Brake vans

[Cullercoats]

Are any of the RTR LNER brake vans accurate-ish models or can the be modified into something resembling the real things?
OO Scale

[richard]

Scale?

The Farish re-release isn't bad although I think they've only produced it in BR liveries.
Some fairly decent 7mm kits too...

[jwealleans]

The old Lima brake van can be made into a Toad D (see my WB thread and also Atlantic 3279s) and the Bachmann attempt at a Toad E can be hacked into an ex-NER diagram (same sources).

For the amount of dismantling and reworking involved you're as well starting from a kit.

I gather Parkside are hoping to put a new LNER BV kit out next year.

[IAK]

I gather Parkside are hoping to put a new LNER BV kit out next year.

Really?
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[Atlantic 3279]

It has long been rumoured or promised. I'm not holding my breath. No need anyway as I think it will produce versions of the Toads B and E, sufficient examples of which I have created by other means.

[Cullercoats]

Thank you all for the information, I will follow up the leads.
I am working on a couple of Slaters Birdcage NER vans at the moment which I will finish in grey LNER livery numbered 76256, any suggestions for the other?

[jwealleans]

First suggestion - all LNER brake vans were red oxide, whether fitted, piped or hand brake only.

[Cullercoats]

Red Oxide it is then.
I think this should have been in the Model Railways section

[D2100]

Are any of the RTR LNER brake vans accurate-ish models or can the be modified into something resembling the real things?
OO Scale

Bachmann's newer models (i.e. not the old ex-Mainline short Toad) will pass muster as a Toad D - some of them are done with the short footboards, some in LNER liveries and others as early BR builds, which were all but identical to the last LNER ones. They all have the concrete end platforms. There are some discrepancies, depending how fussy you are, such as BR-pattern solid axleguards and the BR arrangement of cabin handrails.

[DS239]

They all have the concrete end platforms.

The NE liveried one doesn't.

There are some discrepancies, depending how fussy you are, such as BR-pattern solid axleguards and the BR arrangement of cabin handrails.

And BR style doors..

[I'm still wondering what to do with mine.. ]

[65447]

There are some discrepancies, depending how fussy you are, such as BR-pattern solid axleguards and the BR arrangement of cabin handrails.

And BR style doors..

The standard BR doors had 4 quarter panes of glazing in the cabin doors whereas the later LNER ones and those built earlier by BR had 2 half panes. The original LNER doors had solid vertical planking.

It's easy enough to remove the horizontal glazing bars of the 4 pane door version but, as Ian states, if you want true fidelity you will need to consider other detail changes. One important one being that the LNER builds were originally vacuum-fitted (not through-piped), while earlier BR builds could be either fitted or unfitted, and then some were piped. Later the end pipes were below rather than above the headstock, and so it goes on with different handrail arrangements, footboard lengths, pre- and post-Grouping lamp positions, buffer heads and then buffer types, wheel bearings, 3-link or screw or Instanter couplings and so on. There were even two experimental BR vans with the concrete flush to the top of the solebars/headstocks.

A useful reference is Eric Gent's book British Railways Brakevans and Ballast Ploughs, HMRS, but even that is still short on some data.

[65447]

The February 2016 issue of the Gauge O Guild Gazette reports that the guys at Parkside will soon be releasing in 7mm scale a kit for the LNER Toad B, which will save modellers trying to retro-model one from their recent Toad E kit.

In an e-mail conversation with Richard Hollingworth just under a year ago, he suggested to me that the 'B' version 'would probably involve the broad plank types'. Since these vans were built with both narrow and wide planking to the cabin and verandahs there will be scope, with the assistance of some spare moulded parts from Parkside, to readily create both variants.

Not sure about availability yet; the Parkside website does not show it but then it was very slow to list the Toad E.

Also not sure about the possibility of any equivalent kit for 4mm scale...

[mick b]

Hornby do a upto date LWB version . Looks good in pictures , never seen one in the flesh.

[John Palmer]

Any good reason not to consider the Airfix/Dapol BR brake as a basis for conversion to a Toad D? Suspect the duckets may be slightly out of position, but otherwise it appears to be reasonably accurate dimensionally. Footboards would need shortening/thinning, double brake hangers replacing, and I would be inclined to use the 'hutch' ends as a pattern for styrene replacements, in view of their thickness. I'd also substitute a thinner roof, but otherwise it looks like an acceptable starting point, and at a current price of £5.50 I wouldn't grumble (think I recall 16T Mins going at 2/- a pop, and the brake vans for not a lot more - those were the days!)

[65447]

In which case you should probably be reading this recent thread: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=11377 and any others linked from it...