31-740B Bachmann MR 1532 Tank 1718 Midland Railway Crimson Lake

The Midland Railway Class 1532, alongside a number of similar 0-4-4T designs, formed the backbone of Midland Railway local and light passenger duties for decades, and now the OO scale model of this ornate prototype returns to the Bachmann Branchline range.

Portraying a condensing engine built to work in and around London through the Metropolitan Railway tunnels, this Midland Railway-liveried locomotive is a miniature marvel. Carrying all the hallmarks of a condensing loco, from the large pipes running along the boiler sides to the side tank and bunker sheeting, with their rivetted construction and slots at each corner to aid the air flow around the water tanks, the model is packed with an impressive level of detail wherever you look. A significant proportion of the model is made from diecast metal, with fine engraving and detailing, which is complemented by precision moulded components capturing every aspect of the prototype in high fidelity. Sprung buffers are fitted to each bufferbeam, whilst in the cab, the locomotive controls are faithfully captured and decorated authentically.

A vast tooling suite caters for the many variations seen on the real locomotives throughout their careers, whilst the technical specification is equally impressive, employing a coreless motor and with a Next18 DCC Decoder socket, firebox lighting and pre-fitted speaker – SOUND FITTED models are available too. The livery application is nothing short of exquisite, with a rich application of crimson lake accompanied by the yellow lining and gold insignia replicated using advance printing techniques bringing this Victorian paint scheme to life.

• Bachmann Branchline OO Scale
• Era 2
• Pristine Midland Railway Crimson Lake Livery
• Running No. 1718
• Equipped with a Next18 DCC Decoder Socket – Recommend Decoder 36-567A
  
• Length 142mm (over couplings)

DETAIL VARIATIONS SPECIFIC TO THIS MODEL

• Round-Top Boiler
• Enlarged Side Tanks with Ventilation Gaps
• Rivetted Side Tanks and Bunker
• Low Cab Front Windows
• Flared Bunker with 4-Bar Coal Rails
• Double Height Lamp Irons
• Johnson 3’ 1” Chimney
• Smooth Smokebox
• Johnson Dished Smokebox Door
• Condensing Gear Fitted
• Curved Dome Lever
• Small Vacuum Exhauster
• Clack Valves Fitted in the Rearmost Position
• Sandboxes Fitted Forward of the Driving Wheels

BACHMANN BRANCHLINE MIDLAND CLASS 1532 (1P) SPECIFICATION

MECHANISM:

• Coreless motor
• Electrical pickup from all wheels
• Separate metal bearings fitted to each driving axle
• Diecast metal chassis block
• Diecast metal gearbox, with gearing arranged for prototypical running speeds and haulage capabilities
• Pivoting and sprung rear pony truck
• Optional wheelset supplied in the accessory pack with traction tyres fitted, to provide increased haulage capacity where required
• 16.5mm (OO gauge) wheels to NEM310 & NEM311 standards with authentic profile and detailing
• Detachable coupling pockets to NEM362 standards fitted at each end
• Designed to operate on curves of second radius (438mm) or greater

DETAILING:

• Diecast metal running plate with integral side tank weights
• Precision moulded plastic boiler, side tanks and cab
• Separately applied details including lamp irons, push-pull gear*, condensing apparatus*, handrails, whistle, vacuum pipes and turned brass safety valves* (*where applicable)
• Highly detailed and decorated cab interior including separately fitted regulator, reverser, handbrake and valve wheels
• Running gear detailing includes springs, brakes and separately fitted brake gear, sandboxes and sandpipes
• Glazed cab spectacles
• Sprung metal buffers
• Each model supplied with an accessory pack including cab doors, additional bufferbeam pipework, cab steps and screwlink couplings

LIGHTING:

• Firebox Glow (on analogue) / Firebox Glow & Flicker (on DCC or when SOUND FITTED models are used on analogue)

DCC:

• Next18 DCC decoder interface

SOUND:

• Speaker installed in all models for optimum sound reproduction
• ESU Loksound Micro V5DCC Sound Decoder fitted to SOUND FITTED versions
• Sound files produced specifically for the Bachmann Branchline Midland Class 1532 (1P) using recordings from real locomotives
• SOUND FITTED models operate on DCC and Analogue control as supplied

LIVERY APPLICATION:

• Authentic liveries applied to all models
• Multiple paint applications employed on each model
• Logos, numerals and text added as appropriate using multi-stage tampo printing incorporating authentic typefaces, logos and colours

MIDLAND CLASS 1532 (1P) HISTORY

The Class 1532 was designed by Samuel W. Johnson for the Midland Railway (MR) and 65 locomotives were built at the MR’s Derby Works between 1881 and 1886. Tank engines with a 0-4-4 wheel formation were the Midland’s principle suburban and branch line passenger locomotive and so the 1532s were joined by several other very similar classes; by 1900 the railway had a fleet of more than 200 0-4-4Ts of comparable types.

The Class 1532s were built across five batches and two of the batches included locomotives fitted with condensing gear, in total ten examples were equipped in order to work through the Metropolitan Railway tunnels around London. Other locomotives were fitted with push-pull gear, evidenced by the additional apparatus fitted to the smokebox and the extra vacuum pipes adorning the bufferbeams, along with cab roof fittings that allowed the whistle to be controlled remotely.

Upon Grouping in 1923 the London, Midland & Scottish Railway (LMS) inherited 62 locomotives which they classified as 1Ps. Two examples had already been withdrawn by the MR and a third was sold to the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway (SDJR), this would be absorbed into LMS stock in 1930.

Modifications were made to the locomotives throughout their careers, with the fitting of different chimneys, smokeboxes and smokebox doors, but a major change occurred under LMS ownership when they began fitting Belpaire boilers in place of the original round-top versions. As a result, the cab fronts were rebuilt with the cab windows moved higher up, and the new boilers were complemented by new domes and safety valves.

Whilst the condensing locomotives were concentrated in and around London, the rest of the fleet found use across the Midland Railway network, and their geographical spread continued under LMS and then British Railways (BR) ownership. The 1532s were withdrawn gradually by the LMS and at the time of Nationalisation in 1948, just 14 members of the original 65 Class 1532s remained. By this time however, some of the MR’s similar designs had become collectively known as 1532s, so in total BR inherited 62 1Ps from the LMS, of which 34 were considered as 1532s. Withdrawals continued under BR until the final 1P was retired in 1959 and sadly none were preserved.