British Rail Eras

Started by AlanUS, September 10, 2018, 06:58:41 PM

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AlanUS

Hello,

I'm curious to know if there is a commonly accepted definition for eras used by model train manufacturers in the UK. I have noted up to 11 eras both on Hornby and Hattons websites, but they are not fully consistent, though very close one to each other. Hornby has decided that there should be some overlap between eras, whereas Hattons has set up very contiguous eras.

For continental Europe, the MOROP/NEM have standardised Epochs, to the number of 6 (from I to IV). Because Europe is a collection of countries, these Epochs vary from one country to the other with regards to the boundaries, but this is overall consistent.

North America has not standardised anything, so some have tried to fill the gap and propose a classification. Note that absolutely no model in North America ever refer to any Era or Epoch.

:-\ This is getting awfully complicated to cope with, but I would appreciate your enlightenment on the subject.

Cheers,

N scale - CN, CP, BN, BNSF.
DCC - Uhlenbrock Intellibox IR / II - JMRI - Sprog - ESU LokProgrammer

MJKERR

#1
Not really, as there were long periods of overlap and in some cases liveries from one era were still present three or even four eras later

Most instead are known by their livery

Blue / Grey (1960s to 1980s)
Inter-City (1970s to 1990s) / Provincial (1980s to 1990s) / LSE (1980s to 1990s)
Sectorisation (1980s to 1990s)
Privitisation (1990s onwards)

Just to confuse it further there were also changes to some of the liveries during those periods
An obvious one is Inter-City, which started with the APT, revised for loco-hauled services, revised again for Sectorisation, revised further when the IC225 project launched

dannyboy

Just 'lifted' the following from a website -

Era 1: 1804 – 1875 Pioneering
Era 2: 1875 – 1922 Pre-Grouping
Era 3: 1923 – 1947 The Big Four – LMS, GWR, LNER and SR
Era 4: 1948 – 1956 British Railways Early Crest
Era 5: 1957 – 1966 British Railways Late Crest
Era 6: 1967 – 1971 British Rail Blue Pre TOPS
Era7: 1971 – 1982 British Rail Blue TOPS
Era 8: 1982 – 1994 British Rail Sectorisation
Era 9: 1995 onwards Post Privatisation
David.
I used to be indecisive - now I'm not - I don't think.
If a friend seems distant, catch up with them.

AlanUS

Quote from: dannyboy on September 10, 2018, 07:13:26 PM
Just 'lifted' the following from a website

Could you share the reference?
N scale - CN, CP, BN, BNSF.
DCC - Uhlenbrock Intellibox IR / II - JMRI - Sprog - ESU LokProgrammer

AlanUS

This is what Hornby is saying about it (11 eras):

Era     Description    Date Range    Example
1    Pioneering    1804-1869    Stephenson's 'Rocket'
2    Pre-Grouping    1870-1922    Peckett W4
3    Grouping    1923-1947    Wainwright H Class
4    Early British Railways    1948-1956    Gresley B17
5    Late British Railways    1956-1968    Standard 4MT
6    British Rail Pre-TOPS    1957-1971    Class 71
7    British Rail TOPS    1971-1986    Class 87
8    BR Sectorisation    1982-1997    Class 50
9    Privatisation    1996-2008    Class 67
10    Network Franchising    2006-2017    Class 60
11    Present Day    2014 on    Hitachi IEP

so two additional eras compared to your list for the most recent ones.
N scale - CN, CP, BN, BNSF.
DCC - Uhlenbrock Intellibox IR / II - JMRI - Sprog - ESU LokProgrammer

NeMo

Quote from: AlanUS on September 10, 2018, 06:58:41 PM
This is getting awfully complicated to cope with, but I would appreciate your enlightenment on the subject.

Others have outlined the basic idea. But it is important to note that these are very broad generalisations.

Take for example "4", the Grouping Era when Britain's railways were largely subsumed into four big companies. One of them, the LMS, has two very distinct phases: the pre-Stanier period of almost entirely small engines of often very varied design, and the Stanier period where there was much more standardisation and more big engines. So if you were doing the LMS in the 1920s, you'd be using 0-6-0 and 4-4-0 locomotives even for heavy freights and express passenger services (double-heading such trains being very common at the time). But once you get to Stanier and his successors, the Swindon imprint becomes very marked, with 4-6-0s, 2-8-0s, and 4-6-2s hauling the heavier freight and passenger trains.

There's also overlap between eras. For the first few years of the TOPS era (era "7") you'd mostly have blue locomotives with 7-digit numbers, but you'd also have some green stuff hanging about, in some cases with full yellow ends and TOPS numbers added to their green livery! (One famous example was 40 106, which remained in green until it was withdrawn during the mid 1980s.) There were also the Western Region diesel-hydraulics that lasted until early 1977, none of which ever carried TOPS numbers in service, so even though they were in blue, they had their original, pre-TOPS numbers until withdrawal.

The Bachman modelling Eras are really useful for casual shoppers. They help people buy you gifts, for example, simply by asking you what era you model, and with luck, you'll get something under the Christmas tree that more or less suits your layout. They're also really good for people starting out in the hobby, especially youngsters. But nothing really beats doing a bit of research yourself, and buying stuff that you know ran at a certain time in a certain place.

Cheers, NeMo
(Former NGS Journal Editor)

Newportnobby

#6
Quote from: dannyboy on September 10, 2018, 07:13:26 PM
Just 'lifted' the following from a website -

Era 1: 1804 – 1875 Pioneering
Era 2: 1875 – 1922 Pre-Grouping
Era 3: 1923 – 1947 The Big Four – LMS, GWR, LNER and SR
Era 4: 1948 – 1956 British Railways Early Crest
Era 5: 1957 – 1966 British Railways Late Crest
Era 6: 1967 – 1971 British Rail Blue Pre TOPS
Era7: 1971 – 1982 British Rail Blue TOPS
Era 8: 1982 – 1994 British Rail Sectorisation
Era 9: 1995 onwards Post Privatisation

Quote from: AlanUS on September 10, 2018, 07:51:11 PM
Quote from: dannyboy on September 10, 2018, 07:13:26 PM
Just 'lifted' the following from a website

Could you share the reference?

I believe Dannyboy has taken these from a Farish website which also carries the following caveat:-

1   1804 - 1875 Pioneering
2   1876 - 1922 Pre-Grouping
3   1923 - 1947 The Big four - LMS, GWR, LNER and SR
4   1948 - 1956 British Railways Early Emblem
5   1957 - 1966 British Railways Late Crest
6   1967 - 1971 British Railways Blue Pre Tops
7   1972 - 1982 British Railways Blue Tops era
8   1982 - 1994 British Railways Sectorisation
9   1995 onwards - Post Privatisation


Bachmann provide era information merely as a guide for those people who may be new to the hobby and wish to purchase models from a similar period in time. It should not dissuade anyone from purchasing and enjoying any item that they simply find attractive or interesting.

In reality, many items of rolling stock remained painted in the liveries from previous era's for the duration of the following era. Those wishing to obtain more detailed information on specific running periods should consult either their local stockist or contact one of the many model railway clubs in your area listed under events and clubs.In reality, many items of rolling stock remained painted in the liveries from previous era's for the duration of the following era. Those wishing to obtain more detailed information on specific running periods should consult either their local stockist or contact one of the many model railway clubs in your area listed under events and clubs.


As I model UK in the 1950s and 1960s I tend to use the Farish era references a lot

dannyboy

@AlanUS  @NeMo   @Newportnobby

This is the site I 'lifted' from -

https://buyhornbytrainsets.com/british-railway-eras

(I have no idea how accurate it is though as it is not something I have really looked at before).
David.
I used to be indecisive - now I'm not - I don't think.
If a friend seems distant, catch up with them.

Skyline2uk

Just to add to the debate, the previously listed 9 Farish Era stop at "Era 9, 1995 onwards Post Privitisation"...

But there are people who can easily point out 3 more Era since then, making the current one 12. For myself (mainly Era 8 and "early" 9), I tend to think as follows:

Era 9; Initial privatisation / Railtrack (Remaining "pseudo private" liveries of Mainline, Transrail and Loadhaul, plus EW&S / EWS)

Era 10; Privatisation post Railtrack (EWS, Network Rail yellow).

Era 11; EWS becomes DB Schenker (DB Red)

Era 12; DB Schenker becomes DB Cargo UK.

Now I am not knowledgable enough to know the dates for this and no doubt there are huge overlaps and many many liveries in and between these 3 Era, but I think it's rougly correct.

All to modern for Triple Grey / NSE me anyway!

Skyline2uk

AlanUS

 :thumbsup: Thank you to all responders. This is my express lesson to catch-up with history of British Railways. Very interesting.
N scale - CN, CP, BN, BNSF.
DCC - Uhlenbrock Intellibox IR / II - JMRI - Sprog - ESU LokProgrammer

Ted

If you check my signature link you'll see I've been buying books to help understand. Noteably, "Train formations" and "Wagon loads" both help understand the era and crossover.

English Electric and Sulzar Power special editions help even further, with very detailed info on each class and loco. What, when, where and withdraw. Suprsingly interesting, especially to a novice like me.
Just call me Ted, or Edward... or Ed.

Just not Eddie.

Layout & Updates > Midlands Coal & Freight, Late 1980's


Bealman

Those two magbooks (or whatever they're called) are great. I did a recent review on the book review board.  :thumbsup:
Vision over visibility. Bono, U2.

AlanUS

Quote from: Ted on September 11, 2018, 08:27:34 AM"Train formations" and "Wagon loads" both help understand the era and crossover.
English Electric and Sulzar Power special editions help even further, with very detailed info on each class and loco.

:thankyousign: Thanks for the tip.

Quote from: Ted on September 11, 2018, 08:27:34 AMSurprisingly interesting, especially to a novice like me.
8) Hum, reading your post, you don't look like a novice or a very methodic and fast learning one.
N scale - CN, CP, BN, BNSF.
DCC - Uhlenbrock Intellibox IR / II - JMRI - Sprog - ESU LokProgrammer

Ted

Quote from: AlanUS on September 11, 2018, 08:13:49 PM
Quote from: Ted on September 11, 2018, 08:27:34 AM"Train formations" and "Wagon loads" both help understand the era and crossover.
English Electric and Sulzar Power special editions help even further, with very detailed info on each class and loco.

:thankyousign: Thanks for the tip.

Quote from: Ted on September 11, 2018, 08:27:34 AMSurprisingly interesting, especially to a novice like me.
8) Hum, reading your post, you don't look like a novice or a very methodic and fast learning one.

I'm a hoover, I enjoy reading and will literally trawl through information for hours on end until I understand aka obsessive, hence buying a dozen books in the past week... with more on the way!  :-[

This is the formations book/mag, it's really handy for getting your train and loads right for the eras - https://www.classicmagazines.co.uk/product/5542/bookazine-rail-express-train-formations-handbook
Just call me Ted, or Edward... or Ed.

Just not Eddie.

Layout & Updates > Midlands Coal & Freight, Late 1980's



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