DC Kits Class 303/AM3 EMU

[Signaller69]

Caledonian Blue is a notoriously difficult colour to fit into a "one shade fits all" category. I think finding a shade you are happy with is the key here. If you do a Google image search for "Caledonian Railway Blue" it shows several steam locos which look spot on for the colour you have used (notably the preserved 812 class), where others appear to show a much lighter colour (such as the preserved 439 class). Some familiar models, eg the Triang Caley 123 and Wrenn 2-6-4T were finished in a somewhat lighter shade, but that is not to say they were the "right" shade of course. Land Rover use a shade called "Caledonian Blue" which I suspect is darker again.

 

But then I suspect if you look at your model outdoors in sunlight it may well look considerably lighter?

 

Add to this that the further away we view a prototype from, the lighter it appears, due to atmospheric conditions. Also the unusual yellowy-orange brake dust weathering these units picked up can influence the perceived colour, and can be seen in some photos.

Edited May 28, 2020 by Signaller69

[Wagonmaster]

Thanks for your observations Signaller69, I appreciate all the points you've made. Funnily enough, I have a Tri-ang Caley 123! I wouldn't have gone by that shade as being definitive though.

 

I think BR Caledonian Blue is just going to be one of those odd shades that no-one is going to fully agree on. I never saw them in that livery, just Corporate Blue and later. Lighting, distance, film stock, weathering, colour reproduction and device screens, plus that odd effect of the right shade looking wrong on a model, all play their part. I'm sure Precision have done their homework. By the time it's varnished it will look different again! I'll stick with it.

 

Now, what shade were the Class 86's when built! Only joking!

[darrel]

When 303048 was repainted into caley blue, loads of people said it was the wrong shade. However a year later we found a door open button in caley blue that had been in the stores and had never seen daylight. It was a perfect match. The paint sample for 303048 had been taken from the builders model in the Glasgow museum of transport 

[Wagonmaster]

I've been a bit sidetracked with the Class 313 I've been building, but I'm back with the 303 for a bit. The lining appears to be yellow/black with the yellow uppermost. However, I'm struggling to make out the numbers. In some shots they look gold, but in others more yellowish. There are transfers listed as 'old gold' as well. Anyone know what colour they were?

 

A similar query/check with the kickboards beneath the doors. In photographs, they look silver, as if they are some sort of metal plate? The stepboards I assume are just black?

 

If anyone could help, I would be grateful. Thanks

[Wagonmaster]

Its been a while since I posted about my Class 303, but it is still progressing slowly. The chassis just need a bit of varnish and wiring up. The bodies are just about finished externally. The interiors are next on the list along with fitting the working lights.

 

Below is a photo of the two driving cars on my workbench.

 

 

 

Edited April 15, 2022 by Wagonmaster
Reinstating photo

[Wagonmaster]

A bit of an update on my Class 303 build. It is slowly coming to completion with the BDTSO now complete. The other cars are still being wired up. All cars feature flicker free internal lighting and interior detail. The DTS's have working illuminated headcodes, destinations a tail lights controlled by dcc. Below is a photo of the BDTSO, hope you like it.

 

 

 

Edited April 15, 2022 by Wagonmaster
Reinstating photo

[BusDriverMan]

That just looks fantastic!

 

What I'd really like to know is, if BR was capable of commissioning trains like this in the late 50s… why on earth did so many areas end up with EPB-derivative slam-door compartment stock instead?

[cheesysmith]

As to why we were still building EMUS with doors, look to the SR. They were the biggest user of EMUs so they were the driving force behind the standard EMU design. They wanted compartments for maximum number of seats per train and doors to each compartment for rapid loading. And they didn't want gangways because it would encourage people to move to the front when they got to London. And they also wanted the heavy underframe so they could rebuild on the cheap (rebuilding using old underframes was a old trick for the SR).

 

If you want to see what chance was missed, look at the Wirral or Merseyside stock the LMS had built for them. Open saloons, power doors and monocoque for lighter coaches. 

 

The SR didn't even fully install AWS and some trains went for scrap without it in the 80s.

 

The last MK1 coaches built were some 4REP power cars, years after the mk2 had come out.

[andyman7]

There was still a strong regional influence in BR design so there wasn't so much a BR standard design as regional designs. The Southern were very focussed on economy and reliability hence the utilitarian design approach, tungsten lighting, slam doors, reuse of underframes and traction equipment (such as the venerable EE508 traction motors). And as noted above, the SR carried on with Mk1 carriage building after the rest of BR had moved on to Mk2s. 

[BernardTPM]

Station dwell times also came into it. With the slam door stock the train could be half-empty by the time it stopped...

 

Have to agree, those Merseyside units were proper 'modern' for the time.

[Michael Hodgson]

Lovely model you've built there, beautiful job on the livery.  I always liked appearance of the front ends on these and 310/312 units before they were modified to offer better protection to the drivers.  Trouble with a model of 25kV stock is the need for OHLE on your layout.

[Wagonmaster]

Thanks for all the compliments, appreciated. I meant to post a picture of the Motor Brake Second as well. So here it is. Please note that the pantograph isn't quite right and I've yet to sort out the roof detail. Just having a difficulty in sorting the parts for this.

 

 

Edited April 15, 2022 by Wagonmaster
Reinstating photo

[Legend]

31 minutes ago, Wagonmaster said:

Thanks for all the compliments, appreciated. I meant to post a picture of the Motor Brake Second as well. So here it is. Please note that the pantograph isn't quite right and I've yet to sort out the roof detail. Just having a difficulty in sorting the parts for this.

 

 

Deeply jealous . Beautiful model 

[D9001]

On 20/04/2021 at 09:33, Wagonmaster said:

Thanks for all the compliments, appreciated. I meant to post a picture of the Motor Brake Second as well. So here it is. Please note that the pantograph isn't quite right and I've yet to sort out the roof detail. Just having a difficulty in sorting the parts for this.

 

 

Very impressive.congratulations.

 

 From where did you source the yellow and black lining, please? 

[Wagonmaster]

22 hours ago, D9001 said:

Very impressive.congratulations.

 

 From where did you source the yellow and black lining, please? 

Thank you very much, pleased you like it.

 

The lining is from Fox Transfers. I can't remember which sheet it was now, but it is one intended for LMS carriages. It maybe FRH4211, but if you have a look, you'll find it.

[luckymucklebackit]

16 hours ago, Wagonmaster said:

Thank you very much, pleased you like it.

 

The lining is from Fox Transfers. I can't remember which sheet it was now, but it is one intended for LMS carriages. It maybe FRH4211, but if you have a look, you'll find it.

 

Looking at some photos, I would think that the above window lining for BR Mk1 maroon coaches would be near enough correct

 

 

The EMU lining might be a bit thicker, but would not be too noticeable in 00.

 

Jim