Hi All,

I have not been playing trains for what seems ages, as I have been up to other stuff ..... I'll let you know what in another thread 

As part of a buying spree though, I am after a 5 car rake of BR Maroon Hawksworth coaches. They do however seem to be quite hard to find

I have a full brake for the back end



And this brake second corridor for the front end ......



I am just looking for 3 coaches to go in the middle 

I have tracked one of these 2nd class corridors down .....



Does anyone have any suggestions for 2 more to make up the rake of 5 please. I am guessing one more of these, and a first class ?

All best wishes

Kevin

Rightly or wrongly I have:-

374-512 x 2
374-537 x 1
374-562 x 1
374-585 x 1
374-586 x 1

All maroon except 374-585 which is crimson & cream

Thanks Mick,

That confirms what I thought I needed, and what I have managed to find 

All best wishes

Kevin

I would suggest another second and brake composite. A short train like this would not usually need a first coach nor a full brake, so the latter would likely be for van traffic and would be detached from the rake at some point. The formation would thus be BCK/SK/SK/BCK with the full brake marshalled at one or other end to allow easy removal.

Other than for express trains the steam-era WR often mixed and matched coaches from different periods, so you could use a Dapol Collett coach or two instead of Hawksworths - but be aware that Farish and Dapol versions of BR liveries use different shades that look odd mixed together.

Alternatively you could mix in a Mk1, but these weren't common on WR secondary services until well into the 60s.   

Hi Longbow,

Many thanks for that info, it was really helpful 

As the coaches are not available any more some (particularly brake composites) are impossible to find, so I think this would work ......

BSK / SK / SK / CK / BSK and as you suggest the full brake (which I already have) at the end for easy removal.

I'll get them ordered up after breakfast 

All best wishes

Kevin

That looks a reasonable rake.

Not always, but BCKs tended to be used as through coaches where a train was split or joined for different destinations en route, eg ACE.

Martyn

Hi Martyn,

Many thanks for that  and thanks again longbow for the suggestion of the formation 

As a model maker coming into the hobby, rather than a railway person I do struggle with knowing what fits with what, and the sort of loco that should be pulling it 

It's always nice to get confirmation that I am buying the right stuff, especially with some coaches at nearly £40 a pop 

All best  wishes

Kevin

The CK would be my choice, sandwiched between BSK and SK pairs either side.

Outside of the main expresses, the CK was probably the most common form of providing first class seating - more so than you normally see modelled.


Steven B

Yes, go for the rake as suggested by Steven B, especially as Farish didn't do a Hawksworth BCK!!!!

Indeed - my mistake. So Stevie B's suggestion provides the necessary smidge of first class accommodation. 

 

Cheers guys,

Thank you all for your help 

All best wishes

Kevin

Quote from: Phoenix on December 03, 2021, 04:31:14 PM
Hi All,

I have not been playing trains for what seems ages, as I have been up to other stuff ..... I'll let you know what in another thread 

As part of a buying spree though, I am after a 5 car rake of BR Maroon Hawksworth coaches. They do however seem to be quite hard to find

I have a full brake for the back end



And this brake second corridor for the front end ......



I am just looking for 3 coaches to go in the middle 

I have tracked one of these 2nd class corridors down .....



Does anyone have any suggestions for 2 more to make up the rake of 5 please. I am guessing one more of these, and a first class ?

All best wishes

Kevin

You might find some of the information in this post helpful:

https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=29863.msg337111#msg337111

I bought the BachFar 4 blood & custard models for a good price, then purchased 2 maroon Dapol Colletts to make up the basic 5-coach formation described, retaining the BG for milk train use.  Perhaps not too Rule 1ish for the late Fifties. 

Hi Longbow,

A few points about parts of your post are interesting me, don't know if you can please direct me to any links about WR Parcels Trains in the late Fifties, in particular Paddington - Carmarthen route(s) where I suspect some practices may've still  been pre-nationalisation ones the further west one travelled.   

Quote from: longbow on December 04, 2021, 07:20:42 AM

A short train like this would not usually need a first coach nor a full brake, so the latter would likely be for van traffic and would be detached from the rake at some point.

My blood & custard BG had no legends applied to it, I was rather surprised to see the maroon one endorsed "Parcels Train Brake Van" a few months ago.  This made me wonder if there were specific parcels trains to/from Paddington (my particular interest is in the Carmarthen area), and if so what types of vehicles might be used. 

Quote from: longbow on December 04, 2021, 07:20:42 AM

...  you could use a Dapol Collett coach or two instead of Hawksworths - but be aware that Farish and Dapol versions of BR liveries use different shades that look odd mixed together.

Maroon's not really my period, but having acquired a pair of maroon BachFar GUV's on eBay I compared them my maroon Dapol Colletts, there doesn't seem to be anywhere as much colour difference as there is between the blood & custard liveried BachFar and Dapol coaches.  Of course I don't have any maroon Hawksworths to know for certain. 

Quote from: longbow on December 04, 2021, 07:20:42 AM

Alternatively you could mix in a Mk1, but these weren't common on WR secondary services until well into the 60s.   

I have a vague recollection that the GW corridor connectors needed an adaptor to fit the BR ones, so adding a Mk1 would need careful consideration - presumably one end of the train. 

Slightly off-topic perhaps, but hopefully this will be of some interest to @Phoenix

You can find carriage working notices on the web that will give you train formations, such as the 1953 12.45am Paddington-Carmarthen newspapers (4 siphon Gs, 4 brake vans, 2 vans, and 6 coaches) but these don't cover non-passenger workings.

@ten0G

Correct re the gangway adaptors.

The GWR and LMS used one version (British Standard, I think), the LNER, SR and BR another (British Pullman).

If GWR/LMS coaches were mixed with LNER/SR/BRmk1s then an adaptor had to be provided, unless one of the coaches was built with different gangways at each end as an 'adaptor' vehicle.

I note the OP's request for a five car train is now hovering at seven, bearing in mind he already has a BG 

Martyn