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Heljan 9629

Newton Chambers - BR Blue/Grey - E0E - OO Scale - Single Pack

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

Prototype Era
Era 6 (1967 to 1972) British Rail Blue (Pre-TOPS)

Manufacturer description

 

Featuring a high specification and fine detail throughout, the vehicles will be offered in matching triple packs in BR Lined Maroon and BR ‘Motorail’ Blue/Grey covering their entire 25-year career. Close attention to detail means that vehicles will feature either the original or revised pattern of fibreglass roof lights plus vacuum brake/steam heat and dual brake/dual heating vehicles with the Electric Train Heat (ETH) and air brake equipment added to several car transporters towards the end of their life.

Fine details include separately fitted handbrake wheels, end door details, air pipes, etched train ferry lashing eyes, steam heat, vacuum brake and ETH equipment. NEM couplers and sprung buffers are fitted as standard.

HISTORY

Originally designated as TCVs, the vehicles later became NVV (vacuum braked) and NVX (dual braked) under BR’s TOPS computer system. Unusually, they featured a hydraulically operated central well capable of storing two cars as well as four cars on the upper deck – a 50% increase in capacity over more conventional car carrying vehicles of the time.

When introduced in the early-1960s, the TCV car transporters were used between London, York and Edinburgh in sets of five or six vehicles with a handful of BR maroon Mk1 coaches, hauled by ex-LNER ‘Pacifics’ and later BR green ‘Deltics’, Class 40s, 45s, 46s or 47s. From the late-1960s onwards, they were painted in BR blue/grey and started to venture further afield on ‘Motorail’ services from London and northern England to the West of England, being hauled by Class 45s, 46s, 47s and ‘Westerns’. However, they were closely associated with the East Coast Main Line throughout their career.

FEATURES

• Finely Applied Livery Details
• NEM Couplings
• Early/late rooflight arrangement
• Steam/dual heating parts
• Vacuum/dual braking parts
• Fine bogie/underframe detail
• Authentic livery differences between vehicles in each pack
• Weathered finish

Bodyshell - factory-fitted separate details

Bodyside Steps
Door handles
Door operating equipment
Handrails
Lamp irons
Roof lights - original or revised
Train ferry lashing eyes

Bufferbeam detail (pre-fitted)

Cosmetic screw link coupling
Electric train heating box/ pipes
Pipework - pre-fitted to front
Pipework - pre-fitted to rear
Sprung buffers

Chassis/underframe detail

Footsteps
Handbrake wheel/ lever

Wheel "aesthetics"

Metal-pin point bearings
Painted

Body Construction

Plastic with metal parts

Chassis construction

Plastic & metal

Coupling socket/mounting

NEM pockets

Coupling type

Tension lock

Minimum radius

Radius 2

Weighting (to assist adhesion)

Within chassis

Catalogue listing

Model details

Prototype information

The Heljan Newton Chambers TCV Car Transporter (Early) model represents a British Rail car‑carrier built by Newton Chambers between 1960 and 1961. It is supplied in the Motorail blue and grey livery that British Rail adopted in the pre‑TOPS era, and carries the manufacturer part number 9629.

The model features a unique 6 ft 9 in wheel arrangement on each bogie, NEM couplings with tension‑lock, and a minimum curve radius of 2 chains. It includes detailed fittings such as hand‑brake wheels, end‑door hardware, air pipes, etched ferry‑lashing eyes, and both vacuum and electric train heating (ETH) equipment where appropriate. Sprung buffers and NEM couplers are fitted as standard.

Historically the real vehicles were designated TCV, later NVV (vacuum braked) and NVX (dual braked) under the TOPS system. They possessed a hydraulically operated central well that could hold two cars, plus an upper deck for four cars, giving a 50 percent capacity increase over earlier designs. In the early‑1960s they operated on London‑York‑Edinburgh routes, hauled by ex‑LNER Pacifics and later by Deltics and various diesel classes. From the late‑1960s they were repainted in blue/grey and used on Motorail services across the network, remaining closely associated with the East Coast Main Line.

The model is offered in triple packs that include variations in roof‑light patterns, steam or dual heating, and vacuum or dual braking, with authentic livery differences between the vehicles. A weathered finish is applied to enhance realism.