Newton Chambers car transporters, BR maroon and coraporate blue and greye

[Bigmet]

Built in 1960 for the East Coast motorail services run with overnight sleeper accomodation, (and later also seen on the WCML motorail services when liveried in blue and grey). With two each of Gresley, Thompson and Peppercorn design pacifics, and BR's 40, 45, 46, 47 and 55 available RTR to drag the resulting long caravan up and down the ECML, there's no shortage of traction for the maroon versions, and yet more choices when they reached the WCML.

[D605Eagle]

Rich boys toys. Way too expensive for me.

[Bigmet]

Seen some photos from Warley already, and oh yes these look the business. Already got a stash of maroon GUV's and mk1's to run with, it'll make an interesting formation.

Would be nice if they were cheaper, but there it is. The price is in the same zone as the Accurascale mk1 block enders, and most likely whatever Hornby's Coronation coaches come in at, whenever they arrive. These are all on the future purchase list, as they are perfect fits for my KX area ECML interest. (Also on the list Heljan O2 in GNR heritage form, Sonic's A5 and Accurascale's Brush 2.)

I have always followed the principle of 'inelastic budget'. Raise prices all you like, I won't spend any more than a 'beer money' budget, established many years ago. A group of us decided that instead of the pub and talking railway interest actual and model, we would entertain at our various homes and get on with building and operating our model railways with the money saved. This has worked well, not least for our waistlines... And I am currently 'in credit', what with all the delays in getting the goods to market, and the RTR brand's blind spot for GN design tender locos smaller than power class 6...

[luckymucklebackit]

Very tempted by these, need to start saving up.

Jim

[Bigmet]

https://www.heljan.co.uk/post/newton-ch ... collection
Having thought about these items, I have a cunning plan. I can use 4 maroon liveried, so will buy two packs, ideally pack 1 and pack 3, then split one of the packs by selling on two vehicles, each at a third of the price to purchase, plus whatever postage is required to send them to their new owner: this within the UK only. (That last restriction the result of three recent significant problems sending stuff abroad.)

The worst that can happen is that I will end up with six, tragedy! If there is no uptake from this posting, I will offer the surplus two in the 'for sale' section once the items are in my hands. First come, first served, as ever...

[End2end]

Not that there's a livery I would buy, but at roughly £76 per coach they seem very expensive.
Thanks
End2end

[Bigmet]

... at roughly £76 per coach they seem very expensive.

Or even are expensive.

But these are a perfect fit for my modelling interest, and there is little else announced in that category likely to turn up any time soon.
and it would cost more to make them from kits (if available) especially in respect of the paint finish: considering that they are going to be a low volume production - only 15 in service and restricted to a few routes - it is not that surprising. I expect that by the time Accurascale get around to their BR mk1 57' non gangwayed tricked out in maroon, those will be much the same price. Just got to bite the bullet...

[ChrisGreaves]

Built in 1960 for the East Coast motorail services run with overnight sleeper accommodation...

Question from a foreigner: Was this 1960 development before motorways? I ask because over the years I have glanced at car transport across Australia (Adelaide-Perth) and North America (Toronto-Florida) and in both regions I came to the conclusion that driving the car was "better" given motel/meal/gas costs no matter the number of passengers (usually two in my situation).
I can understand a sleeping compartment London-Edinburgh if I was travelling without a car. And today I would probably rent a car at my destination, rather than rent a car and then rent a train to carry the car to my destination.

I suspect that in the design phase of these BR transporters, the UK motorways were not as well developed as they are now.

I am, of course, interested to hear from anyone who made use of these car-transporters.
Thanks.
"car-less" of railway-less Newfoundland.

[Jim S-W]

and it would cost more to make them from kits (if available)

Southern pride do them as kits

[Bigmet]

Question from a foreigner: Was this 1960 development before motorways? ...

Motorway construction was only just getting started, and it would be the mid-70s before anything like a national network was effectively functioning. Most significantly the London orbital motorway (M25) wasn't fully completed until 1986, and that serves the most densely populated region of the UK, linking all the motorways of the South East into one mighty traffic jam.

[Bigmet]

...Southern pride do them as kits.

Well, possibly. Footplate models in Kidderminster are the distributor, and they are listing nothing from this kit maker in stock. Southern Pride's own website is a dysfunctional mess, so that's the end of that from my perspective.

[ChrisGreaves]

... it would be the mid-70s before anything like a national network was effectively functioning.

Thanks BigMet. So in the 1960s London passengers were accustomed to a night sleeper train to Scotland, and I suppose that merely (!) adding a car as checked-luggage seemed like an obvious convenience.
Cheers, Chris.

[Richard08]

Built in 1960 for the East Coast motorail services run with overnight sleeper accommodation...

Question from a foreigner: Was this 1960 development before motorways? I ask because over the years I have glanced at car transport across Australia (Adelaide-Perth) and North America (Toronto-Florida) and in both regions I came to the conclusion that driving the car was "better" given motel/meal/gas costs no matter the number of passengers (usually two in my situation).
....
I am, of course, interested to hear from anyone who made use of these car-transporters.
"car-less" of railway-less Newfoundland.

It took until the late 60s/early 70s for UK car engines to catch up with motorways. Up until then UK car engines were simply not designed for long distance high speed use - the Highway Code even had a bit that suggested taking your foot of the accelerator every so often on the motorway to suck oil into the bores to ensure they got lubricated. Combined with UK fuel prices always being much higher than elsewhere 'long distance' (UK version) car travel didn't really kick in as elsewhere, so Motorail made sense.

My only experience of it was watching, while waiting to relive a train at Temple Meads, the platform guy making a mint from tips given by drivers to get their car in a more favourable position for unloading (these were just standard carflats). With different branding Motorail still exists - the Channel Tunnel! The Swiss are also dead keen on it, people use the train to take their cars under rather than over the Gotthard Pass (the Swiss use taxation to make rail transport preferable, particularly for transiting lorries). With sleeper trains becoming the new internal flying in Europe it would be nice to think Motrorail style services may make a comeback, though not in the UK I suspect as now most of the country outside cities has little or no access to the railway.

[Bigmet]

So in the 1960s London passengers were accustomed to a night sleeper train to Scotland, and I suppose that merely (!) adding a car as checked-luggage seemed like an obvious convenience...

Side note, the fundamental economic 'underpinning' of overnight sleeper services in the UK was the transport of MP's between home constituencies and London, so that they could sleep during the journeys and thus be reasted and ready to face their enraged electorate, vicious party whips, and the like. BR, as a virtual government department, was 'encouraged' to keep the most comfortable sleeping cars - preferred by the MP's - in service longer than they would have preferred: these of course were designs produced before nationalisation...

...It took until the late 60s/early 70s for UK car engines to catch up with motorways. Up until then UK car engines were simply not designed for long distance high speed use - the Highway Code even had a bit that suggested taking your foot of the accelerator every so often on the motorway to suck oil into the bores to ensure they got lubricated...

Indeed. One of my Dutch uncles visited the UK with his massive Tatra, and well heeled though he was, apparently complained incessantly at the pumps! (So the story goes, I was too young to appreciate this aspect.) Of much the same period of time, my late father-in-law would describe with joy how the first motorways enabled him to really use his Alvis Speed 25 with its Mulliner body and all sorts of special doodads under the bonnet; and would describe with great glee watching for the smoke of the little tin box ahead, in order to 'avoid by weaving'. (He never quite shook off his FAA fighter experience; and as for his conversion to the mighty Corsair during attachment to the USN, before Tiger Force was cancelled...)

[End2end]

linking all the motorways of the South East into one mighty traffic jam.

Yep.
Thanks
End2end