Class 307
A gap in the ready-to-run market for Eastern Region EMUs has led many of us to build our own. This represents my first attempt at such a model; namely a Class 307 unit. I originally intended to kit-bash a Bachmann EPB unit. However, on investigation the cab and chassis would have required extensive surgery, and I couldn’t bring myself to put a knife to £150 plus product. I therefore decided to utilise the cheaper Replica Railways offering, including their motorised chasis.
I decided to start with the more challenging Driver Motor car. This required some surgery to the Suburban Brake body by moving the front compartment to the rear of the carriage next to the Guard’s compartment and replacing the moulded vents. The roof of the Guard’s compartment also required to be cut to accommodate the pantograph roof bay, which I purchased separately from eBay at a cost of £8.
In hindsight, the decision to use the Replica Railway model rather than the Bachmann version paid off, as significant work was required to the cab front and the Replica Railway cab is far easier to work on than a full-length Bachmann carriage. I created a cut-out for the destination blind and removed the rain strips for the driver’s front windows. I adorned the cab with jumper cables (mix of Hornby Class 50 from Peter’s Spares and Replica Railways), 0.3mm brass handrail, lamp irons (Masokits), rubbing strip (Replica Railways), step irons (brass scratch built) and extended buffers (MJT). The rebuilt version which I am recreating included several cab replacement panels. These were recreated simply with paper strips. Given all the work I did to the cab front, I decided to push the boat and replace all the moulded handles and grab rails with Markits brass handles and 0.3mm brass wire. Whilst this was laborious, I believe it was worth the effort.
The other driving car was a lot easier, insofar it did not have a pantograph bay. It did however require modifications to accommodate the toilet compartment by altering one of the compartment doors and windows. The presence of the toilets also required the fitting of the water feed pipes on the roof. These were constructed using 0.45mm brass wire and handrail knobs.
My attention now turned to the bogies. Magazine correspondence suggested the bogies were of Gresley origin, which I incorrectly fitted. However, feedback on RMWeb and looking at historical photographs showed they were based on a BR Mark 2 design. I managed to source these from EKM Exhibitions and attached the sides to Comet bogies.
The underframe detail which was challenging due to an absence of information on the web. The underframe detail was an exercise on scratch building; the detail even includes parts of a toy rocket!
The interiors were detailed, and the unit transferred to the paint shop. The laborious job of fitting the individual Lazerglaze windows was undertaken over several nights. Some of the door glazing was cut to show the window in the lowered position and reveal the interior detailing.
The unit was then fully detailed and weathered and the Sommerfelt pantograph fitted to the Driver Trailer. This project has been two years in the making (stop and start) but I am happy with the result, which is a unique model. I would like to thank Replica Railways and the many contributors to this topic for their help along the way. I am now considering adding lighting, sound and maybe who knows a class 306?
Edited by gazzaday
Photos have not uploaded properly
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