Gresley 51'1 1/2" BT(6)
Introduction
This carriage was more unusual than may first meet the eye because by the time it was built in 1938, Gresley had gone over to steel panelling for secondary stock on the steel-angle trussed underframe - and mostly as twins. This throwback to the past arose because the Outer Suburban sets at Marylebone now contained many 5-sets which could be made up with two twins and either a single carriage in between, or a brake end on the outside. The twins that had already been provided were teak-panelled so Gresley decided for the sake of appearances to top up with a batch of 20 teak-panelled brake ends. The BT(6) design was chosen with maximum seating and a tiny guard's compartment, which followed on previous GCR designs to this format, albeit to greater lengths of 60' and 56'. The result was one of the most elegant carriages to this length.
Construction was at Dukinfield as follows:
Date |
Diagram |
LNER number |
Thompson/BR number |
1938 |
D.246 |
52303-18, 57300-3 |
86838-57 |
Diagram author's collection.
Click on the image for an enlargement
In service
This picture also appears under the GCR clerestory BV and was probably taken in early 1939 at Harrow-on-the-Hill with Woodford's B7 No 5482 on what appears to the 1.20pm Leicester-Marylebone which returned vans to London and on this occasion, comprised a non-gangwayed 5-set with two D.246 brake ends, and bogie vans fore and aft:
BV |
50' |
ex-GCR clere |
|
---- |
------------ |
------------------------- |
-------- |
BT |
51'1 1/2" |
LNER |
D.246 |
T |
56' |
GCR/LNER hybrid |
|
F |
60' |
GCR/LNER hybrid |
|
BT |
51'1 1/2" |
LNER |
D.246 |
? |
? |
? |
? |
---- |
------------ |
------------------------- |
-------- |
BG |
61'6" |
||
Click on the image for an enlargement
Seen near Stoke Mandeville in the summer of 1939, with the same working is Neasden-based ex-GCR B3 No 6168 Lord Stuart of Wortley as converted with Caprotti valve gear. The passenger 5-set looks similar to the one behind B7 No 5482 above with two BT(6) brake ends.
This time, both BGs are behind the tender. Leading is an ex-GCR 56' matchboard BG (from IY12 some of which were modified for ambulance cars) followed by a 56'6" BG to EC.39B with the distinctive York-style ducket (under which section this picture was first shown). Photo: H.C. Casserley.
Click on the image for an enlargement
A5 No. 69828 passes Dean Wood on the approach to Seer Green with an Outer Suburban train from Marylebone. Little of the train can be seen except for a D.246 BT(6) at the head.
Click on the image for an enlargement
An enlargement of the leading carriage.
This beautiful picture at Grantham was taken by Keith Pirt in 1959 and shows ex-GCR A5 4-6-2T No 68914 (GRA) with an Ordinary Passenger train of very assorted carriages. I showed it under "LNER coaches and livery" with this listing and an enlargement:
SK |
61'6" |
ex-LNER |
Gresley |
carmine & cream |
BS |
51'1 1/2" |
ex-LNER |
Gresley |
varnished teak |
CL |
52'4" |
ex-LNER |
Thompson |
steel panelled, simulated teak |
BS |
57' |
BR Mk.1 |
- |
all-steel, carmine |
and gave details of every carriage in the train (see link below). It suffices here to say that the teak panelled BS (regraded from BT by BR) is a fine example of the BT(6) to D.246 after cascading from the GC Section to the GN. Note how, some 20 years after construction, the varnished teak has darkened.
Click on the images for enlargements
The model
The model followed practices I've already described with Kirk sides modified to produce this diagram, on a fresh underframe with MJT and ABS components.
This is the only view which shows how the sides were made using:
(a) the outer end of a BT(4) on which the panel to the right of the door was turned into a second door by filling the toplight and attaching a vent. Then the lower beading was replaced using microstrip.
(b) most of the side of a T was trimmed where the brake end would go and the compartments above the waist removed and replaced with Plastikard and microstrip for the beading.
It's easy to make quite solid with an overlap on the inside to make joining of the two parts of each side really secure. Kirk ends can be used but I find it easier to make them from scratch to fit between the sides as shown here.
Click on the image for an enlargement
The second view shows the glazing in place, partitions and seats. Mirrors and pictures will be next, and the outer ends.
A note about the underframe: I used the MJT castings which are for Thompson carriages (the picture above at Grantham shows Gresley and Thompson versions next to each other). I began by thinning the castings, then reduced them to sit higher as per the Gresley design. The transverse angles were brass, on which the battery box shelves rested, these also made from brass angle. There's a satisfying solidity to the whole arrangement, best seen unpainted under a 51'1 1/2" steel-panelled version (see link below).
Click on the image for an enlargement
The guard's end complete, seen from the ducket side.
I have to confess that I built this model some years ago for my model of Brackley Central because neither the BT(4) nor BT(5) versions offered by Ian Kirk ran on the GC section, but I was still on the learning curve and two errors now stand out. In the first place the handles at the guard's end were not brass but iron and mild steel. There are two schools of thought as to the finish, red oxide or black and both have been applied on preserved carriages. Personally, I lean towards black and went over to it.
The second mistake concerns lining of the beading which the LNER stopped applying to secondary stock after about 1927. When fresh from the paint shop and seen on a sunny day, the beading would catch the light and almost look like it was lined but on a model, it can look quite sombre. My only saving grace is that my lining was quite subdued, the roof and underframe weathered, and the result does not look daft. These are difficult areas to model realistically. Note that I had already adopted quite a dark shade for the varnished teak. It can be quite satisfying to get away from Day-Glo shades, white roof and glossy black and I'm pleased that modellers have begun to drift in the right direction.
Click on the image for an enlargement
A final view of the finished carriage.
Click on the image for an enlargement
Related links:
