You Wait for One Bus and Four Come Along at Once

Bachmann Europe is delighted to announce the arrival of the next four 1:76 scale diecast buses in its expanding EFE Road range – the highly-anticipated Cravens RTs.

The models are the first to be produced from all-new tooling since Bachmann’s acquisition of EFE in 2016, and represent the 120 RT-type double deckers built for London Transport (LT) by the Cravens Railway Carriage & Wagon Co of Sheffield in the immediate post-war years. While superficially similar to the standard RTs, the Cravens RTs were in fact quite different; the distinctive 5-bay body design could not be mixed with standard bodies at overhaul, and they were always the odd men out amongst the 6,800+ buses that made up the RT family. As a result, all except one were sold on after only seven years’ service in and around London.

The majority of the Cravens RTs received LT’s familiar red and cream livery for use in the central area, where they were spread at random across many garages. However, 27 were painted in London Country’s green and cream, with all being allocated to Watford High Street (WA) or Windsor (WR). A further 23 of the central area RT3/4s were later repainted for use on the Country routes.

The four new models illustrate the Cravens RTs during different stages of their short LT careers, in both central area and London Country liveries. They include:

 

 

E40301 – Cravens RT1406 London Transport Green & Cream, Route 345 Kingswood

RT1406 (JXC169) in London Transport Country Area green & cream with cream upper deck window surrounds, working from Watford High Street garage on route 345 to Kingswood, circa 1950.

 

 

E40302 – Cravens RT1414 London Transport Green, Route 306 New Barnet Stn

RT1414 (JXC177) in London Transport Country Area green & cream, working from Watford High Street garage on route 306 to New Barnet Station, circa late 1953/54.

 

 

E40303 – Cravens RT1460 London Transport Red & Cream, Route 15 Aldgate LT Stn

RT1460 (JXC223) in London Transport Central Area red & cream with cream upper deck window surrounds, working from Middle Row garage on route 15 to Aldgate LT Station, circa late 1953.

 

 

E40304 – Cravens RT1493 London Transport Red, Route 63 Honor Oak

RT1493 (KGK752) in London Transport Central Area red & cream, working from Nunhead garage on route 63 to Honor Oak Forest Hill Tavern, circa late 1953.

 

 

The models have an RRP of £44.95 each and can be ordered from your chosen Bachmann retailer, so head to the Bachmann Europe website where you can find more information.