Class 319 flex - upcycling for the north

[cheesysmith]

The BR MK3 designed body was optimised for each use it was put to. So much so that the 150/1 body uses different gauge steel to that of the 150/2. Then there is the sleepers, which are built in such a way that you cannot put full sized windows in them without damaging the monocoque. Then there is the 442, and the motor coach is a totally different design, based on the Irish rail generator coach. Amd the 210 demu motor coach had a floor based on the power car design from the HST to take the heavy engine and generator and allow big holes in the sides and roof for cooler groups and access. Then there is the preload that they are built with. They are built with a arched shape, like a n, and the mass of what is added later in the built actually pulls them level. So as to having different designs of MK3 for the trailer coaches vs the motor coaches, the motor coaches were only a 1/4 of the order, and they had different design for the 150s, which were for a smaller number of body shells.

 

There is also the fact that the drawing for the design probably don't exist anymore. When BR was fragmented a lot of information was lost. Bachmann had to measure up a existing train for the 150 model as the drawings has disappeared.