The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway had a large variety of goods brake vans in their fleet, many of which were of a diminutive size compared to other railway companies’ brake vans.
The 10t 4-wheel brake van and 20t 6-wheel brake van were no different. They were designed by Lawson Butzkopfski Billinton as an improvement to the older Stroudley brake vans; they would be more commonly referred to as ‘Billinton Brakes’. Billinton favoured verandas on his designs, rather than the ‘Road’ van design that had been adopted by Stroudley on his earlier examples, and A.H. Panter on some of his later built LBSC vans.
Around 90 Billinton 10t 4-wheel brake vans were built between 1894 and 1907, and 20 examples of the 20t 6-wheel vans were built by contractors between 1900 and 1902.
Due to LBSC rules, these vans would have been seen all over Brighton metals in pairs, one at each end of the train. The 20t 6-wheel variants were regularly rostered on heavy mainline goods services during their pre-grouping days, but due to being slightly wider, they were unsuitable for the Hastings line when the Southern took ownership of them; as such, they were restricted to use on other lines.
Both types of designs survived into the grouping era in large numbers. The Southern Railway inherited 89 of the 4-wheeled 10t version and designated it as Dia.1568, and 19 of the 20t 6-wheel brakes, which became Dia.1575.
Due to their modest length of only 16 feet over the headstocks, the Southern Railway began general withdrawal of both the 4 and 6-wheeled Billinton brake vans in the early 1930s, in favour of ex-LSWR and ex-SECR vans. The last surviving example of the 20t 6-wheel variants was withdrawn in the 1940s, and the final 10t 4-wheel brake van was scrapped in 1947.
The Rapido Trains UK OO Gauge LBSCR 10t 4-Wheel Brake Van and 20t 6-Wheel Brake Van is exclusively available from Rails of Sheffield.
The models will be available in a variety of liveries, including early and late LSBCR, and pre- and post-36 Southern Railway eras.
Each model will have a multitude of separately fitted parts, including highly detailed brake gear, window glazing, handbrake, running boards, rails, lamp irons, and a chimney.
Versions representing the vans in their early life are fitted with grease axle boxes, whereas later versions have LBSC oil axle boxes.
Both the 4 and 6-wheeled vans’ interiors contain two guards’ desks, a stove, and a brake lever. All versions are fitted with metal bearings, NEM Pockets, and 8-spoked wheels.
We are pleased to say that the project has already completed the design stage and will be going to tooling imminently.
The order book is open, and you can pre-order your models directly from Rails of Sheffield HERE.