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Bachmann 39-613

SE&CR 60ft Birdcage Composite Lavatory SR Malachite Green

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

Prototype Eras
Era 2 (1875 to 1923) Pre-grouping
Era 3 (1923 to 1947) The Big Four (LNER, LMS, GWR and SR)

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 SR in Malachite Green is a 260 mm (10 in) model in pristine condition. It represents a South Eastern & Chatham Railway 60‑ft birdcage composite coach, classed as a C (Composite) and supplied by the Southern Railway. The model is fitted for first and third class accommodation and carries the manufacturer part number 39‑613. The period shown is pre‑grouping, i.e. the years before the 1923 railway amalgamations.

The model includes both bodyside window configurations with correctly radiused corners and flush‑glazed panes. The interior is fully detailed with partitions, saloon tables, and lavatories matching the prototype. Seating is painted in accurate colours and the underframe shows fine brake and rod‑work detail, including four sets of moulded queen‑post truss rodding and turnbuckles. Dynamos, battery boxes and metal wheel sets with pin‑point axles in metal bearings are fitted. The coach rides on newly moulded 8 ft Heavy Fox coil‑spring bolster bogies, and detachable couplings sit in NEM pockets with a close‑coupling mechanism. Separate fittings such as roof vents, vacuum pipes, handrails, grab handles, lamp irons and brake‑control apparatus for brake coaches are supplied.

Sixty‑two 60‑ft three‑coach birdcage sets were introduced by the SE&CR between 1912 and 1915. The distinctive birdcage lookouts over the guard's compartments gave the type its name and typified the railway's non‑corridor stock. The sets – comprising a composite brake lavatory, a composite lavatory for first/third class and a brake third – were built in two bodyside window variants and remained largely unchanged during their long service life, making them a popular subject for model railway enthusiasts.