Today marks 54 years since the passing of Oliver Vaughan Snell Bulleid CBE. He was of course Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Southern Railway between 27th May 1937 and 31st December 1947 and then briefly for the Southern Region of British Railways until 1st October 1949.
A line up of malachite Bulleid Pacifics , a Q1 and even the Leader, at Fisherton Sarum.
On the 10th May 1937 Sir Nigel Gresley advised O.V.S Bulleid, who was working away from Kings Cross, by telegram stating that “Sir Herbert Walker wishes to see you 12.30 tomorrow” at the meeting Bulleid was asked by Sir Herbert Walker, the SR General Manager, to apply for the position of CME
This post is not an attempt to outline the whole of Bulleid’s career, but to mark the anniversary of his passing, and also an excuse to show one of my favourite pictures of some of his achievements on Fisherton Sarum.
Should you wish to listen to more about Bulleid’s lifetime and career and why I believe he was one of the ‘Kings of the steam age’ a new podcast series is now available from Railway Mania “Kings of the Steam Age”
1st January 1950 Bulleid was awarded CBE in the New Years Honours list. He retired from being Chief Mechanical Engineer CIE in May 1958, firstly living in Devon before moving to Malta in December 1967.
Dapol have announced a range of UK produced laser cut self assembly card kits for 0 Gauge based on London & South Western Railway prototypes.
The kits will be laser cut from the self-coloured card and will include all the necessary injection moulded or 3D printed accessory parts (including glazing) to complete the model. Where appropriate the models will be supplied with printed interior decoration. All you need is glue. The kits are based on real world prototypes but are easily customizable lending themselves to “kit bashing” should the modeler wish to have something bespoke on their layout.
The five model kits, apparently due ‘soon’ are as follows:
7B-004-001 London & South Western Railway Station Building, based on East Budleigh, and will include movable doors and posable windows. RRP £200.00
7B-004-002 London & South Western Railway Type 1 Signal Box Ground Level, based on Ottery St. Mary, will include a choice of early or late valances and will include posable windows. RRP £50.00
7B-004-003 Southern Railway Pre-Fab ‘Plate Layers’ Hut and will include a moveable door. RRP £25.00
7B-004-004 London & South Western Railway Goods Shed, based on East Budleigh (alongside the passenger platform), and will include posable doors. RRP £55.00
7B-004-005 London & South Western Type 1 Box Raised Brick Base, based on Instow, will include a choice of early or late valances and will include posable windows. RRP £65.00
Note: The Dapol images are of prototype models – any imperfections will be corrected prior to production.
My grandfather, Thomas Arthur Muspratt, known as Arthur, was born this day 125 years ago in 1899.
As I have stated before on this blog he was a ganger for the Southern Railway based at Salisbury, for most of the period that I model, before he gained promotion to Sub Inspector (permanent way) at Andover Junction at the end of 1947 and subsequently had a roving role. He died, before I was born, whilst in service on the railways on 11th April 1961 aged 61.
His promotion to sub-inspector (Permanent Way) at Andover Junction was listed in the Staff Changes, Chief Civil Engineer’s Department, Supervisory Staff, section, see left, of the December 1947 edition of the Southern Railway Magazine, the in house magazine for all company staff.
This was of course also the last issue of the staff magazine issued by the Southern Railway, before it became the Southern Region of British Railways.
Alongside the platelayers hut next to the main line on Fisherton Sarum, a representation of my Grandfather in his role as a Ganger learning on his ballast fork along with a group of Permanent Way workers, sometimes also known as platelayers, that are taking a taking a tea break, one of whom is sat reading the newspaper and another has a mug of tea in his hand.
The permanent way team would have been made up of a number of Linesmen and look outs under the leadership of a Ganger who in turn would have reported to a local / area Sub-inspector (Permanent way). On Fisherton Sarum the look out flag man is just walking towards the hut to join the rest of the team in taking there tea break.
The classic concrete platelayers huts were seen all over the Southern railway and were a design and product of the Southern Railway’s own concrete works at Exmouth Junction. The distinctive roof shape was so that minus the chimney they could be delivered, within the loading gauge on a well wagon, in one piece to anywhere on the network. A number of 4mm models of these typical Southern Railway platelayers huts are available in kit from Roxey Mouldings in white metal, as per this example along with the typical cast concrete ballast bin located alongside or the huts are also available from Ratio in plastic.
Joseph Moger and his sons were coal merchants and known to have operated by 1865 out of LB&SCR yards at Crystal Palace (including high level), Gipsy Hill, Norwood junction and Penge stations. By the turn of the century Moger also had a presence at yards including Tulse Hill, Peckham, Sydenham, Epsom, Ewell, Merton Abbey and Raynes Park.
Wagon number 232 was one of twenty 12T seven plank wagons built by Charles Roberts in 1911 numbered 232 to 241 and lettered “Moger& Co Ltd” and although registered by the South Eastern and Chatham Railway they were lettered as L.B.&S.C.Rly.
My colleague Matthew Mazzocchi-Higgs, Guildford Branch Manager said: “I am pleased that we can announce our first Exclusive local 00 Gauge wagon the “No. 232 Moger & Co Ltd.” Wagon in partnership with Rapido Trains UK. This wagon being LB&SCR based was an ideal choice for our exclusive model with the LB&SCR having arrived at Guildford in 1865.”
Matthew continued: “the wagon will also be in stock and available to purchase at our Guildford store open event on Friday 17th May when we will have a number of other manufacturers present along with in store special offers on the day.”
So make a note in your diary for Friday 17th May, I will also be in-store that day and will have, shhh…a brand new tooled product announcement up my sleeve..
Accurascale announced in October 2022 they were to produce the SR built banana vans to diagrams 1478 and 1479. These lovely models have now arrived at retailers and are shown below.
The banana traffic through Southampton docks in the early 1930s had grown rapidly and whilst the SR had the 99 LSWR built banana vans these were not enough and resulted in the SR hiring suitable vans from the North Eastern Railway that also included some ex Great Central and Great Eastern Vehicles (see my post about the GER versions here).
The Accurascale D1479 (left) and D1478 (Right) vans on Canute Road Quay
Between August 1935 and February 1936 the therefore SR introduced 200 banana vans to Diagram 1478, numbered 50575-774. These were similar to the previous insulated vans (Diagram 1477), with the Southern ‘Power Brake’ arrangement with eight brake blocks, but had horizontal planking and fitted with steam heating to aid the ripening of the bananas. In December 1937, after the LNER had requested the return of all its vans that were on hire, a further 125 banana vans were ordered.
The D1479 van clearly showing its origins as a standard SR Covered Van design.
To enable them to enter service quicker ordinary covered vans in construction were instead built as banana vans to Diagram 1479, numbered 50775-899. These had the same bodyside strapping and roof profile as the ordinary vans to give them a different visual look than the earlier D1478 vans.
The original SR livery of these vans was like the insulated vans of SR Stone body colour with red lettering, solebars were standard SR wagon brown with all ironwork below the solebar in black. A slight difference in that the D1478 vehicles carried large SR lettering until 1936, before the SR switched to small letter branding, which is how the D1479 vehicles entered traffic.
The D1478 van with its origins in the SR D1477 insulated vans and earlier LSWR examples
During the war, even though banana traffic ceased, some gained a red oxide / bauxite livery with horizontal green stripes around the corners, and in BR days were bauxite with a yellow spot indicating the van had additional insulation fitted.
Most vans were taken out of traffic by 1968, those vans that remained in service found use in BR Departmental service, mainly being used as Fitted Heads and classified as Tadpole. Additional plating was also added to the top of the ends in later life.
The excellent underframe detail
The Accurascale D1478 and D1479 models feature details variations for both early and later (additional end plating etc.) versions of each van , a die cast chassis, brass bearings, three types of wheel (split spoke solid spoke and 3 hole disc), separate handrails, grab handles, door handles, lamp brackets, vacuum pipes, through pipes and full SR ‘Power brake’ gear along with turned metal sprung buffers. Within the supplied accessory bag also supplied are steam pipes screw couplings and coupling pocket extenders.
The photographs of the models speak for themselves with an outstanding level of detail. I will forward date my red oxide / bauxite livery versions slightly by removing the ‘S’ prefix.
The short pocket and wide gap between the vans with the supplied couplings can be seen
It should be noted that in order to include the wealth of underframe details the NEM style coupling pocket is slightly and understandably compromised being a shorter pocket and is set quite forwards resulting in quite a large gap between the wagons when the supplied tension lock coupling are used , as many will be.
I will probably look to modify the couplings somehow to allow a closer coupling distance between the vans to be achieved.
This does mean they are not compatible with the NEM 362 coupling standard, If you wish to fit other NEM 362 couplings they will not fit properly unless the supplied extension piece is used which pushes the coupling out even further past the buffer heads than already seen.
There has been quite a bit of debate regarding the correct shade of the SR insulated and steam heated wagon light stone.
A comparison of the Precision Paints (left) and Accurascale (Right) versions of SR Stone liveries
Whilst the colour chosen by Accurascale in my view is closer than some proprietary paint ranges (see comparison with the pinker Precision paints hue left), my SR Stone examples appear when viewed under natural light (rather then my studio lights) to the eye to have a very slight greenish hue, but are close to the SR Buildings No.1 light stone colour.
These wagons only come in triple packs, in some might say excessive sized packaging, in a variety of liveries across their careers in banana traffic and are priced at £84.95 each
Another view of the D1479
ACC2045 D1478 Original SR Livery Pre-1936 triple pack-1
ACC2046 D1478 Original SR Livery Pre-1936 triple pack-2
ACC2047 D1478 SR Livery 1936 to March 1941 triple-pack
ACC2048 D1478 British Railways 1948-1961 triple-pack
ACC2049 D1478 British Railways 1961 onwards triple-pack
ACC2050 D1479 SR Livery 1936 to March 1941 triple-pack-1
ACC2051 D1479 SR Livery 1936 to March 1941 triple-pack-2
ACC2052 Mixed D1478/D1479 Transitional British Railways 1948-1950 triple pack
ACC2053 D1479 British Railways 1948-1961triple-pack
Another view of the D1478 van not the characteristic green stripes with this livery
ACC2055 Tadpole mixed ex D1478-D1479 British Railways departmental triple-pack
ACC2056 Tadpole ex D1479 British Railways departmental triple-pack
These often asked for prototypes, are excellent reproduced, and a good choice by Accurascale especially as they often ran in their own fully fitted express goods rated block trains or in multiples at the head of Southampton goods trains, and will certainly be welcome on any SR/BRs South Western based model railway, get them while you can.
The daffodils are in bloom this Easter as LSWR B4 ‘Guernsey’ in early Southampton Docks lined green livery shunts at Canute Road Quay.
The budding trees, the new flowers, and birds that sing, whisper to me that it’s Easter, and that the supermarkets full of chocolate of all shapes (many irrelevant), sizes and special offers!
Here is wishing a warmth in the firebox of your soul on Easter & always!
Note: The entrance fees shown left (click to enlarge) include a steam train ride ticket, the model railway exhibition and free access to the falconry centre plus flying displays, so all in all a great value full day out, what is not to like!
This event is to raise funds for the Southampton Trams Museum and the restoration of Southampton Tram 57, please come along to help support this project by visiting the show in a fascinating location amongst the 20 or so heritage aircraft also on display!
Rapido trains UK have announced they are to produce the RCH 1907 specification 7 plank 16’6″ long private owner wagons. The South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR) ordered, between 1910 and 1914, a large number of these RCH 7 plank wagons that became SR Diagram 1357. The London and South Coast Railway (LBSC) purchased a further 225 that were built to the same SECR drawings. Despite being the same design as the SECR versions the LBSC versions became SR Diagram 1373.
Seven SECR Diagram 1357 versions are initially being produced:
967401 D1357 No. 13578 in SECR small lettered light grey
967402 D1357 No. 1354o in SECR small lettered light grey
967403 D1357 No. 1326 in SECR large lettered dark gre
967404 D1357 No. 14517 in SECR large lettered dark grey
967405 D1357 No. 14373 in SECR large lettered dark grey
967408 D1357 No. 17065 in SR Pre 1936 large lettered brown
967410 D1357 No. 10560 in SR Post 1936 small lettered brown
Four LBSC Diagram 1373 versions are initially being produced:
967406 D1373 No. 10972 in LBSC grey
967407 D1373 No. 10880 in LBSC grey
967409 D1373 No. 27461 in SR Pre 1936 large lettered brown
967411 D1373 No. 27320 in SR Post 1936 small lettered brown
Whilst it is believed that a small number of both diagrams of wagons survived past 1948 there is no evidence any carried BR livery.
As well as the above a Rapido trains UK are also producing a number of the RCH 7 plank wagon in private owner, War Department, GNR and 1940s ‘Pooled’ with unpainted replacement planks liveries.
