The Atlantic Coast Express (ACE)

Model Train

Commentators say that defining the make up of this premier Southern express passenger train is not easy. What can be said for sure is that in winter months it left Waterloo at 11a.m. for west country coastal resorts. The summer timetable saw two trains of the same name leaving Waterloo and more than two during peak periods to cope with increased passengers starting their holiday. The return journey left Exeter at 12.30pm. This variety in the timetable is what makes the train interesting for the modeller and coupled with variations in the train formation it is also a challenge to replicate.

The train formation was complicated because the west country terminus was not one place but at least 8! You see, the coaches, either individually or in sets, were detatched at stations along the route for conveyance along branch lines to their final seaside destination. In its simplest form the train comprised a three coach set for Ilfracombe, (2 x BSKs and 1 x CK) a BCK for each of the other destinations and a Restaurant/Kitchen set. Depending on demand the destinations of each coach in a train and the number used would vary. Depending on which part of the main line we decide to model the train would exhibit a different formation. For example, the same train travelling east of Salisbury is a different formation to when it is west of Salisbury and different again west of Sidmouth Junction, and again west of Exeter and so on.