itself firmly as the largest of its kind in the UK. Organised

entirely by volunteers, putting on an event of this scale is no small undertaking and with the some of those involved wishing to step aside, the club’s members have decided that they can no longer deliver a quality event with the resources that are available to them.

As long-standing sponsors of the Warley Show, this event has always been a highlight of the exhibition calendar for Bachmann Europe and we would like to extend our thanks to the Warley Club for organising what had become the national event for our hobby for almost three decades. The scale and complexity of organising the Warley Show cannot be underestimated and the decision that the club and its members has come to is wholly understandable. Many friendships have been formed with the organising committee and the wider Warley membership and we look forward to supporting the club with new events and initiatives in the future.

The Kinesis Theatre returns to the London Festival of Railway Modelling in March and at Model World LIVE in April, so come along and find out all about Kinesis DCC – Model Railway Control Redefined.

What’s more, Bachmann is also planning to visit model railway clubs where club members will be able to get hands on with Kinesis and try the new control system for themselves. If you would like us to consider visiting your model railway club, please email demonstrator@bachmann-europe.co.uk with details of your club including your location, regular meeting times and the number of members that typically attend club meetings.

Keep reading the Bachmann Times to find out where else we will be demonstrating

Wendy Bayford, Railway Marketing Supervisor for Bachmann Europe presents the Bachmann Trophy to the layout’s creator, Nigel Locke. PHOTO BY RAILWAY MODELLER

Hundreds of people visited the Kinesis Theatre where Bachmann’s new DCC system - Kinesis - was presented for the first time.

Visitors young and old got hands-on making model scenery with Woodland Scenics products in the Woodland Workshop

The show attracted thousands of visitors to the NEC, Birmingham, but will be the final Warley Show held at the venue for the foreseeable future.

CLASS 69 S BREAK COVER

Hours before the doors to the Warley Show 2023 opened, we received the very first Engineering Prototypes of the all-new Bachmann Branchline Class 69 Diesel Locomotive. In June 2021 Bachmann announced that it had reached an exclusive agreement with GBRf to produce models of their newest diesel locomotives – which are being rebuilt from redundant Class 56s – and since that announcement our customers and consumers have been eager to hear news about the new Bachmann models.

The models have been developed whilst the real locomotives have been undergoing conversion from the Class 56 donors and this has complicated the process, as design changes and modifications that were already present on the donor locos, or that have been introduced during the build programme, have had to be accommodated without our tooling suite. Further complication arises from the fact that the Class 56 donors were constructed by three different builders – Electroputere in Romania, and BREL’s Crewe and Doncaster Works – with differences apparent between locomotives built abroad and in the UK. Nevertheless, with help from our friends at GBRf we have now reached the stage where the first physical samples can be appreciated and we hope you will agree, the models already look like stunning additions to the Branchline fleet. During the course of the weekend the sample that was displayed garnered much interest and, alongside the decorated sample of the Prototype HST Power Car (see page 48 for more), was the star of the show for many visitors to the Bachmann stand.

Whilst we had received three distinct versions of the Class 69 – covering the Romanian-, Crewe- and Doncaster-built donor locomotives - we were only able to display one model at Warley as the other two were fitted with our new Auto-Release Coupling system - a feature only revealed now in the Spring 2024 British Railway Announcements (see page 14 for more details about the Auto-Release Coupling system). Building on the specification of the all-new Bachmann Branchline Class 31, 37 and 47 locomotives, the Class 69 will be available in three formats and the SOUND FITTED DELUXE versions will be fitted with Auto-Release Couplings at each end along with a motorised fan system. Full details of the initial releases can be found on page 123/124 of the 2024 Combined Volume and these models can be reserved now with your local Bachmann stockist.

As with any Engineering Sample, the Class 69s have been thoroughly checked by the Bachmann design team and the running samples put through their paces to ensure that the model’s performance matches its good looks. Any changes or areas of improvement that are required will be fed back to the factory and once any remedial work has been undertaken, further Prototypes will be provided for approval. We’ll keep track of the Class 69 within the pages of the Bachmann Times as these models move through the development process and get closer to their release, and we look forward to sharing the livery samples with you in a future issue.

PRODUCT UPDATE

We are pleased to advise that the forthcoming Bachmann Branchline OTA Timber Wagon in EWS livery (38-301A) will now be produced with a Weathered finish.

This model is also supplied with a timber load and is currently due for release in Spring 2024.

N SCALE SPOTLIGHT - 10000 & 10001

In this new addition to the Bachmann Times we focus on new releases in the Graham Farish range and highlight the various details and enhancements that make our models stand out from the crowd.

The LMS ‘Twins’ were the first mainline diesel locomotives to be built in Great Britain and for the first time, models of this iconic duo are available in N scale thanks to Graham Farish. Like all of Graham Farish’s latest designs, each ‘Twin’ is fitted with a powerful coreless motor, Next18 DCC decoder socket, and comes with a pre-fitted speaker. An impressive array of light features includes directional lighting – switchable on/off at each end when used on Analogue or DCC – with freight and passenger modes; when operated on DCC additional lighting modes can be accessed, along with cab lights. Opt for a SOUND FITTED model, or a pair for the full twin effect, and you can enjoy realistic sound effects when running on Analogue or DCC.

CAB LIGHTING

SEPARATELY FITTED LAMP BRACKETS

ORIGINAL 5-LIGHT OR REVISED 7-LIGHT (SOUTHERN REGION) OPTIONS

PASSENGER /FREIGHT LIGHTING

ENGINE ROOM DETAIL

USER-FIT HEADCODE

DISCS, PIPES AND COUPLINGS

Not all twins are identical, and that’s certainly the case for this pair. Despite being known as the ‘Twins’, Nos. 10000 and 10001 displayed small differences from day one – most notably the bodyside steps present on either side of 10000 but absent from 10001 – an aspect not overlooked on these new models. Both locomotives underwent changes during their years in service, from the fitting of water scoops to the addition of two marker lights at each end, giving seven in total – ahead of the trails the pair underwent on the Southern Region. As you would expect, these changes are portrayed on the new Graham Farish models, so look closely and you’ll see that it’s not just the livery that differs on this new breed of twins.

EARLY

AND LATER ROOF OPTIONS WITH ADDITIONAL AIR VENTS ON THE LATTER

ADDITIONAL PANELS FOR WATER SCOOP FEED ON LATER VARIANTS

WATER SCOOPS FITTED ON LATER VARIANTS

SEPARATE UNDERFRAME DETAILS

BODYSIDE STEPSNo. 10000 ONLY

SEPARATELY FITTED HORNS

ALL-WHEEL PICK-UP AND DRIVE

OO SCALE SPOTLIGHT - CLASS 30/31

In this new addition to the Bachmann Times we focus on new releases in the Bachmann Branchline range and highlight the various details and enhancements that make our models stand out from the crowd.

WINDSCREEN WASHER JETS WITH OR WITHOUT COWLING

ETCHED WINDSCREEN WIPERS

TINTED GLAZING ON DRIVER AND SECOND-MAN WINDSCREENS (SFX MODELS)

WITH OR WITHOUT NRN RADIO ANTENNA

SPEED DEPENDANT ROTATING FANS (SFX MODELS)

WITH OR WITHOUT STEAM HEAT BOILER

WITH OR WITHOUT FAN COWLING

SPRUNG BUFFERS

CHASSIS MOUNTED 3-PIECE SNOWPLOUGH

METAL CAB HANDRAILS

MULTI-PART GRILLE DESIGN AND BODY-SIDE STEP OPTIONS

The new Brush Type 2 – later known as Class 31 (and Class 30) – Diesel Locomotives fill a large gap in the Bachmann Branchline OO scale range. Much-requested in OO scale since the release of the award-winning Graham Farish N scale models, the Class 31 follows in the footsteps of the all-new Class 37 and Class 47 from Bachmann Branchline – these Brush Type 2s feature all the hallmarks of their larger cousins and more. With standard, SOUND FITTED and SOUND FITTED DELUXE variants to choose from, our SOUND FITTED DELUXE models are packed with more features than ever before as we reveal the new Auto-Release Coupling system. A first for the British market, the Bachmann Auto-Release Couplings provide hands-free uncoupling with the press of a single DCC function button and are compatible with standard tension lock couplings, requiring no modification at all to existing couplings.

ENGLISH ELECTRIC OR MIRRLEES ENGINE

DETAILING WITH WIRE HANDRAILS FITTED INSIDE EACH ENGINE ROOM WINDOW

MIRRLEES OR ENGLISH ELECTRIC STYLE EXHAUSTS

FULL RELIEF BOGIES WITH EXTENSIVE DETAILING

EARLY AND LATER STYLE OF BATTERY BOXES

ALTERNATIVE BUFFER BEAM DESIGNS

ENHANCED DETAIL ON REAR OF THE BUFFERS

ENGINE ROOM LIGHTS*

INDEPENDENT CAB LIGHTS AT EACH END*

ORIGINAL OR PLATED HEADCODE BOXES

SINGLE OR TWIN RED TAIL LIGHTS

MULTIPLE HEADLIGHT POSITIONS WITH AUTHENTIC RIBBED GLASS PATTERN

*WHEN USED ON DCC

Produced to the highest levels of fidelity and with a wealth of detail, the tooling suite for the Class 31 allows us to accurately model locomotives both as-built with their Mirrlees engines, the locomotives subsequently classified as Class 30s, and after they were fitted with English Electric engines – the Class 31s. As with any main line locomotive that operated on the national network for more than five decades, there are variations aplenty across the fleet and the Bachmann models accurately capture these differences, allowing us to depict locomotives and their nuances at different points in their working lives, finished with the highest standard of authentic livery application to produce a model that will become the pride of your fleet.

INTRODUCING AUTO-RELEASE COUPLINGS

Operation of the Auto-Release Coupling is simple. With the train stationary (Photograph 1), press the relevant function button and the process will automatically cycle with appropriate sound effects. The locomotive will ease back to slacken the coupling, the coupling hook will rise, and in doing so will lift a paddle that disconnects the opposing coupling hook. With both hooks clear, the locomotive then eases forward to separate itself from its train (Photograph 2).

Bachmann Symbols Key

Model fitted with Auto-Release CouplingsDCC operated uncoupling system (front and/or rear). Compatible with all standard couplings

In a ready-to-run market ‘first’, Bachmann Europe is delighted to introduce its brand new DCC Auto-Release Couplings system, which comes as standard on all SOUND FITTED DELUXE Class 31 models. The system has been developed by our team of highly skilled engineers, and has never before been available in an off the shelf model. On the Class 31s, this innovative system is provided at each end of the locomotive.

Auto-Release Couplings offer an all-new element to DCC operated layouts, allowing for hands-free uncoupling at the touch of a button as part of the locomotive’s DCC function controls. Auto-Release Couplings are compatible with all standard couplings and are mounted via NEM coupling pockets, which allows them to be easily removed should you wish to fit standard couplings, or a full complement of accessory parts.

373-865A

BACHMANN ARRIVALS

WINTER 23/24

BACHMANN BRANCHLINE

31-421/SF Class 411/2 4-CEP 4-Car EMU (Refurbished) 411506 BR Blue & Grey

31-422/SF Class 411/2 4-CEP 4-Car EMU (Refurbished) 1512 BR Network SouthEast

31-423/SF Class 411/2 4-CEP 4-Car EMU (Refurb.) 1522 BR London & South East Sec.

31-495/SF Class 158 2-Car DMU 158884 South West Trains

31-497/SF Class 158 2-Car DMU 158839 Transport for Wales

31-499/SF Class 158 2-Car DMU 158844 Northern

32-491/SF Class 40 Centre Headcode D345 BR Green (Small Yellow Panels)

35-025B/SF GWR 94XX Pannier Tank 9466 GWR Green (GWR)

35-026A/SF GWR 94XX Pannier Tank 9481 BR Black (Early Emblem)

35-027A/SF GWR 94XX Pannier Tank 9463 BR Black (Late Crest)

35-127A/SF Class 20/3 20309 DRS Compass (Original)

35-127B/SF Class 20/3 20308 DRS Compass (Original)

35-312/SF/SFX Class 37/0 Split Headcode 37069 ‘Thornaby TMD’ BR Blue (White Stripe)

35-354/SF Class 20/0 Headcode Box 20158 BR Blue

35-358/SF Class 20/0 Headcode Box 20173 ‘Wensleydale’ BR Blue (Red Solebar)

35-359/SF Class 20/0 Headcode Box D8308 BR Blue

35-360/SF Class 20/0 Headcode Box 8156 BR Green (Full Yellow Ends) [W]

35-361/SF Class 20/0 Disc Headcode 20088 BR Railfreight Sector Unbranded

36-600 Straight Track 168mm

37-679B 14T Tank Wagon ‘Shell-BP’ Buff

37-681A 14T Tank Wagon ‘Olympia Oil & Cake Co.’ Red

37-684B

2-Car DMU 158711 ScotRail Saltire

371-854/SF Class 158 2-Car DMU 158824 Arriva Trains Wales (Revised)

371-855/SF Class 158 2-Car DMU 158773 East Midlands Trains

Class 158 2-Car DMU 158844 Northern

371-862/SF Class 158 2-Car DMU 158856 Central Trains

372-135A LMS 5MT ‘Black 5’ with Riveted Tender 5000 LMS Lined Black

372-135B LMS 5MT ‘Black 5’ with Riveted Tender 5004 LMS Lined Black 372-136A LMS 5MT ‘Black 5’ 45407 ‘The Lancashire Fusilier’ BR Lined Black (E/E)

LMS 5MT ‘Black 5’ with Welded Tender 45247 BR Lined Black (Early Emb.)

372-137A LMS 5MT ‘Black 5’ with Welded Tender 45195 BR Lined Black (Late Crest)

372-137B LMS 5MT ‘Black 5’ with Welded Tender 45198 BR Lined Black (Late Crest)

372-252/SF Class 47/4 47805 ‘John Scott’ DRS Compass (Original) 372-260/SF Class 47/7 47814 ‘Totnes Castle’ Virgin Trains (Original)

372-261/SF

47/7 47727 ‘Rebecca’ Colas Rail 372-262/SF Class 47/7 47745 ‘Royal London Soc. For The Blind’ Rail Express Syst.

374-039C BR Mk1 BG Brake Gangwayed BR Blue & Grey

374-060F BR Mk1 SK Second Corridor BR Crimson & Cream

374-061F BR Mk1 SK Second Corridor BR Maroon

374-185D

374-187D

T2022/23 PHOTO COMPETITION THE JUDGE’S VERDICT

hank you to everyone who submitted entries for the Bachmann Collectors Club 2022/23 Photographic Competition. This year we invited respected railway photographer and former editor of Steam Railway and Trackside magazines, Nick Brodrick, to judge the plethora of high quality entries, for which we offer our grateful thanks. As in previous years the competition was judged ‘blind’, and each category winner receives a £50 voucher to be spent on Bachmann products, with the overall winner receiving a voucher for £100. The six winning entries will also be featured in our 2025 Calendar, along with a selection of the runners up.

1. BRITISH PRESERVED STEAM WINNER - KARL HEATH, MANCHESTER

Stanier 8F 2-8-0 No. 48305 charges north on the Great Central Railway just after sunrise with a train of ‘Windcutter’ wagons on 20th January 2023.

Nick said: North facing locomotives at the Great Central Railway are a pretty rare sight. To add the luck of freezing conditions, and stunning dawn sunshine at Rabbit Bridge – plus a smattering of snow to left the dark areas – makes this a really stunning picture. The slightly wider angle helps accentuate the golden highlights running alongside the train, and in particular its textured exhaust hanging in the still air.

1. BRITISH PRESERVED STEAM - TIM WHITELOCK

Nick said: The use of a telephoto lens has lifted a relatively ordinary scene at Weybourne on the North Norfolk Railway. The photographer has successfully captured the moment where 4MT No. 76084 has just emerged from the wreath of steam created by its exhaust bouncing off the bridge arch. A picture full of life and atmosphere.

1. BRITISH PRESERVED STEAM - NIGEL TAYLOR

Nick said: The fitting of smoke deflectors to A3 ‘Flying Scotsman’ might divide opinion, but from certain angles they certainly add to the locomotive’s presence. That is certainly the case here at Devonport as No. 60103 roars towards us. The platform height is an ideal perspective for this shot, affording an eyeline view into the main point of character on any locomotive – the smokebox door

2. DIESEL OR ELECTRIC TRACTION WINNER - ROBERT BLACKMORE, GRAVESEND

Pioneer English Electric Type 3 (Class 37) No. D6700 awaits departure on a passenger service at Loughborough during the Great Central Railway Diesel Gala on 22nd April 2023.

Nick said: There is something about the in-your-face angle used for this shot of No. D6700 at Loughborough that is redolent of the British Transport Commission publicity material of the 1960s. The cab end is neatly framed by the station canopy and housing infrastructure opposite, while the busy platform adds valuable human interest.

2. DIESEL OR ELECTRIC TRACTION - GRAHAM WARD

Nick said: A scene that is very much ‘everyday’ at King’s Cross in one sense, but one that will soon be consigned to history once the last of the Class 91-powered Mk4 trains (left) have been finally replaced by the new order, the ‘Azumas’ (right). The framing of No. 800108 completes this pleasing platform-end study of this unmistakable London terminus

2. DIESEL OR ELECTRIC TRACTION

- KARL HEATH

Nick said: A quaint, rural scene has been vividly brought to life thanks to dramatic cloud and lighting conditions at Barnacre on the West Coast Main Line. The horizontal layers make for a simple but effective structure of evenly space elements: river, riverbank, railway and sky. The fact that the Freightliner Class 90s are so brightly coloured is a bonus.

3. OVERSEAS RAILWAYS WINNER - COLIN BURNIKELL, ASHFORD

A view taken from the rear of one of San Fransico’s famous cable cars, looking along Taylor Street, on 21st May 2023.

Nick said: America’s San Fancisco cable car system is one of the most celebrated tourist attractions in Carlifornia state. This framed picture depicts one of the 1870s-style cars arriving at Taylor Street – near Fisherman’s Wharf – on the Powell & Mason line – through one of the ‘grip’ (driver’s) windows of another awaiting departure to Union Square, making for picture that screams sunny-‘San Fran’, but with imaginative framing to add a creative twist.

3. OVERSEAS RAILWAYS - BOB MULLINS

Nick said: Like San Francisco’s cable car, New York’s Grand Central Terminal is a National Historic Landmark of the USA. This particular view looking across the main concourse has been captured millions of times on camera, so if you’re going to add it to your bucket list of photographs, you might as well make it a good one… and this agreeably symmetrical picture is certainly that.

3. OVERSEAS RAILWAYS - ROB HAWKINS

Nick said: There are few more readily identifiable scenes on the Canadian Pacific Railway than Morant’s Curve, alongside the Bow River in the spectacular Banff National Park, Alberta. In recent years, pine trees have sprouted in the foreground to make it a tricky location to ‘nail’, so the photographer has done well to position the GE AC4400CWs in just about the only window left.

4. SERVING THE COMMUNITY WINNER - COLIN KEAY, LEEDS

Northern Class 156 No. 156468 pauses at Wetheral with the 12.25 from Carlisle to Morpeth on 16th August 2023.

Nick said: Wetheral station, near Carlisle, on the Tyne Valley Line is already a pretty spot and the photographer has made a cheerful job of exploiting its point of interest – the classic North Eastern Railway footbridge which wraps around the focal point of the picture. Although the station only sees around 80 passengers a day, it is a vital transport bloodline for Wetheral.

4. SERVING THE COMMUNITY - TIM WHITELOCK

Nick said: A look across Barmouth Bridge that successfully captures the trestle structure’s sheer scale, yet matchstick delicacy. A chopy Mawddach Estuary and watery sheen on the girder arches suggest a rainy day – characteristic of this exposed spot near the Irish Sea.

4. SERVING THE COMMUNITY - COLIN BURNIKELL

Nick said: Northiam station on the Kent & East Sussex Railway is traditionally identified by geriatric pre-Grouping steam locomotives, so the sight of an orange army and yellow track tramping machine is worthy of a second look - for that sheer element of surprise and quirkiness.

5. RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE WINNER - COLIN KEAY, LEEDS

A TransPennine Express Class 185 unit crosses Selby Swing Bridge on 1st May 2023.

Nick said: Selby Swing Bridge is a choice spot for many ‘photters’ – and this is proof that you can make an interesting image even in the bleaching light of high summer. Although the Hull – Liverpool Lime Street TransPennine Express service is at the heart of the frame, it also serves to guide our eye along the carriage roofs to the North Eastern Railway signalbox, which acts as gate guardian to this unusual structure above Yorkshire’s River Ouse.

5. RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE

- STEVE WHITE

Nick said: You don’t always need a train to make a railway photograph – and here’s the proof. You can almost hear rustle of leaves on the warm summer breeze at Corfe Castle, Dorset, on the beautiful preserved Swanage Railway. A glimpse of the ruined 11th century castle itself peering through a neat gap between the L&SWR station and trees is the cherry on the icing on the cake of this picture-postcard scene.

5. RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE

- BARRY MARTIN

Nick said: Ribblehead Viaducts look impressive from any angle, yet it still takes a sharp eye to make a decent picture of the curving Midland Railway edifice, and this tidy composition puts the Colas Class 70 at the top of the ‘V’ shape above the southern embankment, enabling the loaded train to take centre stage on the viaduct itself.

6. MODEL WINNER - KARL HEATH, MANCHESTER

Quarry Hunslet’s ‘Elidir’ and ‘Holy War’ (both renamed and weathered ‘Alice’ models) pause during shunting at Avalon shed. Nick said: Outstanding modelling deserves outstanding photography – and that is just what we have here. Bachmann Narrow Gauge OO9 scale Quarry Hunslet duo ‘Elidir’ and ‘Holy War’ meet in a splendid rendition of Dinorwic Slate Quarry, high up in the Gwynedd mountains. Clever use of Scenecraft structures and real slate, against a genuine sky background, make this the standout winner.

6. MODEL - ROBERT BLACKMORE

Nick said: It’s not often you can say that OO scale locomotives are imposing, but this angle certainly lends itself to such description. There are shades of Bath Green Park with this trio of ‘Standards’ lined-up alongside a brick engine shed. A subtle, but important point of interest, is the open smokebox door on 4MT No. 75027, which add interest and balance to the left side of the picture.

MEET THE JUDGE: NICK BRODRICK

Nick Brodrick has the dubious distinction of having been born agonisingly too late to claim that he lived through any part of the British Rail steam era. That was a mere 25 days in late 1988 when the 2-6-2T powered Vale of Rheidol Railway was ‘de-nationalised’.

Nevertheless, the country’s wealth of preserved railways and centres offered a grounding of childhood inspiration. No domestic holiday was allowed where there wasn’t a heritage line within striking distance, meaning that from knee-high-to-a-grasshopper, Nick could call the likes of ‘Battle of Britain’ No. 34072 ‘257 Squadron’, ‘Terrier ‘No. W8 ‘Freshwater’ and S&DJR 7F No. 88 close friends.

It was around this time that a collection of 1940s era Southern Railway OO gauge models started to be amassed too – a particular obsession that has never wavered, even though their planned layout has still yet to come to fruition.

Having failed to turn his hopeless love for Watford FC into becoming a professional footballer (by some distance, he admits), an 18-year-old Nick pursued a career in railway journalism, joining Steam Railway magazine as its junior writer in 2007. A two-year spell at The Railway Magazine followed in 2014-6 before a second spell at Steam Railway, this time as its editor. These roles involved plenty of travelling around the country, as well as abroad, to record precious steam activity in Germany, Poland, Bosnia and India.

Other than watching fixtures at Vicarage Road, Nick’s passion remains railways, in particular lineside photography (with wildly

6. MODEL - OLIVER BOOTHBY

Nick said: N scale is a difficult scale to successfully capture on camera and this is a very respectable effort. The Class 66 is the focus, but there is plenty of other detail to absorb, whether it be neatly ballasted and weathered track, palisade fencing, or high-fidelity aspect signals.

varying degrees of success), or as a volunteer.

He has spent time on the support crew for the 5305 Locomotive Association with the trio of main line locomotives in its recent care: ‘King Arthur’ No. 30777 ‘Sir Lamiel’, ‘Black Five’ No. 45305 and ‘Britannia’ No. 70013 ‘Oliver Cromwell’. It was on the latter locomotive that he had the privilege to fire at speed passing through Hemel Hempstead on the West Coast Main Line where had grown up watching Inter-City AC electrics. It was one of several such experiences that rank as some of the most exhilarating and rewarding of his life.

The locomotive’s association with the Great Central Railway led him to footplate duties there and he has been a qualified fireman for 12 years.

Since 2021, Nick has been a freelance writer, contributing to a number of railway publications, in particular the new monthly preservation journal Trackside of which he is an associate editor.

2023/24 PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION NOW OPEN

With the winners of our 2022/23 Photographic Competition now revealed, we kindly remind all members that entries can be submitted for our 2023/24 competition up to 30th September 2024 - see page 51 for further details

MODEL RAILWAYS ARE FUN: PART 5

Our track is down and ballasted, so now it’s time to add some scenery. However, as Peter Marriott explains, there are a number of techniques and products available to help create a realistic landscape.

Agood model railway is as much about its scenery as it is about it trains. I’m sure many of us have stood staring at exhibition layouts, either in person or in magazines, and marvelled at the intricasy and realism of the scenery. “How have they made that rock so realistic?” is just one of the questions we probably ask ourselves, while contemplating the old tried and tested technique of using chicken wire, screwed up newspaper, and papier mâché.

While there is still a lot to be said for those ‘classic’ scenery methods, there are many effective alternatives available, and one of the most often used materials is Plaster Cloth, which can be used to form a durable hard shell to the landscape. The cloth

needs to be cut into pieces then wet and then draped over the scenery and left to dry. Plaster Cloth is easy to use though it can get a little messy so put some old newspaper down under the area you are working in.

Plaster Cloth needs to be cut into pieces using a largish pair of scissors – I suggest pieces of approximately of 100 sq. cms or smaller. If you work with pieces that are larger than that the pieces will become difficult to work with when they are wet.

I have found the best method is to drag each cut piece one by one in water in a Plaster Cloth Modelling Tray for a few seconds until the piece is all wet. Hold the piece at each corner so that it stays

open, and does not roll up as it is moved to the layout. Remove the piece from the water after a couple of seconds and wipe the edge of the plaster cloth on the lip of the Tray as you remove it to get rid of excess water and lay the pieces of plaster cloth over the contour formers such as screwed up newspaper (it still has a use even today).

Smooth the pieces so that they overlap smoothly over the previous piece by a few cms and take a little time to remove any creases or ripples with your fingers. The cloth will stay workable for a few minutes.

The cloth does not generally require two layers because once it has dried it will be rigid enough with just one layer. Plaster Cloth can be used for most angles of

1. Plaster Cloth is available from Woodland Scenics in a number of different sized packs, with the triple roll (WC1192) covering 30 sq. ft.

2. In preparation to using Plaster Cloth to make an embankment, I screwed up a few pieces of newspaper to give support to the Plaster Cloth that would be used to form an embankment. It is an old method that has been used on model railways for decades, but it is still one of the most effective means of building up a landscape. landscape. It will dry to a hard-shell finish in a few hours drying more quickly in summer than during the winter.

Once the cloth is dry the entire surface needs to be painted so that the white plaster does not show through the subsequent layers of scenic materials. Woodland Scenics Earth and Green Undercoats are ideal for this.

Another popular method of creating a built-up landscape is to use Woodland Scenics Shaper Sheet, which can be formed and hold its shape without the need for any support. I will look at in detail in the next issue.

4. The

is made from silicone and cleans up very easily. It features handles on each end and is easy to carry around even with water in it.

MAKING THE JOB EASIER

The Woodland Scenics Plaster Cloth Modelling Tray (C1194) is ideal for wetting cut pieces of Plaster Cloth, being usefully non-stick and easy to clean.

In my experience it works much better than a bucket because the plaster does not stick to the tray, and it takes only a couple of minutes to clean up after use with a little warm soapy water.

3. I used a large pair of scissors to cut the Plaster

into manageable pieces before dunking each piece, one at a time, in water

5 & 6. Draping a piece of wet Plaster Cloth into position over the screwed up newspaperl.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

Woodland Scenics have various How To videos available to demonstrate how to get the most out of Plaster Cloth:

www.woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics. com/show/item/C1203

Cloth

Woodland Scenics Plaster Cloth Modelling Tray (WC1194)

9. Optional step - Once the Plaster Cloth was dry I covered the embankment with Shaper Sheet Plaster, applied with a wooden stick which gave a good surface to be able to paint and then add scenic materials. I was working on a warm day so the plaster dried in a couple of hours. It is not necessary to use plaster to cover the Plaster Cloth but id does fill in the small holes.

MARRIOTT’S TOP TIPS

If you have Plaster Cloth left over from your project, wrap it up in an airtight plastic bag until next time that you want to use it. The Cloth works best when it has been kept dry and without access to the air.

Plaster Cloth needs some support, whether it be newspaper or cardboard strips draped over landscape formers. Plaster Cloth works well for making gentler landforms and Shaper Sheet is more suitable for rockfaces and near vertical landscapes.

It takes about 30 minutes to cover half a square metre with Plaster Cloth and 5 minutes to paint it once the Cloth has dried.

7. Remove any ripples and any small gaps with a finger while the Plaster Cloth is still wet..

8. I covered the embankment with Plaster Cloth overlapping each piece by a few centimetres..

CRAVENS RTs NOW AVAILABLE ROAD WORKS

We are delighted to report that the next four 1:76 scale diecast buses in Bachmann Europe’s expanding EFE Road range reached retailers shortly before Christmas – the highly-anticipated Cravens RTs.

The models are the first to be produced from all-new tooling since Bachmann’s acquisition of EFE in 2016, and represent the 120 RT-type double deckers built for London Transport (LT) by the Cravens Railway Carriage & Wagon Co of Sheffield in the immediate post-war years. While superficially similar to the standard RTs, the Cravens RTs were in fact quite different; the distinctive 5-bay body design could not be mixed with standard bodies at overhaul, and they were always the odd men out amongst the 6,800+ buses that made up the RT family.

As a result, all except one were sold on after only seven years’ service in and around London. The majority of the Cravens RTs received LT’s familiar red and cream livery for use in the central area, where they were spread at random across many garages. However, 27 were painted in London Country’s green and cream, with all being allocated to Watford High Street (WA) or Windsor (WR). A further 23 of the central area RT3/4s were later repainted for use on the Country routes.

The four new models illustrate the Cravens RTs during different stages of their short LT careers, in both central area and London Country liveries. They include:

E40301 - RT1406 (JXC169) in London Transport Country Area green & cream with cream upper deck window surrounds, working from Watford High Street garage on route 345 to Kingswood, circa 1950.

E40304 - RT1493 (KGK752) in London Transport Central Area red & cream, working from Nunhead garage on route 63 to Honor Oak Forest Hill Tavern, circa late 1953.

E40303 - RT1460 (JXC223) in London Transport Central Area red & cream with cream upper deck window surrounds, working from Middle Row garage on route 15 to Aldgate LT Station, circa late 1953.

E40302 - RT1414 (JXC177) in London Transport Country Area green & cream, working from Watford High Street garage on route 306 to New Barnet Station, circa late 1953/54.

DON’T MISS OUR QUARTERLY ANNOUNCEMENTS VIDEOS

Welcome to the Spring edition of our British Railway Announcements catalogue and our first new product unveiling of 2024. Within the following pages you will find a healthy mix of new N, OO and OO9 scale models which will be arriving this Spring, but that’s just the start as we have many more exciting products in progress and set to be revealed during 2024.

We kick off the year with no fewer than three NEW TOOLING projects, starting with the Class 31 Diesel Locomotive in OO scale from Bachmann Branchline. Building on the success of our award-winning Graham Farish N scale models, the new OO Class 31 is a lesson in fidelity and these models are packed with detail and features alike. With our SOUND FITTED DELUXE variants we introduce the Bachmann Auto-Release Couplings – these DCC-operated couplings allow the locomotive to be uncoupled ‘hands-free’ with the single press of a function button. With new BR Mk1 Coaches arriving throughout 2024, we start the ball rolling with new versions of the TSO and BSK vehicles in a selection of liveries, and for the first time each new model will be available with Passengers Fitted for those wishing to add extra authenticity to their trains.

The Graham Farish range welcomes two NEW TOOLING projects, the first of which is the iconic LMS Twins – Nos. 10000 and 10001. Never before modelled in N scale, these new models depict the Twins throughout their lives and all versions are available with optional SOUND FITTED. A second NEW TOOLING from Graham Farish this Spring sees the SE&CR ‘Dance Hall’ Brake Van offered in N scale, following the success of its OO counterpart.

OO SCALE - BACHMANN BRANCHLINE

Class 31/1 31293

Class 31/1 31293 BR

Class

Class 31/1 Refurbished

(Red Stripe)

Our SOUND FITTED DELUXE Class 31s not only feature a motorised fan system and tinted windscreen glazing (this effect is applied to the outer pair of windows at each end only, as per the prototype), but also our new Auto-Release Couplings at both ends.

Auto-Release Couplings are DCC operated, allowing hands-free uncoupling simply with the press of a function button. Auto-Release Couplings are compatible with all standard couplings and are mounted via NEM pockets, allowing easy removal should you wish to fit standard couplings or a full complement of accessory parts.

British Railway Announcements -

British

BR 45T TTA

Tank Wagon 57288 Esso Grey (Unbranded) Length 122mm BR 45T TTA Tank Wagon 67364 ‘Shell/BP’ Grey Length 122mm BR 45T TTA

392-027

Baguley-Drewry

70hp Diesel

Lined Crimson Length 55mm

392-029

Baguley-Drewry

70hp Diesel

British Industrial Sands White Length 55mm

392-028

Baguley-Drewry

70hp Diesel 05 587

ICI Orange & Grey Length 55mm

BR Mk3 SLEP Sleeper with Pantry E10507 BR Blue & Grey (Inter-City Sleeper) Length 158mm

BR Mk3 SLEP Sleeper with Pantry 10541 BR InterCity (Swallow) Length 158mm

BR Mk3 SLEP Sleeper with Pantry 10553 ScotRail (Caledonian Sleeper) Length 158mm

BR Mk3 SLEP Sleeper with Pantry M10582 BR Blue & Grey (Inter-City Sleeper) Length 158mm

BR Mk3 SLEP Sleeper with Pantry 10553

Length 158mm

InterCity (Swallow)

BR Mk3 SLEP Sleeper with Pantry 10548 ScotRail (Caledonian Sleeper) Length 158mm

25T ‘Dance Hall’ Brake Van 11902 SE&CR Grey Length 55mm

SE&CR 25T

SE&CR 25T ‘Dance Hall’ Brake Van 55462 SR Brown Length 55mm BR HEA Hopper Wagon360292 BR Bauxite Length 62mm

HEA Hopper Wagon 360601

Railfreight Coal Sector Length 62mm

SE&CR 25T ‘Dance Hall’ Brake Van S55460 BR Grey Length 55mm

SE&CR 25T ‘Dance Hall’ Brake Van DS55464 BR Departmental Olive Green Length 55mm

SE&CR

SE&CR 25T ‘Dance Hall’ Brake Van 55458 SR Brown Length 55mm BR HEA Hopper Wagon 361728 BR Bauxite Length 62mm

HEA Hopper Wagon 361554

Railfreight Coal Sector Length 62mm

‘Dance Hall’ Brake Van 11905 SE&CR Grey Length 55mm

SE&CR 25T ‘Dance Hall’ Brake Van S55457 BR Grey Length 55mm

SE&CR 25T ‘Dance Hall’ Brake Van DS55466 BR Departmental Olive Green Length 55mm

New for the Spring of 2024, we are delighted to present this Limited Edition Gift Set featuring the last two surviving Cravens RT buses.

Made using all-new tooling with single piece bodies and detailed interiors, these exquisite models represent RT1431 and RT1499 as they operate today as part of the Ensignbus heritage fleet.

Green & Cream, Ensignbus X81

Red & Cream, Ensignbus X81

Low Relief Stone Terrace Right Hand Door Green

Low Relief Stone Terrace Left Hand Door White

Relief Stone Terrace Left Hand Door Brown

Relief Stone Terrace Right Hand Door Red

ALSO ARRIVING SPRING 2024

BACHMANN BRANCHLINE

34-360 LNER Thompson Full Brake LNER Teak Effect

34-360A LNER Thompson Full Brake LNER Teak Effect

34-361 LNER Thompson Full Brake BR Crimson & Cream

34-361A LNER Thompson Full Brake BR Crimson & Cream

34-362 LNER Thompson Full Brake BR Maroon

34-362A LNER Thompson Full Brake BR Maroon

34-363 LNER Thompson Full Brake BR Blue

34-363A LNER Thompson Full Brake BR Blue

35-125A

Class 20/3 20310 ‘Gresty Bridge’ DRS Blue

35-125ASF Class 20/3 20310 ‘Gresty Bridge’ DRS Blue

35-125B Class 20/3 20311 ‘Class 20 ‘Fifty’’ DRS Blue

35-125BSF

Class 20/3 20311 ‘Class 20 ‘Fifty’’ DRS Blue

37-865 HRA Bogie Hopper DB Cargo

37-865A HRA Bogie Hopper DB Cargo

37-865B HRA Bogie Hopper DB Cargo

37-865C HRA Bogie Hopper DB Cargo

38-301A BR OTA Timber Wagon EWS with Load [W]

392-025

BACHMANN NARROW GAUGE

Baguley-Drewry 70hp Diesel DH888 RNAD Dean Hill

392-026 Baguley-Drewry 70hp Diesel Green

GRAHAM FARISH

370-221 Moving Mountains Train Set

370-221SF Moving Mountains SOUND FITTED Train Set

38-302A BR OTA Timber Wagon ‘Kronospan’ Blue with Load [W]

39-059 BR Mk1 TSO Tourist Second Open WCRC Maroon

39-083 BR Mk1 BSK Brake Second Corridor WCRC Maroon

39-266 BR Mk1 RMB Restaurant Miniature Buffet WCRC Maroon

373-507B BR HEA Hopper BR Railfreight Red & Grey [W]

377-730B BR ZAA ‘Pike’ Open Wagon BR Engineers Grey & Yellow [W]

377-731A BR SPA Open Wagon Network Rail Yellow [W]

377-732 BR ZCA ‘Seahare’ Open Wagon Loadhaul

BR’s TRAIN OF TOMORROW

By the early-1960s, British Railways was looking to develop its next generation of express passenger stock. This resulted in the construction of eight prototype XP64 coaches that featured a host of innovative features and ushered in a new corporate image. Simon Bendall takes a look at the train, along with the re-liveried Brush Type 4 that initially hauled it.

Aglimpse of the planned future look for BR inter-city passenger services came at the end of May 1964 with a demonstration run of a train of newly-constructed prototype coaches. Operating between Marylebone and High Wycombe, this marked the public debut of the XP64 (express passenger) stock amid a blaze of publicity.

Development of the coaches had commenced at the beginning of the 1960s as BR looked to move beyond the standard Mk1 design that had served it so well for the preceding decade but had now reached the limit of its development.

The XP64 stock followed the Mk1 practice of having a separate body and chassis in order to expedite its construction but BR had already decided that future production vehicles would be of integral construction with the prototype Mk2, No. 13252, already completed and the first production batch not far away from rolling off the production line.

Two-tone green liveried BR Type 5 ‘Deltic’ No. D9014 ‘The Duke of Wellington’s Regiment’ leaves York with the Up morning ‘Talisman’ express in 1964. The train is formed of XP64 stock. CECIL ORD/RAIL ARCHIVE STEPHENSON

Just eight XP64 prototypes were constructed split across three vehicle types. The trio of Second Open (TSO) were numbered 4727-29 and featured 64 seats, these being arranged in a mix of bays and airline style and with different colours employed to denote smoking and non-smoking areas. Joining them were two Second Corridor (SK), Nos. 25508/09, with 48 seats split across the eight compartments. Unlike regular Mk1s, these compartments were arranged with four on one side of the coach and four on the other, separated by the central door vestibule.

Three First Corridor (FK) coaches, numbered 13407-09, completed the build, these having one less compartment so only 42 seats. The seats were also adjustable to a degree with a mix of leather or fabric coverings employed, while other features included pleated window blinds, carpets and six different decoration schemes to highlight smoking and non-smoking compartments across the trio of vehicles. As the remit of the vehicles was to primarily test new passenger features, eight coaches were sufficient for the purpose with guard’s accommodation and catering facilities provided by adding existing Mk1 coaches to the set.

Once BR’s publicity department had finished with No. D1733 and the XP64 stock, the locomotive and coaches went their separate ways as there was no intention that the blue Type 4 would be the dedicated power for the train. While the coaches were based on the Eastern Region, No. D1733 went new to Cardiff Canton in June 1964, but almost immediately migrated to Old Oak Common. That same month, the Brush machine is seen at Wellington on 22nd June heading maroon Mk1s. The cabside BR arrows would soon be removed pending their official adoption.

DAVID CHRISTIE

ONBOARD EXPERIENCE

Much of BR’s publicity material for the XP64 focussed on the enhancements that could be found internally and a great deal of design work was undertaken on this subject before construction of the coaches began at Derby. This included building full size mock-ups of both first and second class interiors, which were exhibited to garner feedback and extensively appraised by the BR Design Panel. The brief was to combine a high degree of comfort and a modern appearance in order to create a quality passenger experience, at least as far as regular second class passengers were concerned.

Notable design features included 5ft-wide partially doubledglazed windows, a new style of ergonomic seat made from glass-reinforced plastic, and greatly improved lighting and soundproofing. Air-conditioning was not specified though, ventilation and heating continuing to be via forced air. The toilet compartment design was also revamped with extensive use of easy-clean plastic surfaces and provision of foot-operated taps.

With two months of operation almost achieved, the XP64 set arrives at King’s Cross on 8th August 1964 with ‘Deltic’ No. D9020 ‘Nimbus’ as the motive power, as was typically the case at this time. Second Corridor (SK) No. M25508 illustrates the look of the coaches when new, with no white lining to the grey panel or rounded corners. The bodyside destination boards are also not yet in place, although the mounting points are just about visible by the centre door. The lack of a door on the left hand end of each coach side is illustrated by the adjoining vehicle.

DAVID CHRISTIE

One of the most obvious aspects on the XP64 coaches was the doors, which were initially of a jack-knife folding design and made from glass reinforced plastic. When folded back, this gave an opening of just under 3ft, which was a foot more than a Mk1 and intended to make boarding and alighting with luggage easier. The illuminated and wider step provided underneath each door also helped in this regard.

Two doors were provided on each side of the coaches, one in the centre and the other at the right hand end only, diagonally opposite that on the other side. Each end door was positioned directly across from a toilet compartment with an enlarged vestibule in between. This door positioning proved to be a controversial design choice with passengers at the ends having to pass through the gangway connection to access the door in the adjoining coach depending on which side they needed to alight from.

EXTERNAL ALTERATIONS

The most significant mechanical enhancement was provided by the fitting of B4 bogies, this being one of the first applications of the newly-designed running gear that was intended to provide

Three months after it was pictured at Wellington, No. D1733 is seen arriving at Paddington on 20th September 1964 with its BR arrows already removed. The locomotive would remain in this unbranded version of the experimental blue livery for a further five years until sent for overhaul. Immediately behind the Type 4 is a Mk1 TSO still in BR(W) chocolate and cream with a similar vehicle in BR maroon behind, giving a notable combination of colour schemes. DAVID CHRISTIE

a significantly better ride. Not only was the B4 cheaper to build than existing designs, it was also considerably lighter, delivering a typical weight saving of five tons per coach. Despite the modern bogies, the XP64 stock was built with vacuum brakes and steam heating and remained so equipped until withdrawal, the switch to air brakes and electric train heating coming too late in their case.

As a finishing touch, the XP64 coaches were also the first to appear in the blue & grey livery as British Railways rebranded itself as British Rail, and prepared to launch the all-encompassing corporate image. This was not quite blue & grey in its final form, though as the matt shade of blue was slightly lighter than what was finally adopted, while the white lining around the upper grey band was also absent. In addition, the grey lacked the rounded corners at the vehicle ends that later became standard, while the underframes were finished in umber brown.

Other experiments included the positioning of the first class markings, the three FKs displaying a thin yellow stripe along the body sides at window quarterlight level. Destination boards were also provided for fitting on the lower body sides by the centre doors, the size, style and even background colour of these varying as the stock moved around the regions.

A MATCHING ‘BRUSH’

The introduction of the XP64 heralded not only a new look for the coaches but also the loco nominated to haul the train on its press runs. Brand new Brush Type 4 No. D1733 was duly selected as the loco to launch BR’s new experimental corporate image, it being released in primer from Loughborough in April 1964 and taken to Derby Works for final painting. Unveiled the following month using the full might of BR’s publicity machine, No. D1733 made quite a sight in its turquoise blue livery, which was relieved by half yellow ends and a grey roof.

The locomotive also became the first to carry the BR arrows emblem. This was applied to all four cabsides and with a red background but was only carried for a short time for publicity purposes. While the turquoise livery was ultimately rejected for a darker shade of blue, No. D1733 continued in traffic in its unique scheme until it was overhauled at Crewe Works in December 1969, emerging in BR standard blue.

Thirty-two years later, in November 2001, the Class 47, now numbered 47853, was rescued from anonymity when to mark the run down of Virgin Trains’ loco-hauled cross-country services, it was returned to XP64 colours at Toton. Later sold to Riviera Trains, the locomotive would initially find employment on a variety of charter train duties before being side-lined in need of repairs.

Eventually purchased by Direct Rail Services, No. 47853 was dispatched to Eastleigh Works for overhaul, emerging in ‘compass’ colours at the beginning of 2012.

The launch of the new stock attracted the attention of the wider transport industry as well as design companies, the interiors being widely praised for their spacious layout and use of modern materials, such as glass-reinforced plastic. Several journals outside of the railway press ran features on the XP64, including the June 1964 issue of Modern Transport.

INTO TRAFFIC

Following the unveiling to BR officials and the press in May 1964, the XP64 stock was sent to the Eastern Region to immediately commence operation. Its first working came on 15th June, being hauled by green ‘Deltic’ D9014 ‘The Duke of Wellington’s Regiment’ as the 1A23 08.00 Edinburgh-King’s Cross ‘Talisman’.

The Second Open (TSO) variant of the XP64 stock is illustrated by No. M4729, which is seen at York on 1st August 1964 as part of the 1A33 09.00 Edinburgh-King’s Cross service. This coach was unique amongst the prototype set in sporting B4 bogies with air suspension, resulting in the side frames featuring a damper and altered traction rod design like the B4s found under Southern EMUs. Unlike standard Mk1s, the lower edge of the bodywork on the XP64 coaches extended down to cover the solebar framing, giving the impression they were of integral construction. 53A MODELS OF HULL COLLECTION

With a year left in service, Mk1 SK No. W25508 was recorded at Bristol Temple Meads on 28th June 1980. The standard Mk1 doors fitted nine years earlier are obvious, while the earlier application of standard blue & grey colours had brought the appearance of white lining, rounded corners to the grey and repositioned numbers. The larger windows still make the coach stand out from the standard Mk1 alongside. JOHN DEDMAN

Thereafter, the set was primarily employed on this named train, working south from Edinburgh to London in the morning before returning north at 16.00 from King’s Cross, covering 786 miles per day.

To complete the formation, a Mk1 Brake Standard Corridor (BSK) was added at each end of the train, their identities being Nos. 35411 and 35424. Also included in the formation were Mk1 Restaurant Unclassified (RU) No. 1991 and First Open (FO) No. 3150, the latter providing open dining accommodation in place of XP64 FK No. 13409. All four standard Mk1s were also repainted into blue & grey to match and rode on Commonwealth bogies. Notably, the XP64 coaches were delivered with London Midland ‘M’ prefixes to their numbers, these later giving way to ‘E’ for Eastern Region and, later still, the Western ‘W’.

From the autumn of 1964, the set was diagrammed to work the ‘West Riding’ service between Bradford/Leeds and King’s Cross along with the corresponding return, cutting its daily mileage in half. All the while, a watchful eye was kept on the performance of the stock and passenger reactions to the various internal features. From the beginning of 1965, it was the London Midland’s turn to trial the XP64 for three months or so, usually between Euston and Heysham on the ‘Ulster Express’ boat train, before a move to the Western Region. While Paddington-Swansea workings were its intended route, the set also found deployment to Bristol amongst other destinations.

Even before the stock had left the Eastern Region, the difficulties of keeping the matching blue/grey coaches together had become apparent with maroon Mk1s appearing at times to cover for maintenance downtime. Such substitutions only increased as the set moved to other regions.

GENERAL USE

The year-long trial of the XP64 stock came to an end in June 1965 with attention turning fully to the development of the Mk2 coaches thereafter. However, the feedback obtained from the XP64 coaches of what features worked or not proved useful as the Mk2 design evolved further, being particularly evident on the Mk2B and Mk2C designs with their larger doors and revamped interiors.

The XP64 coaches remained in use on the Western after the trials though, 1966 seeing them repainted in standard BR blue

& grey with the addition of the white lining, rounded corners and other adopted livery elements. Five years later, BR finally bit the bullet and rebuilt all eight coaches with standard hinged doors as the German-design folding doors had been a constant source of problems in traffic with passengers particularly unsure of how to operate them.

By the mid-1970s, the XP64 set had been disbanded and the coaches dispersed amongst different rakes of stock, being treated as normal Mk1s for operational purposes. This included Paddington-Oxford workings but they could also appear on interregional cross-country services. Withdrawals began in August 1979 with the demise of Nos. 4727 and 13409 while No. 13408 followed in March 1980. The other five vehicles lasted into 1981 with Nos. 4728, 4729, 13407 and 25508 condemned together that June while 25509 was the last to go in October.

INTO PRESERVATION

Of the eight, Nos. 4727, 13408 and 13409 were soon dispatched for scrap to Kings at Snailwell in Cambridgeshire, passing through the yard’s infamous firing tunnel before the remains were cut up. The others initially found homes in preservation though with Nos. 4728 and 25508 going to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, while the Dean Forest Railway acquired Nos. 4729, 13407 and 25509.

All five saw further passenger use at the two lines into the 1990s but they eventually fell out of use as major repairs became necessary. Complicating matters was the presence of blue asbestos as insulation, the need to remove the harmful material at great cost preventing bodywork repairs. As a result, the five coaches were left to deteriorate, the condition of No. 25509 seeing it scrapped in 2007 while No. 13407, the last of the FKs, followed five years later.

During 2016, Nos. 4728 and 25508 were re-homed at the Wensleydale Railway amid plans to carry out a full restoration but, while their historic significant is recognised, little progress has been made and they are stored at Redmire away from public view. Similarly, No. 4729 still exists at Lydney on the Dean Forest but in heavily vandalised condition, with plans to restore it using grants having equally made little progress. All three remaining XP64 coaches therefore face an uncertain future, 60 years on from when they were the future.

THE CLASS A ‘TEA’ BOGIE PETROL TANKERS

Peter Fidczuk looks at the first generation of bogie petroleum

tank wagons developed in the mid-1960s.

Tank wagon design lagged behind that of merchandise wagons and as we have seen previously the standard design in production at nationalisation was the anchor mounted design, which we reviewed in the Summer 2021 edition of the Bachmann Times. This was made obsolete by the introduction of the BTC vacuum braked design in 1957 and then by various developments of the 4-wheel monobloc design in the early 1960s. However all these 4-wheel designs were limited to a gross laden weight of 45 tons, which reality meant a maximum payload of about 30 tons which was a significant improvement on what went previously but was still low compared to the load carried by bogie tank wagons elsewhere.

The use of bogie tank wagons was not unknown in the UK and the first vehicles were built around 1900. In 1903 the Oakbank Oil Company introduced six vehicles carrying 40 tons and followed with three more in 1908. These vehicles lasted remarkably well and were still operating into the 1970s (Photograph 1). Despite

1. Although the Oakbank 40 ton bogie tanks were not the earliest examples of British bogie tanks, they were by far the most successful lasting in service until the 1970s. As these wagons were used in production, rather than distribution, they were not incorporated in the joint marketing company SMBP in 1932. When photographed in the winter of 1968/9 Scottish Oils No. 330 was still in service for the carriage of paraffin wax and running the length of the country from BP’s Isle of Grain refinery in Kent to their Pumpherston refinery in Scotland.

DAVID LARKIN

the success of these wagons no further bogie vehicles to carry petroleum products were built until a single demonstrator was produced by Charles Roberts for the Anglo American Oil Company in 1929 (Photograph 2). This one off was not followed by any further vehicles to carry petroleum but was followed by the introduction of bogie tanks for the carriage of caustic soda liquor for ICI.

Whereas the 1955 Modernisation Plan led to the wholesale introduction of vacuum braking in the BR owned fleet, the privately owned tank wagon fleet proved resistant to change. The only oil company to adopt the BTC vacuum braked design of tank wagon in significant numbers was Esso which bought a large number of these tanks from 1958 to 1962.

The very largest operator, Shell Mex and BP did not buy any and only experimented with a small number of monobloc wagons from 1962 onwards. Even in 1965 their fleet of almost 8,000 wagons

2. The next and only further example of a bogie tank built to transport petroleum products was a 35 ton demonstrator wagon built by Charles Roberts in 1929. Like the earlier Oakbank wagons the design featured a conventional underframe riding on diamond bogies but, unlike the Oakbank wagons, it was fitted with a regular tie down barrel mounting. Initially numbered in the Charles Roberts hire fleet as 11242, it was hired to the Anglo American Oil Company – better known as Esso which at that time used two trade names – Pratts for petrol and Royal Daylight for paraffin. Later in the 1930s this vehicle was sold to Esso and became their number 1691, lasting into the 1960s. WAKEFIELD COLLECTION

The new post Beeching railway is exemplified in this view of Brush Type No. 1789 with an up train of Shell Mex and BP 100 ton tank wagons at Wingfield on the Chesterfield to Derby line in April 1969. The tanks are typically in a block train and the first tank visible is SMBP 2280, which is one of the wagons built by RY Pickering in 1967 and two years of traffic use have already started to obliterate the original livery. The barrier wagons appear to be MGR HAA coal hopper wagons at each end. PETER FIDCZUK COLLECTION

remained mostly unfitted, made up of an enormous variety of designs, including 1,500 that were over 40 years old (Photograph 3). However from 1964 onwards they started to introduce a ‘modern’ fleet of vacuum braked 45 ton glw monobloc tanks. Nevertheless the bulk of their fleet was still obsolete and so it came as somewhat of a surprise when in 1966 a revolutionary bogie tank wagon rolled out of Metropolitan Cammell’s Works numbered SMBP 10000 (Photograph 4). This was the prototype high capacity bogie tank wagon which paved the way for all subsequent bogie tanks.

SMBP 10000 was rated at 90 tons gross laden weight but was subsequently uprated to 100 tons in line with the production batch which came into service the following year after BR had increased the axle load limit from 22.5 tons to 25 tons The prototype was also renumbered to 2250 to align with the production batch. The key feature of the uprated design was the large pay load of 74 tons with a tare weight of 26 tons which gave a ratio of approximately 3:1 between the two. In comparison the ratio between payload and tare for a typical BTC vacuum braked design was about 1.75:1, which made the bogie tank hugely more efficient. The design was air braked from new but to operate alongside vacuum brake stock it was also vacuum piped.

The design necessitated a new bogie design which was an uprated version of the cast steel design then used under bogie freight stock with a longer wheelbase and strengthened springing and journals. Two variants were used, one marketed by Gloucester Carriage and Wagon and the other by the English Steel Corporation/Davis and Lloyd.

SMBP 10000 was designed to carry class A flammable liquids, i.e. petrol and gas oil (diesel fuel) and had two fillers and two outlets. The design also introduced an innovative underframe design with full length longitudinal framing along the centre of the wagon but not at the sides where the outer solebar was only present at the ends of the vehicle. The wagon was a truly massive 54ft 10in long over headstock; to put this in context, the length of a standard LMS coach was 57ft over headstocks. To enable the production bogie tanks to work interchangeably with the 4-wheel wagons the length

3. The typical SMBP tank wagon consist of the mid 1960s is depicted here in this view of B1 4-6-0 No. 61351 on a tank train near Long Clawson and Hose in Leicestershire in June 1964. Three generations of wagons are visible. From the right we have a petrol tank built for the Air Ministry in the Second World War; this is coupled to a Mexphalt tank which was also of wartime Air Ministry origin but was rebuilt in the 1950s with anchor mounting and lagging to carry bitumen. Finally we have another Mexphalte tank but one built in 1962 to the monobloc vacuum braked design.PETER FIDCZUK COLLECTION

4. The historic SMBP 10000 is seen here at the Kingsbury oil terminal in 1966 shortly after delivery from Metropolitan-Cammell. The enormous step change in practice is obvious with the huge barrel, stub solebars and cast bogies, while the wagon was also fitted with air brakes from new. The main aspects of the livery were standard for the period. This wagon was later renumbered 2250 to bring it line with the production wagons. PETER FIDCZUK COLLECTION

5. SMBP 2370 was built a year later by Metropolitan Cammell and incorporated some detail changes. Firstly the barrel was a foot longer to allow a larger volume to be carried following the uprating of the axleload limit to 25 tons, and secondly the vacuum pipe was dispensed with as these wagons were designed to work in block trains and so were not expected to be marshalled with vacuum brake wagons in normal service. However, most obviously the livery has been simplified with the omission of the banding and the application of just one logo on each side – Shell on this side and BP on the other. PETER FIDCZUK COLLECTION

6. Very similar wagons were built to carry class B liquids, and although these are flammable they have a lower flash point than class A liquids, and so subject to different regulations. The principal visible difference is that they were painted a different colour. SMBP 4029 was to all intents and purposes identical to the class A tanks but was designed to carry light fuel oil. As a consequence it was painted black but in common with the first SMBP 100 tonners it sported the white and yellow bands and the twin logos. This was the only class B 100 ton tank built by Powell Duffryn Engineering; the others were constructed by Metropolitan Cammell and RY Pickering. PETER FIDCZUK COLLECTION

of the wagon was exactly the overall length of two 45 ton wagons coupled together and similarly the location of the fillers and outlets was identical to that of two 4-wheelers to enable them to locate with the fixed installations at the loading and unloading points.

The 100 ton tanks were designed to operate in block trains at 60 mph along the mainlines which had been passed for a 25 ton axleload and Shell Mex and BP intended that they were to run initially from three of their key refineries, Thames Haven, Llandarcy and Stanlow to a number of significant oil terminals, Cakemore, Royston, Tipton, Coleshill, Leeds, Thame and Horsham.

Following testing and the agreement of the BR civil engineer the production batch of wagons followed in 1967. This was also built by Metropolitan Cammell and differed from the prototype by having a slightly longer barrel and consequently carried a slightly larger volume of petrol.

8. We now move 6 years later to the dawn of TOPS in June 1974 at York. Here we see Class 45 No. 115 backing down onto a northbound block load of SMBP class A 100 tonners, which had been previously brought in by TOPS numbered No. 37173. The lack of insignia and generally dirty appearance contrasts with the previous photos, although the fourth tank appears to have remnants of the white and yellow banding.

PETER FIDCZUK COLLECTION

7. BRTE ordered significant numbers of 100 ton tanks in the period 1967 to 1969 exemplified by BRTE 20054 seen here when brand new in 1968. The BRTE wagons were hired out to various oil companies, with the first 50 let to Esso. The BRTE wagons were in general longer than the SMBP wagons but in other respects were very similar. However one difference was that these wagons built by RY Pickering used the Gloucester version of the cast bogie, whereas Metropolitan Cammell used the Davis and Lloyd version. PETER FIDCZUK COLLECTION

The livery for the initial batches was dove grey for the tank barrel with red outer solebars and the rest of the underframe black. Two middrith bands of white and yellow decorated the barrel with the twin Shell Mex and BP logos prominent in the middle. Later batches omitted the middrith bands and had a single grounded logo at the right hand end of the barrel: Shell on one side and BP on the other (Photograph 5).

Metropolitan Cammell subsequently designed three variants of the design to suit the carriage of petroleum products other than petrol. Wagons numbered from 4000 to 4130 were designed to carry non viscous class B liquids such as light fuel oil. As class B wagons they were painted black (Photograph 6) but again sported the middrith banding. Wagons numbered 5500 to 5538 were designed for more viscous liquids which required steam heating to facilitate discharge. Finally wagons numbered 7500 to 8035 were built to carry viscous liquids such as heavy fuel oil which needed to be kept fluid by insulating the tank and also required steam heating for discharge. We will not consider these wagons in this article but it should be noted that in the 1980s as the demand for fuel oil slackened many were converted into petrol tanks through the removal of the lagging and steam heating pipes.

Shell Mex and BP’s example was soon copied by other oil companies, some of which did not build their own wagons, but instead hired them. Foremost amongst these was Esso who having had their fingers burnt through buying a fleet of BTC vacuum braked tanks instead hired wagons from the British Railways Traction and Electric Company, better known by their initials of BRTE. BRTE was a long standing wagon hire company with history going back before the Great War. Despite its heritage it was a forward looking concern and in the 1960s invested heavily in modern wagons.

The BRTE wagons did not follow the SMBP practice of being exactly twice the length of two 4-wheel tanks and at 60ft exactly over buffers were a foot longer, allowing for a larger volume of petrol. They too were painted dove grey with a red solebar and sported logos appropriate to the hiring company. However, the

9. BRT 84053 still displays the insignia of the original leasees Conoco and JET when recorded at Eastleigh in March 1981. Like the SMBP and Esso wagons they also featured a distinctive middrff band which was white edged with blue. Conoco-JET also hired wagons from Procor and at least one of these was still painted in its original livery in 1990 albeit with the logos painted out. This wagon is next in the BRTE number series to that depicted in Photograph 7 but has been renumbered for TOPS as its original number was BRTE 20053. It should also have been coded TEA but as was often the case this was not visible. Although weathering and dirt is not generally helpful when looking at photographs in this case it enables the bogie to be clearly seen. 84053 was fitted with the Gloucester cast bogie with conventional brake blocks which were actuated by linkages which were attached to the recessed extensions of the bogie frame. For comparison please see photograph 17 for the ESC bogie..

PETER FIDCZUK COLLECTION

10. By the mid 1980s the oil companies were tidying up their wagons and here BPO 80660 has been repainted in plain dove grey with a discrete BP logo when photographed at Grangemouth TMD in August 1989. The wagon displays the full range of 1980s insignia: the neat TOPS number and code panel showing the TEA code and the Hazchem panel showing that the load was petroleum fuel. Note that the 1270 code has subsequently been superseded in the UK by code 1203. This wagon was originally numbered SMBP 2301 and upon the demerger of the company was allocated to BP which resulted in its number being xxx60.

PETER FIDCZUK

wagons hired to Esso had one distinctive feature and that was a bright red block across the centre of the barrel. Long after these wagons had gone off hire to Esso it was still possible to recognise their origins through the remnants of this livery. (Photograph 7).

Another long established wagon leaser was Charles Roberts, the wagon builder of Horbury Junction. Prior to nationalisation Roberts operated a sizeable mineral wagon fleet for hire which was lost to the company in 1948. However, as tank wagons were exempt from nationalisation they were retained to form the nucleus of a revived wagon hire business which they named Tank Rentals Limited (TRL). TRL hired out the new BTC vacuum braked tanks, their successors the four wheel monoblocs and in 1968 they started to offer 100 tonners.

A completely new leasing company entered the field at this time and this was Procor, which subsequently went on to swallow up Charles Roberts. As a new entrant Procor did not have established relationships with manufacturers and its first purchases were from the less well known Standard Wagon Company.

Two other smaller wagon leasers were Algeco and Lloyds and Scottish. Some operators decided on a mix of hire and ownership; amongst these were Phillips, Gulf and Fina who owned 100 tonners as well as hiring them. So by the end of the decade there were a significant number of owners, operators and of course vehicles themselves. After this first flush of construction the number of new builds reduced and designs started to diversify with the reintroduction of the full length outer solebar and the importation of vehicles from France. All of these operators followed SMBP practice by operating the tanks in block trains along major routes from their refineries or import locations to distribution

12. SUKO 87305 was recorded at Grangemouth TMD in August 1991 in Shell’s modified livery of dove grey with yellow and red stripes. This wagon was originally a class B tank like that shown in Photograph 6, and originally had been numbered SMBP 4032. As alluded to earlier it was ‘converted’ to carry class A liquids and was therefore repainted. No. 87305 was built by RY Pickering in 1968 and was fitted with Davis & Lloyds bogies with block brakes. Most UK tank wagons had Hazchem panels painted on the barrel but No. 87305 follows continental practice in having the Hazchem panel displayed on a separate panel attached to the solebar. PETER FIDCZUK

11. By the late 1980s BP wanted to make their vehicles very visible and so managed to get BR to agree to the spectacular livery worn by BPO 87566, one of the original Metropolitan-Cammell production batch of 1967. This corporate livery was applied to both TEAs and also TTAs and, like the previous photo, was adorned with the insignia of the period. However, by the time that this wagon was repainted in July 1990, BR had developed the Railfreight sector liveries and so the right hand end of the wagon has the Petroleum Sector logo.

depots, key industrial users or airports and this remained the pattern of their use until they were withdrawn.During the early 1970s these first generation wagons started to lose their distinctive logos in line with what happened to tank wagons in general and so the typical livery of the period was an anonymous dirty grey, often with ownership and numbering obscured (Photograph 8). Nevertheless, under the grime the original liveries often persisted albeit only visible after cleaning.

As we have seen previously the step change in BR operating practice during the early 1970s was the introduction of TOPS with its attendant renumbering of locomotives and privately owned wagons. The 100 ton tank wagons were allocated TOPS codes TEA if solely air braked, or TEB if vacuum piped and air braked and the pre TOPS running numbers were completely replaced by new series. For example the BRT wagons became BRT 84xxx, whilst the Procor wagons became PR 826xx and 827xx. Due to the size of their fleet SMBP had the greatest range of allocated numbers but a major complication interrupted the process with the demerger of Shell Mex and BP in January 1976. SMBP was the UK joint marketing company for the two companies and dated from 1932. When TOPS was introduced the joint company’s fleet was allocated new numbers but these were immediately obsolete and in fact do not seem to have been carried. The demerged fleet was then renumbered with the wagons’ ownership being split 60% to Shell and 40% to BP. To maintain this relationship Shell was allocated numbers 0 to 59 in a number range, eg SUKO 87200 to SUKO 87259, and BP was allocated 60 to 99, eg BPO 87260 to BPO 87299.

1. Although the Oakbank 40 ton bogie tanks were not the earliest examples of British bogie tanks, they were by far the

successful lasting in service until the 1970s. As these wagons were used production, rather than distribution, they were not incorporated joint marketing company SMBP in 1932. When photographed winter of 1968/9 Scottish Oils No. 330 was still in service for of

and

the

TREVOR MANN

most

paraffin wax

running

length of the country from BP’s Grain refinery in Kent to their Pumpherston refinery in Scotland.

13. We now track back in time to 1983 to examine TRL 86849 at Standard Wagon’s Works in Heywood. By this date Tank Rentals Limited had been taken over by Procor and although the company retained an independent identity retaining the abbreviation TRL, the name of the company was changed to Tiger Railcar Leasing. No. 86849 was one of a batch of 45 100 ton tanks built by Charles Robert in 1968 and hired to Total. By 1983 this wagon had been refurbished and relettered in 1980s style. Interestingly, the wagon was still fitted with a vacuum pipe despite the run down of vacuum braked wagon load services at that time.

DON FARMBOROGHT/PETER FIDCZUK COLLECTION

15. By the late 1980s these tanks were getting on to be 20 years old and so in need of a thorough refurbishment. PR 82626 was one of the last first generation tanks which had been built in 1970 as a batch of 20 class A wagons by Charles Roberts ,which in the late 1970s/early 1980s had carried petrol for Elf. However by 1990 they had been refurbished for chemical traffic for Atochem to transport styrene monomer from Immingham to Stalybridge and it was as part of this refurbishment that they gained the sky blue livery seen on this vehicle at Warrington Bank Quay in May 1998. This wagon, like all the Procor TEAs, was fitted with disc brakes and the bogie side frame lacked the extensions to hold the brake block rigging making the bogie look much shorter than on a conventionally braked wagon. The other feature of note is during the refurbishment the wagon was fitted with buffer over-ride protection which was not a feature of the original design.

PETER FIDCZUK COLLECTION

14. Algeco was a French wagon hire company which operated a number of wagons in the UK including 27 first generation class A TEAs. The original numbering of Algeco tanks of all sorts was quite confusing and TOPS brought some much needed structure to it with the 100 tonners becoming ALG 82000 to 82026. ALG 82018, seen here at Margam in April 1992, was one of a number hired to Fina, and is an examples of a first generation tank before a reversion was made to a full length solebar. Some of these later tanks had a recess in the top of the barrel to accommodate the fillers within the loading gauge shown in this view by lower height of the catwalks by the fillers. TREVOR MANN

The period of anonymous ownership came to an end during the mid 1980s as oil companies started to reassert their identities and cleaned up their wagons. In the first place a repaint into clean dove grey with a discrete logo took place (Photograph 10) and then more spectacular liveries followed with BP painting some of their tanks overall green with yellow solebars (Photograph 11) and Shell Mex adding red and yellow stripes to their basic grey paint scheme (Photograph 12). Other companies such as Total simply made their identity obvious by writing their company name in large bold lettering (Photograph 13). The period also saw the wholesale rebuilding of class B tanks into class A tanks and increasing the fleet of vehicles which could transport petrol, gas oil, crude oil or flammable chemicals. Some wagons were also rebogied with more modern bogies such as the Gloucester GPS25.

Additionally, in the mid 1980s twenty wagons from the BRTE 20146 to 20173 series underwent a more significant rebuild than simply being converted to class A from class B and appeared to have had their underframes replaced so turning them into much more modern looking vehicles which were also renumbered into the Procor 827xx number range (Photograph 16).

As we saw in the article describing the Polybulks, the late 1980s ushered in a period of rationalisation in private wagon ownership. Initially Shell Mex and Algeco started to withdraw from the ownership of wagons by selling some to CAIB, a Belgian based wagon transport company (Photograph 14). CAIB then swallowed up Procor, TRL and BRTE before itself being taken over by VTG in 2002. The tanks taken over by VTG retained their original livery and often the only way of identifying then as VTG tanks was the owners’ prefix to the TOPS number (Photograph 17).

16. A much more extensive rebuild is demonstrated by PR 82758 seen here at Longport in December 1997 after a general repair, repainting in CAIB dark grey and looking like a brand new wagon. It is difficult to believe that this too was a first generation TEA built in 1969 by Charles Roberts for BRTE as their No. 20163 and subsequently renumbered BRT 84163. This wagon was part of a batch of 20 former BRTE tanks extensively modified into second generation TEA condition in the mid 1980s and quite what remined of the original tank except the bogies and buffers is unclear as the original barrel fitted to these vehicles had recesses for the fillers and less bulbous ends, and there is now a full length solebar. These rebuilds lasted well with first withdrawals taking place in 2019 by which time they were owned by VTG.

TREVOR MANN

The 1990s and early noughties saw a steady reduction in the fleet as traffic was lost and newer wagons came into service so that by 2008 165 remained in service, mostly from the ex BP fleet. Ten years later a significant number (100 inclusive of 26 rebuilds) were still registered, albeit some were in long term store. The majority were again former BP tanks operating from the Grangemouth refinery to Glasgow Airport with aviation fuel and to BP’s Dalston terminal near Carlisle with petroleum products.

The fact that many were still in use almost 50 years after construction is a testament to their sound design but the end was nigh and the last of the fleet was withdrawn and scrapped in 2017 and 2018. Other than a Phillips example at the National Railway Museum they have not gone into preservation.

18. As I write this the last of the Class 60s is destined for withdrawal by DB Cargo, and so it is only fitting that our last picture shows a block train of the 1990s with BR’s last diesel developed to haul block trains of wagons such as the TEAs. No. 60090 painted in Raifreight Coal Sector livery is passing Eaglescliffe with the Bromsgrove to Port Clarence empties in June 1995. The train is mostly formed of first generation TEAs looking rather worse for wear but a block of red paint on the second tank indicates that this was originally hired to Esso and most likely one of the BRTE 20000-20079 series from 1968.

PETER FIDCZUK COLLECTION

17. VTG 87482, a former BPO tank, is pictured at Port Clarence in September 2004. This wagon was originally lagged with steam heating coils designed to carry heavy fuel oil and was numbered BPO 83085. However in the 1980s it was converted to carry class A liquids by the removal of the lagging and steam piping. TREVOR MANN

Introducing... the Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway

Tucked away in a corner of Kent is a 2ft 6in gauge railway that was built to over 100 years ago to serve the paper-making industry. Gary Boyd-Hope provides an introduction to this unique industrial narrow gauge survivor.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway (SKLR) is unique amongst British preserved railways, and certainly amongst its narrow gauge counterparts.

The two-mile line is the surviving remnant of a true industrial railway system, the Bowaters Paper Railway, which connected a paper mill at Sittingbourne, in north Kent, with Ridham Dock on the Swale Estuary 3½ miles away. In that short distance trains passed an industrialised landscape, over historic civil engineering, through marshland, past (and in to) a second, larger paper mill, and finally to a man-made, purpose-built port.

It was a far cry from the slate carrying narrow gauge railways of Wales which, by way of natural geography and location, often ran through picturesque and occasionally dramatic scenery.

One of these lines, the Talyllyn Railway, became the World’s first preserved railway, and had been in the hands of volunteers for a full two decades before preservationists took over the SKLR in 1970.

Yet what the SKLR lacks in scenery, it more than makes up for in other ways, from its slightly ‘rough around the edges’ charm to its

SKLR Bagnall 0-6-2T ‘Superb’ heads a train containing three of the original Bowaters workmens’ coaches away from Kemsley Down towards Sittingbourne. The distinctive ‘diamond/balloon stack’ spark arresting chimneys were a feature of most of the Bowaters locomotives. This locomotive is currently the subject of an ongoing overhaul, which will hopefully see it back in traffic during 2024. PAUL BEST/SKLR

historical interest value. This is no polished re-creation after all, this is industrial railway preservation at its best!

FOLLOW THE ‘LEADER’

The SKLR owes its existence to the book and newspaper publisher, Edward Lloyd, who in 1861 had constructed a paper mill at Bow, East London, to supply his business. Lloyd made use of Kentish straw in the manufacture of his paper, which was transported from a wharf on Milton Creek, near Sittingbourne, in an area that had been a centre for paper making since the early 18th century. As a result, when the Bow mill had reached full capacity in 1876, Lloyd, who had already acquired Smith’s Old Mill in Sittingbourne, began using it for paper production.

An internal narrow gauge horse tramway was established to serve the Sittingbourne mill, which also linked it with the Milton Creek wharf and the nearby storage sheds. A new company, Edward Lloyd Limited, was set up shortly before Lloyd died in 1890, and the firm continued to invest in the area, expanding the mill and constructing a 2ft 6in gauge railway in 1904 to replace the horse tramway. The railway was worked by a pair of Kerr, Stuart ‘Brazil’ class 0-4-2STs named ‘Premier’ and ‘Leader’, which would go on to serve the railway until 1969, and later the SKLR right up to the present day. A third ‘Brazil’ named ‘Excelsior’ arrived in 1908.

ABOVE: The railway’s very first steam locomotive, Kerr, Stuart 0-4-2ST ‘Premier’, leads later arrival ‘Melior’ out of Kemsley Down with a rare doubleheaded service to Sittingbourne on 10th September 2023. ‘Premier’ was recently the subject of an award-winning restoration by the SKLR to return it to as close to ‘as built’ condition as possible. The contrast with ‘Melior’ is noticeable. GARY BOYD-HOPE

A downside to the mill’s reliance on Milton Creek as a transport link was its tendency to silt up, so in 1914 Lloyd’s began constructing a new dock at Ridham, where Milton Creek met the Swale estuary. The narrow gauge line was extended to serve it in 1915, with the dock itself being completed in 1917/18. The railway extension involved the construction of the now famous 2,895ft long Milton Regis Viaduct, which carried the line over the rooftops of Milton Regis and the industries bordering Milton Creek. With 118 spans and six bridges, it is believed to be the longest reinforced concrete viaduct in the UK.

Yet a longer railway required larger locomotives, and in 1920 Kerr, Stuart supplied ‘Baretto’ class 0-6-2T ‘Superior’, which was followed two years later by the powerful Bagnall 0-6-2T ‘Conqueror’. An 0-4-0 battery locomotive nicknamed ‘The Tank’ was also supplied at this time by English Electric.

In 1923 a new mill was opened at Kemsley, two miles down the line between Sittingbourne and Ridham Dock. The railway was further expanded to serve the new facility, which also boasted an aerial ropeway to carry logs from Ridham. A fourth ‘Brazil’ (‘Melior’) arrived from Kerr, Stuart in 1924, the same year as Bagnall 2-4-0 Fireless locomotive ‘Unique’, which was followed in 1929 by a smaller Bagnall 0-4-0 Fireless called ‘Victor’. In fact, the Stafford firm had a monopoly from here on in, and in 1932 supplied an 0-6-2T based on the Kerr, Stuart ‘Baretto’ design, which was named ‘Alpha’. A near identical locomotive (‘Triumph’) arrived two years later. This would be the last locomotive to be supplied to Edward Lloyd Ltd.

BRING ON BOWATERS

In 1936 the Bowater family purchased Edward Lloyd Ltd, changing the name to the Bowater Lloyd Group. The new owners continued to invest in the railway, adding a third Bagnall to the same design as ‘Alpha’ and ‘Triumph’, named ‘Superb’, in 1940. The trio were well suited to operating on the main line, as well as around Kemsley mill and at the dock, which was advantageous as the railway was a non-stop operation…literally. It ran 24 hours a day, bringing in raw materials from Ridham to the mills, and taking out the finished product. It also operated workers trains, day and night, using coaches converted from paper pulp wagons.

Further motive power was added in 1950 when Manning, Wardle 0-6-2T ‘Chevallier’ was acquired from the military Chattenden & Upnor Railway near Rochester. However, like ‘Conqueror’, ‘Chevallier’ was too heavy to work over the concrete viaduct, and both spent their time working between Kemsley mill and Ridham. The railway gained a foothold in UK railway history in 1953 when Bowaters purchased the last narrow gauge steam locomotive

LEFT: Kerr, Stuart-built ‘Melior’ was the fourth ‘Brazil’ type 0-4-2ST to be supplied to the railway by the Stoke-on-Trent firm. It was built to serve the new Kemsley mill, and differed from the original trio in having Modified Hackworth valve gear. This year sees the stalwart locomotive celebrate its centenary. GARY BOYD-HOPE

The 2,895ft long Milton Regis Viaduct is one of the SKLR’s most distinguishing features, and certainly its most famous. It curved at this point around the head of Milton Creek, which originally came much closer to the structure than it does today.

built for industrial service in the UK. This was ‘Monarch’, another Bagnall product, but unlike anything that the company had supplied previously. It was an articulated 0-4-4-0T built to a modified Meyer principle, and thanks to its low axle loading, was capable of working over Milton Regis viaduct despite its size.

An idea of the size of the narrow gauge railway operation can be gained by looking at a list of rolling stock from 1962. The total number of items included 13 steam locomotives, one battery locomotive, one diesel locomotive (a Hunslet 4wDM built in 1953), 335 pulp wagons, 18 bogie wagons, 17 coal wagons, six China Clay wagons, five passenger coaches and 39 miscellaneous items, giving a total of 420 wagons and 15 locomotives. A brief mention should also be made here of Bowaters’ standard gauge operation, which served Kemsley via a siding off the Sittingbourne to Sheerness branch. Two steam locomotives were retained for this, notably an ex-SE&CR P class 0-6-0T ‘Pioneer II’ and a Bagnall 0-4-0ST named ‘Jubilee’.

However, the paper-making industry had undergone significant changes since the Second World War, as had road transport, and by the late 1960s the Bowaters accountants had realised that the narrow gauge operations were no longer cost effective. By this time the railway was the last industrial narrow gauge line in Britain operating steam locomotives, so had the smart little locomotives with their bright green livery and distinctive ‘balloon stack’ chimneys come to the end of their useful lives?

INTO PRESERVATION

Thankfully, Bowaters’ management were somewhat attached to their little railway, and set about trying to retain part of it as a living museum. The line officially closed on 30th September 1969, and the southern two-mile section between Sittingbourne and Kemsley mill leased to the Locomotive Club of Great Britain (LCGB). This included the locomotives ‘Premier’, ‘Melior’, ‘Alpha’, ‘Triumph’, ‘Superb’, ‘Unique’ and the Hunslet diesel, the passenger coaches and a large quantity of wagons. The Kerr, Stuart ‘Leader’ also remained, but in private ownership. A formal handover was held on 4th October that year, although Bowaters continued running trains until the final one on 25th October. ‘Monarch’, meanwhile, was sold to the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway, while ‘Conqueror’, ‘Excelsior’, ‘Superior’, ‘Chevallier’ and further wagons went to the fledgling Whipsnade & Umfolozi Railway at Whipsnade Zoo. A few more wagons were sold

FACT FILE

THE SITTINGBOURNE & KEMSLEY LIGHT RAILWAY

Opened (Preservation-era): 1970

Length: 2 miles

Gauge: 2ft 6in

Journey Time:

A round trip (Sittingbourne Viaduct to Kemsley Down and return) takes approximately 50 minutes.

Opening Times:

Trains run on Sundays and Banks Holidays from Easter to early October, and on Wednesdays during August. Check the website before travelling, and for details of special events throughout the year.

Website: www.sklr.net

Bagnall ‘Triumph’ heads a train back to Sittingbourne across the viaduct in November 2008. BOTH: GARY BOYD-HOPE

elsewhere, although the battery locomotive ‘The Tank’ was scrapped; the same fate that had met ‘Victor’ two years earlier.

The LCGB quickly set about smartening up its operational locomotives and coaches ready for the 1970 season. A shed was constructed at Kemsley Down, which became the base of operations, and a new era of preservation began with trains running between here and a new platform at the end of Milton Regis viaduct. In 1972 the LCGB transferred the operation

to the Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway Ltd, which has operated the line ever since. In 1978 the railway acquired four surviving coaches from the Chattenden & Upnor Railway, thereby strengthening is fleet, and over the years all surviving resident steam locomotives, with the exceptions of ‘Alpha’ and the Fireless ‘Unique’, have operated on the railway.

Bowaters sold the mills in 1986 and they have changed hands on several occasions in subsequent years, each successor company retaining ownership of the route, locomotives and rolling stock. This situation lasted until 2001 when the locos and stock were transferred to the SKLR. Unfortunately, ownership of the route was a different issue altogether, one which would almost spell the end for the railway a few years later.

Paper production ceased at Sittingbourne in 2007 and the entire estate, including the mills and railway land, was put up for sale by the then owners, M-Real. By default, the SKLR was forced to cease operations from December 2008. The railway was able to agree a lease of about a mile of the trackbed from Kemsley Down, but as this stopped short of the only intermediate stop at Milton Regis (Asda) Halt, it was not possible to run a train service. The future of the SLKR looked very bleak indeed, and a high-profile S.O.S (Save Our Steam Railway) appeal was mounted.

In 2010 M-Real sold Sittingbourne mill and the rest of the trackbed (including the site of Sittingbourne Viaduct station) to a developer, which demolished the mill. The mill at Kemsley was sold to D S Smith plc, which retained the SKLR’s station and workshops at Kemsley Down. Negotiations with both parties resulted in the railway being able to operate services from Milton Regis (Asda) Halt to Kemsley Down from October 2010, with regular services commencing the following May. The railway finally reopened to Sittingbourne Viaduct station in 2012, and since then has been able to secure ownership of most of the route.

ALONG THE LINE

Passengers begin their visits at Sittingbourne Viaduct station, which stands on an embankment overlooking the new Morrisons store. A bridge previously carried the ‘old’ railway over the B2006 and into the mill complex, although this was demolished some years ago. Car parking is available here, with step-fee access linking the car park with the station above. Interestingly, this

The railway’s running shed and workshops are located at Kemsley Down, where the two original locomotives supplied to Edward Lloyd, ‘Premier’ and ‘Leader’, are seen on 30th August 2023. The boiler just visible inside the shed belongs to Bagnall 0-6-2T ‘Superb’. GARY BOYD-HOPE

RIGHT: With wagons full of paper in the background, Kerr, Stuart ‘Premier’ (left) arrives at the site of what is now Sittingbourne Viaduct station with a mill workers’ train during 1966, as an unidentified Bagnall 0-6-2T waits alongside. Note the gantry carrying hot water and steam pipes above, while the supports for a straw conveyor can also be seen.

COLLECTION

GARY BOYD-HOPE

access ramp formerly linked the railway with the wharf and the old Sittingbourne steam shed site (rails can still be seen in the roadways around the wharf area). During the winter of 2023/24, Sittingbourne Viaduct station has undergone something of a transformation, with an all-new concrete platform being built to improve passenger access to the trains.

Passenger trains are formed from a mix of the original workers coaches, the ex-Chattenden & Upnor stock, and open/semi-open coaches converted from old

Butterley Ironworks-built pulp wagons. Locomotives tend to work bunker first to Kemsley Down, and immediately upon leaving the station join the Milton Regis Viaduct. A trip along the viaduct is fascinating thanks to its elevated nature, offering a unique perspective over the industrial units and premises that flank it. Passengers will notice several steel gantries that parallel the viaduct along its twisting course, and these previously carried steam, hot water and paper slurry pipes that ran between the two mills. These pipes ran alongside the track at ground level along its entire length, but most have since been removed. However, where the pipes had to pass over a road, the gantries were built to carry them over, and most of these still remain.

In 1992 the SKLR had to suspend services over the viaduct owing to a deterioration in its condition. A programme of extensive (expensive!) and specialist repairs were undertaken, all at the railway’s expense, and the viaduct reopened in 1996. Since then, the railway has implemented a regular £20,000 maintenance programme on even-numbered years.

After leaving the end of the viaduct the railway passes Milton Regis (Asda) Halt, which is currently out of use, and the line straightens out as the industrial backdrop gives way to a more rural aspect. Here the lines passes through Church Marshes Country Park, passes the local sewage works and household waste site, then ducks beneath the new Swale Way link road (Sittingbourne Northern Bypass). Ahead can be seen the chimneys of the Kemsley mill, while to the left is the site of a 13th century fortified manor house known as Castle Rough.

Soon the train rolls into Kemsley Down station, sandwiched between the mill on one side and Milton Creek on the other.

The SKLR’s running shed and workshop is located here, with a Museum Walk providing a circuit around the site to view the original locomotives and rolling stock that are currently on display. A new museum building has also been established in the last year, displaying a number of artefacts from the railway’s history, and telling the wider story of the local paper industry.

For those wishing to partake in refreshments, the Footplate Café can also be found at Kemsley Down, offering a range of hot and cold drinks and light refreshments. These can be enjoyed inside, or outside in the lawned picnic area where a 5in gauge miniature railway also operates on certain operating days. Next door to the café lies the railway’s shop, selling a range of SKLR souvenirs and items to keep younger visitors entertained.

As mentioned earlier, this is a railway that exudes industrial charm. It is no facsimile of the Bowaters system, it is the real thing, operating its original locomotives and rolling stock over its original route, (and sometimes in the face of adversity). It is a boast that few railways can make, and one which helps set the SKLR apart. What’s even more remarkable is that all of this has been achieved by a comparatively small membership (circa 200), of which around 80 are working volunteers, and only half of these can be classed as ‘regulars’.

It might not be the longest railway, have the prettiest route, or an immaculate permanent way. And the locomotives might not be immaculate restorations, and still carry scars from their hard working careers. Yet these are by no means ‘black marks’, but instead are what make the SKLR so appealing, as it offers a day out that cannot be found anywhere else. For this reason alone, it is well worth a visit.

YOUR CHANCE TO WIN TICKETS!

The Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway has kindly provided two Rover tickets for any regular operating day*.

To be in with a chance of winning them, please answer the following question: Kerr, Stuart 0-4-2ST ‘Melior’ was delivered to the railway in which year?

A. 1922 B. 1924 C. 1926

Please send your entry to: SKLR Competition, Bachmann Collectors Club, PO Box 7820, Barwell, Leicestershire, LE9 8WZ

Answers should be submitted by 31st March 2024. The winning entry will be drawn at random and the successful winner will receive their prize after the closing date. The winner will be announced in the next issue. Entries are limited to one per member. *For details of operating dates and times please see: www.sklr.net

NOT ALL RATS ARE THE SAME CLASS 25 IN PROFILE - PART 2

In the second part of his detailed look at the Class 25s, Pip Dunn looks at the liveries and cosmetic differences that affected the class, their operations plus the ETHELs and 25/9s.

Like every class, the Class 25s had their fair share of livery differences, although their rundown was almost complete by the time the new sector liveries appeared in the mid-1980s so they were spared Railfreight colours. However, despite in the main only being green and then blue, there were plenty of differences to affect them, especially in terms of the positioning of their numbers.

LIVERIES

The only Class 25s delivered new in all over BR green were Nos. D5151-75 – Class 25/0s – and they had red bufferbeams and grey roofs. But from No. D5176 onwards, small yellow warning panels were added on both cab fronts, in line with British Railways’ policy of adding these to all diesel locomotives. All of the ‘25/0s’ later had them retro applied. The Series One bodyside locomotives had all over green with a grey roof and an off white stripe on the solebar.

The Series Two locomotives were delivered in two-tone green with a lighter green lower half and a darker green at solebar replacing the off-white stripe. These all had a small yellow panel and red bufferbeams.

One anomaly was in 1966 when both Nos. D5153 and D5159 had fluorescent orange panels painted on their cab fronts.

On No. D5153 it extended from frame to just above the lower marker lights, so was more a strip than a full panel, which was retained as yellow. On No. D5159 it extended from just above the lower marker lights to below the horizontal handrails, leaving a strip of yellow below it. Both locos lost the panels in 1968 with the trial presumably having not been deemed worthwhile.

From the mid-1960s, BR decreed that full yellow ends should be applied and that saw many green locomotives have this feature, though by no means all of them. Those recorded as running in BR green with full yellow ends were Nos. D5155/66/69/69/75/78-82/86/88/90/93/96, 5203/04/08/11/12/19-21/24/27-43/45-48/51-66/6871/73/76-82/84-86/88-94/96-99, 7500-12/14-27/2934/36-43/45/46/50-61/63-65/68/71-98, 7601/02/07/1012/15/16/18/19/24/26-29/32-37/44/45/49/52/55 – by that time most ran without D prefixes, but certainly not all. Some also ran in green with small yellow panels and no D prefix.

Many ‘25s’ were still in green when the TOPS renumbering was in full swing in 1973/74, and that led to a more than a handful of Class 25s running in green – with full yellow ends – but now sporting their new five-digit TOPS numbers, namely Nos. 25006/ 036/038/040/043/053/058/102, 25202/203/218/248/25 1/252/260/261/278/279/285/294/305.

1964.

Yet some locomotives were never green at all, as construction of the fleet continued into 1967, by which time BR had rebranded with a new corporate blue livery so Nos. D766077 were delivered in the new scheme. Even then, there was a slight anomaly as Nos. D7660/61 were new in BR blue but with small yellow panels, a livery also later bestowed on No. 7568.

All Class 25s were painted eventually repainted into BR blue apart from accident-damaged early withdrawals Nos. 5278 and 7605.

The only major BR livery variation was on No. 25322, later No. 25912, which in May 1984 had wrap round yellow ends to cover its cabsides, but did not have large logos or numbers or black window surrounds. It also had a grey roof. Two Class 25s were also painted into InterCity livery when used as ETHELs (see page 47).

After withdrawal in 1987, No. 25912 was taken on as a training locomotive and in 1990 was reinstated to traffic, in BR green with full yellow ends and carrying its original number D7672. It was withdrawn in March 1991.

One locomotive ran with black window surrounds, No. 25095, bizarrely with its number on the cab front – but in mirror image style!

In preservation, No. 25072 was repainted briefly in GWR green with cast 5222 GWR-style numberplates. No. 25035 was also painted in all over maroon with a small panel, departmental grey and Dutch grey/yellow liveries for short spells, and in the case of the last two colour schemes, was renumbered 25735.

D7673, wearing British Rail’s corporate blue livery, approaches Ribblehead station on a snow-covered Settle & Carlisle line prior to receiving its TOPS number (25323).

NUMBERS

The positioning of numbers for Class 25s varied. As a rule, locomotives had them on their cabsides under the driver’s window, but some which were overhauled at Glasgow Works in the 1970s had their TOPS repositioned on their bodysides. Those ‘25s’ which had numbers on bodyside were Nos. 25001/002/005-011/013/019/021/023/026/028/ 033-035/037/044/049/050/059/062/064/068/072/ 075/076/078/079/082/086/087/090/091/093/094/ 098, 25108/125/130/140/144/149/153/156/162/17 1/172/188, 25202/216/227-229/232/233/235/237241/244/246/247/266/283/286/296, 25300/306 and when they were renumbered, also 25904-906. Even then, some numbers were put higher up on the bodyside, and some lower down, with most in between!

Additionally, from the late 1970s, some locomotives overhauled at Glasgow Works were afforded the new St Rollox trademark of larger eight inch numbers, and these were carried – all on the

bodyside - by Nos. 25008/046/062/065/066/075/083-086, 25109, 25226/230/231/234.

NAMES

No Class 25s were ever officially named by BR – although in their dying days several had names unofficially applied in stencilled white paint to reflect their long association with the Cambrian lines.

The locomotives so treated were Nos. 25034 ‘Castell Aberystwyth/Aberystwyth Castle’, 25035 ‘Castell Dina Bran’, 25058 ‘Castell Criccieth/Criccieth Castle’, 25109 ‘Castell Trefaldwyn/Montgomery Castle’, 25201 ‘Castell Y Bere’, 25265 ‘Castell Harlech/Harlech Castle’, 25278 ‘Castell Powys/Powis Castle’, 25313 ‘Castell Y Waun/Chirk Castell’ and 25322 (25912) ‘Tamworth Castle’.

While the final Class 25s were withdrawn in March 1987, the latter locomotive, No. 25912, was retained as a training machine, later repainted back into two tone green as No.

British Rail’s blue livery was a standard feature when this photograph of No. 25252 was taken passing Peak Forest with a limestone train on 3rd July 1979.

No. 25060 has just reached the top of Miles Platting Bank near Manchester with a GMC Waste Train on 7th June 1984. The locomotive appears to have recently been through the works.

to have been off their remit. But they were certainly seen at Fraserburgh occasionally. They also reached Oban, Fort William and even occasionally Mallaig.

D7672 and given cast ‘Tamworth Castle’ nameplates and then reinstated to traffic in February 1990, although was only used until March 1991 when it was withdrawn for a second time.

In preservation more Class 25s have been named – all with cast plates – namely Nos. D5185 (25035) ‘Castell Dina Bran’, D7541 (25191) ‘The Diana’, D7523 (25173) ‘John F Kennedy’, D7535 (25185) ‘Mercury’, D7628 (25278) ‘Sybilla’, 25265 ‘Castell Harlech/Harlech Castle’ and 25322 ‘Tamworth Castle’.

OPERATIONS

The Class 25s were one of the few types to be seen pretty much everywhere from Cornwall to the Scottish Highlands. The first locomotives were new to several depots across the country and initially they were allocated to the London Midland, Eastern, North Eastern and Scottish Regions. In the early 1970s, as part of the phasing out of the diesel hydraulics, a batch was sent to work in Devon and Cornwall and also to South Wales and Avonside. They were synonymous with the Cambrian and North Wales lines, although no depots in those areas ever had an

allocation of them.

They were common across the Midlands both, west and east and would work as far afield as Great Yarmouth, Scarborough, Aberystwyth, Pwllheli, Holyhead, Penzance, Paignton, Barnstaple, Inverness, Stranraer, Aberdeen, and most places in between. North of Inverness, they were very rare – despite the depot having brief allocations of them from time to time, and while handful are known to have reached Kyle of Lochalsh, Wick seems

Depots which had allocations over the years were Plymouth Laira, Newport Ebbw Junction, Bristol Bath Road, Cardiff Canton, March, Willesden, Saltley, Bescot, Crewe, Manchester Longsight, Allerton, Wigan Springs Branch, Lostock Hall, Carnforth, Carlisle Upperby, Carlisle Kingmoor, Cricklewood, Wellingborough, Leicester, Burton-on-Trent, Derby, Coalville, Colwick, Nottingham, Toton, Barrow Hill, Tinsley, Wath, Holbeck, Neville Hill, Skipton, York, Thornaby, Gateshead, Glasgow Eastfield, Edinburgh Haymarket and Inverness.

They were at home on a three-, four- or five-coach passenger trains, or in pairs on 12 coach holiday trains. They also put in some remarkable performances in place of bigger locomotives, and single ‘Rats’ on anything up to 10 coach trains were not unknown.

Regular passenger turns were on the Crewe to Cardiff line while Laira’s allocation handled local trains in Devon from Exeter to Paignton, Plymouth and Barnstaple. Pairs of ‘25s’

Now sporting its original number of D7672 and named ‘Tamworth Castle’, the former No. 25322 (25912) shows off its two-tone green livery at Leeds Holbeck on 29th March 1991, the night before its final main line railtour.

No. 25256 is seen heading east at Healey Mills Yard, near Ossett, West Yorkshire on 26th October 1983.

also occasionally worked from Penzance to Plymouth on summer Saturdays, and even made it to Newquay on occasions, usually filling in for a failed DMU.

Holiday trains to Skegness, Great Yarmouth and – especially, Aberystwyth and Pwllheli were worked by pairs of ‘25s’ – the Cambrian turns being shared with Class 24s, and mixed pairs were common. They also worked to Scarborough and Llandudno. The Sheffield to Skegness train was booked for Tinsley Class 25/0 in 1975, but as rule they worked from Derby and Leicester, until usurped by Class 20s on those trains in the 1970s.

In Scotland they mostly worked in the Lowlands on train from Glasgow Queen Street to Dundee/Arbroath, Glasgow Central to Stranraer and Carlisle and Edinburgh to Carstairs, but occasionally worked to Aberdeen and Inverness, usually in pairs. Trips to Oban, Fort William and even Mallaig were also recorded, while appearances to Kyle of Lochalsh can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Wick and Thurso were never visited by the class (as far as is known), even though they were briefly based at Inverness.

Class 25s also filled in for bigger locomotives in pairs and solo, especially out of Crewe and Birmingham New Street to the North Wales Coast, Paignton, Norwich, Paddington, York, Newcastle, Cardiff, Preston… and many other places. The Settle to Carlisle line often saw a ‘25’ fill in for a Class 31 and the ~Tyne Valley and Cumbrian Coast lines out of Carlisle would often see ‘25s’ replacing or assisting DMUs.

Out of Manchester or Liverpool they would work to Bangor/ Llandudno/Holyhead, over to York and even Scarborough, south to Birmingham, and west to Blackpool or Barrow. There were not many places Class 25s never reached in their lives.

Despite these turns, the class could mostly be regarded as freight locomotives – only Nos. 25026-028/033-087/218-247 had steam heat boilers, and even then many had them isolated or removed in the 1970s – and would be seen the length and breadth of the country on all sorts of freight from local pick up goods to lengthy mixed wagonloads or block trainloads.

Their Blue Star multiple working saw them often pair up with

other classes – 20, 24, 26 and 27 in Scotland, and 20, 24, 31, 37 and even 40s on the LMR – in fact there was a booked job for a 25/40 combination on the Broughton Lane to Ditton BOC Sidings tank train. They also worked in tandem or assisting other locos, so 25/33, 25/45, 25/46, 25/47, 25/50, 25/52 and even 25/55 pairings were recorded over the years.

THE CLASS 25/9S

In 1985, a batch of 12 Class 25/3s were given ‘E-exams’ with the view to a life extension and these were renumbered in the 25/9 series as 25901-912. The locomotives selected, which were renumbered in order, were Nos. 25262/26

There were few parts of the network that Class 25s did not reach, and while regular performers as far north as Aberdeen, they did reach the Granite City occasionally, as evidenced by No. 25008 seen here.

The Cambrian lines were a regular haunt of the Class 25s where the often worked in pairs on holiday trains. Nos. 25034 and 25058 head the 14.00 departure from Aberystwyth to Shrewsbury on the final day of ‘Rat operation on the Cambian on 15th September 1984.

Class 25/9s Nos. 25903 and 25909 head a Stanlow to Hunslet train of tankers between Mirfield and Thornhill Junction of 1st May 1986. 8/276/283/286/296/297/307/309/31 5/316/322.

The reality was they didn’t have any extended life and the first were condemned in in September 1986 –Nos. 25905/907/909/911 followed by No. 25906 a month later and No. 25908 in November. The remaining six locomotives, Nos. 25901-904/910/912, were duly condemned in March 1987 along with the last remaining Class 25s.

DEPARTMENTAL USE

Three Class 25s had brief roles as departmental locomotives. The first was vacuum-braked only No. 25131, which was renumbered 97202 in December 1982 for a brief role as a training locomotive with the CMEE. It is not clear what work, if indeed any, it actually did, but it did gain its new identity. It was renumbered back as 25131 in January 1984 but only to be immediately withdrawn.

Nos. 25908/912 were due to be renumbered ADB968026/027 for their roles as static training locomotives, but neither had these numbers applied. The latter did have a period as a training loco, which led it its eventual, brief, reinstatement as a main line loco as previously mentioned.

THE ETHELS

In 1983 three Class 25s were converted to mobile train electric heat generators to work inside steam heat Class 37s on trains formed of air conditioned stock, most notably the Mk 2/3 coaches used on the First William ‘sleeper’ train. They were known as ETHELs – ETH exLocomotive and had ‘nameplates’ ETHEL1, 2 and 3.

Three Class 25/3s were selected, 25305/310/314, and these became Nos. ADB97251, 97250 and 97252 respectively. The conversions were done at Aberdeen and the locomotives based at Eastfield depot. They were repainted into the same livery as coaches

with a grey upper half and a BR blue lower body and did not have warning panels. They sported Eastfield depot west highland terrier motifs on red plaques. They could move under their own power at low speeds but not while providing train supply.

In 1985 they became redundant from their initial role as ETH Class 37/4s were introduced on the West Highland Line. They were retained by the InterCity sector for ad hoc charter use, including mostly running with steam locomotives on charter trains, which Nos. 97251/252 was later repainted in unbranded InterCity colours, with yellow panels. They were also used on some diesel-hauled charters and even occasionally with a no heat loco on a service train.

These two locomotives also later had grilles over their windscreens in their later days, presumably to protect them from the risk of damage from any falling lumps of coal from a steam loco tender.

They were withdrawn in 1991 and dumped at Inverness before being moved by road to MC Metals in August 1994 and broken up very quickly after arrival.

INSET: ETHEL No. 97252 is pictured again, this time in store at Inverness Welsh’s Bridge and wearing its unbranded InterCity livery. Also present are Nos. 97250 and 97251.

Class 37 No. 37026 and ETHEL No. 97252 past County March Summit with the 22.10 London Euston to Fort William service on 2nd May 1984.

In November 2023 Locomotion Models revealed its first N scale exclusive edition model. Part of The National Collection in Miniature series, the model depicts Class 47/7 No. 47798 ‘Prince William’ in EWS ‘Royal Train’ livery.

‘Prince William’, along with classmate No. 47799 ‘Prince Henry’, was allocated to Royal Train duties before being succeeded by modern Class 67 locomotives in 2004 – surplus to requirements, the locomotive was preserved as part of the National Collection. The two Class 47s had first been assigned to Royal Train duties during their time with BR’s InterCity sector in the early 1990s, at which point they were Nos. 47834 ‘Fire Fly’ and 47835 ‘Windsor Castle’.

Following conversion to Class 47/7s, the pair were reallocated to the Rail Express Systems sector which took on responsibility for Royal Train operations and there emerged in 1995 in new liveries and with their new names ‘Prince William’ and ‘Prince Henry’. Initially, the ‘Royal Train’ livery was a take on the Rail Express Systems (RES) scheme, but following privatisation and the purchase of RES by EWS, the livery was revised and it is this EWS ‘Royal Train’ livery that adorns the new N scale model. Whilst the

pair were primarily intended to haul the Royal Train, the intensity of Royal operations was such that it was not uncommon to find the 47s working timetabled services and other charters.

The model of No. 47798 ‘Prince William’ is based on the new and upgraded Graham Farish model and includes all-wheel drive, directional lighting, a Next18 DCC decoder socket and pre-fitted speaker. Priced at £179.95 (372-262NRM), a SOUND FITTED version is also available which retails at £279.95 (372-262NRMSF), both versions are available now.

DP1 RETURNS IN OO SCALE

Locomotion Models has commissions further versions of the English Electric Deltic Prototype Locomotive – DP1 – as part of the National Collection in Miniature series. Two models will be available, with the first depicting DP1 in in-service condition whilst operating on the East Coast Main Line.

DP1, commonly known as ‘Deltic’, was built by English Electric in 1955. Employing two Napier Deltic engines, the prototype locomotive was trialled on both the London Midland Region and Eastern Region of British Railways and it was on the latter that it found favour following successful operations on the East Coast Main Line. Ultimately, the Eastern Region placed an order for 22 similar locomotives from English Electric which would go on to be known as Class 55 ‘Deltics’. The prototype locomotive was withdrawn from traffic in 1961 and in 1963 DP1 was donated to the Science Museum. In 1993 DP1 transferred to the National Railway Museum (NRM) and it is now house at the NRM’s Locomotion site in in Shildon.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

PLEASE CONTACT:

LOCOMOTION MODELS

LOCOMOTION, Shildon,

County Durham, DL4 2RE

TEL: 01904 685785

www.locomotionmodels.com

The Bachmann Branchline model of ‘Deltic’ was released initially in 2007 and this was the first model to be commissioned by the National Railway Museum for the range now known as the National Collection in Miniature. Members of the pubic voted the model as both ‘Model of the Year’ and ‘Model of the Decade’ and several versions have been produced since the initial release.

The new models announced by Locomotion Models are set to arrive in early-Summer 2024 and are priced at £199.95 for standard versions and £299.95 with SOUND FITTED

HSDT POWER CAR GAINS COLOUR

The Bachmann Branchline model of Prototype HST Power Car No. 41001, being produced exclusively for Railway Icons took a major step forwards in late-2023 when the livery samples for this all-new model were received.

The samples have been reviewed and feedback given to the factory for production to commence ahead of the scheduled arrival of the model in Autumn 2024. Pre-orders can be placed now with Locomotion Models or Rails of Sheffield with the model priced at £199.95.

BACH ISSUES

If you have missed a copy of Bachmann Times, or would like to complete your set, then look no further as we currently have the following back issues (or Bach issues) available to purchase starting from £2.00 each. Additionally you can also find details of our Bachmann Times binders below, helping you keep your collection in perfect condition.

CCBIND - Collectors Club Branded Binder

The perfect solution to keep your Bachmann Times in pristine condition. Each holds 16 magazines £11.25

40-015Z OO Stock Boxes

Sold in a pack of five boxes, each box will hold up to 30 small wagons or 10 coaches/large locomotives - or a mix of different sized models.

£49.00 Pack of 5 (please note this item can only be delivered

£5.00 charge for orders up to the value of £120 which will be dispatched by Royal Mail. FREE for orders over the value of £120 which will be dispatched by a courier service.

£15.00 flat rate for all orders which will be dispatched by Royal Mail Airmail.

£15.00 flat rate for all orders which will be dispatched by Royal Mail Airmail.

2023/24 PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION

Entries are now being accepted for our 2023/24 Photographic Competition. Entries can be submitted until 30th September 2024.

THE SIX CATEGORIES ARE:

1. British Preserved Steam

2. Diesel or Electric Traction, which can include preserved examples, multiple units or tramcars

3. Overseas Railways

4. Serving the Community - examples of railways serving the modern world

5. Railway infrastructure or Architecture

6. A model layout showing Bachmann products or a train of Bachmann parentage

THE PRIZES

Each winner from the six sections will receive a voucher for £50 to be spent on Bachmann products. The overall winner will receive a £100 voucher. In addition, winning entries and a selection of runners up will feature in a future edition of the Bachmann Collectors Club Annual Calendar!

PLEASE SEND TO:

POST: Photographic Competition, Bachmann Collectors Club, PO Box 7820, Barwell, Leicestershire, LE9 8WZ. Postal entries can be sent as prints or as JPEGs on a CD/USB drive. Please ensure they are marked with your name, address and membership number on either the rear of the print or on the CD. We regret that entries cannot be returned.

EMAIL: collectorsclub@bachmann-europe.co.uk but please ensure that the attachments are JPEGs and that the entry includes your name and membership number. We will acknowledge receipt of entry.

Please include brief details of the subject and location shown in the photograph, along with the date that it was taken.

CONDITIONS OF ENTRY

The photographs for this competition can be in colour or black and white and should be taken between the 1st October 2023 and 30th September 2024. By entering this competition, you consent to your photographs being used by Bachmann Europe Plc. The competition is open to all amateur photographers (who do not make the greater part of their living out of photography). Please note that only one entry per section is permitted from each member.

The closing date for entries is 30th September 2024. Winners will be announced in the

The British Preserved Steam winner in our 2022/23 competition

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