Don't U forget about me... 4mm Pendolino Coach U Conversion

[Wild Boar Fell]

For anyone interested in modelling the current scene of the WCML, the Pendolino is surely the unit most important to setting the scene. Hornby's representation of the class has been around for a good while, although a model in the normal Virgin livery has not featured in the catalogues for a few year. Unfortunately the model pre dates the modification of a large chunk of the fleet to their current 11-car format. For most people this is probably not an issue as I imagine few layouts have the space to run a full set, or will be happy with a 9-car set. But if you do want an 11-car set, you are stuck when it comes to RTR so it's time to do some bodging.

 

 

 

Here is a current arrangement of the 11-car Pendolino sets

 

A          -           DMSO              629XX

 

B          -           MS                   699XX

 

C          -           PTSRMB          698XX

 

D          -           MS                   697XX

 

E          -           TS                    688XX

 

F          -           MS                   689XX              New for 11-car

 

U          -           TS                    653XX              New for 11-car

 

G         -           MF                   696XX

 

H          -           PTF                 695XX

 

J          -           MF                   694XX

 

L          -           DMRF              691XX

 

 

Coach F is the more simple of the two to represent, as far as I can see, purchasing an additional R4274 would allow this to be modelled with only some re-numbering and a few changes to the markings.

 

 

Coach U however features a pantograph well, but no pantograph! I have never understood why this vehicle was produced like this, and have not seen an explanation of it. As my starting point for this project I have used a spare R4271 PTSRMB as these seem fairly easy (and cheapish) to track down especially if they feature a damaged pantograph.

 

 

Start by disassembling the coach, there is a screw per bogie along with one for each coupling (be careful not to lose the small springs when removing the couplings), once removed the bodyshell can be gently be eased away from the chassis. As can be seen in the photo I have marked up the chassis with the vehicle number + letter and along with an arrow to allow all vehicles to be positioned in the correct orientation.

 

 

 

 

 

The next photo shows the area of interest, the pantograph well, a lot of the equipment needs removing or repositioning, so the plan of attach is to strip it of all the separate components for future use or storage.

 

 

 

 

The components circled are those required for future use, this includes the base of the left hand white insulator as well as the bases of both black insulators (how to recover these is documented later).

 

 

 

 

Turning the body upside down reveals the bottom of the well and all the mounting holes, for me the easiest way to remove the components was to start drilling into the holes which broke the glue joints (please take care when doing this). After a few minutes work all the parts should now be separated and we can flip the coach back up.

 

 

 

 

My next step was to remove the entire base of the well (marked in yellow), the plastic in this area is quite thick, so start by drilling holes along the edges and cutting between them.

 

 

 

The coachward end of the well is the easiest to remove and must be kept for future use. In the image below this has already been removed, the gangway end of the well is trickier featuring detail close to the well sides, work slowly here to avoid damage to the sides.

 

 

 

 

Eventually the whole well is removed, the sides can then be cleaned up in readiness for constructing the new well floor.

 

 

 

 

Looking inside the coach you will notice that the glazing is retained using a lot of small clips moulded into the body, these protrude above the level of the surrounding plastic. DO NOT file these flush! To make the well cut a long strip of 20thou plastic sheet to fit snugly between the glazing. Pushing it into place you will notice it does not sit flat, this is because of the clips, so mark the location of these on the sheet, and make notches to avoid these. On my coach, the fit was sufficient for the well to sit flat without falling out. Once happy with the fit, glue this to the underside of the opening.

 

 

 

 

Return the coach to upright again, now cut a second piece of 20thou sheet to fit the top side of the well, this will allow the level inside the well to be raised to its previous height and act as a removable base for the components. For now, do not glue this in place.

 

Now take the panel (coachward side) removed previously and file the back down until the parts marked above are completely separate (this will take some time and patience as there is about 1-2mm of material to remove to allow this).

 

 

 

 

I then began to plan the components locations, unfortunately few photos seem to exist showing the well from above, fortunately Revolution Trains’ have released the below render of their excellent forthcoming N gauge model. So this was interpreted to get rough locations.

 

(Image reproduced with kind permission from Revolution Trains)

http://www.revolutiontrains.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Revolution_Trains_390_653XX_pantograph_well.jpg

 

 

 

Once happy with the positions, drill the holes to accept the recovered parts. Once secured in place, I began to add lengths of 0.5mm & 1mm wire from Eileen’s Emporium (probably other brands available) to match the render.

 

 

 

 

Further wire and plastic strip were added before the panel was fixed in place, allowing the final connections to the coach roof to be made.

 

 

 

 

Finally a comparison shot, the original coach at the back and the converted coach in the foreground.

 

 

 

 

Hopefully this will be of use to anyone wanting to undertake the same conversion.

 

Regards,

 

Wild Boar Fell

 

Edited June 16, 2016 by Wild Boar Fell

[sub39h]

Just out of interest are you gonna move the quiet zone to A coach as well? Have you got a source of transfers to do this and for the F and U branding?

[Horsetan]

Funny how the letters F...U will be permeating this thread. I wonder if Virgin did that deliberately.

 

Also, that song "Don't You Forget About Me" is now going round my head incessantly, so thanks for that earworm.

 

Edited June 17, 2016 by Horsetan

[Wild Boar Fell]

Sub39h - The long term plan is to update all the markings to represent the pendolinos before their doors became a solid colour, with all new letters and each side marked up as a different unit (390114 City of Manchester & 390153 Mission Accomplished). I also plan to eventually replace the motor bogie with something more powerful and smoother and through wire the unit. Some further detailing is also anticipated. Unfortunately I am not aware of any transfers or nameplates for the Pendolinos (but I am happy to be proved wrong), also if anyone knows a good paint match for the bodyside silver I would be most grateful.

 

Horsetan - It does seem an odd strategy I must admit. Also the missing coach I adds to the confusion. No problem, any-time! 

 

Wild Boar Fell

[Hilux5972]

This is what Fox has on the Pendolinos

 

http://fox-transfers.co.uk/catalogsearch/result/?q=Pendolino

[Prg88]

Currently upgrading from 9 to 11 cars so many thanks for the tips!

 

Here are some images of the real thing.

[Wild Boar Fell]

No problem, thanks for the photos!

 

Bother it appears the pan wells are red not black...

 

Wild Boar Fell

[Prg88]

Coach U is red. Not sure if the others are red and dirty, or actually black.

[Wild Boar Fell]

Just realised I have never posted a photo here of the full set, okay not a brilliant photo.

Here it is posed a few months back on Warrington Bank Quay, its actually sat on the baseboard in this shot. Now that track has been relayed, I should probably grab a better photo next time I have the layout out. (I am planning to extent the layout to allow the full set to fit in the platforms on the scenic section.)

 

 

Wild Boar Fell

[sub39h]

Amazing work. I used to travel via Virgin Trains from Cov to London 4 days a week between late 2014 and June this year - your models really look the part.

 

How have you coupled the Voyagers please?

Edited October 25, 2016 by sub39h

[muddy water]

Had a spare pantograph car and as coach U doesn’t look like it will be produced in OO, I thought I would give your conversion ago!
 

I managed to cut out the pantograph well out in one go with a Stanley knife. But the chain drilling method might be easier for some people.

I have yet to paint it up and change the numbers, but I think it looks passable!

 

At least we now know there are two of these coach in existence in model form!

 

Thanks for the instructions, I think I have proved they were not to hard to follow!

 

Apart from The Rapido N gauge model have you found any drawings for the Pendolino? A bit too modern for the Barrowmore group books. A lot of the photos have only the driving ends and not the coaches. 
 

 

 

[muddy water]

Here are some photos of my conversion. The blue wire needs painting black and the whole thing weathered.

I have found the “lost” RMweb server crash photos and will post them up next week. 

Edited May 20, 2023 by muddy water

[muddy water]

Here are some real life photos. I know the livery is all wrong, but I don’t have a Time Machine!!

Edited May 20, 2023 by muddy water

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[woodenhead]

The pantograph well on coach U is for a circuit breaker for an additional transformer required for the 11 coach trains apparently.