Revolution Trains has received painted samples of its forthcoming BR Sturgeon departmental wagons.
These long lived vehicles – with their distinctive low decks – were a vital part of the engineers fleet for more than five decades, being first introduced in the mid 1950s and still in service in the early 2000s.
Originally delivered with four or seven dropside doors, the vehicles also had hinged ends and were designed to carry complete 60′ track panels or other engineers’ supplies.
The doors and ends were fully removable, and not surprisingly these soon went missing, meaning that large numbers of Sturgeons spent almost their entire lives operating purely as flat wagons.
Revolution is offering both types – with doors in original black livery, olive and CE “Dutch” and without doors in black, gulf red and CE yellow.
In the late 1970s and 1980s many received air brakes and were given the revised fishkind name “Tench.”
Naturally the Revolution models will incorporate era-correct braking arrangements.
The models incorporate NEM couplers in kinematic sockets and a large part of the underframe is a solid metal casting, making the models surprisingly weighty.
End panels on the models with doors are removable, while the end door parts will be supplied separately with the flat wagons so customers can depict whichever configuration they require.
The Revolution Sturgeon also has a correct representation of the underfloor racking originally intended to allow the doors to be stowed, along with an incredibly fine depiction of the checker plate deck surface.
And the versions with doors have separately pairs of fitted wire handles – 14 on each side!
We think this could be our most detailed model yet!
You can order your Sturgeon models here.
The order book will remain open on these wagons for a short while longer, then it will close and the models will be produced.
We will have them on display on our stand at the York show over the Easter weekend Saturday April 20th – Monday April 22nd.