Bachmann 12T SR Vans
Typical Southern Railway vans had a vari-curve roof (inherited from the SE&CR)
which had tight curves at the edges but were flatter on top. The design later proved to be
problematical due to 'racking' which caused the roof boards to move, resulting in leakage.
The vans were the second most numerous wagon on the Southern Railway, replacing
tarpaulined open wagons, and were made in several batches with variations. 48467 (38-070D)
is typical of an early design and is in Southern Railway dark brown.
One very obvious style change, dating from late 1938, was the 2+2
planking. This consisted of two narrow planks followed by two wide ones, then two narrow,
and so on. Before the war, 1,800 were built with this design feature but more were built
in a simplified form after hostilities.
At least 67 vans went new to the War
Department and more followed. Most ended up on various military railways after the war and
some remained abroad. During the war over 1000 were ordered by the Railway Executive
Committee for use on the LMS and GWR. Our other two models, illustrated here, represent
this style. 144293 (38-083) is still in GWR dark grey while ex-LMS example M523351
(38-081B) has joined the British Railways fleet and been repainted in BR grey.
Model Railway Express
Run by model railway enthusiasts, Modelfair
is an online shop specialising in new, pre-owned and collectable model railways. http://www.modelfair.com for friendly and
reliable service.
For Hornby and spares for Hornby,
Electrotren, Lima (HO), Jouef and Rivarossi visit www.hornbyspares.co.uk
You too could advertise here. E-mail us
at Pat@mremag.com for details