Great Northern Coaches

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Out on the line for the first time in the 21st Century, this rake of GN coaches nicely compliment the Bing / Bassett Lowke 'N1' tank engine.

This remarkable rake of four large Gauge 2 coaches came to me through the hands of a respected vintage dealer. The origin of the set is unknown, although identical coaches are described in the May and June 1910 editions of Greenly's 'Models, Railways and Locomotives' The Rake consists of:::

1st/2nd/3rd Composite
1st/3rd Composite No. 601
1st/3rd Composite No. 601
Full Brake

The coaches are of Greenly's 'rebated panel' system with glass windows and interior detail. All the coaches are in good working order with sprung Bassett Lowke cast bogies and need only a modest amount of  tidying up. Unfortunately someone in the past has stuck paper labels on the roofs which has led to bare patches that will have to be sympathetically repaired. Some of the window dividers have been lost and will have to be made and colour matched. Apart from that, and the accumulated grime of a century, they are in remarkably good shape.

What's clear are that they are a 'collection', not built for one owner as a set, because the finish varies considerably. A vital clue is what must be the owner's initials lettered on two of them: 'HSR'.




There are two similar but not identical composites, both numbered '601'. Does this suggest that they were produced commercially? They have clearly been finished by different hands.



This carriage carries the intials 'H.S.R.'. This may well be the initials of the owner, so who was 'HSR'? The answer is out there, somewhere!



The same lettering appears on the full brake. These last two were obviously built as a pair.

The construction of these carriages was described in great detail in the May and June 1910 editions of 'Models, Railways and Locomotives'.
(link jumps to .pdf)



There's a certain amount of cleaning and tidying up still to do but here they are out on the line with the 1912 Bing N1 tank engine.






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