Darstaed LNER Thompson coaches
◆ GAUGE ‘O’ ◆ MODELS Darstaed/ellis Clark Trains LNER 63ft Thompson coaches • D24-1-3A BCK Brake Composite • D24-1-6A RTO Restaurant Third Open ◆ PRICE £229.00 each ◆ AVAILABILITY Ellis Clark Trains Tel 01756 701451 Web www.ellisclarktrains.co.uk
Ellis Clark Trains and Darstaed have worked together before, bringing a range of attractive ‘O’ gauge BR Mk 1 coaches to market, back in 2018. Their latest joint project has just come to fruition, in the form of the LNER Thompson 63ft steel-bodied coaching stock, again in RTR ‘O’.
Designed and built in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, when the LNER was in urgent need of new passenger rolling stock, these carriages were a product of their time. The widespread use of timber on pre-war designs could not be perpetuated, owing to the worldwide shortage of wood. The LNER also had an eye on modernisation, with electrification projects taking shape, making steel-bodied coaching stock a more attractive proposition.
To blend with the older stock, however, the new steel-bodied coaches were treated to a scumbled, faux teak paint effect, with the ‘grain’ even being applied in different directions to give the impression of panels.
Construction of the Thompson carriages got under way in earnest in 1946, continuing until 1950, by which time British Railways was developing the ‘standard’ Mk 1 coach design. Withdrawals began in the 1960s, with all removed from passenger service by the end of that decade.
The Darstaed range, available exclusively via Ellis Clark Trains, depicts a broad range of Thompson designs, including a Full Third, Brake Third, Brake Composite, Full First, Restaurant First and Restaurant Buffet. Fully finished coaches are offered, along with un-numbered versions, complete with sets of suitable decals for easy customisation. Furthermore, as well as the faux teak livery, Darstaed has also produced coaches in lined maroon livery, with crimson and cream to follow.
BOXES OF DELIGHTS
The carriages are housed in beautiful foam-lined packaging that exudes class. They’re hefty models too, weighing in at over 1kg each.
Straight away, one can tell that the bodysides are rendered in etched brass, as there’s none of the bulkiness around the window frames that’s inevitable with plastic bodyshells. Indeed, the windows offer unfettered visual access to the interiors, but more of the innards in a moment.
The exact profile of LNER coaching stock can often spark debate among hardcore aficionados but, to my eye, these coaches capture the prototype’s lines well. The corner joints, where the brass sides meet the plastic ends, are neatly made and there’s an overall feeling of quality workmanship.
There’s a slight drawback with the use of etched brass sides, in that the detail relief is a little shallow, especially the door seams, bump stops and droplight reveals on the side doors. That said, separate hinges have been installed, of varying depths, to cater for the side’s profile, which shows great attention to detail. The grab handrails and brass door handles also look great.
The bowed ends look right too, with fine wire water tank filler pipes, electrical jumper cables, brake tell-tale valves and clipped (sprung) buffers adding extra finesse. The pivoting gangways are similar to those fitted to Darstaed’s Mk 1s, featuring magnetic couplers and rubber bellows. When the coaches are coupled together, the effect is extremely realistic. A neat tail board is provided with the Brake
Composite, which simply clips onto the outer gangway.
Glancing up at the roofs, which are plastic mouldings, the torpedostyle vents, handrails and gutter strips are well observed. I was impressed by the functional destination board brackets at cant
rail height and the overall fit to the body is seamless.
Much of the weight comes from the use of a die-cast metal chassis frame, onto which is fitted plastic trussing and underframe fittings. The various battery and fuse boxes, dynamo, reservoir tank, vacuum cylinders and brake linkages are present and well rendered. There’s a slight air of economy here, compared to some other 7mm scale models, with fiddly parts kept to a minimum. But everything looks correct and it’s all rugged and resilient to regular handling, including the various footboards and steps.
The distinctive Gresley-style bogies are also die-cast metal and feature an excellent level of detail relief on the frames. The brake shoes, yokes and linkages are superb and, again, quite robust.
The blackened metal wheels feature pinpoint axles and turn freely within brass ‘top hat’ bearings. The axles of one bogie per coach bear against a set of wiper pick-ups, transmitting power from the rails to the interior lighting units, which can operate on either DC or DCC layouts. The Brake Composite under review also sports a pre-fitted, illuminated oil tail lamp. A tiny switch under the bogie governs the lighting.
There’s a good amount of swing and vertical movement in the bogies, although the minimum recommended track radius is 6ft. While the coaches run freely, the wipers do add a small amount of friction, which may be an issue with longer rakes. As an optional extra, ball bearing-fitted axleboxes can be specified (£20.00 extra per coach), which will significantly reduce drag.
INNER BEAUTY
The interiors are fantastic, with the corridor coach being especially well appointed. The seats are covered in a convincing printed moquette pattern, while mirrors, framed pictures and lamps adorn the corridor partitions. There are also etched and painted mesh luggage racks overhead. The Restaurant car is also attractively finished, and the interior lighting units help show the detail off to best advantage.
The scumbled teak livery looks great, with the various grain directions matching those on the prototype. The shaded LNER lettering and numerals is refined, creating a convincing overall appearance. I wonder if the solebars are a little bright, though.
In terms of RTR, high-fidelity ‘O’ gauge coaching stock, these are well-priced models, with attractive and authentic looks, plus an impressive level of detail. Thompson coaching stock was employed on all manner of passenger trains, including short-form locals, so a three-car rake would be entirely believable.
They’re ideally suited to a range of 7mm scale motive power, from LNER ‘Pacifics’ to the early Eastern Region diesel types. They may not have endured as long as BR Mk 1 stock but the Thompson design has remained popular with modellers over the years, so these new models are certainly very welcome. (GD)
The exact profile of LNER coaching stock can often spark debate among hardcore aficionados but, to my eye, these coaches capture the prototype’s lines well