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Bachmann 39-604

SE&CR 60ft Birdcage Brake Composite Lavatory SE&CR Wellington Brown

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 South Eastern & Chatham Railway (SE&CR) 60ft Birdcage Brake Composite Lavatory in Wellington brown, part of the 2019 range. The model is finished in Pristine condition and carries running number 1149. It measures 260 mm in length and represents a SE&CR 60‑foot Birdcage coach classified as BCL (Brake Composite Lavatory). The prototype was operated by the South Eastern & Chatham Railway in second/third class before the 1923 grouping, and the manufacturer part number is 39‑604.

Key features include bodyside windows correctly tooled for flush glazing and accurate corner radii, a fully detailed interior with partitions, saloon tables, and lavatories matching the prototype, as well as seating painted in authentic colours. The underframe is extensively detailed, with finely mounded brake components, four sets of moulded queen‑post truss rodding and turnbuckles, dynamos and battery boxes as fitted on the original, and new 8 ft Heavy Fox coil‑spring bolster bogies. Metal wheel sets and pin‑point axles run in metal bearings, and the couplings are detachable with NEM pockets and a close‑coupling mechanism. Additional fittings such as roof vents, vacuum pipes, handrails, grab handles, lamp irons and brake control apparatus (brake coaches only) are supplied separately.

The 60ft “birdcage” sets were introduced by the SE&CR between 1912 and 1915, with the distinctive birdcage lookouts over the guard’s compartments. The original formations comprised a second/third class composite brake‑lavatory, a first/second (later first/third) lavatory composite, and a brake third. Two body‑side window arrangements were produced: an early version with two wide windows per side and a later version with one wide and one narrow window per side. These coaches saw little modification during their long service life, making them a popular subject for model railway enthusiasts.