Hi Everyone and welcome to the workbench section of my site.

Here you will be able to see what I am up to as well as ask questions or leave comments.

So getting stuck in curretly I am looking at Mark 3 coaches, starting with…… the Lima TRUB (Trailer Resturant Unclassified Buffet).  For my era and location a TRUB isnt all that useful, most HSTs turning up at New Street were the cross country type which featured TF, TRSB, 4x TS and a TGS.  The essential difference between what you see above and the coach I need is that TRSB’s (Trailer Resturant Second Buffet) have 4 large windows not 3.  Hornby have just done a new Mk3 Buffet with 4 large windows but sadly thats not right either being a RFM (Resturant First Modular).

The idea was to use etched window frames from Shawplan and some drilling and filing to make the changes.

Above – after the work.  By being careful I only need to respray the grey area, saving the white lines so that they match with the rest of the train.  The red stripe scrapes off which is handy but remember to give the coach a quick spray with matt varnish before you mask it or the red stripe and those all important white lines will be pulled away buy the masking tape.  The Resturant-Buffet 125 wording was also removed as it looked a bit too soft.

On the subject of Mk3 coaches I have also been busy on a test model for the loco hauled variety.

This uses the ancient Jouef model as it features the correct roof and bogies for a Mk3a.  The moulded on paint lines were removed and the  coach resprayed into InterCity livery.  Some ETH gear was knocked up from microstrip and wire and the end ladders are some N gauge white metal signal ladders with some rungs removed.

P4 wheels dont quite fit into the bogies as supplied due to a thick rectangular block moulded where the bearings are.  Also Joeuf used an odd sized axle. However the remedy is simple – the moulded block is easily filed down and the moulding for the axle length opened up using ‘Eds Tool’ – basically a double ended 26mm long drill bit that you pop into the bogie and twist to cut the bearing holes deeper.