Friends; first of all I would urge all loyal readers of this humble journal to go and order a the pair of carriages which comprise the new Roxey Mouldings’ LB&SCR 1909 push pull sets (not yet illustrated on their website), recently acquired from the MSC stable. For your delight there’s a driving composite to LBSCR Diagram 109/111 – SR Diagram 434/435, and a trailer third to SR Diagram 79. I’m certain they’re lovely kits and you will all be happy with at least one, if not more on your layout, whatever your scale, region or period.
End of blatant advert.
Good news! The previously unidentified Great Northern covered vans described here have been…well…identified, It appears that the vans were introduced in 1875 (or possibly 1879) and lasted in service right through the Basilica Fields timeframe, the last examples being withdrawn in the years immediately following Grouping.
Not only that, but all this time a kit for them has been available.
Until recently.
It was part of the MSC range, now scattered to various manufacturers, and the artwork suggests that someone like Tim Hughes may well have been involved in the origination. The kits recently found a new home under the Roxey Mouldings banner and I was fortunately able to obtain the three kits which constituted Dave Hammersley’s entire stock at the recent Railex spectacular in Aylesbury.
This is a good start, but more examples are required. I’ve got my order in for more from the next batch delivered from the etcher, but unfortunately the artwork for the vans is on the corner of an etched sheet for the above mentioned Brighton push pull set and, rather sensibly, Dave won’t order more frets from the etchers until his present stock of push pull kits reduces.
So if anyone would like a lovely 1909 Brighton set or three I’d be very, very grateful…
What? You thought there wasn’t a method in the above madness?
Basilica Fields 
June 9, 2012 at 9:48 am
I cannot tell if you are sane for the plain cheek of asking others to buy “X” so that you can buy “Y”…. or absolutely mad for expecting enough LBSCR P/P kits to be bought as to populate Basilica Fields with sufficient GNR vans.
regards, T-in-C or L-o-L… you choose , Graham
June 9, 2012 at 10:25 am
Neither insane nor mad (though taking the Basilica Fields project a whole one might legitimately question that!), but given the somewhat farcical juxtaposition of an LBSC p/p coach on the same fret as a GN van, and not generally pre-disposed to Victor Meldrew type rants, the only course of action was to inject a little humour and cheekiness.
I have since wondered whether anyone took the first paragraph seriously and stopped reading before getting to the end, but then again, maybe that’s as likely as someone actually buying one of those push/pull sets to help out… 😉
June 9, 2012 at 10:31 am
By the way, if any readers are familiar with the Deep Space Nine season 1 episode Q-Less, the first paragraph should be read with Quark’s opening speech at the beginning of the auction of the Gamma Quadrant relics in mind: ‘Friends…’
June 9, 2012 at 7:47 pm
Now this is not fair… you can reasonably expect that readers are likely to be familiar with Arhur Dent…. and with the good medic from Gallifrey… to assume that we know about Deep Space Nine and three-quarters seems very un-reasonable!!!!
regards, Graham
June 9, 2012 at 10:17 pm
Oh, I dunno – it’s possible to have more than one anorak in the closet…
June 21, 2012 at 9:52 pm
Do we need a bable fish here or can Ford unravel it ?
Col.