A prototype, and a ‘what-if’

While I like modelling things as prototypically as possible, if an opportunity comes up to model something a bit more along the lines of ‘what if’ then I’ll give it a go. That is certainly the case with the model featured in this post.

 Early last year I obtained various items on the basis that I would use them for projects. One of these, a E wagon made from a pair of Lima GY wagons, was featured in a post last year and there will be a follow-up on this once it has been finished off. Another item I obtained was an old Trax NSW MRC refrigerated van which had been part assembled but was missing a roof:

The MRC type vans were first introduced on the NSWGR in 1932 to provide a refrigerated car capable of operating at 70mph on the then newly upgraded Main South and Short North lines. Previously this traffic was carried by the BRC type vans which could not be operated at the new speeds and hence the need to build new vans. The body design was similar for both. In typical railway fashion they were modified during their service life for different jobs and were all out of service by the 1980s. A couple of examples have been preserved.

Rather than build it as a true NSW MRC I thought about making it into a van that may have operated on the Victorian Railways if they had obtained such a wagon but with a plain roof and no ice hatches. The roof was constructed using spares obtained from building SEM kits (which quite often come with a spare roof owing to the way the tooling has been done) and likewise with some of the undergear detail. I choose to add a ratchet style handbrake to one end which is typical of most VR vans and added shunter’s steps.

Now the story gets a little more interesting. While at the Corio exhibition in January 2018 I spotted a original release TrainOrama MRC on a second hand stall. It was in very good condition for a model with no box and at least 25 years old with the signage still like new. It was going cheap and so I decided to add it to my collection. It now means that when I finish my Trax MRC I can run the pair together. I mainly have wagons which are some variation of red, so a couple of white vans will be a nice change in the fleet.

The TrainOrama van is no longer available as a stock item (as far as I know). However SDS Models do make the MRC and all it's variations and you can check them out here: http://www.sdsmodels.com.au/mrcx.htm