Bachmann Europe today announced two new Bulleid coach diagrams and a Class 74 Electro-Diesel in the EFE Rail range, in 00 gauge.

Contributed by: Graham Muspratt

31 Jan 2025 00:00am

Ahead of its Spring 2025 British Railway Announcements, on Wednesday 5th February, Bachmann Europe Plc today revealed that it is adding two new coach types to its range of Bulleid Coaches and also a Class 74 Electro-Diesel in the EFE Rail range in 00 gauge.

The two new vehicles depict the Diagram 2406 Brake Composite Corridor (BCK) and the Diagram 2017 Third Open (TO) and engineering prototypes have now been received for both models.
The first 63ft 5in. corridor coaches designed by Oliver Bulleid, Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Southern Railway (SR), were introduced in 1946 and in-keeping with SR tradition, most of the new Bulleid coaches were marshalled into semi-permanent sets. Following Nationalisation in 1948, British Railways continued to build coaches to Bulleid’s designs and the first D. 2406 BCK was in fact not built until 1948, becoming the last type to be built with the shallower 10¼in. window ventilators. Whilst some D.2017 TOs had been built by the Southern Railway, the majority were built by BR and these were built with the deeper 15in. window ventilators as depicted by the new Branchline models.

The two new models are built to the same high standards as the existing Bachmann Branchline Bulleid Coaches, with a wealth of detail including separately fitted components such as roof vents, lamp irons, toilet filler & overflow pipework and the portrayal of a complete vacuum pipe-run between the sockets at each end of the vehicles. The bogies incorporate electrical pickups, brake details and footsteps as appropriate whilst authentic interiors are also included along with full underframe gear.
Several variations have been built into the tooling suite to allow accurate models of both coach types to be produced over the course of their working lives. These include the original smooth bodysides or with the later strengthening ribs added, and twin or single handrails aside the luggage compartment doors on the BCK. Below the solebar, the original centrally mounted vacuum brake cylinder or later pair of offset cylinders can be modelled, along with Bulleid or BR Mk1 pattern battery boxes and dynamo.
Livery samples for the initial models have now been received and details of the first BCK and TO models to be produced, along with further Bulleid Coaches, will be included in the Spring 2025 British Railway Announcements on Wednesday 5th February, ahead of the models arriving in 2026.

The Class 74 Electro-Diesel Locomotives (known as ‘HB’s before the introduction of the Total Operations Processing System (TOPS)) began life as Class 71 Electric Locomotives.
Inspired by the success of the Class 73s, a plan was devised to rebuild some Class 71s and so they were taken to Crewe Works where they would be converted to create the Class 74s. Like the Class 73s, these new locomotives were fitted with a diesel engine allowing them to work away from electrified lines. They retained their bogie pickups to collect power from third rails, however the pantographs were removed. At each end, buckeye couplings, buffing plates and high-level control and brake pipes were fitted to facilitate working with other stock fitted with electro-pneumatic brakes. Returning to service between November 1967 and May 1968, all ten Class 74s entered traffic in BR Blue livery with full yellow ends and were numbered E6101 – E6110, becoming Nos. 74001 – 74010 when they were renumbered under TOPS.

Almost a decade after they entered traffic, the entire fleet of ten locomotives had been withdrawn as the curtain fell on Class 74 workings in December 1977. Their demise can be attributed to the poor reliability of the diesel engine and electrical systems and whilst the latter could have been upgraded, like the Class 71s from which they were converted much of their work no longer existed as boat trains had reduced in number and those that remained were now worked by multiple units, and freight and parcels traffic had also reduced. All ten locomotives were scrapped, the last No. 74005 being cut in January 1981.

As none of the real locomotives survive today, the new EFE Rail Class 74 has been painstakingly researched using original plans, drawings and photographs to produce this high fidelity model. The highly detailed, injection moulded bodyshell is adorned with a wealth of separate components, including etched metal grilles, metal handrails, lamp irons, windscreen wipers and cab-end jumper cables. Sprung buffers are fitted and a full set of bufferbeam pipework is included with every model. Detailing continues inside the cab where seats, control desks, controls and dials are all depicted and decorated authentically.
Powered by a high-quality coreless motor, drive is provided to both bogies and every axle, and electrical collection comes from every wheel. DCC provision comes by way of a 21 pin decoder socket whilst there is space for a speaker to be fitted. Cab lighting is available to both analogue and DCC users, along with illuminated blinds at each end, for which a selection of interchangeable route blinds are provided. The lighting features can be switched on/off via DCC, whilst analogue users can use the chassis-mounted switches to turn the cab lights on/off, and a second switch allows the illuminated blinds to be turned off at the trailing end.
With the models about to go into production, livery samples for the initial line-up of EFE Rail Class 74s will be unveiled in the Spring 2025 British Railway Announcements on Wednesday 5th February, ahead of the finished models arriving in mid-2025.

Subject to alteration.

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