377-401 Graham Farish BR FVV Carflat Wagon BR Blue 'Motorail'

New release - pre-orders invited - expected Dec/Jan 2025 / 2026. preauthkernow

Carflat Wagons allowed cars to be transported by rail, a practice that had started during the early twentieth century but which became more common after World War Two as more families began realising the dream of owning their own motor vehicle. Many were built from old coach underframes that had had their bodies scrapped, with the type really coming to the fore in 1966 when British Rail launched its Motorail service, providing British holidaymakers with long distance train services where they could take their car on holiday with them, giving the convenience of independent transport whilst on holiday but without the long drive to get there.

This Graham Farish model depicts a BR-built Carflat, which to all intents and purposes is a standard BR Mk1 coach underframe running on a pair of BR B1 bogies. The deck of the vehicle is planked, and low side railings are fitted to prevent vehicles from accidentally driving off the side. Unlike a Mk1 coach, the underside of the vehicle is not overly populated but still features the typical truss frame along with vacuum brake cylinders and, unlike Mk1 coaches, has hand brake levers. The standard N scale couplings fit into NEM coupling pockets that are mounted on close coupling mechanisms, providing close coupling between vehicles but without restricting their use on curves, while metal wheelsets are fitted to the bogies to complete the model.

MODEL FEATURES:

• Graham Farish N Scale
• Era 7
• Pristine BR Bue ‘Motorail’ livery
• Running No. B745042
• Accessory Pack
• NEM Coupling Pockets
• Length 145mm (over couplings)