EFE Rail - Autumn 2023 announcements inc LSWR 4-coach sets, LSWR vent van and N gauge J94

[SRman]

19 hours ago, MattR said:

 

Agreed! Insane price tag though. Makes the SECR birdcages look cheap. Maybe one day ...

 

Interestingly, I refused to buy the previous 3-car sets because of the price (a shade under £200 with VAT), whereas for an extra £37-odd (edit: nearer £42), one can get a whole extra coach for the 4-car sets. Needless to say, I have already jumped in and ordered an LSWR-liveried set from Kernow Models. In my case, less VAT but add £30 for postage. They are too nice to resist. 

 

Edited August 3, 2023 by SRman

[phil gollin]

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I have ordered my 4-carriage LSWR sets from Kernow, but I really would like a BR southern region version.

 

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[Nile]

All that's needed now is a loco to pull them. Not many current RTR locos could be turned out in LSWR livery.

[Graham_Muz]

19 minutes ago, phil gollin said:

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I have ordered my 4-carriage LSWR sets from Kernow, but I really would like a BR southern region version.

 

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The BR(s) green versions have already been released as they were three coach sets at that time. https://www.kernowmodelrailcentre.com/p/78741/E86015-EFE-Rail-LSWR-Cross-Country-Set-number-314-BR-(S)-Green

Edited August 3, 2023 by Graham_Muz

[Robin Brasher]

19 minutes ago, Nile said:

All that's needed now is a loco to pull them. Not many current RTR locos could be turned out in LSWR livery.

You can obtain a Hornby M7 and Adams Radial in LSWR livery on the second hand market. The T9s were rebuilt so the Hornby version in LSWR livery is a model as preserved. OO Works models are ready to run and they have made some locomotives in LSWR livery. 

[Pteremy]

For anyone interested in the life of the LSWR vent vans after nationalisation so far I have come across:

 

On page 53 of Larkin's Acquired Wagons Vol 4 a D1408 at Eastleigh in 1957

On page 30 of King's Southern Wagons Pictorial (plate 41) a D1408 in 1962 at Barnstaple Victoria, with fresh (1961) branding for Operating Dept use only (apparently one of 3 vans at that location since 1959)

[On page 21 of Gamble's British Railway Vans Vol 2 (plate 34) a close relative D1409 in 1951]

 

[Oldddudders]

As noted, the per-coach price of the 4-car LSWR set is actually quite competitive, but the market isn't yet used to such big numbers for unpowered models. Still, by only offering sets Bachmann/EFE is avoiding the sort of overordered-remaindering that Hornby suffered with Maunsell FOs, and has now managed again with Bulleid all-door shorty BSKs. 

 

It also has to be said that some layouts may struggle to run 4-car trains. Happily mine is not among them....

[Nile]

A question to the knowledgeable, would these coaches have ever run in shorter formations such as 2 or 3 cars?

[Oldddudders]

In Southern days probably not. Southern believed in fixed rakes, so even a defect on one vehicle generally sidelined the whole set. I can't speak for LSWR, but much of Southern's thinking was LSWR-influenced, so maybe that railway thought the same.  

[Nick C]

55 minutes ago, Nile said:

A question to the knowledgeable, would these coaches have ever run in shorter formations such as 2 or 3 cars?

I would presume that at least some of the sets were still in olive after they were reduced to 3-sets in the mid-30s. 

[SRman]

2 hours ago, Nile said:

A question to the knowledgeable, would these coaches have ever run in shorter formations such as 2 or 3 cars?

 

It's possible, but not likely other than as very short-term arrangements (say, if one coach needed repairs or maintenance).

 

However, one can always use modeller's licence: if we can run short formations representing main line trains because longer formations don't fit our layouts, why not also shortened branch or secondary line formations?

[Nile]

Perhaps some clarification is needed.

I was specifically referring to the Four Coach sets just announced by EFE rail, before they were reduced to 3 car sets.

[JohnR]

48 minutes ago, Nile said:

Perhaps some clarification is needed.

I was specifically referring to the Four Coach sets just announced by EFE rail, before they were reduced to 3 car sets.

 

While I suppose it was theoretically possible, its unlikely, as standard practice was to withdraw an entire set should there be a problem with an individual vehicle within a set. 

[phil-b259]

40 minutes ago, Nile said:

Perhaps some clarification is needed.

I was specifically referring to the Four Coach sets just announced by EFE rail, before they were reduced to 3 car sets.

 

The four car sets only ever ran as four car sets! - the Southern did not mess round with sets on a whim and maintenance schedules would have been aligned so all 4 were out of traffic at once while minor repairs would have not warranted splitting up the sets.

 

You have two choices if you can only run 3 coach trains:-

 

Invoke rule 1 and stop caring whether its right to prototype by simply removing the all 3rd coach

Remove the all 3rd coach and alter the composite coach (to have less 1st class accommodation) thereby turning it into a prototypical 3 car set as seen in the late 30s

[Wickham Green too]

3 hours ago, Nick C said:

I would presume that at least some of the sets were still in olive after they were reduced to 3-sets in the mid-30s. 

Little doubt they'd all have been in 'olive' by that time - and probably wouldn't have seen malachite green until after the war unless absolutely desperate for a repaint.

[Nile]

Thanks for the responses above.

It looks like the only source of suitable RTR LSWR locos for these is OO works, I wonder if they will consider some re-runs?

[mvrnut]

We definitely need and are crying out for a RTR model of Adams LSWR T3 locomotive. Ideal for this LSWR cross country 4. coach set.

   And would be very timely as the Swanage Railway Trust 563 Locomotive Group are almost ready to put 563  into service this Autumn.

 

Cheers

Chris

[Ian Hargrave]

9 minutes ago, mvrnut said:

We definitely need and are crying out for a RTR model of Adams LSWR T3 locomotive. Ideal for this LSWR cross country 4. coach set.

   And would be very timely as the Swanage Railway Trust 563 Locomotive Group are almost ready to put 563  into service this Autumn.

 

Cheers

Chris

Yes that would be good to have but on the back of this sudden and refreshing LSWR highlight it also emphasises the need for a retooled T9. .Dapol have shown the way forward in the development of the four coupled loco in 4mm scale without the need for traction tyres as do OO Works with both their D15 and A12.

[phil-b259]

2 hours ago, Ian Hargrave said:

Dapol have shown the way forward in the development of the four coupled loco in 4mm scale without the need for traction tyres as do OO Works with both their D15 and A12.

The D class was noticeably light on its feet with ordinary wheels fitted rather than the ones with traction tyres and the D1 is not exactly a stellar puller either.

[Mr chapman]

Does the T9 really need a retool though? I mean, it looks like a T9... I would rather a K10 or L11 for a bit of variety. 

[Ian Hargrave]

56 minutes ago, phil-b259 said:

The D class was noticeably light on its feet with ordinary wheels fitted rather than the ones with traction tyres and the D1 is not exactly a stellar puller either.

Traction tyres ??  Are we talking about OO Works Drummond D15 which doesn’t have traction tyres fitted ? To the best of my knowledge they aren’t fitted to any of their models . Neither my A12 nor D15 is anything but a competent performer.Maybe your experience is different from mine ? 

 

 

 

[Nile]

1 hour ago, Mr chapman said:

Does the T9 really need a retool though? I mean, it looks like a T9... I would rather a K10 or L11 for a bit of variety. 

 

Probably not. But if it was I would like to see the pre-super heated version produced as well.

[Wickham Green too]

1 hour ago, Mr chapman said:

Does the T9 really need a retool though? I mean, it looks like a T9... I would rather a K10 or L11 for a bit of variety. 

Yes, it looks like a superheated T9 with extended smokebox ...... a conversion that started in 1922 so barely appropriate for LSWR days.

[SRman]

Having ordered the 4-car LSWR liveried set, I realised I only have two LSWR liveried M7 tanks that could haul them. Not ideal, although they'll look "in place" with the coaches, but at that time the M7s were really suburban locomotives rather than cross-country locos. They were used a lot on Southern branches later in their lives, but I got to thinking, what other locomotive types from LSWR days would suit the coaches? Possibly the most flexible one I came up with was the H15 4-6-0. These were a bit of a minefield for any manufacturer to produce, but would suit both passenger and goods work and express speeds where required. Any takers? 🙂

[phil-b259]

8 hours ago, Ian Hargrave said:

Traction tyres ??  Are we talking about OO Works Drummond D15 which doesn’t have traction tyres fitted ? To the best of my knowledge they aren’t fitted to any of their models . Neither my A12 nor D15 is anything but a competent performer.Maybe your experience is different from mine ? 

 

 

 

No - the comment was related to the Dapol D and D1 classes done in conjunction with Rails of Sheffield.

 

IIRC the 00 works locos feature significantly more metal in their construction….