Roadrailer

[Darius43]

When first tried out on the layout the trailers were a bit jittery so I added tyre weights - sprayed black so as to be less obtrusive.

 

 

 

Running on the layout last weekend.

 

Cheers

 

Darius

[Darius43]

Earlier post photos restored.

 

Cheers

 

Darius

[Darius43]

Some more trailers added to the rake.  Built examples obtained from eBay refurbished and repainted.

 

 

 

Cheers

 

Darius

[kipford]

Darius

They look lovely, I have always had a soft spot for them. I scratch built these 'modern' versions about 20 years ago based on an article in Model Rail. The bogies are modified Cambrian, with plastic boxes using printed sides at the time done on Coral Draw. They have a lot of lead inside the boxes!

[Darius43]

Smor.

 

 

 

 

Already built examples from eBay. Repaired, tidied up and fitted with metal wheels.

 

Cheers

 

Darius

[Darius43]

Three more original bagged kits to build.

 

 

Plus this pre-built example, which is going to need some TLC to bring up to scratch.

 

 

 

 

And two of these…

 

 

Cheers

 

Darius

[Michael Hodgson]

3 hours ago, Darius43 said:

Smor.

 

 

 

 

Already built examples from eBay. Repaired, tidied up and fitted with metal wheels.

 

Cheers

 

Darius

These things are OK on a roundy roundy layout and the traffic can appear to go both directions if you've got reversing loops, but if not, what do you do with these sets when they've arrived at destination.  You can't exactly run round to take them back as "empty" or even shunt them.

[John Isherwood]

58 minutes ago, Michael Hodgson said:

These things are OK on a roundy roundy layout and the traffic can appear to go both directions if you've got reversing loops, but if not, what do you do with these sets when they've arrived at destination.  You can't exactly run round to take them back as "empty" or even shunt them.

 

You don't need to - the whole point of the exercise was that the individual vans converted to road mode, and headed off to their road destination.

 

On returning, they were marshalled into a train in road mode, and then switched over to rail mode. Rail mode shunting was thus zero.

 

The adapter wagon 'body' could be rotated on the bogie, in order to allow it to be used outward and return - the model reproduces this.

 

CJI.

[John Isherwood]

4 hours ago, Darius43 said:

 

 

 

 

The 'BRS roadrailer' placards - are the colours guesswork, or do you have evidence of the actual colours?

 

I have never been able to find a colour photo.

 

John Isherwood.

[John Isherwood]

4 hours ago, Darius43 said:

 

 

I understand that this tractor was developed primarily for the military, for use with missile launching trailers.

 

Most Roadrailer photos show far more mundane BRS tractors in use.

 

CJI.

[Darius43]

4 hours ago, cctransuk said:

 

The 'BRS roadrailer' placards - are the colours guesswork, or do you have evidence of the actual colours?

 

I have never been able to find a colour photo.

 

John Isherwood.

Likewise I have only seen b&w images of the BRS placards. The ones I have modelled are based on 3D renderings on a 2018 Roadrailer thread on RMWeb so I suppose they are based on someone else’s guess.

 

I’ve found the thread but all the photos are gone - lost in the big server glitch.

 

The large BRS rake is a “what if” - the placard colours looked pleasing to my mind so I duplicated them.  If a colour photo turns up in the meantime showing something different I can always make and apply new decals.  
 

Alternatively the rake could be finished in monochrome…

Cheers

 

Darius

Edited April 27, 2023 by Darius43

[Darius43]

1 hour ago, cctransuk said:

 

I understand that this tractor was developed primarily for the military, for use with missile launching trailers.

 

Most Roadrailer photos show far more mundane BRS tractors in use.

 

CJI.

Base Toys to the rescue 😀

 

 

 

The Scalecraft AEC Mandator kit tractors came already assembled with the box trailers.  Should be fun to paint and detail them.

 

Cheers

 

Darius

Edited April 27, 2023 by Darius43

[Michael Hodgson]

1 hour ago, cctransuk said:

 

You don't need to - the whole point of the exercise was that the individual vans converted to road mode, and headed off to their road destination.

 

On returning, they were marshalled into a train in road mode, and then switched over to rail mode. Rail mode shunting was thus zero.

 

The adapter wagon 'body' could be rotated on the bogie, in order to allow it to be used outward and return - the model reproduces this.

 

CJI.

Indeed, but you can't do that on a layout without a great deal of "hand of god"

[Darius43]

2 minutes ago, Michael Hodgson said:

Indeed, but you can't do that on a layout without a great deal of "hand of god"

There’s always the Minic Motorway Roadrailer…
 

Cheers

 

Darius

[Michael Hodgson]

1 hour ago, Darius43 said:

There’s always the Minic Motorway Roadrailer…
 

Cheers

 

Darius

 

I've never seen one - that's the first time I'd heard of them.  I suppose they must be even scarcer than the Scalecraft kits.

Surprising that two firms decided to model such an obscure prototype

 

The photos with the placards do all seem to be B/W, but this photo copied from an earlier thread does give a colour livery though.  Looks like the word "roadrailer" in red letters spaced one letter between each of the ribs except the first & last.  Roof also looks black or dark grey rather than the silver of the sides, but possibly just effects of weather/steam railway?

 

I'm curious about the four little round red/white spots you have towards to the bottom of the sides of your vans - what are they - reflectors?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Fat Controller]

What's the red tractor unit? Seddon? Bristol?i 

[Darius43]

39 minutes ago, Michael Hodgson said:

 

I'm curious about the four little round red/white spots you have towards to the bottom of the sides of your vans - what are they - reflectors?

 

They appear to be reflectors in the photos that I have seen and in this short Pathe film

 

Cheers

 

Darius

[Darius43]

5 minutes ago, Fat Controller said:

What's the red tractor unit? Seddon? Bristol?i 

It’s a Bristol HA.

 

Cheers

 

Darius

[John Isherwood]

4 hours ago, Darius43 said:

They appear to be reflectors in the photos that I have seen and in this short Pathe film

 

Cheers

 

Darius

 

Those of us of a certain age will recall these - a (usually white) plastic disc with raised and lipped edges, which retained moulded plastic 'reflectors' that resembled giant Rowntree's Fruit Gums!

 

They came in various sizes from small - as fixed to your rear bike mudguard - to large - as used on road trailers.

 

Trailers often carried red rear triangles, into which were embedded red 'fruit gums', and many of the old style road signs had even larger red triangles above them, which also contained red 'fruit gums'.

 

Naughty boys were even known to try and 'pinch' these 'fruit gums' by prising them out with their ubiquitous penknife - you know, the one with a thing-for-getting-stones-out-of-horses'-hooves!

 

CJI.

[Enterprisingwestern]

8 hours ago, Darius43 said:

There’s always the Minic Motorway Roadrailer…
 

Cheers

 

Darius

 

You could always move on to something a tad more interesting!;

 

 

Mike.

[BernardTPM]

18 hours ago, Michael Hodgson said:

I've never seen one - that's the first time I'd heard of them.  I suppose they must be even scarcer than the Scalecraft kits.

Surprising that two firms decided to model such an obscure prototype

Shown here. They were also in some of the 1960s Triang Hornby Minic catalogies.

 

To some degree it was 'the next big thing' that never made it, overtaken by the modern Liner train and then ISO containers.

Edited April 28, 2023 by BernardTPM

[DaveF]

The photo in one of the posts above of the Roadrailer train is one of Dad's, I'm happy for it to be here.

 

I've put a full copy below together with the best enlargement I can of the train taken from the original scan.

I can confirm that the writing on the side does say "ROADRAILER", just as Michael Hodgson said a few posts back.

Looking at my scan it is clear that the roofs show a range of "shades of grey", presumably weathering.

 

I was there when Dad took the photo, I was 13 and Dad, Mum and I had gone out for the day for a picnic and ended up as usual watching trains.  The Roadrailer surprised us as we had no idea it was running - I think it only ever did test runs.  Hence I remember the lettering.  Somewhere I've also seen a broadside photo of the lettering as in the photo below.  I wonder if it was in the BRM article about them?

 

It looks as though the 20th one (or thereabouts) back has a sign of some sort on it.

 

 Corby Glen Brush Type 4 up Roadrailers April 63 J039

 

The best enlargement I can do.

 

David

[Darius43]

Had a rummage and found a few more that I must have obtained over the years…

 

 

Cheers

 

Darius

[John Isherwood]

11 hours ago, DaveF said:

The photo in one of the posts above of the Roadrailer train is one of Dad's, I'm happy for it to be here.

 

I've put a full copy below together with the best enlargement I can of the train taken from the original scan.

I can confirm that the writing on the side does say "ROADRAILER", just as Michael Hodgson said a few posts back.

Looking at my scan it is clear that the roofs show a range of "shades of grey", presumably weathering.

 

I was there when Dad took the photo, I was 13 and Dad, Mum and I had gone out for the day for a picnic and ended up as usual watching trains.  The Roadrailer surprised us as we had no idea it was running - I think it only ever did test runs.  Hence I remember the lettering.  Somewhere I've also seen a broadside photo of the lettering as in the photo below.  I wonder if it was in the BRM article about them?

 

It looks as though the 20th one (or thereabouts) back has a sign of some sort on it.

 

 Corby Glen Brush Type 4 up Roadrailers April 63 J039

 

The best enlargement I can do.

 

David

 

Only the first two prototype vans had the placards on the sides; 'roadrailer' at first, then the 'BRS Roadrailer' shown in a post above.

 

All of these various markings, and many more, are contained on my transfer sheet BL20 - including the 'fruit gum' reflectors.

 

John Isherwood,

Cambridge Custom Transfers.

[Darius43]

I made the fruit gum reflectors using white and red enamel paint applied with the trimmed end of a cocktail stick. A small dab of white paint was applied first - it stays contained in the raised reflector moulding of the Scalecraft kit.  Once dry a coat of Klear is applied followed a dab of red paint over the white.  Simples.

 

I made the BRS placard decals using Windows Paint at super large size and then reduced them in size (to avoid pixellation) to print onto white decal paper.

 

Cheers

 

Darius