Something different, An unusual Push Pull set

[LCDR]

With the H class in the horizon I thought something different to go with it.  The Southern Railway rebuilt the SECR Railmotors of 1906 as carriages to operare as push-pull trailers. There were eight railmotors which yielded four sets. Two sets were articulated and sent to the Isle of Wight and two were mounted on normal twin bogies remaining on the mainland. In 1927 the articulated sets returned to the mainland, working on the Isle of Sheppey before moving westwards to Salisbury / Southampton. The non-articulated sets saw out their days in the Westerham branch with occasional visits to Hawkhurst and Allhallows.

 

The coaches started life as the  coach portion of a rail motor which was a combined loco and carriage popular in 1906. With a bit of ingenuity the model could be produced in both guises.

 

 

 

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[RB51]

I'll 2nd that LC, great idea. Just had a look at some kit versions (above my pay scale) lovely looking unit. R-

[Clownfish01]

The LB&SCR did something similar, didn't they?

[LCDR]

 Many railways did try the loco/coach combination in the 1900s. The GWR used them a lot, and one has recently been reconstructed at Didcot. In practice they were not 100 % successful. They were too inflexible to cater for fluctuations in demand. By the end of WW1 they were mostly stored out of service. The LNER was probably the last to use them, going for a more modern variety designed by Sentinel. These did work fairly well but were limited to lightly used services.  The LMS  had one of the traditional kind  that lasted until 1948.

 

They were the foreunner of the diesel railbus.  These were of limited use too.