Good news for early era OO modellers. Hattons have announced a new project of various 4 & 6 wheel coaches. https://www.hattons.co.uk/genesis Jim
I'm sure they will be 'generic' but with good detail. Sure, they will be compromises, but we who dabble with the pre-grouping period have to take what we can get, or build it and decorate it ourselves. I have added a selection of SECR and LSWR versions to my wish list already, but will have to wait to see 1. whether I can afford all of them, and 2. how good they look in the flesh when the actual models appear. I feel confident that Hatton's will make the effort to put good detail into them.
There are already speculations on another web page re the recent NSR 4 wheel stock and the North Norfolk set refurbished and announced this week.. (I forget the company, sorry) and if there may be some similarity... even if it’s “generic” it has to have a starting point. look at the old Hornby 4wheel coaches and the number of new lives they have gone on to replicate.
Not really of much use to me but I had a look on Hattons site and must admit they do look good! and the price's they quote are pretty good too! The NNR's refurbished/restored 4 wheeler is a GER coach and pretty darn good it is too. Cheer's, Pete.
Loving the idea of this new Hattons coaching stock range I’m disappointed the NCB versions are listed as second run as they will be the ones ordered, Already in my Hattons cart You would think that with the majority of the small locos having a industrial theme they would do a few more generic industrial themed coaches in the range in the first run.
Hello All, as the Southern found out when cutting and shutting bodies onto new Lancing built 58 ft long chassis, the dimensions stated on the drawing and the actual dimensions on the coach on hand did actually have variations measured in numbers of inches , this was particularly so with conversions for the IoW; hence the reason for custom infills on the resultant rebuilds. I acknowledge that rot, and wear and tear were also a contributing factor here.It should be realised that pre-WW1 precision with wooden coach construction in reality did mean actual variations were more common than post WW1 production line building techniques which made a greater use of jigs for mass production, and assembly lines more akin to motor vehicle production than was previously the case. A number of British and Australian railways did cut and shut previous four and six wheel bodies onto new bogie underframes, so this problem would have been well known, and it was not a major issue as most carriage builders, by virtue of their existing skills and previous experience, would make the necessary adjustments so that the desired outcome was achieved. Early GNR articulated stock were all conversions for example. The Victorian Railways of Australia red Suburban Electric swing door carriages, like that later Southern Railway ( UK ) EMU conversions, utilized existing bodies on new bogie chassis, the infills were all made to fill the resultant gaps, and no two gaps were identical ! The Hattons production will enable a variety of conversions that will be close to scale and will satisfy most carriage converters. After all, the original TriAng Dean clerestories have in the past been converted to very close enough models especially those of GWR and LSWR prototype. The Ratio GWR 4w carriages are another case in point, as is the prototype length T-H GWR coaches, even though they lack moulding. So, all in all, a new conversion modelling future beckons ! Regards to all, Echidna