Manufacturer catalogue image - please note that pre-release images may be CAD renders or CGI/AI images rather than photographs
Prototype Era
Era 4 (1948 to 1956) British Railways Early Crest
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 BR Crimson & Cream Brake Third LH (W3596W) is supplied by Dapol under part number 4P‑021‑604. The model represents a British Railways early‑crest coach from the period 1914‑1920.
The prototype coaches were built between 1 January 1914 and 31 December 1920 with steel side panels, bolection mouldings around the windows and frosted glass toplights. They rode on Churchward 9‑ft (2.74 m) bogies and were intended to form sets of left‑hand and right‑hand brake thirds, 1st/2nd‑thirds and composites, allowing all corridor windows to be on the same side for cross‑country and main‑line services.
The chassis features die‑cast frames with two stamped metal compensation beams to provide electrical pick‑up via stub axles. Two styles of underframe truss rods are offered and the wheels are sized for 00‑gauge (16.5 mm) with allowance for 18.2 mm gauge wheels; axles are 26 mm over the end points. Couplings are close‑coupled on a cam to negotiate R2 (438 mm) curves and include NEM pockets for magnetic couplings, with the option to use traditional NEM‑compatible couplings. Sprung metal buffers are fitted.
Coach sides are supplied as separate ABS‑plastic components. Gap‑free corridor connections are provided for operation on R2 curves, and each passenger compartment includes a separately fitted luggage rack. Roof ventilators are supplied according to the chosen period, and metal door and commode handles are fitted. Destination boards are supplied separately for the modeller to install. The interior is fully lit and a DCC decoder plug with a blanking plug is included.