Stoves R Us

New Mills has taken delivery of two of the Hornby Magazine commissioned LMS Stove R 6 wheel brake vans produced by Dapol. They are packaged in a Hornby Magazine / Dapol branded box but each model bears the 'Ian Allan' branding which must be a first?

The BR maroon finish is rather flat but with appropiate weathering should sit comfortably with Bachmann Mk 1s or Stanier stock. The underfloor arrangement is clearly a compromise to encourage movement through  tight curves but we will clearly need to test this rather unusual chassis on the layout before they enter service. The underscale wheels do create a rather top-heavy appearance but our detailing guru, Rob Cooper, has indicated that we may have to live with that due to their rather inaccessible mounting! Originally designed to provide a braked vehicle in non-passenger sets, they did enjoy wider use as parcels vehicles in passenger rakes and occasionally clung to the back of a Duchess or Princess on a northbound express out of Euston!