Rails of Sheffield and the Electric Autocar Trust invited Hornby Magazine to join them at the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Railway to see the latest sample of the Rails/Heljan 'OO' gauge model and find out more about the real vehicle. Subscribers can watch the section on the Autocar from our YouTube Hornby Magazine Show here and view exclusive images of the model.
THE ELECTRIC AUTOCAR Trust's unique 1903 built North Eastern Railway railcar is the grandfather of the modern multiple unit. The single-car train was one of two built by the North Eastern Railway under the leadership of Vincent Raven and it was a world first. Raven saw that he could use electric traction motors akin to those used in street trams and combine it with a petrol engine to provide an onboard source of electricity generation to power the train.
When built the Autocars had petrol engines as diesel engines were unreliable at the time and they survived in service in the North East working between West Hartlepool and Hartlepool, Scarborough and Filey and latterly on the Cawood branch. Vehicle 3171 was withdrawn in 1930 and 3170 succumbed in 1931. Though a turn of fate the body of 3170 was bought and turned into a holiday home at Keldholme on the North Yorkshire Mo…
