Hornby ‘Toad E’ brake van
◆ GAUGE ‘OO’ ◆ MODEL Hornby R6834 LNER ‘Toad E’ No. E175712, BR unfitted grey ◆ PRICE £21.99 ◆ AVAILABILITY Hornby stockists or www.hornby.com
Not another new ‘OO’ gauge ‘Toad’ brake van, surely? Yes, only this isn’t a GWR wagon but an LNER one. Confused? Railway companies communicated between stations using electric telegraph, and implemented code words for wagons to shorten the messages. The GWR devised some wonderful codes for its wagons. ‘Toad’, for brake van, sits neatly alongside the likes of ‘Crocodile’, ‘Bloater’, ‘Macaw’ or ‘Mink’. The LNER took a more sensible approach, combining words to form a code. Hence ‘Boplate’ for bogie plate or ‘Covan’ for a covered goods van. If anyone could shed any light on why the LNER decided that ‘Toad’ was a good word for a brake van, we’d be interested to find out. The ‘Toad B’ was the LNER’S first standard brake van. The Dia. 64 ‘Toad E’ was introduced in 1930. Other than a steel ducket rather than a planked one, the ‘E’ was virtually identical to the ‘B’. We received ‘Toad E’ No. E175712 in BR unfitted grey livery. The real thing was one of a batch of 162 delivered in 1934, with the work split between Shildon and Darlington works. First impressions are good. Hornby has captured the boxy
nature of the prototype and there looks to be a lot of very fine detail. The model measures up well to diagrams and photographs in Peter Tatlow’s LNER Wagons: Volume 4B: Standard and Other
Designs (Wild Swan Books, 2015). The underframe catches the eye, with the neatly printed (and fully legible) worksplate standing out from fine rivets on the solebar. The footsteps are commendably thin and the fine metals wheels and turned (though unsprung) metal bufferheads combine to give the model a feel of real quality. Closer inspection reveals a frustrating mix of good and bad. The seams around the duckets are too deep, while the upper framework isn’t defined enough and the distinctive panel above the ducket blends into the rest of the body. The plank definition is very good all round, except that they’ve been missed from the inside of the ends, leaving flat plastic. Flip the ‘Toad E’ over and you’ll see the impressive underframe detail. Hornby has even managed to include the buffer springs in the moulding! The NEM pockets are screwed in place but have a decent amount of ‘flex’ and it should be noted that they have thin tails to represent the brake gear. Glazing is excellent all round and you can see the brake handle and benches inside. The distinctive LNER ‘torpedo’ vents are well moulded, as is the fixed side lamp. It’s a shame, therefore, that the security bars are too thick. Photographs of specific ‘Toad Es’ are scarce, but suggest that the side handrail arrangement is incorrect. The rail should be straight throughout, without curving inwards where it’s fixed to the body. Ex-works photographs show ‘Toad Es’ without the extra handrail to the right of the ducket, so, presumably, No. E175712 gained this at a later date. Yes, there are some compromises but this model is rather cute. It’s well finished, runs well and is attractively priced. Most of all, it brings some much-needed variety to the ranks of BR brake vans. Hornby’s ‘Toad B’ arrived in the office as this issue closed for press. See next issue for a full review.