Night Ferry Project

[janw]

Opnieuw een (deels) Engels draadje, dat ik omwille van de terugvindbaarheid toch in een apart draadje zet (vraag aan de moderatoren: is een onderwerp 'Engelse projecten' in de Forumindex niet wellicht toch een idee, mede met het oog op het terugvinden van dingen?).
Omdat er in Yahoo-groep 'British H0'  ook mensen met dit onderwerp bezig zijn, vervolg ik dit in het Engels. (zie http://groups.yahoo.com/group/british-ho/ en http://www.british-ho.com/).

The Night Ferry service between London and Paris has fascinated me for a long time, so upon LS Model's announcement of the type F sleepers, the short and CIWL cars that were especially contructed for this train (to fit the space on the ships and the narrower English loading gauge) I decided to buy them and then try to collect and build the rest the train.
       Since I am too young to actually have experienced the train, my main
source of information is George Behrend and Gary Buchanan's book Night Ferry    
(Jersey, 1985) which shows you the history of the train from 1936 to 1980. This book is now supplemented by several internet sites, such as
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Ferry
http://www.eastbank.btinternet.co.uk/ferry.htm   (with an older 00 model!)
http://www.semgonline.com/misc/named_09.html
Particularly interesting is http://www.irps-wl.org.uk/homepage.shtml, where a new book on the NF is announced, and where there is a page on the last surviving SNCF mail van that served in the NF.

The LS models: http://www.lsmodels.com/Pages/General_N/Home_N.htm, set 49 121

My modelling plan is the following: I do not intend to make an as-pure-as-possibble model
of the train at one particular point in time (I don't even know if that is
possible in either 00 or H0 without scratchbuilding almost everything), but to
build and collect an approximation of the real thing in two periods and two
places, i.e. England and France, and 'steam' and 'diesel' age. So two
compositions for around 1940 or 1950/55, and two for around 1980, near the end
of the service. I bought two F-sleepers from different periods to be the nucleus
of the entire project. Livery and numbering details will have to be treated flexibly in order to use this nucleus in every composition.
That means four different but overlapping compositions, and given the fact
that my layout and the LSM sleepers are in H0, this is obviously going to happen
in H0. That choice solves problems and creates a few others, i.e. with respect
to the English compositions. Which locos to use and which day coaches (which
accompany the sleepers on all photographs that I have seen)? Full fidelity to
the real things seems hard to achieve, but an approximation will be fun to build. Of course the sport is to build or rebuild as much as possible from scratch or cheap second-hand models (apart from the sleepers) and keep the costs down as far as possible without affecting the result.

First, for the 'diesel' version of around 1980, we are fortunate to have
the Lima class 33, which I plan to rebuild (make slimmer) as described on the British H0
website; this type was used on the Night ferry at the final stage. Also, the
train had become (very) short by then, so the two sleepers, one or two mail vans
plus one brake composite coach looks like a perfect imitation of the train at
that stage. Since the French mail vans are of very simple construction, these
will be build from styrene of card (on a Roco chassis). That leaves the brake
composite to be decided about: I got one from Lima (in cream/brown), which is a fairly nice model. From the discussion on the British H0 group, I now know (thanks David) that this is a BSK, that is, not precisely the right type but still similar to the BCK's which were used. The BSK's have 4 second-class windows, the BCK's five. British Rail converted two of these coaches for use in Night Ferry by giving them modified gangways to fit the continental ones on the CIWL sleepers. No ready-to-run BCK model exists in H0, but from the small manufacturer Worsley Works etched coach sides in H0 and other parts can be bought, which can be used to either convert the Lima model or as a start for one's model. I haven't decided yet what I'll do, repaint my Lima and accept the difference or get those etched parts.

Secondly, the French half of the journey by 1980. I am building an electric BB
16000 from parts of older Jouef and Acme models (considering it bad taste to
just walk to a shop and fork out 150 euros for a splendid Roco machine). The
vans and sleepers will be the same ones as before; and this time they will be
accompanied by a CIWL all steel-type restaurant car, for breakfast, and more
particularly one that I built years ago from a plastic Revell kit and got
running decently with a pair of scratch-built trucks. Many RTR alternatives,
however, are available.

Thirdly, the steam-age British composition. No correct steam loco is available
in H0, as far as I know. However, British H0 is about making do many times, so
taking some liberties looks acceptable. Now the original Royal Scot design was
derived from the SR Nelson class which hauled the train before WW2, and indeed
the locos look like the Nelsons quite a bit. That's where the Rivarossi model
comes into the picture. Roughly, I see three options. One, reduce the model to
H0 height and use as is, in spite of the color scheme (respecting the appealing
model as it is); Two, repaint and detail so as to make a Nelson-lookalike. In
some respects this looks just feasible (wider chimney, copper conducts, new cab
front, paintwork), in others, less (cab length, firebox and splashers); Three,
if a parallel-boiler Royal Scot ever ran in a green livery, model that version, in order to retain an acceptable loco model while also ending up with something that doesn't look too wild in front of a Night Ferry (that is, not red but green).
A fascinating suggestion was made by Phil on the British H0 group: to build the ancient plastic kit of the Southern Railway Bulleid Pacifics, which were regularly used on the Night Ferry, as a H0 model. And indeed it appears possible to convert this kit, which is sold as 00/H0, to an acceptable model. I will discuss this attempt in a separate topic, as it is not limited to the NF-setting.

For the day coaches in this set, one or two Fleichmann Bulleid coaches appear to
me as the obvious choice; though I am not sure these did actually travel with
the NF, period, region, and scale are OK so they must be at least a reasonable
approximation. But many thanks again for comments!

Fourth, to conclude, the French steam age composition: ideally one would buy the new 231E by
Roco, but I will make do with my re-detailed Jouef 231K, wich locos at least ran
Golden Arrow services and other boat trains from Calais, and might well have
been used occasionally on the NF (though all photographs I know show a 231E). To
be upplemented by the CIWL restaurant car and one regular French corridor coach.

[janw]

For the construction of a Bulleid Merchant Navy locomotive for this project, see http://forum.beneluxspoor.net/index.php/topic,36975.msg563918.html#msg563918

[Gert1]

Attentie: Voor buitenlandse forumleden die onze taal niet (of maar matig) machtig zijn maken we graag een uitzondering en staan we andere talen toe, maar van Nederlandse forumleden verwachten we dat ze hun berichten gewoon in onze eigen taal plaatsen. Het is dus niet de bedoeling om een draadje volledig in het Engels te gaan maken. Daarmee sluit je toch een deel van onze bezoekers en leden uit en dat is niet de bedoeling. Hier dus graag weer gewoon in het Nederlands verder. Alvast bedankt. 

mvg,
Gert