📢 Please take a minute to read this personal message from the creator of RailwayModels.uk

Back to product list

Hornby R4888D

BR, Bulleid 59' Corridor Brake Third, S2849S - Era 4

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

Prototype Eras
Era 4 (1948 to 1956) British Railways Early Crest
Era 5 (1956 to 1966) British Railways Late Crest

Manufacturer description

When Oliver Bulleid took over as Chief Mechanical Officer of the Southern Railway following Richard Maunsell's retirement, the General Manager and Board were already aware that the SR's mainline coaching stock lagged behind the standards set by the other three Railway companies.

In 1938, with the assistance of his Technical Assistant, L. Lynes, Bulleid began design work for new steam-hauled stock for the Bournemouth and Weymouth services, placing the order for fifty-four 57' 11" underframes with Lancing Works. With the onset of the Second World War, the supply of bodies for these was put on hold and it was not until 1944 before the orders for the bodies could be placed, the first of these being finished at Eastleigh Works in November 1945. Featuring a smooth, continuously curved bodyside, with small fixed windows above the door windows, the exterior was distinctly Bulleid in character and was a perfect match for his streamlined Pacifics and Light Pacifics.

However, the interim nature of the design was apparent in the retention of Maunsell's underframe and layout, with side doors providing access to each compartment. Two types of stock were built; a Composite of four First, and three Third Class compartments to Diag. 2316 and a Brake Third of five compartments, with a 22' long brake van to Diag, 2121.

The last coaches were withdrawn in July 1967, at the end of Southern steam. The first withdrawals started in December 1963, leaving just Sets 964/967/968/976 and 980 until 1965, when further withdrawals left just twenty loose coaches.

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.

Hornby BR, Bulleid 59' Corridor Brake Third, S2849S – Era 4 is a OO‑scale model of a Southern Railway Bulleid third‑class brake carriage in SR Green. The coach measures 243 mm in length, has a minimum curve radius of 438 mm (second radius), and is finished to a pristine standard. It is supplied under manufacturer part number R4888D and bears the running number S2849S.

The prototype was designed by Oliver Bulleid after he succeeded Richard Maunsell as Chief Mechanical Officer of the Southern Railway. In 1938 Bulleid commissioned fifty‑four 57 ft 11 in underframes for Bournemouth and Weymouth services; the bodies were delayed by the war and the first were completed at Eastleigh Works in November 1945. The design retained Maunsell’s underframe and side‑door layout, offering five third‑class compartments and a 22‑ft brake van. Two variants were built: a Composite with four first‑class and three third‑class compartments, and the Brake Third model represented by this kit.

The original coaches remained in service until the end of Southern steam, with the first withdrawals in December 1963 and the final ones in July 1967. The Hornby model represents the British Railways Early Crest period and is intended for collectors of historic British railway rolling stock.