Gresley / Thompson coach footboards

[pete2hogs]

The LNER seems to have put footboards on most coach bogies, but not on all, and there are three parts to the footboard, inside the inner axle, between the axles, and outside the outer axle, sometines all three are present, sometimes the middle one only, the outer one only, or the inner one only missing.

Also, it seems at some point there was a change from continous solebar footboards to ones under the doors only, at least on the corridor side.

However, photographs, models and books seem to shed no light (at least to me) on when and under what circumstances these differences happen, or whether it was just the whim at the carriage works on that particular day! What the photos do show is constant variety.

Has anyone any information about the whys and wherefore's of these differences? My Hornby coaches have all the footboards and Bachmann ones none...

[Bill Bedford]

Also, it seems at some point there was a change from continous solebar footboards to ones under the doors only, at least on the corridor side.

The change in the solebar footboards comes with the change from riveted to welded underframes in the mid 30s.