Darstaed O Gauge Mk1 Suburbans

Down the rabbit hole with Mk1 Suburbans...

Masters of the mundane

In the world of model railways, it’s often engines that steal the limelight. But as with any cast of characters, the supporting players are just as important – and at Ellis Clark Trains, we love an unsung hero. The MK1 Suburban coaches were our second joint project with Darstaed and the first to be produced exclusively for us. Whether you’re new to O gauge or looking to make a useful new addition to your carriage fleet, you can’t go far wrong with a ‘Sub’ or two on the roster. So we thought it was time to revisit these award-winning models and get under the skin of what makes them special.

MK1 Suburbans date from 1954 and fulfilled the need for a shorter-wheelbase, high-density version of the Standard MK1 coach for commuter routes with restricted clearances. Almost 600 of the 57ft-long variant were built and put into use throughout the country.

North-West England was a particular haunt, where they featured in the formations of services centred around Preston, with short rakes also working between Liverpool and Southport to Blackburn and Manchester – sometimes hauled by ‘Black 5s’.

Scotland’s Central Belt was another place to spy a ‘Sub’, where they worked commuter services from Glasgow to the Clyde Coast prior to electrification and the arrival of the ‘Blue Trains’.

And despite their name, more than a few short-bodied Suburbans migrated to the bucolic surroundings of rural branches, where they enjoyed a slower pace of life in the days before Beeching.

But the Suburbans were best known for transporting throngs of commuters from London’s growing satellite towns into the heart of the capital. These trains would rattle daily down both the Midland and Great Northern main lines before burrowing their way beneath the city streets towards Farringdon and Moorgate on the ‘Widened Lines’ of the former Metropolitan Railway.

A trip ‘down the drain’ was an assault on the senses. Flange-squeal and fumes accompanied a southbound train’s tightly-curved descent into darkness from Kings Cross’ York Road platform, while northbound engines were tested by the sharp gradient up to the station’s ‘Hotel Curve’.

Motive power was initially varied, ranging from Gresely’s N2s to ‘Baby Deltics’ and even BRCW Type 2s before settling primarily on Brush Type 2s (Class 31).

Known as ‘block-enders’ by railwaymen due to their lack of gangways and flush, slab ends, Suburbans operating into Moorgate were some of last coaches on BR to feature ladies-only compartments (until these were abolished in 1976) – an interesting subtlety when populating your models.