Oxford Diecast 76BI001

Beadle Integral East Kent

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

Prototype Eras
Era 4 (1948 to 1956) British Railways Early Crest
Era 5 (1956 to 1966) British Railways Late Crest
Era 6 (1967 to 1972) British Rail Blue (Pre-TOPS)
Era 7 (1972 to 1982) British Rail Blue (TOPS)

Manufacturer description

Our single deck coach is a replica of a Beadle Integral rebodied vehicle from J C Beadle of Dartford in Kent from the early 1950s. The company specialised in taking running units from pre-war vehicles which had been withdrawn from service into which they incorporated new style full front bodywork, generally on either AEC or Leyland chassis for onward sale to coach companies. East Kent was one of many operators to use rebodied buses as a way of extending their service life. Restored FFN 446 started life as a Leyland TD5 double decker and was rebodied by J C Beadle in 1951 into a 35-seat coach. It was withdrawn from service in 1964 and passed to a church group in Perivale, London before being acquired for preservation in 1972.

Here at Oxford, we are pleased to launch our model in its original livery of deep red as used by the East Kent Motor Company. The colour scheme incorporates cream masking and lots of chrome coachwork detailing to the exterior, including the superbly fashioned sweeping wheel arches. Other details on our model of FFN 446 include red and silver front wheels, red rear wheels, yellow East Kent graphics along the sides and rear of the coach and 'Private' destination blind above the windscreen. The interior is finished in red to match the body colour.

In real life, the livery of this rebodied coach was updated a few years later when it was given a cream roof.

Catalogue listing

Oxford Diecast Beadle Integral East Kent model (manufacturer part number 76BI001) represents a British Railways Late Crest period vehicle.

The subject is a replica of a Beadle Integral rebodied coach originally built by J C Beadle of Dartford, Kent, in the early 1950s. Pre‑war running units were taken from withdrawn buses and fitted with new full‑front bodywork, usually on AEC or Leyland chassis. The example reproduced is FFN 446, which began life as a Leyland TD5 double‑deck coach, was rebodied by Beadle in 1951 into a 35‑seat single‑deck coach for East Kent Motor Company, withdrawn in 1964, passed to a church group in Perivale, London and entered preservation in 1972.

The model is finished in the original deep red livery used by East Kent, with cream masking, chrome coachwork, sweeping wheel arches, red and silver front wheels, red rear wheels, yellow East Kent graphics along the sides and rear, and a ‘Private’ destination blind above the windscreen. The interior is coloured red to match the body. In service the coach later received a cream roof, a detail not reflected in the original‑livery model.