In stock now are the first of EFE Rail's newly tooled OO Gauge LB&SCR 54' "Isle of Wight" coach packs, including BR crimson and BR (SR) green variations!
More packs are set to follow along soon too in Southern Railway guises. Four different coaches have been developed to allow authentic coach sets to be offered in a range of liveries spanning the working lives of the exiled prototypes and every model boasts a high level of detail. Produced using high fidelity injection moulded bodyshells, extra parts are fitted in the form of the ornate metal handrails that are each separately fitted, the etched metal end steps and the emergency brake gear found at the opposite end to the steps. Beneath each coach the truss rods have been authentically modelled, with two different types to suit the variations found on the prototypes, and separate battery boxes and Westinghouse brake components are added to complete the look. Metal wheelsets are used throughout whilst the NEM coupling pockets are mounted on close-coupling mechanisms fitted to the chassis of each coach.
In classic Southern style, the coach sets were used in fixed formations with set numbers at either end and on the solebar of each vehicle. Naturally, this numbering is incorporated into the EFE Rail models, along with a full complement of livery details to complete this coach pack and provide a complete train ready to be hauled by your chosen locomotive.
In Stock Now
Forthcoming Models
Product Features
Supplied as 4-coach sets with different running numbers
Four different coach toolings to recreate an authentic set
High fidelity injection moulded bodyshells, extra parts are fitted in the form of the ornate metal handrails that are each separately fitted, the etched metal end steps and the emergency brake gear found at the opposite end to the steps
Beneath each coach the truss rods have been authentically modelled, with two different types to suit the variations found on the prototypes
Separate battery boxes and Westinghouse brake components are added to complete the look
NEM tension lock couplings
Close-coupling mechanisms
Prototype Information
The railways operating on the Isle of Wight came under Southern Railway (SR) control upon Grouping in 1923, and at that time the SR inherited a disparate mix of locomotives and rolling stock which had been amassed by its predecessors. Soon, stock was being transferred from the mainland to replace the ageing vehicles and to meet the increasing demand generated by the growing number of visitors to the island.
A large number of passenger vehicles arrived on the island between 1936 and 1939 when sixty former London Brighton & South Coast Railway (LBSCR) coaches were transferred. In readiness for their new use the coaches had been rebuilt onto 54ft chassis and converted to Westinghouse brake operation – the system used on the Isle of Wight.
The coaches were formed into 4- and 6-coach sets with four of the most common vehicles to see use on the island being the 6 compartment Brake Third (Diagram 210), the 7 compartment Brake Third (Diagram 211), the 9 compartment Third (Diagram 90) and the 8 compartment Composite (Diagram 373). In common with SR practice, the 4-coach sets into which these vehicles were formed carried prominent set numbers at either end and were operated as semi-permanent sets, being used primarily on the Ryde-Newport-Yarmouth line.
British Railways (BR) took over operations on the island in 1948 following Nationalisation and the former LBSCR vehicles remained in use, supplemented by other antiquated types that had been transferred to the mainland and given a second life hauling islanders and holidaymakers alike. The final curtain fell on hauled passenger trains on the Isle of Wight in 1966, however three of the ex-LBSCR coaches, including Composite No. 6349 and Third No. 2416, were saved and today operate on the preserved Isle of Wight Steam Railway.