About the old Freelance 4-wheelers

[david_abramczyk]

So, I picked up one among an assortment at a swapmeet a few weeks ago, and I've had a thought rolling around my head for a while now.

By now I've heard a whole mess of things about how they're non-prototypical and all that, but I've never heard hard numbers about them- how tall they actually would be in 'real life', how big the compartments are, etc.

Anyone got any figures on those?

[threelink]

I have never measured the Hornby 4 wheelers but I can say that if they are chopped up and the parts glued together appropriately, they make super representations of a Hull and Barnsley Railway 5 compartment 4 wheeler circa 1880. As with many ex Triang models these carriages are to no known prototype, merely generic representations but I love them. Hacked about and with lowered buffer beams, finer wheels and a sly paint job they can be made into something that looks very convincing at normal viewing distance.

[Rana Temporia]

Have a look through some pictures of British Light Standard Gauge railways for inspiration, although most of the prototype coaches are longer as Threelink mentions. Even though they are too short and non-prototypical after a decent paint job they don’t look too bad at all.

[ModelerXYZ]

98mm= 24 feet 6 in long from buffer to buffer, 35mm wide= 8 foot 9inches wide, and 54mm tall= 13 foot 6 inches tall. This is the scale size in 00 from measurements and convertion with the scale. Wether a real coach like that existed I really don't know, it is possible i suppose.

XYZ

[david_abramczyk]

Well, that works for me; like I said, I picked up an LMS liveried one at a swapmeet, and I'm planning to make it akin to a bespoke 'Directors Saloon' for a light railway; one that had some rather eccentric requirements of the builder- one of them being that the doors had to be tall enough that a man wearing a top hat could board and alight from the coach without having to remove his headwear.

[Buz]

Hi david_abramczyk

The old Triang 4wh coaches are based on a Caledonian coach based being the important word as I believe even for that short coach that was limited to one particular branch line that they are to short.

How ever I have seen a real 3 compartment 1st 2nd composite coach all be it a 3'6" gauge coach

My thoughts paint it grey or vermilion class label it 2nd 1st 2nd or all third and decal it for the something or other Lt Rly

Another idea if you can pull it off turn two compartments into one furnish in a luxurious fashion the now second and much smaller compartment is furnished for the servants and the local lord of the manor has his personal saloon so a quality coach paint job is on the cards

Regards John

[david_abramczyk]

Well, that's kinda what I'm doing; my plan is to make it all one compartment as a 'Directors Saloon', with a table and multiple armchairs inside it.

It's also most likely going to be the oldest 'passenger coach' on the line (which depending on whom you ask, is either known as the "Yarlshaven Light Railway", or the "Jarlshaven Light Tramway"), though strictly speaking it's probably more like Departmental stock?