Tri-ang Pullman Cars

These Tri-ang Pullman Coaches were first introduced in 1958 and were scaled at 57ft (9") as against 66' of the real cars.

The body profiles, with the upper sides sloping slightly inwards, was closest to the electric multiple unit Pullmans and could be quite easily modified to represent a Brighton Belle car.

The tables mostly had plain brass lampshades but, sometimes, they were painted pink, as in 'Mary' above. At one stage the lamps were even reduced to a narrow spike!

An example of 'Jane' has apparently been found with blue lampshades instead of pink. I have not seen one myself and, not surprisingly, it is considered to be quite rare.

Other rarer versions of these cars had them with cream coloured roofs instead of white ones and I have seen examples of these.

Later models were adorned with white rimmed wheels, as in 'Jane' above.

In 1962, Golden Arrow stickers were also supplied, separately, together with a locomotive headboard. 

The Catalogue Number for all of the three parlour cars was the same, i.e: R228 while for the Brake Car it was R328.

These iconic coaches continued in production until 1973.

G&R Wrenn - Golden Arrow Coach

Continuing from my previous post, where I take a look at some of the many model railway items that have been in my possession, here is the G&R Wrenn Golden Arrow coach, in blue and grey livery.

These coaches were actually ex-Hornby Dublo models and were based upon vehicles that were built in 1928 for the LNER.

In the 1950s the prototypes were then transferred to steam-hauled services on the Southern Region.

Now, I must be honest here and say that I am not a big fan of Wrenn rolling stock although, I know, they do have a large following and can demand huge prices for rare or highly sought-after models.

That said, I have owned several Wrenn locomotives and quite a few wagons plus one or two of their coaches, including the one featured here. 

All have long since moved on to railways new but I will feature more of my ex-Wrenn items in future posts as I continue to look at vintage items that I own or have owned. 

As far as this Golden Arrow coach is concerned, it's Catalogue Number is W6005, the Running Number is S301S and it was produced between 1979 and 1980 and, again, between 1990 and 1992.

I believe that the coach came with either brown tables or white ones and that, for the collector, it is the white tabled version that tend to attract the higher price. 

Therefore, it is important to make sure that the tables have been painted white at the factory and NOT by someone else subsequently!

A Ballasted Long Time

With not much happening on the layout over Christmas and during the first month or two of the new year it has been a while since I have posted anything. 

However, with quite a bit work having recently taken place on the central section of the northern half of the layout, I thought that it was high time for an update.

So, to begin with, the first photograph above gives a general view of the area around Carswater, with the station now fitted with lights and name boards and, yes, even some potential passengers!

The adjoining lake has yet to be filled with water but it already has a couple of climbers scaling the hill behind, courtesy of my nephew and his girlfriend. I will include a photograph of the climbers in a future posting.

Once atop the ridge, these climbers will be afforded a 'wonderful' view of the ballast yard which is just starting to take shape. 

There is now a small shed in the far left-hand corner in which the Sentinel locomotive will be housed when not in use. The ground has also had a few coats of stone scatter applied to it and we are pleased with the way things are progressing.

The long chute between the hill and the building will obviously be cut, once the building has been fixed in place. This chute was made purposefully too long becaue, when it was constructed, we were not too sure how long it needed to be.

I will post more close-up photographs of the ballast yard as it progresses.

We plan to build a small hut or 'bothy' on the hill at the far end of this area, just beyond the ballast yard, for walkers and, yes, climbers too, to take refuge. 

We also wanted to make it possible for them to walk across all of the hills, from one end to the other. However, to be able to do this, bridges were going to be needed to allow walkers to cross the railway (twice) and the road (twice). 

Well, an old Tri-ang brick bridge already spanned one of the road crossings and, now, two more bridges have been added at the far end, as seen in the third photograph above. 

This just leaves one more bridge needed to cross the railway for a second time at the bottom of the first photograph.

Finally, for this time, I have included a photograph showing Class 50 50011 'Cenurion' calling at Carswater station with a special train consisting of Orient Express Pullman coaches. 

It is not intended that this station will see too many express trains, with local services and semi-fasts being its more usual visitors - together with the occasional ballast train, of course!