📢 Please take a minute to read this personal message from the creator of RailwayModels.uk

Bachmann 39-600A

SE&CR 60ft Birdcage Brake Composite Lavatory SE&CR Dark Lake

Manufacturer catalogue image - please note that pre-release images may be CAD renders or CGI/AI images rather than photographs

Prototype Era
Era 2 (1875 to 1923) Pre-grouping

Manufacturer description

Highlights

• both bodyside window configurations tooled for
• flush-glazed
• correct window corner radii
• fully detailed interior with partitions 
• saloon tables 
• lavatories appropriate to prototype
• fully decorated seating painted in accurate colours
• exquisite underframe detailing
• finely mounded brake details
• 4 sets of very finely moulded queen post truss rodding and turnbuckles
• Dynamos and battery boxes fitted to the SE&CR composite as prototype
• Dynamos fitted to the SR / BR Composite and the Brake Third as per prototype
• all new well detailed 8ft Heavy Fox coil spring bolster bogies 
• metal wheels sets and pin point axles running in metal bearings 
• Detachable couplings in NEM pockets 
• close coupling mechanism

Separately applied fittings include:

• roof vents
• vacuum pipes
• handrails 
• grab handles 
• lamp irons and brake control apparatus (Brake coaches only)

 

History

 

Sixty-two 60ft three coach ‘birdcage’ sets were introduced by the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SE&CR) between 1912 and 1915. The characteristic birdcage lookouts over each of the guards compartments give these sets their name and typify standard SE&CR non-corridor coaching stock. With their distinct character, being of pre-grouping origin, these sets were long lived and little modified during their lifetime, so have a wide applicability to modellers.

 

The sets comprised  2nd/ 3rd class composite Brake Lavatory (later declassified to Brake Lavatory Third), a 1st / 2nd (later declassified to 1st/ 3rd) Lavatory Composite  and Brake Third. The Composites were built in batches with two distinct body side variations. The initial order had two wide windows on each side for the saloon, and the later examples had one wide and one narrow window for the saloon.

Catalogue listing

Model details

Prototype information

^* Class names often change over the lifespan of a locomotive, so this is not necessarily the class name used by the operator in the period modelled.

Bachmann SE&CR 60ft Birdcage Brake Composite Lavatory in Dark Lake livery, part of the 2020 Range. The model is finished pristine, carries running number 1157 and measures 260 mm in length. It represents a South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SE&CR) 60ft Birdcage coach, classified as a BC (Brake Composite) and fitted for first and second class accommodation. The period represented is pre‑grouping and the manufacturer part number is 39‑600A.

The model includes both bodyside window configurations correctly tooled for flush glazing and accurate corner radii. Interior details feature partitions, saloon tables, lavatories appropriate to the prototype, and fully painted seating in the correct colours. Underframe work is fully detailed with finely mounded brake components, four sets of moulded queen post truss rodding and turnbuckles, dynamos and battery boxes as fitted to the original SE&CR composite, and dynamos on the SR/BR composite and brake third as per prototype. It rides on new 8ft Heavy Fox coil‑spring bolster bogies, metal wheel sets with pin‑point axles in metal bearings, detachable couplings in NEM pockets and a close coupling mechanism.

Fitted separately are roof vents, vacuum pipes, handrails, grab handles, lamp irons and brake control apparatus for brake coaches.

Sixty‑two 60ft three‑coach ‘birdcage’ sets were introduced by the SE&CR between 1912 and 1915. The distinctive birdcage lookouts over each guard’s compartment gave the sets their name and typified standard SE&CR non‑corridor stock. The original formation comprised a 2nd/3rd class composite brake lavatory, a 1st/2nd (later 1st/3rd) lavatory composite and a brake third. Composite bodies were produced in two variants: an early batch with two wide windows per side and a later batch with one wide and one narrow window per side. The design was long‑lived and underwent few modifications, making it a popular subject for railway modelers.