magic_monkey09

Plenty of HST options for Hornby this year with the blue Pullman and EMR buffer sets, red and blue sets. 43185 Intercity HST twin pack with FGW blue power car and another run of dynamic lines Mk3’s for men

So I’ve been playing around with some card and old bits of wood and things went down this route....

Indeed. Just annoying that they had already produced it better before on the western and eastern region HST packs

I really wanted one of these but the BR blue looks way too dark. I would have preferred it in 2016 guise with either 43185 or another blue power car. Hopefully they have those planned for a future pack.

I’d be surprised if they reissued another in a now defunct livery. Hornby do not produce a tooling for the correct lights either. The previous model had the incorrect valenta style light lenses.

Do you have the exact name/number of the paint you used? I’ve just used British racing green on a Bachmann turbo and it looks black almost.

I’ve got a few tired old Bachmann 158 vehicles in the scrapbox gathering dust. I rather fancy Bachmann’s new offering but it commends a hefty price!. I thought rather than let these old models go to waste I’ll give them a little refresh to bring them back onto the scene. A popular livery never really offered by mainstream manufacturers was FGW local lines apparently due to its complex colours. The hardest part to reproduce i’d imagine is the colour fade from light to dark blue on the body sides. I’m not even going to attempt painting this livery so instead I’ve gone for the easy option of vinyls. In real life this livery was applied with vinyl so in this instance I don’t mind using them. Now these never look right if you just slap them on as any protruding parts stop them sticking causing air bubbles. Fortunately the Bachmann 158 is rather flat sided so not many details to get in the way. Even so I want them perfectly smooth so I’ve removed all glazing, sanded down all of the window and door frames, air vents and BIL lights only leaving the steps and jacking points intact which the vinyl cuts around. Now the donor body’s are in wales and borders and NSE stagecoach livery so after sanding remained mostly base white so I treated them to a coat of primer and first group blue then grey for the roof. This was necessary as the vinyls don’t cover the entire body and the white underneath would be visible. Half way in this is what it looks like so far:

Quick layout update as it’s been a while. I’ve recently moved house and had a massive clear out so only now just seeing what’s what. I no longer have the large attic space with running loop so for now I’m just tinkering with a plank of wood and set track. The plan is to build a depot scene diorama to photograph stock given the smaller space. I plan to stick with the GWR theme of slam door HST’s. Here’s a few pics of today’s planning :

Here’s an even more accurate photo

Even on Diesel they are an improvement over HST’s on frequent stopping services such as North Cotswold services. I don’t doubt that flat out on a longer run a HST would have an IET for breakfast when in diesel mode. The rapid acceleration out of stations and better braking does cut delay minutes that HST’s would always incur normally due to slam doors or getting held outside waiting for a platform and then crawling in and crawling out. I’d draw more comparisons to a voyager rather than a HST in terms of acceleration. I just hope the December timetable hasn’t set the bar too high and it will be back to business as usual with no flexibility as you mentioned.

Indeed and they are still running to a HST timetable and not being used to their full potential as of yet. The December timetable change will cut out Reading on several long distance services with many services running fast. This will give long distance passengers more chance of a seat and plenty of room. Also it will give the trolleys a longer stretch without pausing for station stops or getting blocked in by standing commuters only going to Reading. Azuma’s seem to get a better press than the GWR IET’s but I guess time will tell once HST’s and Mk4 sets are gone from the ECML.

Everybody said similar things about the HST's when they were refurbished. I recall complaints such as claustrophobic, cramped, cold colour scheme, lightning too bright, lack of tables, seats too upright and high backed making it hard to spot vacant seats amongst other niggles such as plug sockets on tables being unsuitable for larger plugs. The IET seats are a tad firm (I'm yet to try the new sleeper seats) but I believe they are designed to aid posture as well as having more tables, more legroom, more seats overall with lower backs and more natural lighting. The overheads are designed lower to accommodate larger items of luggage as well as the vestibule end ones and dual purpose bike racks. Probably explains the staff rearranging luggage (the trolley won't get through if passengers block the aisles and is a fire/trip hazard). Regarding temperature it's supposed to be self adjusting according to loadings but can also be electronically turned up or down if you mention it to the train manager. Catering wise only new recruits on the newer contracts are Sunday's inclusive of the working week and those that opted for the higher pay package after the restructuring. Existing members of staff are still Sunday's out leading to some shortages. This was the same with HST's and sometimes led to buffets being closed for the entire journey. If single manned now staff have to serve first class first before doing the whole train or do a static service if the train becomes too busy. Sunday Coverage will improve with new intakes on the new contracts. Crates of water and biscuits are also kept onboard in the emergency cupboard in the event of aircon failure, breakdowns etc or lack of catering. Lead Catering staff are required as the second man on 5+5 formations so if anything is going to go uncovered on a Sunday it will be 9 car work. Revenue wise tickets are checked periodically throughout the journey by the train manager only (first class being the priority) and if running a busy 5+5 formation can take a while. This involves crews swapping ends if short staffed. (neither unit is to be left unstaffed whilst in motion). Weekends always seem carnage compared to the more predictable weekday commuter rushes. Many times in the past I've seen HST's with people sat up the aisle in first class on weekends nothing unique to IET's.

The dark lenses are easily corrected by adding a small bit of white pair around the outside then reassemble.

Lovely model and fits in lovely with the others in my collection.

they’d be mad not to do a ScotRail HST and a GWR celebrity power car set with the option of TTS sound

I’ve been tinkering with my mk3’s again. This time I’ve been tackling Hornbys second release of FGW dynamic lines livery which we’re sold through concession outlets only. To be honest this second batch were not good enough. The first batch were ok and the third batch excellent. . The windows were clear and the printing of the decals and yellow stripe were very washed out with no electric blue in the swirls and the pink doors too dark. First I tinted the windows from the inside using Tamiya smoke then added a new yellow cantrail stripe and brighter Dynamic lines decals to finish it off. I haven’t touched the doors for the time being but the coach is now looking a lot better than it did out of the box. Now it matches the quality of the third batch a bit better. Before: After:

This happens when a 10 car IET replaces a service booked for a HST. Coaches D and E have traditionally been standard class carriages on a HST but on a 10 car IET they are first class carriages causing confusion. To further confuse matters coaches D and E do not even exist on 9 a car IET hence why GWR have been abolishing seat reservations on services where the allocated stock does not match the revervations.It must have been some jobsworth revenue protection inspector you encountered as I cannot see a train manager not being familiar with the layout of his train.

Electronic seat reservations will not work if the train is booked for a 9 car and replaced by a 10 car or vice versa. 9 and 10 car electronic seat reservations are not compatible with each other. GWR are re-lettering coaches E and F on HST's to H and J in the event of a HST replacing an IET. Providing the sets arrive on time paper labels are normally used in place of electronic.

This is normally the result of having no competent crew member for the front set resulting in the rear set being locked out of use. GWR IETs when running in multiple formation have to have a competent member of staff in each end (usually a train manager and lead customer host). They are not allowed to carry passengers with no competent member of staff present.

a recent list of all the GWR IET’s with diesel only restrictions 800001 800002 800012 800015 800022 800028 800030 800035 800036 800308 800310

Actually Paddington has its own Pullman crew along with Plymouth and Swansea. They work 1C83 13:03 PAD-PLY and 1A97 18:03 PLY-PAD (16:00 PNZ-PAD). London living allowance on top of a decent basic salary ensures there are no recruitment problems. Standards wise the Pullman is the only part of GWR catering that hasn't taken a backwards step. The crews provide an excellent welcoming experience for passengers and this continues on IET's. Standard class passengers are of course still welcome too if the restaurant isn't fully reserved. 407xx catering vehicles today are old and poorly maintained and this sometimes impacts on the service when appliances are faulty. All of the pots and pans and table top equipment etc are the same that's used on HST's so taste wise passengers won't notice any change. Providing IET kitchen equipment doesn't develope any teething problems like the trains themselves have suffered there shouldn't be any problem keeping standards high.

I wouldn't go as far as to say the first class catering is an improvement over the HST. The product range is exactly the same offered on both trains with the only difference being that the coffee is filtered on IET's and instant on HST's. Also the airline cart used on IET's is a lot more compact than the stainless steel trolley used on a HST meaning it can't carry as much stock. The less luxurious seating passengers will notice the most and find it harder to justify the premium price. The Pullman restaurant services should be easier to implement now that the service can be offered on any IET set. Unlike the HST having several types of catering vehicles with many non compatible for Pullman's resulting in set swap needed.

Anybody have a Bachman class 166 turbo for sale in latest FGW livery? Not Thames trains or link

Train-tech lighting strip. Comes with battery included and just blu tacked to the roof

More tinkering this afternoon with a bit of painting and trying out carriage lighting. First of all one thing that has always bugged me about the earlier ex Lima Hornby TGS is that the vestibule end doors are oddly painted white and it really stands out when running around the layout. So out with the masking tape and airbrush and they are now pale lilac blue. Just the buffers to remove next and to paint around the gangway blue to match the rest of the coach. I have no idea why Hornby painted this black. I popped into my local model shop today and picked up a carriage lighting board. I've been wanting to try one of these for ages to see what they are like and they are a good piece of kit. The lights come on when the coach moves and stay on for a while when stopped. They are slightly too short for a Hornby mk3 though as the end windows are still a bit dark for my liking. The basic seating inside the coach is not prototypical at all so maybe that can be my next task. I intend to run one of my HST sets in the dark so will be fitting one with interior lighting. A Cross Country HST has come in for overnight servicing ready for another day's work in the morning.