Sc59401

Thank you Steven. As I plan to use the Co-Bo on suburban passenger trains (they appeared occasionally on my local line to Gourock between turns on the Condor) I'll put up with the tail lamps (they're quite dim anyway) or maybe snip the wires once it's out of warranty, as I have done with other unwanted illumination such as cab interiors. I've modelled in N gauge since 1970 and there's absolutely no way I'm going to convert to DCC now!

That's good news about the quality control monitoring. My Co-Bo arrived in mid-December and while it is a beautifully-detailed and smooth-running model (and a nice companion for the Hornby Dublo 3-rail Co-Bo I got for Christmas 1964!) there were some build quality issues, all of which are now resolved. The following might help others encountering the same issues: One of the buffers was fitted at 90 degrees to the correct orientation, but fortunately they are not glued in and I was able to pull it out with mini pliers and re-fit it to match the others. Initially the tail lamps did not illuminate at all despite frantic waving of the "magic wand", the Co bogie wasn't picking up on one side and it was also missing a traction tyre. While removing the body to investigate, one of the battery boxes fell off as it had hardly any glue on one mounting and none on the other. Once the body was off I discovered that the PCB at the Co end (which I think fits into the same socket as the DCC decoder; I'm a DCC Luddite) wasn't seated correctly and one of the pick-up strips on the chassis was bent upwards so it wasn't making contact with the vertical strip from the bogie. Rapido Trains sent me two spare tyres promptly and I have now fitted one to replace the missing tyre on the Co bogie. The tail lamps now work but if they are switched off and the loco is brought to a halt, they come on again as soon as power is applied. If this is the wand working as designed it's nothing more than a silly gimmick and a switch on the underside would have been so much better. I can't see myself waving the wand over the loco when our club N gauge layout is at an exhibition!

No no keefer, you're quite right. The White Circle cars (79xxx and Class 126) DID have lightweight buffers. As these cars had buckeye couplers and were not intended to work with any other DMU types, the buffers were intended only for shunting, indeed I have read that the design for the 79xxx series originally had no buffers at all, US-style. Later buckeye-fitted classes (124 and 123) had mainline standard buffers and could be coupled to other Blue Square units if their buffer saddles were placed in position. Quoting from publication BR 29879/2 British Railways (Western Region) Multiple Unit Diesel Trains for the Information of Operating Department Staff (a big title for a wee book), published in October 1957: "Inter-City trains must not convey tail traffic and the booked formation must not be varied." I have attached a photograph of preserved Class 126 trailer composite Sc59404 at Bo'ness showing one of its buffers in the extended position, as it was being shunted in the yard coupled to an LMS carriage fitted with screw couplings. Note how spindly the central shaft is and it is further weakened by having a slot in it to take the steel key which holds it in position. The casting on the buffer beam is aluminium alloy and was awaiting painting at the time of the photograph. I am not aware of any other rolling stock having this style of buffer.

What a brilliant job! Well done to all concerned for bringing back to life something so interesting and historically important.

You're very welcome Martyn and please feel free to ask about anything I might be able to help with, although I might take a few days to reply as I have limited internet access. The preserved 126 has been part of my life since 1986 and I am quite pleased that it has turned out OK in the end. It has just had new air receivers and batteries fitted and is scheduled to be used more next year. I have a rather poor mobile 'phone photo of one MTK leading E&G cab end taken some time ago. It has come on a bit since so I must take some more! I modelled the leading cab end buffers in the extended position and all others retracted. Curiously the E&G cars did not have multiple working connections on the cab ends, which is one reason they were never seen at Ayr. Cheers, John.

Hello Martyn, I've just been catching up with this thread after one of my model railway club colleagues alerted me to it and I'm most impressed! What a clever idea to use Trix Mark Is. I 'bashed' a 126 out of two Mainline SKs and a BSK over 30 years ago and I still remember the many hours of cutting and filling. I had to move all but two of the large windows to make the DMS but the slightly under-scale window size was a bonus. I disguised the thickness of the sides by painting the edges around the windows black. As others have mentioned (and thank you for the compliments) I am a long-time regular volunteer on the preserved three-car Class 126 unit and E&G buffet car Sc79443 at Bo'ness so maybe I can help with some of the questions raised, firstly regarding interiors: The power cars did not have tables, however each centre car compartment was provided with cast aluminium brackets (which we got remanufactured) on the wall below the window and a locating ring on the floor for a folding table which could be fitted by the guard on request. The table was normally kept on a grooved wooden stand at one end of the corridor. The preserved 3-car unit seat colours are 1959 specification, namely blue in first class, tan in second class non-smoking and green in all other second class. Half of the DMS was non-smoking, which explains the different colour in the photograph. Our centre car is a composite so it has three blue, one tan and three green sets of seats. The compartment with the door is non-smoking. All the moquette is 'razor blade' pattern, however the first class should be uncut moquette rather than cut but that was going to cost a lot more and nobody has complained yet. By the 1970s most second class seats appear to have been blue/green check with light grey piping but some (including both of our power cars) had 'Trojan' which is black (fading to grey) with small white squares and similar-sized red, blue and yellow rectangles. BR used it for years, you'll know it if you see it. First class seats which were not downgraded to second were usually light brown three per side. Some of ours had been converted to second class four per side by removing the intermediate head and armrests and re-covering in blue/green. Moving outside I can confirm that the missing end steps were restored in preservation, some of them being made from scratch. The pipe which runs along one side of each vehicle is electrical conduit. Incidentally each power car contains about two miles of wiring! There are some photographs of plain blue 126s with set numbers in a 1xx series (e.g. 153) but details are sketchy. Set numbers in the 4xx series (later 126 4xx) started to appear in the late 1970s but formations rarely stayed fixed for long. The numbers usually appeared on DMBS cars only and help to identify individual cars in photographs (401 on 51030, 402 to 421 on 51032 to 51051, 422 on 79088; 51031 missing as it was destroyed in the Paisley crash in 1979). The lightweight buffers appear to have been unique to the E&G and 126 cars. The castings are aluminium and the 18" heads were usually retracted, being used only for shunting as these units had buckeye couplers. I can understand your reluctance to build another centre car but 5-car formations were not all that common and were usually the result of a power car failure. Most Ayr sets ran in 3- or 6-car formations with the occasional nine. Only two buffet cars were built with the Ayr sets and these didn't last long on the Glasgow-Stranraer line, being transferred to Leith to work with the E&G units. One of them was the very first DMU vehicle to be painted blue, subsequently changed to blue/grey as the E&G was a principal route. Ayr's 126s stayed blue until about 1977 although the occasional blue/grey 79xxx vehicle could be seen before then, as in the cine film my father shot at Troon for me in 1969. The buffet car at Bo'ness was allocated to Ayr for a few months in 1960 so it is quite authentic to work with our power cars, which is the plan once it is finished. It was extremely rusty but historically important as the only remaining E&G vehicle (apart from the ones possibly still existing in Liberia) and the ancestor of the Mark 2 carriage. These DMUs (and Classes 120/124/123) had integral construction without underframe trussing which would have got in the way of traction and other equipment. Regarding powering the model, I have built an MTK E&G 6-car unit and it is equipped with two Lima motor bogies which I fitted with Ultrascale wheels. These do not have traction tyres but they can shift this fairly heavy train with little or no slipping. Extra pickups are a good idea. I have done this to one bogie on the centre car of my MTK Class 120 and it made a huge difference. Hope this helps and I look forward to seeing progress on your 126.

Ah yes, I see what you mean. If both engines were shut down it would indeed be a problem on a White Circle unit.

Thank you Russ. It's taking a long time but we hope it'll all be worth it in the end. The buffet seating consisted of twelve small grey leatherette-covered bucket seats with circular cushions, each perched on a single chromium-plated flanged steel leg, grouped in fours around three tables (two on the compartment side and one on the corridor side). You're right about the pole, it goes from floor to ceiling and pierces a small table on which refreshments can be placed by standing passengers. Unfortunately we didn't get the pole or some of the seating but we have copies of the original drawings and a local upholsterer has offered to make replicas of the missing seats. Almost all of the seat and table legs are missing and will have to be remanufactured so it's going to cost us a fortune in chrome plating! Unfortunately the fridge is one thing we didn't get. Regarding final drive isolation, this is done manually using a long handle with a double hook on the end which is stored in the guard's van for this purpose. Each driving bogie has a T-shaped handle in the final drive which is pulled and turned through 90 degrees to isolate it, placing both pinions out of contact with the crownwheel. Standard procedure is to spin the cardan shaft manually to make sure the final drive really is isolated, otherwise disaster could occur. This isn't unique to the White Circle units; I remember watching a BR driver doing it on a Class 101 power car (former ScR car 51803) at Blaenau Ffestiniog after an engine shut down.

Hi Andy, yes we have discussed this with the Llangollen guys fairly recently. It's an interesting idea but I'm not sure if it would work for the buffet car. Its window frames are a now-unique design, different even from the later Class 126 unit although (fortunately for Brian) they look identical from the outside. Hi Russ, that's interesting to know. All three vehicles at Goathland (79443, 59098 and 59099) had blue stuff in them and 79443's interior was completely stripped in order to remove it. The guys who went down to the NYMR were able to rescue a selection of fittings from the three cars to build one complete interior apart from the compartment partitions (now re-made from scratch), some buffet seating (we have a possible source) and some kitchen equipment. We might have to compromise in the kitchen area anyway due to modern food hygiene regulations. There are more photos on www.class126.co.uk

Hello Brian, yes we did look into the feasibility of repatriating one or two power cars from Liberia a while ago, even suggesting converting one into an 'X2' intermediate DMBS (as these are definitely extinct) to make up a six-car set, however the survivors are in an even worse state than our vehicles were and we would need to live to 100 to complete the project. Here's a shot of the interior of the side shown in the photo posted earlier, just after welding new panels on to the rebuilt framework: The spaces next to the solebar have since been covered with steel plate to form a box section which is important for the rigidity of the integral construction. Everything in green primer has been covered with black gloss followed by bituminous paint. We don't want to do this job again! The windows have been particularly challenging. Each aluminium frame is held in place by 36 brass barrel nuts attached to studs welded to the body panels. Of course most were seized and had to be drilled out. New studs were welded to the new panels, then the frames were fitted using mainly new barrel nuts (specially made). The locomotives visible on the adjacent road are BRCW Type 2 number 27 005 and BR Standard 4MT number 80105. Both are now under overhaul elsewhere. I'll echo what others have said about the Golding book. Some of the bodyside layouts are OK but much of the underframe equipment, at least on Swindon vehicles, differs widely from that shown. Glad you noticed the filing cabinet! It is home to our drawings and manuals and needed a repaint so one of my colleagues had the idea for an appropriate colour.

Thank you Brian. Here is a photo of Sc79443 looking rather like a giant MTK kit. The unpainted section (now DMU green) shows evidence of where the new panels have been welded to the bodyside framework. We know that the ridged dome ventilators are wrong but they did come from Swindon-built DMU buffet cars Sc59098 and Sc59099! We have reserved some shell type vents from a Mark I van which is due for scrapping. Almost all of the panelling and much of the framework is new: Some idea of the former condition can be seen in this photo of the kitchen end of the above side: The faded maroon livery is a legacy of the vehicle's 22 years as the static buffet car at Goathland on the NYMR and subsequent storage outside at Bo'ness. Interestingly the green-era lettering is not transfers as we expected but beautifully sign-written, including the 'KITCHEN' lettering on the (cast alloy) doors at the buffet end. Note that the prefix to the original Swindon-applied running number has a lower case 'c' but in the repaint it is a capital letter. The blue/grey era Rail Alphabet running number is in the short-lived 3" size; this vehicle did not survive in BR traffic long enough to receive the more familiar 4" lettering. Since the above photos were taken we have rebuilt most of the other side, fitted new corrugated key sheeting (specially made for us as the pattern is no longer available off the shelf) to form the steel floor and 'scratchbuilt' new compartment partitions from plywood. Unfortunately my more recent photo files are too large to upload here. All of the interior was lost when the vehicle was stripped of asbestos. The 79xxx cars even had the stuff sprayed on the undersides of the floors so this was all cut out before we got Sc79443. The underframe, floor and body form an integral construction, unlike Mark I carriages which have a separate body and chassis with underframe trussing which would get in the way of power cars' engines, gearboxes etc. These DMUs are the ancestor of the Mark II carriage, indeed prototype Mark II FK W13252 was built on the same jigs at Swindon.

Enjoying the updates, these are looking great! The real Sc79443 is coming along nicely, might even post a photo or two if that's OK.

Looking great Brian! I've finally located the Swindon Works drawing with the car types X, Y etc. It shows the locations of light bulbs in a bird's eye view of a roofless 6-car formation with four DMBSs, the intermediate ones cab-to-cab, and a DMS on its own underneath. All four DMBSs are type X, the buffet car is type Y, the trailer first is type Z and the DMS is type K. The 'X2' designation used at Ayr was presumably used to distinguish intermediate DMBS cars from leading ones as the latter had no jumper connections at the cab ends (and were not allocated to Ayr). Regarding windows, as far as I am aware it is only the lavatory windows which are wider on 79xxx cars. I'm still working on 1:1 scale Sc79443 and got the first compartment partition fully installed yesterday.

Hi Brian, just catching up with this thread after a long absence from the forum (domestic issues) but I have been working on the real Sc79443, continuing the job of making the new compartment partitions. Your buffet interior looks great. The 7944x and 5909x buffets had basically the same interiors, differing only in some details such as upholstery material, shades of veneer colour (the earlier ones had darker panels across the compartment walls) and types of reading lamps in the compartments. The 794xx trailers had lamps with almost flowerpot-shaped plastic shades and horizontal bulbs and we are having trouble sourcing these as we didn't get them with the vehicle and all our spares are the other type. The first batch buffet car first class compartments had dark blue seat material with a silver thread leaf pattern. I don't know at present what was in the two later cars as they were built a couple of years later than the 'Ayrshire' 126s but our trailer composite Sc59404 is fitted with blue moquette with a black 'razor blade' pattern as original. Getting into 'rivet counter' territory, the earlier cars had squared-off headrests in the first class compartments but it was discovered that these cast a shadow when using reading lamps so the later cars had rounded-off headrests. This probably mirrored Mark I practice. Our preservation group raided Sc59098 and Sc59099 at the NYMR before they were scrapped so that we could get some of the missing fittings for Sc79443. We have a large (A3) print of an official BR photograph of the interior of the buffet end which unfortunately I can't post here (copyright and size issues) but it does show the very 1950s buffet fittings clearly. The following shouldn't be noticeable when the bodies are on but the twelve buffet bucket seats are actually circular with a single chrome-plated steel leg each. We haven't quite got a full set so we'll need to make some in 1:1 scale. The same goes for the wonderful 'dancing pole' which we'll need to make from scratch, however we do have a copy of the original drawing. Keep up the good work!

Hi Brian, good to see more progress. Yes indeed, I've dug out the MTK 6-car unit and I'm now making Swindon-style details to replace the Derby type below the sideframes of the Lima bogies. Here's a photograph of the motorised leading car I took a while ago with my cheapo mobile 'phone (there has been some progress since):

Good to catch up with this thread Brian. I've been a bit under the weather but have just spent a week working on the real Sc79443 at Bo'ness. To answer your earlier question, as far as I can tell it appears that the AEC engine blocks were in the same position on 79xxx and 5xxxx Class 126 power cars. I was wondering what you were going to do about buffers. Although all Swindon Inter-City and Trans-Pennine units were buckeye fitted throughout, the White Circle units had lightweight buffing gear intended for shunting only; this is probably one of the reasons they were kept away from Blue Square units. Instead of the usual saddle arrangement, there is a steel key which fits through a vertical slot in the shank (smaller diameter than on Mark Is etc) and bears against the cast aluminium stock to keep the buffer in the extended position if required. I used Fourmost/ABS white metal Mark I buffers with the oval heads cut off and replaced with MJT 18" round buffer heads.

I've now spoken to my friend who lived in Ayr when the 5xxxx Inter-City cars were new. He tells me that the 79xxx leading DMBS cars, which were never allocated to Ayr, were known as 'X' cars (not 'X1') and as these were probably WR terms there was no corresponding code for the 79xxx intermediate DMS cars which all went new to Leith, although 79168 ended up ay Ayr much later but that's a different story! I have a vague recollection that the 79xxx trailer cars had 'Y' codes on the diagram but don't quote me.

Apologies Brian, my memory is playing tricks on me. The BR drawing of the six-car 79xxx set (reproduced in a pull-out section at the back of a BR(WR) handbook for railway staff) does not show the 'X2' etc codes after all. However I have definitely seen them somewhere and will keep looking.

The 'X2' design code for the intermediate DMBS was an official BR designation and it is shown with others on the original drawings, many of which we got copied (legitimately) some years ago when they turned up in Derby. The term was used by Ayr drivers to distinguish the 79xxx power cars from the 5xxxx vehicles as there were detail differences which could cause problems when working in multiple, however I don't know how it came into regular use. I can get the other codes for you on my next visit to Bo'ness (1 June). The driver's controls in the 79xxx cars looked like those in the early Derby Lightweights while the 5xxxx cars had similar controls to Blue Square cars. The mixed-up set from Dundee to Edinburgh pre-dates the full introduction of the 5xxxx cars on the Stranraer-Girvan-Ayr-Glasgow route. It looks as if the new but idle 5xxxx cars were lashed together with some spare 79xxx DMSs to make up the special rake. Five-car formations could be seen from time to time in later days but these would be due to failure of a power car, when a three-car unit would be coupled to the trailer and remaining working power car. I can also remember noting (in Troon around 1970) a seven-car formation with a single power car marshalled between two three-car sets. All seven cars were 5xxxx and plain blue if I recall correctly.

Brian, I've found some of the information I was looking for but not (yet) the E&G formations including 5xxxx cars, however I've uncovered a tantalising reference to one of them mentioning 51011 coupled to 79102. I think the original information is probably among important personal data recovered from my work PC in a hurry when I was made redundant last year. I'll keep looking. Meanwhile here are some snippets from two enthusiast friends who were around at the time. One lived near Ayr depot and the other worked for BR. The only 'Western' cars which came to Ayr on their initial transfer north were 'X2' intermediate DMBSs 79083/4/5/6/9 and trailer buffets 79440/1. All other 'Western' cars went to Leith to join the 79xxx cars which had gone there new. Now-preserved 79443 was borrowed by Ayr for a few months but when 59098/9 were delivered new to Ayr 79443 and one of the 'Western' buffets went to Leith. Buffet services were withdrawn early on the Stranraer route. The remaining buffet cars ran with the counters locked for about a year before going to Leith. There was a diagrammed morning 8-car working from Ayr to Glasgow which consisted of two X2s and two 5xxxx three-car sets. Upon arrival in Glasgow this was split into three- and five-car sets, the five-car with its good power to weight ratio often working on the hilly (and now lifted) North Johnstone route via Kilbarchan and Kilbirnie. On one memorable occasion the multiple working failed between the 79xxx and 5xxxx cars and the two X2s hauled the six 5xxxx cars into Glasgow St Enoch, producing copious amounts of white smoke! Two other Ayr X2s often worked with a buffet car on the Stranraer line. This ties in neatly with the first of the following observations from my other eye-witness contact: 0745 Girvan to Glasgow St Enoch, 1 July 1960 79084-79440-79085+51047-59405-51026 Note first three cars all ex-Western Region plus leading DMBS 51047 in the middle. 1015 special Dundee to Edinburgh Waverley, 5 August 1959 51041-79158-59396-79164-59404-59391-79156-51030 Quite an assortment and including now-preserved trailer composite 59404, which would have been almost new at the time. 51041 must have been just out of the box. All-Sc79xxx formation Edinburgh Waverley to Glasgow Queen Street, 11 September 1961 79110-79162-79472-79444-79168-79097 Both intermediate power cars are DMSs in this set but X2s were also used on the E&G line.

Yes indeed Brian, as the 5xxxx DMBS cars were delivered after the DMSs and non-buffet trailers the latter were spare for a while. My friend who lived in Ayr at the time told me that some of them were stored at Hurlford shed until they went into service. Somewhere at home I have notes of 5xxxx cars used on the E&G service (I know that 51012 was one of them, it even acquired temporary 'A' stencils over the headcode boxes) and a mixed 79xxx / 5xxxx eight-car special which worked to Dundee. I don't recall any three-car 5xxxx units among these notes but at the other end of their careers a blue/grey three-car set was photographed in Princes Street Gardens in 1981 so I suppose anything's possible. I'll have a look in the archives! Regarding couplings, I have used Kadee No 5s on my Inter-City units but fitted on the bogies (I know some users don't recommend this), lower than the Kadee recommended height and with the tails modified or removed altogether.

All good stuff Brian. Of course all the 79xxx Inter-City cars ended up on ScR eventually but some of them carried W-prefixes for a while, in particular the five intermediate DMBSs 79083/4/5/6/9 which went initially to Ayr (and stayed in some cases). I expect you know that 79441 ended up preserved for many years on the Strathspey Railway as 'Glenfiddich' but it is now scrapped. My MTK 6-car unit has two motor bogies, one in a leading DMBS and one in an intermediate DMBS. This allows me to run two three-car units or an Edinburgh-Glasgow style formation with two motorised power cars 'double heading' at the front.

Looking good Brian. Funnily enough we were talking about getting curtains made for the rebuilt Sc79443 at Bo'ness last Sunday. We have large scale prints of official B&W photographs which show thin light-coloured curtains in the compartments while in the buffet area they are made of a darker and heavier material. The buffet curtain pelmets were decorated with pink and white vertical stripes although that might be going too far in model form! Wearing my historical research hat, I'd be interested in any photographic proof that 79443 was ever W-prefixed as we found only Sc / SC prefixes when rubbing down the original paintwork. The number panel is to be varnished and preserved. Our information is that the car was new to Leith Central on 16 March 1957 (the Edinburgh-Glasgow service was dieselised from January 1957) and spent some months at Ayr during its early career. We believed that of the buffet cars only 79440 and 79441 worked on WR (with the eight intermediate driving cars there along with four leading cars allowing buffet access from anywhere in a 6- or 9-car formation), however I expect that we don't have the whole story. Whatever the truth it is of course your railway :-)

Hello Brian, I'm still enjoying the updates! Regarding Sean's question about underframe detail, if it's of any interest I'm still working on my MTK 'aid to scratchbuilding' model of a six-car Edinburgh-Glasgow 79xxx unit. As the underfloor layout is unique to these units but uses common components I sawed up the MTK castings (which appear to be based on a Lima Class 117 underframe but modified to resemble Class 123) to give me a stock of engines, fuel tanks, radiators, battery boxes etc. These were then modified and repositioned under the floors and I added exhaust pipes and horizontal silencers made from brass rod and tube respectively, then added EP valve boxes etc made from Plastikard. There are still a few details to be fitted but (at risk of hijacking Brian's thread again) I could post a couple of pictures here.

Excellent stuff Brian. I'm delighted to see such a quality job being made of these rarely-modelled but historically significant units. You've inspired me to re-start work on my MTK 6-car unit, which I bought directly from the manufacturer at Model Rail 88 (!) in Glasgow. It is capable of being run but still needs a lot of finishing work, however in mitigation the 1:1 scale project has been taking priority for a few years.