Bachmann Reveal OO Scale Palvans at The Palace

Today (Saturday 16th March 2024) at the London Festival of Railway Modelling Bachmann Europe Plc revealed that it is developing models of the BR 12 Ton ‘Palvan’ Pallet Van for its Bachmann Branchline range – the first time models of these distinctive vehicles have been produced in OO Scale. Engineering Prototypes were available for inspection during the Alexandra Palace event, showcasing several variants that have been incorporated into the tooling suite.

By the early-1950s the use of wooden pallets and forklift trucks to load and move goods had become well established, however the doors of standard railway wagons were not wide enough to accommodate the loading of a pallet. Aware of this new trend, British Railways experimented with modifying GWR and LMS designs before creating its own design, Diagram No. 1/211 of 1954, for the Pallet Van or ‘Palvan’. On the left on each side was a door with an opening of 8ft 6in. – as opposed to the 5ft opening of a standard van door – allowing pallets to be loaded on either side. The body was made from plywood, with distinctive bracing and bracketry making the ‘Palvans’ easily distinguishable in a train of mixed vans. Like other BR ‘standard’ types, the chassis featured a 10ft wheelbase with a total length of 17ft 6in.

Orders were placed for almost 2,400 wagons in 1954, with construction continuing until 1961. The ‘Palvans’ suffered with uneven running gear wear caused by uneven loading and many were withdrawn before the 1970s. Some entered private ownership, including twenty with Scottish whisky maker Johnnie Walker.

The new Bachmann Branchline tooling allows a range of ‘Palvan’ models to be produced, depicting the various differences incorporated in the different build lots and during their service lives. The first wagons were built with Morton brakes, acting upon four wheels with the associated tie-bar, and with oil axleboxes. Later lots had eight shoe clasp brakes, some of which were fitted with oil axleboxes and others roller bearings, both combinations are catered for with the Branchline tooling. Buffers are of metal construction and can be of the spindle, self-contained or OLEO type, whilst wheels may be disc, 3-hole disc, spoked or split-spoked – all of metal construction – depending on the specific van being modelled. Advertising boards also feature where appropriate.

Every model features a wealth of detail, with separately-fitted parts including the door hold open brackets, handrails (the protrusion of which is too great on the Engineering Prototypes and will be corrected in production) and chalk boards on each side and end. The bufferbeams sport separate lamp brackets, vacuum pipe brackets and coupling hooks. The chassis features a full complement of brake gear, including optional brake pulls and safety loops supplied with those wagons that are fitted with eight shoe clasp brakes. Standard tension lock couplings are fitted via NEM pockets whilst optional accessories include the vacuum brake pipe and Instanter couplings.

The news signals a slight deviation from Bachmann’s quarterly British Railway Announcements which has been the mechanism used since the start of 2020 to unveil new products for its British railway ranges. Whilst British Railway Announcements will still be used to launch new products, new tooling projects may now be revealed outside of the quarterly cycle, as in this case where Engineering Prototypes can be displayed at an event which is sponsored and heavily supported by Bachmann Europe. Decorated models will be shown as part of the next British Railway Announcements, in this case the Summer 2024 instalment at the start of May, along with details of livery variants, prices and availability.

Richard Proudman, Rail Brand Manager for Bachmann Europe said: “Our British Railway Announcements programme has been very successful since we adopted this strategy in 2020, providing our customers and consumers with concise information about new products, their price, and availability from the very outset. Notwithstanding this success, it is important for any business to listen to feedback and act upon it, and we recognise that some of our customers and consumers would appreciate a little longer between the announcement and release of some new products to help them plan their future purchases. This is particularly relevant when it comes to new tooling projects, which will come as a total surprise, as opposed to re-runs and re-liveries of existing tooling that are somewhat more predictable when you consider that Bachmann strives to maintain a broad and coherent product range.”

Richard continued: “We recognise that ad-hoc announcements like this can burden our valued retailers and their human resources, and therefore we will continue to use the British Railway Announcements mechanism to reveal details such as item numbers, livery variants, pricing and availability for these new tooling products. It is important to stress that such products may not be delivered within the usual three-month period following their initial unveiling, but at the time of inclusion in a British Railway Announcements clear availability information will be provided and any changes to this will be communicated via the Bachmann website as is already our policy.”