Remember me going on about the value of feedback a while ago? Well while on the subject of couplings a couple of gents on one of the forums went off on a tangent and remarked that the class 304 looked odd (I had always thought so too but never really tried to figure out why). So a minor spot of corrective surgery ensued.
The tweaks required were cutting off the end of the roof and remounting it further back (you can see the cut on the right), reducing the size of the destination box frame and making the lights smaller. Fixing the bogie on the one on the left and sorting out the cab windows with a file. Not only did they not match the prototype, they didn’t actually match each other!
In a more natural setting – Thanks for the feedback guys!
The 304 mods really do make a difference, they look far better with them, and I’m only vaguely familiar with the prototype. It goes to show the value of feedback delivered constructively.
Yup that looks better; I still struggle to recall which ones we had on the Hertford East – Liverpool St line… pretty sure they were 305s but yes the modifications now capture the look of these units very well. Whether they were loved or hated, they always seemed quite warm… if you sat over the heater unit, had that lovely compressor noise so characteristic of the time, and nice bouncy seats – like those in the VEPs and CIGs… unlike the hard unforgiving seats in the then new 313s that operated from Hertford North. Ah, happy memories… it’s what it’s all about isn’t it 😉