GWR Railcar (Dinky Toys 26)

Past Exhibit
GWR Railcar (Dinky Toys 26) 1935: GWR Railcar, catalogue image (i)
location:
Arch Two , Area 25 The Legend of Hornby
Shelf 4

1939: Catalogue image [image info]

A rare green and white diecast model of a GWR Railcar, Dinky Toys Number 26.

Dinky produced these two-tone railcar models in a variety of colours

The GWR Railcars

As well as a rail network, the Great Western Railway extended its reach into shipping, air services and bus travel, and this bus-ownership aspect may have given the GWR the confidence to try running "diesel buses on rails" on their rail network in the 1930s

These distinctive streamlined, single-deck 69-seater diesel-powered railcars (known as "flying bananas") were powered by bus engines.

Their wooden panelling appears to have been rather flammable, and the combination of a hot diesel engine, wooden superstructure and gas led to the occasional fire, which may have helped speed their withdrawal from service.

Preservation

Three examples of the railcars are currently preserved, numbers 4 (at Swindon Steam Museum), 20 (at Kent & East Sussex Railway), and 22 (at the Didcot Railway Centre).

External links

• "Park Royal. Britain's First Streamlined Rail Car - seating 69 passengers, with speed of 60 mph - the suburban service of the future." (britishpathe.com)
• Preserved examples of flying bananas (preserved.railcar.co.uk)
• GWR railcars (wikipedia.org)