The construction of the brake toplight in this pair was one of the first things I ever posted on RMweb, back in 2006. I'd already built the other one a year or so earlier. Unfortunately, I was never happy with the design of the Slaters bogies, which (to my mind) were a triumph of over-complication, using inside bearings and springing as well as a tricky rocking mounting onto the bogie bolster. I found them very unreliable and not at all smooth running, and after a while the springing became unequal. I tried various fixes but could never get them to work as well as they needed to. Perhaps it was me, but if I couldn't get them to track well in 00, I wonder how someone in EM or P4 would fare?

Anyway, the coaches were too nice not to run, so I set about sourcing replacement bogies. Being an idiot I actually managed to order two sets of the wrong type, one plate and one American, both of which were assembled and test-fitted before I realised I'd got the wheelbases too long in both cases. So, back to the drawing board. In the end I obtained the American type from David Geen and these were assembled and fitted in about an hour - much less faff than the Slaters ones, and more to the point they actually work as well. I've fitted Bachmann coach wheels which obviously don't look anything like the proper wooden centered type, but once painted I'll never notice the difference, and more importantly they track well and are easily obtainable. Being white metal, the Geen bogies put some useful weight down below the underframe, whereas the Slaters ones, being mainly etched brass, were very light.

The bogie on the other coach was a bit more problematic as I couldn't seem to source a replacement kit of the right pattern. In the end, though, I tried breaking down one of the already assembled Slaters ones and concluded that I could actually bodge them into a rigid, outside-bearing design, and eliminate the troublesome rocking bolster mount. Again, these got Bachmann wheels and they are now running very reliably and smoothly compared to the old design.

There are still a couple of jobs to do. I made a bad job of the working corridor connection on the first coach I made, so those needs to be replaced. I won't go for the working scissors, though, as I found them too much fiddly to assemble even when they worked well on the second coach. I find the MJT type perfectly acceptable in the context of a train and they've got the necessary flexibility to cope with my layout's undulations. I've fitted Spratt & Winkle couplings at either end of this short rake, with a simple hook and drawbar arrangement between the coaches. The last job will be to add coach numbering and perhaps a hint of weathering to bring out the panel detail.

Other than the bogies - and maybe you'll have more luck than me - these really are fantastic coach kits, and there are no real snags in the main body construction. In fact, putting together the bodies is very satisfying as the mouldings are so crisp. They are now marketed by Coopercraft. Get 'em now, before someone announces RTR Toplights!

Finally, I need to find something to build a pair of vehicles to use those two pairs of bogies I built by mistake! Time for some research...