GWR Autocoaches

GWR-Kris · December 08, 2011, 12:04:23 PM

i have aquired some Dapol GWR Autocoaches, trying to find some history and information about them. I know they where used with a specially converted loco's but cant find out which ones. Also was it jsut a loco and this coach, or did the train still pull a few coaches as well.

polo2k · December 08, 2011, 12:34:17 PM

enjoy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GWR_Autocoach

"The GWR Autocoach (or auto-trailer) is a type of coach that was used by the Great Western Railway for push-pull trains powered by a steam locomotive. The distinguishing design feature of an autocoach is the driving cab at one end, allowing the driver to control the train without needing to be located in the cab of the steam locomotive. This eliminates the need to run the engine round to the other end of the coach at the end of each journey."

4x2 · December 08, 2011, 01:13:00 PM

Mostly 14xx 0-4-2, pannier tank 0-6-0 and most small prairie tanks 2-6-2. Don't know enough to tell you which individual loco's are push/pull fitted. I've got a photo somewhere of two auto coaches sandwiching a 14xx. apparently common on busier branches.

Hope this helps !

GWR-Kris · December 08, 2011, 01:32:38 PM

cheers guys. so if im correct you can have one infront and one at the rear of a loco. thats cool.

EtchedPixels · December 08, 2011, 01:37:48 PM

Yes.. there were also some coaches fitted for through connecting of the control rods and wires so if you look around some formations went up to four vehicles with a loco in the middle.

The other oddity was mixed trains. Sometimes auto-trains also carried bits of freight (a van or two). If the autocoach was leading the vans went behind the loco, if the loco was leading the vans went behind the autocoach.

The loco/autocoach would also often stay together when doing things like shunting those vans or getting water. Connecting all the controls up took a while so they tended to stay together.

The Dapol one is a GWR build autocoach to a fairly standard Swindon style. Construction continued with some style changes (eg window design) into the 1950s. DMUs then replaced these services.

polo2k · December 08, 2011, 02:07:29 PM

Quote from: KRIS-537 on December 08, 2011, 01:32:38 PM
cheers guys. so if im correct you can have one infront and one at the rear of a loco. thats cool.

zwilnik · December 08, 2011, 03:02:55 PM

Quote from: KRIS-537 on December 08, 2011, 01:32:38 PM
cheers guys. so if im correct you can have one infront and one at the rear of a loco. thats cool.

Supposedly when they used 2 autocoaches the control wires would tend to get a bit sloppy if they were connected through 2 coaches to the engine, so they found it worked better if you just stuck one coach either side of the engine (thus reducing it to a max of 1 coach length for each set of controls).

Rheneas N Gauge · December 08, 2011, 09:21:11 PM

they sometimes ran with a milk tanker to small branch line stations

GWR-Kris · December 13, 2011, 01:35:03 PM

cheers guys. just found some strange couplings int he box with them too, where they fitted to these coaches they look like the dapol magnetic couplings but they are solid not moving parts.

Rheneas N Gauge · December 13, 2011, 02:00:58 PM

do you have a photo of the couplings?, i know Dapol provided their set's with standard rapidio's and some that look like a sideways hook.

GWR-Kris · December 13, 2011, 03:12:50 PM

exactly like these

http://www.dapol.co.uk/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=362&category_id=30&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=59

Rheneas N Gauge · December 15, 2011, 08:39:56 PM

Those are the ones I ment by a sideways hook, They come with the later Dapol and Graham Farish loco's and stock but this type of coupling was not fitted to autocoachs probably nothing in steam era or early diesel, but its ok on a model because it is smaller than the standard N gauge coupling so looks better.

GWR-Kris · December 21, 2011, 02:29:27 PM

cheers for that. Im struggling to find a DCC loco to pull these autocoaches. is my only option to convert one.

EtchedPixels · December 21, 2011, 02:35:57 PM

Yes - either the 14xx which is hairy but doable (Dapol site at least used to have a guide on it), or the Farish ones which are not so scary given a Digihat or two for isolating the brushes.

Karhedron · December 29, 2011, 05:19:43 PM

The locos that were fitted for auto working are the 48xx/14xx tanks (RTR from Dapol) and certain members of the 4575 class of small prairie tanks. About a dozen of these were converted for the Cardiff valley services in the early 1950s so are not suitable if you are running a pre-nationalisation layout.

I can post a list of the converted small Praires if you would like.

The 5400 and 6400 classes of pannier tank were auto-fitted but these are not available either RTR or in kit and they are quite a different shape to the Farish panniers so scratch-building would be your only option.