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Bachmann 39-610A

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

Manufacturer catalogue image - please note that pre-release images may be CAD renders or CGI 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 Composite Lavatory (SE&CR Dark Lake) is a model train coach from the 2020 range. It is finished in a pristine condition and carries the Dark Lake livery. The coach bears the running number 1150 and measures 260 mm in length. It represents a South Eastern & Chatham Railway 60‑foot birdcage carriage, classified as CL (Composite Lavatory), and is suitable for first and second class configurations.

The model is supplied with manufacturer part number 39‑610A and depicts the pre‑grouping period of British railway history. It includes detailed features such as flush‑glazed side windows with correct corner radii, fully detailed interior partitions, saloon tables, lavatories matching the prototype, and accurately painted seating. The underframe is richly detailed, with finely mounded brake components, four sets of moulded queen‑post truss rodding and turnbuckles, and dynamos and battery boxes fitted as on the original SE&CR composite.

Additional fittings are provided separately and comprise roof vents, vacuum pipes, handrails, grab handles, lamp irons and brake control apparatus (for brake coaches). The coach rides on new 8 ft heavy Fox coil‑spring bolster bogies, metal wheel sets with pin‑point axles in metal bearings, and detachable couplings housed in NEM pockets, reflecting the close‑coupling mechanism used historically.

Sixty‑two 60 ft three‑coach “birdcage” sets were introduced by the South Eastern and Chatham Railway between 1912 and 1915. The distinctive birdcage look‑outs above each guard’s compartment gave the sets their name. The composites were built in two body‑side variants – early examples with two wide windows per side, later ones with one wide and one narrow window – and were long‑lived, making them a popular choice for modellers of pre‑grouping railway stock.