NB only One coach of the 6 coach Set
The first order for these coaches was placed in 1915 but due to the First World War they were not built until 1920. The second batch was completed in 1921. Six sets of coaches were produced with a set comprising six coaches. The coaches were close coupled and constructed with a steel body rather than the traditional wooden paneling. Due to the restrictive loading gauge of the London underground tunnels the carriages are 7 inches lower than other contemporary carriages of the time. This enabled them to travel directly to Aldgate and Liverpool Street, on the Metropolitan Underground system.
The coaches were originally used for commuter traffic from the likes of Reading and Windsor into the City of London. At the start of World War 2 this service was curtailed. However, after the Second World War and into BR days the coaches could be found on services much further afield.
The coaches started to be removed from revenue earning service in December 1956 and all had been removed by December 1957. There was only one significant change made to the design during the lifetime of the coaches which was the removal of one roof ventilator from each compartment.
1n 1958 two brake third coaches and one all third coach were converted into workmen's coaches for the miners service between Glyncorrwg and North Rhondda Halt, this was a former branch line of the South Wales Mineral Railway. The main changes were the addition of an extra window in the end of the guards luggage area and a fitting of a gong to the same end of the coach. This makes coaches 3755, 3756 and 3910 the last three coaches in service. 3755 is fully preserved at Didcot Railway Centre with 3756 being partially restored.
Dapol will be producing an all third, composite and brake third coaches which are the perfect companion to the Dapol 61xx Prairie 2-6-2 just released.
The Dapol OO Gauge GWR Toplight Mainline City coaches will have the following features and details:
- Highly accurate injection moulded body with bolection window mouldings and frosted Toplight windows
- Separate metal door and commode handles
- Wire end hand rails and separately applied end communication details
- Correct number of roof ventilators depending on the prototypical period being modelled
- Highly detailed chassis with vacuum tanks, battery boxes and brake linkages all to a high degree of fidelity
- 9ft bogie bolster with dicast side frames and split axles for electrical pick up
- Highly detailed interior with period specific decorations being applied'
As well as an impressive selection of aesthetic details the coaches will have an impressive technical specification which includes the following features:
The Dapol OO Gauge GWR Toplight Mainline City coaches will have the following features and details:
- Kinematic couplings with NEM pockets including special coupling bar to give close coupling
- Coaches are capable of negotiating R2 radius curves
- Sprung metal buffers
- Internal lighting and directional tail lamp. Can be optionally DCC fitted with a six pin decoder such as the Dapol Imperium Four
- Working directional tail lamp on the Guard end of the brake third carriages
- Heavy Diecast chassis
The luggage compartment end of the All Third Brake coach can be seen to the right which is fitted with a directionally operated lamp – this lamp is not removable.
The roof ventilators have been exquisitely modelled and are all fitted separately to the roof. The roof included on the EP models is that of the earliest livery. Later liveries will have one less ventilator on each coach compartment.
The Roof unclips easily to give access to the highly detailed interior. First Class compartments can be seen in the image below. The seating in Third Class compartments did not have armrests. This allowed for more passengers to be accommodated in each compartment.
You can also see a small plug sticking up through one of the luggage racks, this is to provide electrical pick up to the lighting PCB (not currently fitted).
The detail continues as you work your way down the body sides of the coaches. The commode handles are made from individually formed pieces of wire that are fitted to the model. The door handles are made from etched brass and the prototypical “T” shape can be clearly seen in the photograph below. The windows either side of the door have bolection beadings moulded into the body sides. The toplight windows are yet to receive their frosting effect, the remaining windows need polishing.
The under frame of the diecast chassis is not left wanting for detail either with braking apparatus, including the vacuum tanks, battery boxes and more on show. Some of the brake rigging is yet to be fitted to the underside and will be visible in decorated samples when they arrive.
The rivet detail is still to be added to the 9ft bogies but you can already get a feel for how much detail is going to be on show. The side frames are diecast to provide electrical connectivity from the wheels to the wiring housed inside the coach body for the factory fitted lighting.
