15ft coachs

[Alex Crawford]

Hi,

I'd like to add a couple of 15ft coaches to my layout but I can't find anything suitable. I'm looking for old style 3rd class coaches, late 1800's early 1900's.

Would anyone have any plans so I could scratch build my own using Peco 15ft chassis.

Any help appreciated.

Regards,

Alex

[sycamore creek]

Hi Alex,

15 ft chassis - is that the wheelbase? The reason I ask is that third class units were about 6 foot, so you only have 2.5 sets in that space. First class would be OK as they were about 7 feet each, don't forget the end walls they were 3" thick, walls/partitions (some only seat height) between compartments 2" is about normal.

Yours Peter.

[Alex Crawford]

Errr, don't know. I take it you mean center of front wheel to center of rear wheel for the wheelbase?

I found the following on a website...

Third class and minor railway four wheel coaches were still being built with wheelbases ranging from twelve foot for a four compartment all-third to fifteen foot for a first-third (with two compartments of each). These can be made up using a Peco fifteen foot brake van chassis with a cut-down Graham Farish 'suburban' coach body, with careful cutting you get two four wheeler four compartment bodied from a single Farish coach.

So I naturally assumed this was a standard size coach, hence my request for plans.

Alex

[sycamore creek]

Hi Alex,

Right that will be the distance between the wheels, a 15ft wheelbase 4 wheel Midland Railway coach, for commuter work was 27 feet long, they are panelled.

For commuter work (or workmens coaches) as they had 6 foot 6inch first class compartments (4), and 5foot 2.5inch thirds(5). With tumblehome to sides and ends, and qiute wide (again as they were commuter coaches at 8foot 6inches, normal stock was 8foot wide). They were designated Metroplitan area stock, so were used in London. Built 1883

By then normal use stock was 6 wheel.

Naturally these are for 4ft 8inch gauge, yours sound like being freelance, and are they for narrow gauge?

Wittyh your time range coaches were by then quite good, and had panelling, making life difficult for easy modelling. Not so narrow gauge - the Workmens(quarrymens) coaches on the Festiniog Railway were little more the van bodies with no doors or windows, and plank seats!

Yours Peter.

[Alex Crawford]

Hi Peter,

I'm looking into recreating the goods yard (n gauge) that was at Kennoway, Fife. Although it was mainly goods a daily train ran coal miners from Kennoway to Largoward for a couple of years between 1912-1914 from their own platform. This way I can run a passenger train now and again.

I have no info at all on the coaches, but would imagine that the railway owner would buy whatever he could get his hands on, hence my date range and looking at 3rd class coaches.

Not much to go on but everything helps.

Alex

[sycamore creek]

Hi Alex,

Now we are getting somewhere; a miners train, second only to Quarrymen if not equal! The dirtiest jobs possible!

Not only that Scotland in general is the area saddled with almost a total lack of drawings of coaches, and especially for the period that you are talking about, even the competition (Caledonian!) in the new book has only a small amount on coaches and all that is later then you are talking about.

However I have from 1871 or so (just about right as coach life was up to 35 - 40 years) a drawing of an ancient NER coach

Yours Peter

[sycamore creek]

Hi Alex,

Check your own e-mail

Yours Peter

[Alex Crawford]

Hi Peter,

Excellent, thank you very much. I'll have a go at the bottom one when I'm on holiday next week.

Alex