A review of the Hornby GWR Autocoach '190' (R4831) and the Bachmann GWR 64XX (31-635A) which when combined form a GWR Autotrain!
The autotrain, also known as a Push-Pull train, was introduced in the early 1904 in order to make the operation of the railway more efficient. Autotrains were made up of an auto fitted locomotive and between one and four autocoaches. The autocoaches had cabs in them from which the locomotive could be controlled. The autocoach cabs were physically connected to the controls in the locomotive using rods which ran under the coaches.
The idea was that being able to control the train from a cab in the coach meant that the locomotive didn't need to run around the train at the end of the line. The driver could simply walk from one end to the other and drive away. This improved efficiency and these types of trains proved popular especially on branch lines.
In this review I've combined the Hornby autocoach, which is actually a very old Airfix model, with a 2016 Bachmann 64XX which represents one of the classes of locomotives that was auto fitted.
Hornby Auto Coach - www.themodelcentre.com/r4831-...
Music: Gold In Them Hills - Nathan Moore
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:41 What is an Autotrain?
02:58 Hornby Autocoach
05:30 Bachmann 64XX
06:51 Rolling Road
08:02 Summary
08:41 Autotrain in Action!