Kernow ‘Turbot’
Kernow surprised many with this announcement – and now it’s in stock.
Kernow Model Rail Centre’s exclusive wagon products have traditionally had a South Western theme to them. The latest, however, the ‘Turbot’ bogie ballast wagon, has nationwide appeal. BR created the ‘Turbot’ from the ‘Bogie Bolster E’. Although roughly the same length as a Tube wagon, the fact that the 32ft long ‘Es’ had bogies gave them a much higher payload capacity. BR rebuilt some 1,000 ‘Bogie Bolster Es’ with low bodies, with three dropside doors for ballast and spoil traffic. ‘Turbot’ conversions took place between the 1970s and 1980s but the majority had been withdrawn by the early 2000s. However, 60 ‘Turbots’ were rebuilt with airbrakes and had the end spill plates removed for use on London Underground. Dapol has been promising a ‘OO’ gauge ‘Turbot’ for many years but with the project having seemingly stalled, Kernow Model Rail Centre picked up the baton. Dapol confirmed at the 2017 Warley National Model Railway Exhibition that it was still working on a ‘Turbot’ and displayed CAD images on its stand. But Kernow’s offering was at a more advanced stage, and it was able to display factory decorated samples.
HERE AND KERNOW
Kernow’s ‘Turbot’ is now in stock and we received two samples for review: DB978015, rebuilt to Lot 4021 at Shildon in June 1982, in grey/yellow ‘Dutch’; and EWS maroon DB978488, which, as DB978115, was also rebuilt at Shildon in June 1982. Both wagons compare well with prototype photographs on Paul Bartlett’s website (paulbartlett.zenfolio.com).
The short, stumpy looks are well executed and though all of the door equipment is moulded, it looks effective. End handrails are separately fitted items but lamp irons are also moulded. The North American-looking Davis & Lloyd ‘Ride Control’ bogies look effective, with some good relief around the springs. The frame trusses are sturdy and complement the fine hand and vacuum brake gear.
The only issue is that some wagons – including DB978015 – have been modelled with the distinctive end step when the real thing didn’t have this feature. Our biggest worry proved to be unfounded. The NEM pockets, holding cranked tension lock units, are fixed and not linked to the bogies with a cam arrangement. This didn’t affect the running at all – the two wagons were towed and propelled through first radius curves, points and crossovers at speed with no problems whatsoever. The exposed three-hole disc wheels have a really effective, ‘lazy’ look when running at slow speed.
DISH THE DIRT
EWS livery was applied to ‘Turbots’ employed on a series of trains that ran to Minehead, terminus of the West Somerset Railway, as the Somerset sea defences were beefed up. The paint shades on this and the ‘Dutch’ model look good, although ‘Turbots’ rarely remained this clean – you’ll need to break out your weathering equipment to give them a truly authentic look. Printing is exemplary throughout, with all data panels and builder’s plates legible under a magnifier. Sadly, the edges between the two colours on both samples is rather fuzzy and the yellow/gold on both lacks full opacity. The headstocks and buffers on DB978015 should also be black and not grey. The ‘Turbot’ is very competitively priced when you consider a Bachmann ‘Tube’ wagon, which doesn’t have bogies, costs £32.95. Bulk packs featuring four EWS or ‘Dutch’ wagons are also available for £109.99. It may have taken a while for modern image modellers to get their hands on a ready-to-run ‘Turbot’, but it’s been worth the wait.
The two wagons were towed and propelled through first radius curves, points and crossovers at speed with no problems whatsoever