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Prototype Era
Era 3 (1923 to 1947) The Big Four (LNER, LMS, GWR and SR)
The prototype coaches were constructed between 1914 and 1920 made of steel body sides with an absence of panelling but with bolection mouldings around the windows and frosted glass top light windows, sitting on Churchward 9’-0” bogies. They were designed to operate as a set comprising Left hand and right-hand Brake Thirds, 1 or 2-Thirds and left hand and right-hand Composites enabling all corridor windows to be displayed on the same side, commonly used for cross country and main line working between cities.
Chassis
Body
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Dapol GWR Corridor Toplight 1947 Chocolate & Cream Great Western All‑Third coach 3892 is supplied as a 00‑gauge model with the manufacturer part number 4P‑021‑501. The model represents a coach from the “Big Four” era, when the Great Western Railway operated its own fleet of corridor third‑class carriages.
The prototype was built between 1914 and 1920 with steel side panels, bolection mouldings around the windows and frosted‑glass top‑light windows. It rode on Churchward 9‑ft (2.74‑m) bogies and was intended to form part of a mixed set of left‑hand and right‑hand brake thirds, 1‑ or 2‑thirds and composites, allowing all corridor windows to be shown on the same side. The design was used on cross‑country and main‑line services between cities.
The Dapol model features a die‑cast chassis with two stamped metal compensation beams that provide wheel‑bearing electrical pick‑up via stub axles. Two styles of under‑frame truss rods are offered, and the chassis includes NEM‑compatible magnetic couplings as standard, with the option to fit traditional couplings. Wheels are sized for 00 gauge (16.5 mm) but allow clearance for 18.2 mm gauge wheels, and the axles are 26 mm over the end points. Sprung metal buffers, ABS‑plastic coach sides, gap‑free corridor connections suitable for R2 (438 mm) curves, separate roof ventilators, metal door and commode handles, and destination boards supplied separately complete the kit. Interior lighting is fitted and a DCC decoder plug with a blanking plug is provided for digital control.