Rapido Trains UK announced in September last year a range of 00 gauge generic pre-grouping 48′ coaches. They have now announced their second generic project ‘Evolution’ production run featuring ten new liveries that includes London & South Western salmon and chocolate.
Much like the liveries from Batch 1, Evolution Batch 2 will include Brake Third, Third, First, Composite and Full Brake non-corridor generic coach body variants. Multipacks will also be available for all liveries, and contain a Brake Third, Third, and Composite body version. For modellers who wish to extend their generic rakes, the single versions of each coach feature alternative running numbers to their multipack counterparts.
The second batch of project ‘Evolution’ includes liveries from the following railway companies:
- 978101-6 London and South Western Railway Salmon and Brown
- 978107-12 Caledonian Railway Purple Madder and White
- 978113-18 Highland Railway Green and White
- 978119-24 Metropolitan Railway Teak
- 978125-30 London Transport Brown
- 978131-36 Great Western Railway Chocolate and Cream (Early Monogram)
- 978137-42 Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Brown & Umber
- 978143-48 Great Eastern Railway Crimson
- 978149-54 North Eastern Railway Crimson Lake
- 978155-60 LMS Period 1
The project ‘Evolution’ generic coaches are due late 2025 and will be priced (RRP) at £199.95 for Three pack sets and Single coaches for £69.95 and discounted at retailers including Kernow Model Rail Centre.
Rapido Trains UK have also announced today that they are to produce the Caledonian Railway Single No.123 4-2-2 and also London & North Western Railway Diagram 84 4-Plank Open Goods Wagons along with the LNWR Diagram 90 Loco Coal Wagons.
Whilst ‘generic’ coaches these and similar models do appear to be stimutaining interest in pre-grouping modelling which can only be welcomed.
Some SR modellers will be interested Caledonian no.123 in respect of its Scottish Belle railtour to Brighton in September 1963 (with T9 no.120)!
The LSWR Brake Third and Full Third are actually very good representations of LSWR 48′ stock. Dating from 1894 (with gas lights) those modelled by Rapido with electric lighting date from 1898 to 1902. The LSWR built 346 of the full thirds, the largest single design of vehicles on the entire Southern! 20 brake thirds to this design were built in 1896, with gas lighting. A further 50, with electric lighting were built between August 1898 and February 1899.
The Full Brake is close to a LSWR 44′ design, so probably acceptable.
The Full First should be 46′ and have 6 compartments and a lavatory, rather than 7 compartments. 70 of these were built.
The Composite should ideally be a tri-composite with lavatory (arranged T-T-S-F-L-F-S-T). Most of these 102 carriages were built with gas lighting, only the last 15 with electric.
Later they built 48′ Tricomposites with full lavatory access (T-L-T-F-L-F-S-L-S) and 7-compartment thirds with lavatory access for 4 of those compartments.
Where they’re missing a trick is not doing the full third in its (identical so far as body was concerned) 2nd/3rd composite version, of which 32 were built in 1899. Most were arranged T-T-T-T-S-S-S-S but six of them had the four second class compartments placed in the centre. The second class compartments sat 8, with elbow rests at the sides, and central arm rests. Second was re-classified as third between 1918 and 1920.
The bogie design differs slightly from the models, in that I think the LSWR used Foxes 8′ Pressed rather than plate bogies, but more noticeably, the secondary suspension to the bolsters was elliptical leaf springs, which extended beyond the side of the bogies, although it appears a few later coaches had coil springs as per the models.
A great summary, being generic coaches I didn’t really want to try and delve into such comparisons, so thank you.
It really is remarkable how close to the prototype the third and third brake coaches are. I could pick holes in them, but given they are generic rather than accurate models, they really are very good representations of the originals.
They have announced 8 LSWR coaches, which seem to have generally sensible numbers for their type, the exception being the Brake Thirds with 5 compartments. Number 1178, is OK, but according to Weddell, 1225 had 4 compartments. There were plenty of 5 compartment brakes they could of chosen instead, maybe the confusion was because both types were LSWR diagram 606?
The ones noted as having 4 compartments, including 1225, were converted from 5 compartments to 4, to give more van space, in SR days, so the number is entirely correct for LSWR livery.
If you can discover this information, why can’t the manufacturer do so too ?
Is there an emerging trend to overly rapid production and marketing,
without the essential meticulous research being performed ?
They are generic coaches being produced in a variety of liveries to suit a market and never going to be accurate to a particular railway company prototype.
I appreciate that, but the original reply pointed to ~
a/ more accurate numbers for the vehicle
or
b/ less inaccurate numbers that would be suitable.
A lot of work has gone into these vehicles
but are they being spoiled for a ha’p’orth of tar?
Michael, as per my reply, the number is in fact correct, it was a 5-compartment carriage in LSWR days.
Thanks. Appropriate for SR and BR liveries too ?
Maybe the deep research has been done;
they are lovely things . . .