LNWR Brake Third

This superb model appears to be part of a rake of North Western coaches made by Mr H.B. Jervis sometime before 1915, when he exhibited them and won a Prize at that year's Model Railway Exhibition.

This coach, No. 5105, appears to be a partner to a coach exhibited by Mr H B Jervis at the 1915 Model Railway Exhibition. The models represent 'Toplight' Coaches, described in the article as "LNWR Latest Type Corridor Coaches'.

In this picture, the coach number appears to be '5104'. The article tells us that this model, along with several others, were 'prizewinning' exhibits. The wherabouts of No. 5104 is presently unknown and it's possible that both coaches went to the Berkshire line of Messrs Krabbe and Brabazon, along with Mr Jervis's rake of GWR Toplight coaches.

Here is the coach in company with Abergavenny and a short train.

New to the Gauge 2 model railway in 2023, and all from the same auction lot, are four more LNWR brake coaches! These are all of wood construction using Greenly's system. The Brighton 'Abergavenny' Pacific tank is only slightly improbable on this North Western train, because in the years before the Great War the two railways ran a joint special, the 'Sunny South Express', direct from Brighton to Rugby. This train often featured a Brighton tank at the front and while there's no photographic evidence that 'Abergavenny' ever came to Rugby, it might not be impossible!

(On this lovely day in late 2023, the actual reason for 'Abergavenny' heading the train is that she is the only G2 electric engine powerful enough to pull these very heavy coaches!)

The four coaches are all brakes, and while the leading pair are very similar, all the models appear to have different histories. Starting at the rear of the train is what looks to be a somewhat oversize all third Brake, very similar in scale to the Jervis Brake Coach described above, although not a 'Toplight' design.

This coach is a scale 53' long and has an LNWR 'arc roof' profile. It has a detailed interior with corridor and individual compartments, although no corridor connections are fitted at the ends. While not up to Mr Jervis's standard of finish, it is none the less a fine example of Edwardian model railway work and almost certainly built by the owner using Greenly designed parts from Bassett Lowke. Looking back over all the years since, we can truly appreciate the skill, dedication and pride that went into the building of this superb model.

The coach looks perfectly in proportion with the 1912 Bing for Bassett Lowke 'Experiment' tank.

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