BR Coaches Corporate Era 1968-1982

A pack of 2 of Bachmanns' detailed models of the BR Mk.2A first class brake coaches painted in the all-over blue scheme applied to vehicles in use with the engineering departments. These two are finished as HST barrier vehicles, used to allow conventional stock and locomotives to be coupled to HST coaches, which have centre couplers only. Mk.2 stock was provided with both centre couplers and conventional side buffers as fitted to locomotives. Guards' brake coaches were usually chosen for use as barrier coaches as both a guards office and hand brake for securing the train in sidings were already fitted.

Travelling Post Office trains were formed with two special types of vehicles, designed to ensure the secure transport of the mail and sorting while on the move.
The obvious sorting vans, type POS (for Sorting) have already been produced by Bachmann. This model is of the other type, the stowage van, originally known to the post office as a Tender, hence the POT designation. The introduction of this model allows model TPO trains to be formed up with an appropriate selection of vehicles comprising sorting, stowage and parcels vans in matching liveries.

The POT stowage vans were used to provide for the secure storage of mail in sacks. Initially the vans would be loaded with unsorted mail, but steady progress in the sorting van would fill sacks and full sacks of sorted mail would be moved to the stowage van ready for delivery.
The coaches had wide doorways with recesses on each side. Originally these would have accomodated the arms for dropping mail from the moving train. Using the side doors on the stowage van was preferable as the inrush of cold air would not then affect the majority of the crew in the sorting vehicles.

This model is painted in the BR blue and grey livery carried from the late 1960s until the mid 1980s.
Era 6-7 1967-1982.

Dapol British Motorcycle Marques delivery vans
British Railways standard design ventilated van with plywood body finished with the company logo of Ariel Motorcycles, Bournbrook, Birmingham van number 1.
Model in BR bauxite livery with boxed lettering.

The GWR traffic department made extensive use of the gangway fitted Siphon G ventilated milk vans for carrying passenger luggage, parcels and pre-sorted mail by regular passenger trains services and by the network of dedicated parcels and mail trains. In the mid 1920s a revised design of Siphon G appeared with inside body framing, the external vertical planked body now presenting a much more pleasing appearance. Vehicles to this basic style continued to be constructed into the early British Railways era, with the last being withdrawn circa 1980 having been used as newspaper sorting and packing vans, taking the daily national papers into the West of England.
Model finished as British Rail parcels van W1023W in BR rail blue livery and allocated to services between London Paddington and Bristol.

The GWR traffic department made extensive use of the gangway fitted Siphon G ventilated milk vans for carrying passenger luggage, parcels and pre-sorted mail by regular passenger trains services and by the network of dedicated parcels and mail trains. In the mid 1920s a revised design of Siphon G appeared with inside body framing, the external vertical planked body now presenting a much more pleasing appearance. Vehicles to this basic style continued to be constructed into the early British Railways era, with the last being withdrawn circa 1980 having been used as newspaper sorting and packing vans, taking the daily national papers into the West of England.
Model finished as British Rail NNV Newspapers van W1013 in BR rail blue livery and allocated to services between London Paddington and Cardiff.

The GWR traffic department made extensive use of the gangway fitted Siphon G ventilated milk vans for carrying passenger luggage, parcels and pre-sorted mail by regular passenger trains services and by the network of dedicated parcels and mail trains. In the mid 1920s a revised design of Siphon G appeared with inside body framing, the external vertical planked body now presenting a much more pleasing appearance. Vehicles to this basic style continued to be constructed into the early British Railways era, with the last being withdrawn circa 1980 having been used as newspaper sorting and packing vans, taking the daily national papers into the West of England.
Model finished as British Rail NNV Newspapers packing van W1048 in BR rail blue livery.

The GWR traffic department made extensive use of the gangway fitted Siphon G ventilated milk vans for carrying passenger luggage, parcels and pre-sorted mail by regular passenger trains services and by the network of dedicated parcels and mail trains. In the mid 1920s a revised design of Siphon G appeared with inside body framing, the external vertical planked body now presenting a much more pleasing appearance. Vehicles to this basic style continued to be constructed into the early British Railways era, with the last being withdrawn circa 1980 having been used as newspaper sorting and packing vans, taking the daily national papers into the West of England.
Model finished as British Rail NNV Newspapers packing van W1047 in BR rail blue livery.

The GWR traffic department made extensive use of the gangway fitted Siphon G ventilated milk vans for carrying passenger luggage, parcels and pre-sorted mail by regular passenger trains services and by the network of dedicated parcels and mail trains. In the mid 1920s a revised design of Siphon G appeared with inside body framing, the external vertical planked body now presenting a much more pleasing appearance. Vehicles to this basic style continued to be constructed into the early British Railways era, with the last being withdrawn circa 1980 having been used as newspaper sorting and packing vans, taking the daily national papers into the West of England.
Model finished as BR Siphon G W2774W in rail blue livery. This is one of the diagram M.34 vehicles with louvres plated over for ambulance train duty and returned to service as a parcels van.

Test Coach 18 'Mercury' was used to test the track based transponders utilised by the C-APT system. Throughout 1974 'Mercury' would be coupled to almost any available West Coast Mainline train many times per day.

A General Utility Van (GUV) is a type of rail vehicle built by British Rail primarily for transporting mail and parcels. They were used by both Rail Express Systems and Railtrack. Colas Rail and some train operating companies still use them. The Departmental Utility Van possessed the goods carrying potential vital for its task of carrying materials pertinent to the company. The BR Departmental Utility Van is a worthwhile addition to your burgeoning collection, if your interest is kindled in those rail vehicles dedicated to maintaining the processes and efficiency of the railway as well as freight and customer travel.

The GWR traffic department made extensive use of the gangway fitted Siphon G ventilated milk vans for carrying passenger luggage, parcels and pre-sorted mail by regular passenger trains services and by the network of dedicated parcels and mail trains. In the mid 1920s a revised design of Siphon G appeared with inside body framing, the external vertical planked body now presenting a much more pleasing appearance. Vehicles to this basic style continued to be constructed into the early British Railways era, with the last being withdrawn circa 1980 having been used as newspaper sorting and packing vans, taking the daily national papers into the West of England.
Model finished as BR Siphon G W2768W in rail blue livery. This is one of the diagram M.34 vehicles with louvres plated over for ambulance train duty and returned to service as a parcels van.

Detailed model of the British Railways mark 1 BSK second class side corridor compartment coach with brake and luggage stowage van number E35419 equipped with Commonwealth bogies and finished in blue and grey livery.

Fitted with seated passenger figures

Detailed model of the British Railways mark 1 TSO second class open plan seating coach number M4921 equipped with Commonwealth bogies and finished in blue and grey livery.
Model fitted with seated passenger figures.

Detailed model of the British Railways mark 1 BSK second class side corridor compartment coach with brake and luggage stowage van number E35419 equipped with Commonwealth bogies and finished in blue and grey livery.

Detailed model of the British Railways mark 1 TSO second class open plan seating coach number M4921 equipped with Commonwealth bogies and finished in blue and grey livery.

Detailed model of the British Railways mark 1 BSK second class side corridor compartment coach with brake and luggage stowage van number M35451 equipped with Commonwealth bogies and finished in InterCity Executive livery.

Detailed model of the British Railways mark 1 TSO second class open plan seating coach number 4930 equipped with Commonwealth bogies and finished in InterCity Executive livery, as applied to the Mk1 coaches allocated to the InterCity charter trains unit.

Detailed model of the British Railways mark 1 BSK second class side corridor compartment coach with brake and luggage stowage van number M35451 equipped with Commonwealth bogies and finished in InterCity Executive livery.

Fitted with seated passenger figures

Detailed model of the Thompson design LNER BG (brake, gangwayed) full brake coach for luggage and mails.
Model finished as painted in British Rail blue livery.

Detailed model of the Thompson design LNER BG (brake, gangwayed) full brake coach for luggage and mails.
Model finished as painted in British Rail blue livery.

When it comes to coaching stock the non-corridor ‘Suburban’ coaches were certainly not the celebrities, but nonetheless they played a vital role moving hundreds of commuters in and out of cities and providing accommodation on branch lines and local trains. Despite inheriting all manner of non-corridor coaches from its predecessors, BR built its own fleet of standard non-corridor coaches and these popular Bachmann Branchline models depict the 57ft Mk1 ‘Suburbans’.
Model finished in BR plain blue livery. Era 6 1966-1977

When it comes to coaching stock the non-corridor ‘Suburban’ coaches were certainly not the celebrities, but nonetheless they played a vital role moving hundreds of commuters in and out of cities and providing accommodation on branch lines and local trains. Despite inheriting all manner of non-corridor coaches from its predecessors, BR built its own fleet of standard non-corridor coaches and these popular Bachmann Branchline models depict the 57ft Mk1 ‘Suburbans’.
Model finished in BR plain blue livery. Era 6 1966-1977

When it comes to coaching stock the non-corridor ‘Suburban’ coaches were certainly not the celebrities, but nonetheless they played a vital role moving hundreds of commuters in and out of cities and providing accommodation on branch lines and local trains. Despite inheriting all manner of non-corridor coaches from its predecessors, BR built its own fleet of standard non-corridor coaches and these popular Bachmann Branchline models depict the 57ft Mk1 ‘Suburbans’.
Model finished in BR plain blue livery. Era 6 1966-1977

Detailed model of the British Railways mark 1 TSO second class open plan seating coach number M5045 equipped with Commonwealth bogies and finished in blue and grey livery.

A highly detailed model of the British railways Mk.1 series post office sorting vans, built in the 1950s to re-equip the Royal Mail travelling post office trains. The POS was a sorting van, containing pigeon holes for the post office crew to sort letters while the train was moving. Some of these coaches were also fitted with exchange apparatus, drop arms and a large catcher net, to allow mail to be dropped and collected from the lineside without stopping, but this practice had ceased by the 1970s.

This model represents the final era of the Travelling Post Office, the coaches having been repainted into Post Office red. This vehicle carries the Royal Mail Travelling Post Office lettering.

A highly detailed model of the British railways Mk.1 series post office sorting vans, built in the 1950s to re-equip the Royal Mail travelling post office trains.

This model represents the Travelling Post Office coaches from the corporate era of British Rail, painted in the standard blue and grey livery. This is the plain side of the coach, the sorting pigeon-holes were on this side of the coach.
Note the red painted late posting box in the side of the coach. Members of the public could post mail for the destinations served by the travelling post office train up until the time of departure at an extra charge. Latterly it seems this service was used mainly by enthusiasts collecting the special TPO cancel stamp.

A highly detailed model of the British railways Mk.1 series post office sorting vans, built in the 1950s to re-equip the Royal Mail travelling post office trains. The POS was a sorting van, containing pigeon holes for the post office crew to sort letters while the train was moving. Some of these coaches were also fitted with exchange apparatus, drop arms and a large catcher net, to allow mail to be dropped and collected from the lineside without stopping, but this practice had ceased by the 1970s.

This model represents the final era of the Travelling Post Office, the coaches having been repainted into Post Office red. This vehicle carries the full Royal Mail Letters lettering.

The Covered Carriage Truck was built by the Southern Railway and was known initially as the Van U or Van Utility. Sharing many aspects of its design and features with the Passenger Luggage Vans (PLV, later designated ‘PMV’ by BR), the CCTs differed by having a pair of full width doors at each end, allowing motor vehicles to be loaded and indeed the SR applied the code ‘Covcar’ to many examples, denoting their use as covered car carriers. In addition to transporting motor vehicles and carriages, the CCTs were used to convey all manner of parcels and general merchandise and being express rated, they could run at speed and were often included as part of passenger trains. Construction continued after Nationalisation, however the final examples built had plywood sides – by this time BR had designated them as Covered Carraige Trucks (CCT). These were large vehicles with a 21ft wheelbase and construction was from a metal frame with even planking on the sides and ends. The vans remained in traffic until the 1980s, with some surviving later still, in departmental use.

Detailed model of a RCH 1887 design 5 plank open wagon finished in grey livery as wagon number 2 in the fleet of the Stoneycombe Lime & Stone Co.Ltd. of Ipplepen near Newton Abbot.
The Stoneycombe Quarry limestone is operated today by Aggregate Industries, with a postal address of Kingskerswell, though nearby Ipplepen was much the larger town through the first half of the 20th century. The quarry was on part of Dainton Hill, just North East of the GWRs Dainton summit tunnel, the quarry plant being served by served by sidings on the down side of the GWR mainline.

Detailed new model of the British Railways design insulated express fish vans, a total of 558 being built at the former LNER Faverdale works from 1957 to 1960. Similar to the final LNER design and BR diagram 1/800 these vans had extra side bracing and roller bearings.
This model will be the first Diagram 1/801 van ever produced in OO gauge ready-to-run and features a wealth of detail with many separately fitted parts including steps on the engineers versions and two different types of buffers. Separate label boards will also be provided. Metal bearings will aid super smooth running enabling prototypically long trains to run with ease.
Model finished in 1970s BR rail blue lettered SPV (allegedly Special Parcels Van).

Detailed new model of the British Railways design insulated express fish vans, a total of 558 being built at the former LNER Faverdale works from 1957 to 1960. Similar to the final LNER design and BR diagram 1/800 these vans had extra side bracing and roller bearings.
This model will be the first Diagram 1/801 van ever produced in OO gauge ready-to-run and features a wealth of detail with many separately fitted parts including steps on the engineers versions and two different types of buffers. Separate label boards will also be provided. Metal bearings will aid super smooth running enabling prototypically long trains to run with ease.
Model finished in 1970s BR rail blue with double arrows logo lettered Express Parcels SPV (allegedly Special Parcels Van).

Detailed new model of the British Railways design insulated express fish vans, a total of 558 being built at the former LNER Faverdale works from 1957 to 1960. Similar to the final LNER design and BR diagram 1/800 these vans had extra side bracing and roller bearings.
This model will be the first Diagram 1/801 van ever produced in OO gauge ready-to-run and features a wealth of detail with many separately fitted parts including steps on the engineers versions and two different types of buffers. Separate label boards will also be provided. Metal bearings will aid super smooth running enabling prototypically long trains to run with ease.
Model finished in 1970s BR rail blue with double arrows logo lettered Express Parcels with TOPS code NRV.

The Mk1 RBR is a Mk1 Restaurant Buffet Coach containing a kitchen and a serving buffet counter. As well as these features, the Coach would also feature seating, usually with a capacity of 23 passengers.

After their brief stint in the BR Blue and Grey colour scheme the Mark 3 coaches saw a livery change in line with a corporate rebrand of high speed services. The new InterCity livery saw the coaches painted in a darker grey colour with a beige stripe along the top and bottom of the coaches with a red stripe under the windows. 

This livery was designed to emulate or copy the advanced yet ultimately fruitless APT project. This livery would largely remain unchanged even after a further rebrand to Intercity Swallow, before the coaches would transfer into private ownership at the end of BR.

These Mk3 coaches include the provision for lighting provided by the R7305 Maglight lighting unit, as well as fully detailed interiors and metal wheels throughout. For the first time, these coaches also include our new Buckeye style magnetic couplings.

The Mk3 coach is perhaps most iconic in its original production livery of the BR Grey and Blue. It is in this livery that the coach, as well as the matching Class 43 units would be introduced, before high speed rail services in the UK would be rebranded into the Intercity Executive livery.

Following the privatisation of the Railway network, Mk3 coaches would find themselves in many colourful liveries, some harking back to the original blue and grey livery of times gone by.

These Mk3 coaches include the provision for lighting provided by the R7305 Maglight lighting unit, as well as fully detailed interiors and metal wheels throughout. For the first time, these coaches also include our new Buckeye style magnetic couplings.

The Mk3 coach is perhaps most iconic in its original production livery of the BR Grey and Blue. It is in this livery that the coach, as well as the matching Class 43 units would be introduced, before high speed rail services in the UK would be rebranded into the Intercity Executive livery.

Following the privatisation of the Railway network, Mk3 coaches would find themselves in many colourful liveries, some harking back to the original blue and grey livery of times gone by.

These Mk3 coaches include the provision for lighting provided by the R7305 Maglight lighting unit, as well as fully detailed interiors and metal wheels throughout. For the first time, these coaches also include our new Buckeye style magnetic couplings.

The Mk3 coach is perhaps most iconic in its original production livery of the BR Grey and Blue. It is in this livery that the coach, as well as the matching Class 43 units would be introduced, before high speed rail services in the UK would be rebranded into the Intercity Executive livery.

Following the privatisation of the Railway network, Mk3 coaches would find themselves in many colourful liveries, some harking back to the original blue and grey livery of times gone by.

These Mk3 coaches include the provision for lighting provided by the R7305 Maglight lighting unit, as well as fully detailed interiors and metal wheels throughout. For the first time, these coaches also include our new Buckeye style magnetic couplings.

The Mk3 coach is perhaps most iconic in its original production livery of the BR Grey and Blue. It is in this livery that the coach, as well as the matching Class 43 units would be introduced, before high speed rail services in the UK would be rebranded into the Intercity Executive livery.

Following the privatisation of the Railway network, Mk3 coaches would find themselves in many colourful liveries, some harking back to the original blue and grey livery of times gone by.

These Mk3 coaches include the provision for lighting provided by the R7305 Maglight lighting unit, as well as fully detailed interiors and metal wheels throughout. For the first time, these coaches also include our new Buckeye style magnetic couplings.

The Mk3 coach is perhaps most iconic in its original production livery of the BR Grey and Blue. It is in this livery that the coach, as well as the matching Class 43 units would be introduced, before high speed rail services in the UK would be rebranded into the Intercity Executive livery.

Following the privatisation of the Railway network, Mk3 coaches would find themselves in many colourful liveries, some harking back to the original blue and grey livery of times gone by.

These Mk3 coaches include the provision for lighting provided by the R7305 Maglight lighting unit, as well as fully detailed interiors and metal wheels throughout. For the first time, these coaches also include our new Buckeye style magnetic couplings.

The Mk3 coach is perhaps most iconic in its original production livery of the BR Grey and Blue. It is in this livery that the coach, as well as the matching Class 43 units would be introduced, before high speed rail services in the UK would be rebranded into the Intercity Executive livery.

Following the privatisation of the Railway network, Mk3 coaches would find themselves in many colourful liveries, some harking back to the original blue and grey livery of times gone by.

These Mk3 coaches include the provision for lighting provided by the R7305 Maglight lighting unit, as well as fully detailed interiors and metal wheels throughout. For the first time, these coaches also include our new Buckeye style magnetic couplings.

The Mk3 coach is perhaps most iconic in its original production livery of the BR Grey and Blue. It is in this livery that the coach, as well as the matching Class 43 units would be introduced, before high speed rail services in the UK would be rebranded into the Intercity Executive livery.

Following the privatisation of the Railway network, Mk3 coaches would find themselves in many colourful liveries, some harking back to the original blue and grey livery of times gone by.

These Mk3 coaches include the provision for lighting provided by the R7305 Maglight lighting unit, as well as fully detailed interiors and metal wheels throughout. For the first time, these coaches also include our new Buckeye style magnetic couplings.