According to the Chinese calendar, this is the Year of the Horse – an obvious excuse to dive into the wonderful world of horseboxes. To kick things off, I recently did a little restoration job on a GWR diagram N1 horsebox.
The N1s were the GWR’s first diagrammed horseboxes. Like the N2s they had a characteristic “bail platform” at the rear, with supporting brackets. A total of 317 N1s were built on nine lots from March 1870 to August 1876.
Photos of the prototypes are scarce, especially close-ups. They sometimes crop up in photos of Paddington, as here in 1896 (left, mixed with other diagrams).
Another couple here, in the Lambourn bay at Newbury before 1908. Other photos can be found in John Lewis’ article on GWR Horseboxes (part 2, GWRJ No.78), in GWRJ No 71 (Market Drayton) and in Russell's “GWR Miscellany Vol. 1” .
Photos and drawings show detail variations on the N1s across Lots. This version appears to be the first variant, with a 9 ft wheelbase and a rounded curve to the metal brackets on the rear platform.
A second variant had a 10 ft wheelbase and straight brackets, illustrated in the above drawing that Kit kindly posted over on RMweb. See discussion below his blogpost here. Beware that the drawing is incorrectly numbered 25, which as John Lewis points out was an N2 (the N2s had a quarterlight for the groom next to the door droplights).
I have long wanted an N1 for Farthing, so couldn’t resist when the above scratchbuilt model came up on ebay – matching the second N1 variant. I don’t know who built it, but it is nice work. However, the glazing was damaged and the roof had buckled. I decided to do a respectful, light-touch restoration.
Or that was the plan! But this lady did not yield easily. The roof was unusually well stuck down at the sides, and a probe in the buckled part revealed a thick sheet of balsa wood beneath it. A long morning was spent removing the roof bit by bit.
Then beneath the balsa appeared a third layer of thick styrene. I got through eventually but always hesitate when opening second-hand models like this. The interiors are, after all, time capsules from someone else’s life. If the builder is reading this, please forgive the intrusion!
The glazing could then be replaced. Note the very precise scribing of planks, excellent work. The strapping seems to be etched parts.
From then on it was plain sailing. I fashioned a roof and some interior supports from styrene (with holes, to let glue escape).
The new roof in place. The very simple roof furniture matches an early photo in Russell’s “GWR Miscellany Vol 1”. In the early 1900s the trumpets were replaced with gas lamp tops (for ventilation only) and lamp tops for grooms, but I decided to stay true to the original model. The rings for the external communication cord were introduced in 1892. The GWR changed to inside cords from 1900, but the rings can still be seen in a 1920s N1 photo. I indicated them with slices of round styrene rod.
The taper on the buffers isn’t quite right, and photos suggest that the neat hand lettering should be further to the left. But the idea was to repair rather than alter, so I will leave it for now. I did give it a black wash though, to make it blend in on the layout.
So here is the N1 at rest in the outer reaches of Farthing’s New Yard.
Horseboxes were often stored in the upper siding here.
Down at the stables, Molly the mare admires the N1.
“Ooh!”, she says, though no one understands, “What a fine vehicle. Imagine travelling in that!”.
"I wonder where it is headed. I have always wanted to go somewhere far.”
“Mongolia for example, where the plains stretch endlessly across the horizon and the tall grass billows gently in the wind.”
“Or Slough. Slough would be good too.”
“But alas, such fine vehicles are not for the likes of me. Here I am trudging the same streets day after day with no hope of escape. That is my fate, I suppose.”
Leaving Molly for a moment, I wonder: How did the GWR transport its own horses? Photos suggest that customers sent the valuable workhorses (Shires etc) in horseboxes. This is Aynho in 1932, it is posed but other photos are not.
Traders at horse-fairs tended to use cattle wagons for the transport of at least the more lowly workhorses, as here at Brent. But did the GWR do the same with its own workhorses? I think I have all the books dealing with GWR horse matters, but none seem to discuss this.
Anyway, back at the stables there’s a bit of a problem. It seems Molly has disappeared.
Where on earth has that silly horse gone?
She was here just a moment ago.
Surely a horse cannot just vanish?
“Heh heh heh!”
Good luck, Molly 😊
****
Declaration of contents:
No AI used. Some images photo-stacked for depth of field. Corner of "sky" (bare wall) edited out in some shots.