NWR rolling stock

On episodes set on Sodor, various pieces of **rolling stock owned by the North Western Railway (NWR)** are seen. Most are second-hand by the 1990s while most of the original NWR-built stock have either being withdrawn or have already been scrapped.

## GWR Collett coaches

The **GWR Collett** coaches are the NWR's standard express coach type. By the 1990s, these coaches had only begun to be retired and scrapped.

### History

Following Collett's take over as CME of the GWR in 1922, a new range of steel-bodied coaches were designed in the 1920s as a result of this change. The newer coaches mostly replaced older-style Dean or Armstrong coaches that had been hanged onto service because of WWI. In the 1930s, the NWR placed an order to replace the aging ex-Wellsworth & Suddery Railway bogie coaches dating from around the same era. As a result, 14 coaches were built and sent to Sodor where the ex-W&S coaches were now beginning to be retired.

By WWII, the Collett coaches became the standard form of express coach by the NWR and over double the original amount were in service, which around 16 were used by the Steam Reserve Corps throughout the World War, which around 9 were lost to enemy action. By nationalisation in 1948, the NWR was allowed to keep its Collett coaches and stay as an independent operator but in order for the NWR stock to run on BR metals, the coaches were given BR region numbers ("SO" given to Sodor). Three of these coaches (SO5321, SO5322 and SO5212) were seen at Northampsmith in 1962 headed by Thomas as part of a trial service to Crewe.

By the 1970s the coaches had finally began to show their age and were in need of replacement on the 'Wild Nor Wester'. The answer came in the form of the BR Mk1 Pullman coaches since they were more modern and had the new Commonwealth bogies. As the decade was halfway done, their safety was soon called into question when an axle broke in half outside Crovan's Gate station with the loss of eight lives and injuring 88 more in 1974. As the new Mk1 Pullman coaches arrived, the Collett coaches were soon pushed off their role as the main express coaches of the NWR and a planned withdrawal date was set in 1987.

By 1997, only ten were in service with one being converted as a support coach and an extra two being placed on display at the Sudrian Muesum of Rail Transportation, Crovan's Gate. The last Collett coach was retired from the NWR on passenger duties in 2001 with two being placed on departmental duties.

### Livery

The NWR's Collett coaches are painted in the Standard NWR Express Green with Cream livery.

From 1948 to 1975, they were painted in NWR Red with White. Both liveries feature the railway's crest

### Basis

The GWR Collett coaches are based on standard GWR Collett 57ft "Bow-ended" coaches. These were designed by Charles Benjamin Collett in 1925 to replace the ageing but distinctive 'Toplight' coaches designed by his predecessor Churchward in the 1900s. They rode on a 57ft frame and featured a new steel body as opposed to the older wooden structure that original coaches before them had, making them the staple of GWR coaches for 30 years. The name "Bow-ended" referred to rather unusual ends where the corridors were located as they appeared to try and resemble a ship's bow as opposed to a flat end like on older corridor coaches.

### Trivia

The NWR's Collett coaches are Hornby Thomas & Friends coaches marketed as Gordon's and James's coaches.

* The only reason for using GWR coaches is because the Hornby express coaches are made from the Collett coach tooling.
* Since the models only come in either composite or brake composite, some have been modified to include other classifications including sleeper, dining and kitchen.

The Collett coaches are simply referred to as "express coaches" and share the same length as the LMS Suburban coaches also used by the NWR, 57ft.

By the late-1990s, only ten Collett coaches were still in NWR service with two being preserved by the Sudrian Preservation Society (SPS) and one converted by the NWR into a support coach for Gordon in 1987.

## BR Mk1 Pullman coaches

The **BR Mk1 Pullman coaches** are a type of express coach based on the British Railways (BR) Mk1 carriage series with a Pullman layout. They are used by the NWR on the 'Wild Nor Wester' and 'The Sudrian'.

### History

The BR Mk1 Pullmans were introduced by BR in 1961 and featured the renowned Mk1 carriage features but combined with elements from the older coaches built to Pullman standards and were built by Metro-Cammell from 1961 to 1964. As standard for 1960s-built Mk1s, the Pullmans were fitted with Commonwealth bogies which had roller bearings for reduced friction (allowing higher speeds) and following failures of the original BR Mk1 bogies in the 1950s. The NWR started buying Mk1 Pullmans in 1979 when the Collett coaches' operation was being called into question due to their age and a derailment at Wellsworth in 1974 following an axle fracture.

By the 1990s, these coaches had since replaced the Collett stock built in the 1930s on the 'Wild Nor Wester' express between Tidmouth and Barrow-in-Furness.

### Livery

The BR Mk1 Pullmans are painted in the infamous Pullman Umber & Cream with yellow axlebox covers on their bogies.

### Basis

The BR Mk1 Pullmans are based on the real life coaches built by BR. 44 such carriages were built by Metro-Cammell from 1961 to 1964 based on the Mk1 carriage family introduced by British Railways (BR) in 1951 and were introduced to replace most of the pre-nationalisation Pullman coaches inherited because of Nationalisation of BR in 1948. They were slowly pashed out by the Mk2 Pullmans which were introduced in the 1970s. 26 have been preserved and are normally seen on heritage railway diner trains. The Mk1 Pullmans were one of the first BR Mk1 to feature Commonwealth bogies.

### Trivia

The BR Mk1 Pullmans are the only coaches the NWR owns that feature roller bearings and coil springs, while the rest of the carriage fleet features standard bearings and leaf springs.

The BR Mk1 Pullmans are Bachmann models that have been factory fitted with light bars. Some of them have been renamed to prevent duplicate names occurring.

According to Gordon, the BR Mk1 Pullmans are his favourite carriages after he can haul more with little effort needed to move them thanks to their modern roller bearings.

The BR Mk1 Pullmans are normally reserved for the 'Wild Nor Wester' express service but are also used on 'The Sudrian' express service.

According to Shane Sowter, the NWR owns at least ten BR Mk1 Pullmans.

## LMS Suburban coaches

The **LMS Suburban coaches** are a group of coaches built by the London, Midland & Scottish Railway (LMS) in the 1920s. They are the standard commuter train carriages used by the NWR and by the 1990s, were beginning to be retired.

### History

The LMS Suburban coaches were based on an older Midland Railway design but were modified by Hughes, Fowler and Stanier.

### Livery

The NWR-owned LMS Suburban coaches are painted in NWR Brown with a yellow stripe and the railway's crest in the centre.

By the 1990s, these coaches were being phased out for older designs such as ex-SE&CR "Birdcage" stock.

### Basis

The LMS Suburbans are based on the real coaches. They were built by the LMS from 1923 to 1933 for suburban duties on the mainline and secondary routes across its network. Hundreds were built and were followed up into the 1930s when they were modified by William Stanier. They were withdrawn from passenger service in the 1960s and can be found on heritage railways in the UK.

### Trivia

The LMS Suburban coaches are Dapol coach kits that have been repainted.

The LMS Suburban coaches are also referred to as "LMS Period III coaches" because they were of the modified Stanier batch built in 1933.

The LMS Suburban coaches share the same length as the Collett coaches also used by the NWR, 57ft.

Annie and Clarabel are the only characterised carriages of this class, as they are in the Railway Series

* Originally, Annie and Clarabel were going to be Stroudley 4-wheeled coaches as seen in the television series but because of withdrawal date of said coaches, they would have been scrapped by the 1990s.

## 15Ton alumina hoppers

The **15Ton alumina hoppers** are 40 old four-wheel ore hoppers that have been converted to alumina traffic in the 1970s. They were converted to replace the older alumina hoppers built in the 1920s.

### History

The 15Ton hoppers were originally 20ton hoppers used until the 1960s by British Railways (BR). 40 were sold to the NWR in 1967 as they were being phased out on mainline service due to their age and were converted into alumina hoppers, leading them to be down-rated 20Ton to 15Ton. They replaced the original alumina hoppers from the 1920s and despite being smaller, they could transport a little more than the old ones, which all except two were sold for scrap by Vicarstown Recycling Co.

### Livery

The 15ton alumina hoppers are painted in a dark brown with 'NWR' and 'ALUMINA' written in large white Gill Sans font. They also have 'EMPTY TO TIDMOUTH' and '15T' in small white Gill Sans font, the previous on a black panel.

### Basis

The 15Ton alumina hoppers are inspired by the 17Ton alumina hoppers built by the LNER from old NER 18Ton hopper wagons. They were used to transport raw alumina to smelters to be converted into aluminium.

The base wagons appear to be based on the BR 24.5Ton HOU hoppers but with a shorter 10ft frame and top, while having a ladder on either end of the wagon.

### Trivia

The 15Ton alumina hoppers are built from old Mainline (Palitoy) 20Ton hopper wagons from the 1990s. They have custom tops made from card with the hatch being a LEGO piece.

* Shane Sowter mentions that the NWR owns 40 of these wagons but he only made half the actual number, 20, mostly to identify the withdrawal of alumina traffic.
* The models also have Bachmann spares metal wheels as replacements for the older plastic wheels the model had.
* Bachmann couplings are also used to replace the old Mainline large loop tension lock couplings fitted to the model.

The idea of this NWR's alumina hoppers came from Corwin Bainbridge's own alumina hoppers he constructed from the kit of the basis of Shane Sowter's hoppers.

The 15Ton alumina hoppers are not fitted with vacuum or air brakes.

## GWR AA20 "Toad" brake vans

The **GWR AA20 brake vans** are a type of brake van developed by the Great Western Railway (GWR) based on their standard brake van design referred to as "Toads". The NWR owns five of these brake vans.

### History

The GWR AA20 brake vans, better known as "toads" after the electronic telegraph code for the brake vans on the GWR, were a development of the normal goods brake van type developed from the early 1900s. As with AA15 onwards, they featured steel lower halves on their bodies and wooden upper halves. They began to be retired in the 1960s but were used on departmental trains by British Rail into the 1980s.

In the 1960s, the NWR began buying second-hand brake vans to work alongside their ageing fleet of North Eastern Railway (NER) 20Ton and London & South Western Railway (LSWR) 24Ton brake vans built for them in the 1920s and 1930s. Among the new vehicles, 12 Toads were purchased between 1963 and 1964 after the NWR withdrew its last NER 20Tons from service due to safety issue after an incident that occurred in 1959 with brake van No. 13, which was crushed by No. 9 'Donald' on Wellsworth Bank ("Gordon's Hill").

### Livery

The GWR AA20 are painted in GWR Dark Grey with 'GW' painted in white on their sides and BR Goods Grey.

### Basis

The GWR AA20 brake vans are based on the real vehicles. They were a development of the normal GWR Diagram AA15 brake vans introduced in 1918 and were nicknamed "Toads" by railwaymen and enthusiasts, after the electric telegraph code on the GWR for a brake van. They remained in service until replaced by air-braked stock and placed on engineering duties, which the last ones were retired during the 1980s and 1990s. A few Diagram AA20 Toads have been preserved on heritage railways.

### Trivia

Toad is the only faced version of this brake van.

* In The Railway Series and TV series, Toad is depicted as an AA15 brake van.

The models used are a mix of Hornby and Bachmann AA20s.

The reason the NWR hasn't painted these brake vans into NWR livery is because of their heritage.

One of the AA20 brake vans was originally the one seen with Taffy in the movie.

## LSWR 24Ton brake vans

The **LSWR 24Ton brake vans** are a type of brake van developed by the London & South Western Railway (LSWR) and later modified by the Southern Railway (SR).

## LBSCR Stroudley 4-wheeled coaches

The **Stroudley 4-wheeled coaches** are a type of passenger carriage once used by the NWR until 1956. The Sudrian ones were originally built for the Wellsworth & Suddery Railway in the 1870s and were the longest serving carriages the NWR owned.

### History

The Stroudley 4-wheeled coaches were designed by William Stroudley on the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway (LBSCR) in the 1870s in large numbers to replace the older coaches from the 1850s and 1860s. From 1873 to 1885, a total of 63 were built for the Wellsworth & Suddery Railway (W&S) on Sodor following the twinning of the LBSCR and the W&S in 1873, which would lead to Brighton supplying locomotives and rolling stock to the Sudrian railway. In 1912, six were destroyed in a collision at Crosby that badly damaged an E3 class 0-6-2T and a G class 2-2-2.

In 1920, the Stroudley coaches were beyond their usage and were in need of replacement but nothing was done following the need for newer locomotives following the First World War, which five more coaches were written off. In 1933, the first official withdrawals began as newer LMS Suburban coaches arrived for the NWR that period to replace them. Twelve were still in service by the time World War Two broke out on September 1939, but only seven were still in standard suburban service while five were placed on departmental duties as works unit coaches. During WWII, the seven remaining standard operation Stroudley coaches were used on the Arlesburgh branchline but were destroyed along with a works unit coach in a collision that wrote off both locomotives involved in 1942.

In 1956, the last four Stroudley 4-wheeled carriages were retired from their departmental duties and purchased by the Sudrian G class Locomotive Group (SGcLG, later renamed the Sudrian Preservation Society) for display in original W&S condition with ex-W&S G class 2-2-2 No. 18 Gwen, who was owned by the group. By the 1990s, all four had been restored to static condition complete in W&S livery at the Sudrian Museum of Rail Transportation, Crovan's Gate.

### Livery

As built and at the Sudrian Museum of Rail Transporation, the Stroudley 4-wheeled coaches are painted in W&S Maroon livery with gold lining.

During WWII, seven were painted in NWR Brown with a yellow stripe and the railway's crest. In departmental service, the Stroudley 4-wheeled coaches are painted in NWR departmental black with the letters 'NW' and the words 'WORKS UNIT' in white Cambria font.

### Basis

The Stroudley 4-wheeled coaches are based off the real vehicles. They were designed by William Stroudley in the 1870s and 1880s for the LBSCR on suburban duties but were replaced on some routes with larger 6-wheeled or bogie coaches. Most had been withdrawn by World War One but a few carried on into BR days because of the Isle of Wight which proved to be their last place of operation before being replaced by bogie coaches from the pre-Grouping era e.g. LBSCR, LCDR and SE&CR. A few have been preserved by the Bluebell Railway and the Isle of Wight Steam Railway.

### Trivia

The Stroudley 4-wheeled coaches preserved by the SPS are the oldest coaches on Sodor.

The SPS owns a single brake coach as part of its display with Gwen. According to Shane Sowter, the brake coach owned by the SPS was actually a standard compartment coach that had been rebuilt because the last Stroudley brake coach on the NWR was destroyed in the 1942 Tidmouth collision.

The Stroudley 4-wheeled coaches are made using Bachmann USA red branchline coaches from their Thomas & Friends range and have been repainted.

* Because of this, they are missing their brake shoes and rigging.

Annie and Clarabel were originally going be these coaches but was changed to LMS Suburban coaches following the withdrawal date of the Stroudley 4-wheeled coaches and they would have been scrapped by the 1990s.

A Stroudley carriage body could be seen being used as a shed outside Wellsworth station.

## SR BY Utility Vans

The **SR BY Utility Vans** is a type of general purpose passenger van used by the NWR. They are normally used on secondary passenger trains as parcels vans.

### History

The BY utility vans were built from the 1937 and were designed by Richard Maunsell for mainline or branch parcels traffic on the Southern Railway (SR), but based on a much older SECR design from 1919. A batch of 26 were built for the NWR in 1938 after the need for newer parcels and "general purpose" vans arose to replace standard vans given to them by the LMS. They final one was delivered just before WWII and the vans were used to transport munitions as well as military vehicles e.g. jeeps following the arrival of US forces in the UK for the invasion of mainland Europe, aka "Operation Overlord" or "D-Day", in 1944.

By the 1990s, the vans were still in regular service but were in need of replacement due to their age and their wooden bodies were rotting away. An answer came in the form of second-hand Mk1 CCTs and GUVs being retired by the mainline railways on the UK mainland, but this is yet to be seen as no official replacement has been finalised.

### Livery

The SR BY Utility Vans are painted in NWR Dark Brown with the railway's crest, a livery reserved for these vehicles only.

### Basis

The SR BY Utility Vans are based off the real vehicles. They were designed by Richard Maunsell in 1937 for main and branchline work and were an update of his SECR Diagram 960 Parcels and Miscellaneous Vans (PMVs) or "Cavell Vans" from 1919. The first BYs appeared in 1937 and were but up to the 1950s under British Railways. The vehicles were retired from traffic in the 1970s.

### Trivia

The SR BY Utility Vans are built from Parkside Models (Peco) kits that have been assembled and used on Shane Sowter's WWII-themed NWR layout.

* Their windows were done with Deluxe Materials Glue 'n Glaze instead of clear plastic.
* One of the models has some of the details fitted on the wrong side. This was an error created during construction of the first BY built from the kit.

Like their real life counterparts, the BY Utility Vans are mostly used by the NWR as their standard postal vehicles.

A similar but older vehicle, an ex-SE&CR Parcels and Miscellaneous Van (PMV), is seen in the film handled by Hughes at Birdsville.