Other departmental trains

[Intercity]

I did a quick search for some types of departmental trains, more specifically rerailing  trains and electrification trains (RTC test trains are easier to find and figure out, plus there seems to be more RTR coaches for those).

My days on the WCML I recall one of these trains stationed at Bletchley, it would reside on a siding at the north end of the station between the fast and slow lines, I think it was the electrification train but don't recall what coaches they used, it was a dirty brown/rust color.

I vaguely remember the yellow rerailing  equipment but it obviously moved around the system a fair bit, again the types of coaches eludes me, I did see the excellent 75t crane thread, did the rerailing  train always have one or similar? Are the Farish RTR coaches correct for one of these trains.

So my question is what is needed to recreate these trains? I know kitbashing will probably be necessary

Thanks for any help, trying to get the bits together to have one either ready to go on the layout or working in an engineers possession as they string up the knitting, era would be mid 90s.

[AndyRA]

I modified some stock to create my Wiring Train. The coaches were some old Farish Suburban coaches, I filled in  most of the windows, and cut the ends down to make a flat roof, made of some corrugated plasticard. The wagons with the cable drums were some surplus Minitrix Mark 1 underframes (surplus after motorising some EMU kits) which I filed down and added a decking of plasticard. The cable drums were from some trackside kits and bits mounted on some leftover building kit brackets. The QM Brakes were added as an afterthought as I had them lying around doing nothing.


Andy

[crewearpley40]

drab olive green / black paint

very 70s / 80s feel to it


would any of this be of help :


http://www.hattons.co.uk/59365/Graham_Farish_374_888_50ft_Ex_LMS_PIII_BG_Van_in_BR_Departmental_black_Electrification_livery/StockDetail.aspx?utm_source=ehattons.com&utm_medium=redirect&utm_campaign=ehattonsredirect  ?


http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/overheadmaintenance/h3bbf450d#h3bbf450d

http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/overheadmaintenance

[AndyRA]

I made up a Breakdown Train using a couple of old Mark 1 coaches, one Minitrix and one Farish, adding some Brass sides to them which had come from Worsley Works. I had also acquired a Roco crane, originally black but repainted into yellow. There were also a couple of Dapol Yellow four wheel vans.







Andy

[crewearpley40]

loving memories of those misspent youth on the Wcml with blue / grey, bakerloo line stock

thank you for the pics andy


vivid memories

[NeMo]

So my question is what is needed to recreate these trains? I know kitbashing will probably be necessary

One train that might interest you would be the 97/7 battery locomotives. Formerly Class 501s they were converted into very strange-looking things with cut-down roofs that (I believe) allowed engineers to inspect and repair overhead wires when the power was switched off. At each end were black and yellow wasp stripes, which was rather unusual for a locomotive.

I used to see them moderately often during the 1980s, usually parked somewhere at a London depot somewhere. I remember them in BR blue, but I gather they lasted into NSE days. The current 'Modern Locomotives Illustrated' magazine (issue 231) has some nice photos and information about them.

Cheers, NeMo

[crewearpley40]

if memory serves

97701–97710
These battery locomotives were converted from the driving motor cars from former Class 501 electric multiple units. They were powered by large batteries, and were based at Birkenhead North TMD and were employed around Birkenhead on the Merseyrail system (97701-702)
or around North London 703 - 710 hornsey / cricklewood , none survived.

[70000]

A couple of photos I took of them in April 1983 - I think they were at Hornsey......

[crewearpley40]

it is hornsey

In the 1970s the site was extensively rebuilt; part of the Ferme Park sidings south of the shed were cleared, and a new Electric multiple unit depot constructed as the work was done as part of the Great Northern electrification; a new maintenance shed was constructed with six roads, each capable of holding an eight car train. At the same time the old loco shed was converted to use as an Overhead Line (OHL) maintenance depot, stabling an OHL repair train

[PaulCheffus]

Hi

Keir Hardy has a pair on his layout Hornsey Broadway.
http://www.emgauge70s.co.uk/model_omwb145.html

Cheers

Paul

[Steven B]

My days on the WCML I recall one of these trains stationed at Bletchley, it would reside on a siding at the north end of the station between the fast and slow lines, I think it was the electrification train but don't recall what coaches they used, it was a dirty brown/rust color.

The train you saw was probably one of those converted from Mk1s in the late 1970s. The train consisted of 8 Mk1s; Six retained the bodies but were heavily modified: The curved roof was removed and replaced with a flat one. Corridor connections were removed. Several windows were plated over and those left has wire mesh fitted. Doors were replaced or plated over too. Up to two coaches in each set had pantographs fitted to allow OLHE to be tested prior to the power being turned on.

The remaining two coaches has their bodies completely removed and a wire-mesh deck and hand-rails fitted. They were used as cable drum carriers - one at each end.

There were several other electrification trains; These usually used LMS P3 coaches. Again, often modified with a flat roof. Some others (such as the Farish model) were basically unmodified and used for stores.

By the mid 1990s many of these trains were left rusting in sidings, seeing little use. By this period road-rail vehicles were becoming more popular for the work as getting them to and from work sites was easier as paths between service trains didn't need to be found.

Appart from the Farish RTR model in black I think you're on a scratch-built/RTR bashing excercise - I'm part-way through a conversion myself.

I vaguely remember the yellow rerailing  equipment but it obviously moved around the system a fair bit, again the types of coaches eludes me, I did see the excellent 75t crane thread, did the rerailing  train always have one or similar? Are the Farish RTR coaches correct for one of these trains.

Re-railing trains varried from depot to depot. Some would have a single coach which contained all the tools needed for a simple re-railing job together with space for the crew. Some would have a coach and a van. Most of the biggest depots had a three coach to go with the cranes. For most jobs the crane wouldn't be needed and you'd have the two or three coaches/vans by themselves.

For a RTR traint the Farish brake-down coach and the Dapol Fish van would make a good representation. Typically one coach would be a BSK type for crew with the others being converted Mk1 or older vehicles - usually with most of the windows plated over and large access doors cut into the side; A repainted Farish TPO van wouldn't look too out of place if you didn't want to do any cutting of RTR models.

For more variation there's also the large fleet of coaches that ran out of the Railway Techinical Centre (RTC) at Derby. The RTC was home to BR's R&D department and ran a collection of Mk1, Mk2 and Mk3 vehicles in a number of different trains, testing new locos & trains and testing the track - the HST based New Measurement Train is the current pride of the former RTC fleet.

Steven B.

[Jim Martin]

There were several of the Mk1-based OHLE maintenance trains. I've given some thought to modelling the Preston train, although it's far enough down my to-do list that it'll almost certainly never happen.

I think it was the Bletchley train that received a storming livery: http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/overheadmaintenance/h321d84b2. I could have sworn that Electra did a set of vinyls for this colour scheme but I can't see it on the website, so maybe I'm mistaken.

Jim

[Steven B]

When was Preston allocated an OHLE train?

My reference books from the late 1980s list Mk1 based OHLE trains allocated to:
Bedford
Bletchley
Crewe Electric
Carlisle Upperby
Manchester Longsight (the one I'm modelling)
Rugby
Stafford
Birmingham Soho
Wigan Springs Branch
Willesden
Hornsey
Carstairs


Steven B.

[crewearpley40]

please note the following if useful :

ADB975703


https://www.flickr.com/photos/timhorn/6053241514/



http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/overheadmaintenance/h321d84b2#h321d84b2

[crewearpley40]

maybe worth checking departmentals.com

QXA ADB 975724

was it : QXA ADB 975724

https://gingespotting.smugmug.com/Departmentals/Q-TOPSCode/QXA-975724/


OR

http://www.departmentals.com/departmental/975700

in any of these

https://gingespotting.smugmug.com/Departmentals/Q-TOPSCode


worth a worthwhile project. good luck