Posts Tagged ‘Rapido UK’

Rapido Trains UK announce South Eastern & Chatham Railway Diagram 1558 six wheel brake van

Posted in Model News, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 15, 2022| 3 Comments »

Rapido trains UK  have announced today (15/04), following a bit of a hint in one of their videos and me here, that they are producing the South Eastern & Chatham Railway Diagram 1558 six wheel brake van.

CAD Render of the D1558 Van original version

A detailed interior is included

A fully detailed underframe with full brake gear

The D1558 rebuilt version

Forty 6 wheel 20t brake vans were built in 1898 by the South Eastern and Chatham Railway to Diagram 1558, were heavily influenced by Midland Railway practice, these had an open veranda platform (i.e. with no roof, sides or end rail) at one end and a closed one at the other. In 1910, 50 more were built with close verandas at each end, between 1914 and 1920 the original vans were modified with two closed verandas. These modified vans were identifiable as had double top rails at the rebuilt end only.  All 90 vans entered Southern Railway stock and most passed into British Railways ownership. There were also variations in some of the framing, planking and handrails between the two built versions.

Rapido trains UK  have tooled two bodies to cover both the dual veranda vans built new in 1910 as well as the single-ended vans re-built that year and have announced ten initial versions:

  • 931001: No. 2033, SECR grey with black underframe
  • 931002: No. 2036, SECR grey
  • 931003: No. 55382, SR brown with red ends (large lettering)
  • 931004: No. 55389, SR brown with red ends (large lettering)
  • 931005: No. 55384, SR brown with red ends (small lettering)
  • 931006: No. 55366, SR brown with red ends (small lettering)
  • 931007: No. S55429, SR brown with red ends (BR lettering)
  • 931008: No. S55434, BR grey
  • 931009: No. S55371, BR grey
  • 931010: No. 80383, Engineer’s black

The RRP will be £39.95 or discounted at official retailers such as Kernow Model Rail Centre here.  The expected availability is early 2023.

The SER single ended version being produced for Rails of Sheffield

Rails of Sheffield have commissioned the original pre 1910 single end vans  to be produced in SER red/brown with red ends (ran into SECR days) and SECR grey (two running numbers).

These vans are a logical choice by Rapido trains UK and compliment there already arrived SECR Diagram 1355 seven-plank open, Diagram 1347 / Diagram 1349 five-plank opens and the previously announced Diagram 1426 van and the Dia. 1744 ballast wagons.

 

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Rapido Trains UK announce SECR 5 and 7 plank wagons in 00

Posted in Model News, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on May 28, 2021| 14 Comments »

Rapido Trains UK have announced their first 00 gauge ready to run South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR) / Southern Railway wagons.  These new models cover the Diagram 1355 seven-plank open and both the Diagram 1347 and Diagram 1349 five-plank opens built by the South Eastern & Chatham Railway on the same Maunsell/Lyons steel underframe.

One of the three surviving Dia. 1355 wagons at the Bluebell Railway.

The SECR Maunsell / Lyons 7 and 5 plank open wagons

The EP of the Dia 1355 7 plank open

The EP of the Dia. 1355

The underframe detail on the common chassis

The 7 plank open, later SR Diagram 1355, were the SECR’s most numerous wagon with 2,121 wagons built between 1915 and 1927. The SR later fitted a sheet rail. British Railways had over 70 wagons still in service  in the 1960s and the last withdrawals were not until the 1970s. Several were sold into private usage, including the Port of Bristol Authority. Three of these wagons are preserved on the Bluebell Railway.

The SR Pre-1936 livery artwork (subject to amendment to include brown solebars and headstocks)

SECR livery artwork

The 5 plank opens utilised the same steel chassis as the 7 plank wagons, 550 were built between 1920 and 1925 with standard buffers that became SR Diagram 1347. A further 150 were built 1921/2  with self contained buffers and became SR Diagram 1349. There were withdrawn in the early 1960s. Two D1347 wagons are preserved, with one at the Bluebell Railway and the other at the Severn Valley Railway.

The model tooling allows for variations to be produced including the 7 plank open with or without sheet rails and the two different buffer styles on the 5 plank versions. They will include high levels of body and underframe detail, metal stamped parts, metal bearing cups and NEM coupler pockets.

The initial versions being produced are as follows:

Diagram 1355 7 plank open 

  • 907001: No.12221, SECR Grey
  • 907002: No.16194, SECR Grey
  • 907003: No.14997, SR Brown (Pre-1936)
  • 907004: No.16227, SR Brown (Pre-1936)
  • 907005: No.28666, SR Brown (Post-1936)
  • 907006: No.28860, SR Brown (Post-1936)
  • 907007: No.S16510, SR Brown (with BR markings)
  • 907008: No.S28951, SR Brown (with BR markings)
  • 907009: No.S28662, BR Grey
  • 9070010: No.S28942, BR Grey
  • 9070011: No.DS28635, BR Gulf Red (S&T Dept)

The full set of D1355 livery artworks can be seen here.

The Dia. 1347 EP

The Dia. 1347 EP

The Dia. 1347 EP

SR Post 1936 livery artwork (subject to amendment to include brown solebars and headstocks)

BR Grey livery artwork

Diagram 1347 5 plank open

  • 906001: No.9601, SECR Grey
  • 906002: No.12522, SECR Grey
  • 906003: No.14131, SR Brown (Pre-1936)
  • 906004: No.14632, SR Brown (Pre-1936)
  • 906005: No.14283, SR Brown (Post-1936)
  • 906006: No.19081, SR Brown (Post-1936)
  • 906007: No.S14271, SR Brown (with BR markings)
  • 906008: No.S19220, BR Grey
  • 906009: No.S19228, BR Grey
  • 906010: No.DS14157, Engineers Black

Diagram 1349 5 plank open

  • 906011: No.10789, SECR Grey
  • 906012: No.10660, SECR Grey
  • 906013: No.14621, SR Brown (Pre-1936)
  • 906014: No.14707, SR Brown (Pre-1936)
  • 906015: No.14599, SR Brown (Post-1936)
  • 906016: No.14678, SR Brown (Post-1936)
  • 906017: No.S14590, SR Brown (with BR markings)
  • 906018: No.S14571, BR Grey
  • 906019: No.S14708, BR Grey

The full set of D1347 / D1349 livery artworks can be seen here.

My friends, Andy and Richard at Rapido Trains UK advised: “that it their long-term aspiration to undertake some manufacturing in UK. Having a UK design team is the first step towards that. These wagons have been researched and designed 100% in the UK. All we’ve done is to send the completed CADs to our factory in China for manufacturing. We have a number of wagon projects that our UK designers are working on and we’ll announce these shortly. As the business grows and our range increases in size, we’re hopeful that more and more rolling stock projects will be designed in this country.”

Both the five and seven-plank wagons are available to order now (RRP £32.95 each) and the order book closes on September 1st 2021. They can be pre-ordered from Kernow Model Rail Centre here.

These wagons will certainly be an great addition to the fleet for both pre-grouping, Southern Railway and Southern Region modellers alike.

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