Rapido Trains UK announce LBSC Billinton 10t 4 wheel & 20T 6 wheel brake vans exclusive to Rails of Sheffield

Rapido Trains UK announce LBSC Billinton 10t 4 wheel and 20t 6 wheel brake vans exclusive to Rails of Sheffield.

Around 90 Billinton 10t 4-wheel brake vans were built between 1894 and 1907, and 20 examples of the 20t 6-wheel vans were built by contractors between 1900 and 1902. Both types of designs survived into the grouping era in large numbers. The Southern Railway inherited 89 of the 4-wheeled 10t version and designated it as Dia.1568, and 19 of the 20t 6-wheel brakes, which became Dia.1575.
Due to their modest length of only 16 feet over the headstocks, the Southern Railway began general withdrawal of both the 4 and 6-wheeled Billinton brake vans in the early 1930s, in favour of ex-LSWR and ex-SECR vans. The last surviving example of the 20t 6-wheel variants was withdrawn in the 1940s, and the final 10t 4-wheel brake van was scrapped in 1947.

The models will be available in a variety of liveries, including early and late LSBCR, and pre- and post-36 Southern Railway eras. Each model will have a multitude of separately fitted parts, including highly detailed brake gear, window glazing, handbrake, running boards, rails, lamp irons, and a chimney. Versions representing the vans in their early life are fitted with grease axle boxes, whereas later versions have LBSC oil axle boxes.

Both the 4 and 6-wheeled vans’ interiors contain two guards’ desks, a stove, and a brake lever. All versions are fitted with metal bearings, NEM Pockets, and 8-spoked wheels. The project has already completed the design stage and will be going to tooling imminently.

You can pre-order your models, D1568 4 wheel £44.95 or D1575 6 wheel £46.95 each, directly from Rails of Sheffield here.