Mark 2b, By Accurascale and IRM!

[Flood]

20 minutes ago, BrakeCoach said:

This is an out of the blue question, but does anyone know when Mk2 TSOT vehicles disappeared from service and what happened to them? Seems like there aren't any sectorization livery versions, hence the question.

 

All the Mk2C variant been taken out of use by August 1993. 6528 ended up with West Coast but none of the others survive. 6510, 6513 and 6523 were scrapped after lying at Dalton, Sinderby and Carnforth respectively.

 

9 minutes ago, BrakeCoach said:

I see, so no Provincial / Regional Railways TSOTs

Only in Blue and Grey.

Edited April 11 by Flood

[WCML100]

17 hours ago, Flood said:

So last Friday I decided that I was going to have another set of NSE coaches but this time it would be a full 9 coach Waterloo - Exeter set. Having looked through one of my friend's old spotting books I decided on a rake and then noted which build batch the TSOT came from.

 

For those slightly interested 118 Mk2C TSOs were built, of which the first 64 (5498 to 5561) had the style of toilet windows used in the Mk2, Mk2A and Mk2B builds. The remainder had toilet windows shorter in height so a vent could be placed above on one side, this is the style that Accurascale will be modelling.

 

The TSOT in the rake was 6503, which was originally 5510 so came from the first batch. Time, therefore, to start chomping away at an Accurascale Mk2B TSO to make and early style Mk2C TSOT.

 

First of all the roof vents were removed and 5 thou sheet used to make the access hatch on the roof.

 

The earliest Mk2C TSOs had two different style of roof vents before Roevac vents were finally decided upon, which were subsequently used on the air-conditioned Mk2 stock and the loco hauled Mk3 stock. The first vent style used is described in British Rail Mark 2 coaches as a 'G' vent, the next vent tried being a 'GM' vent. I assume these were G modified as they were very similar to a 'G' vent but shorter in height. Now a GM vent is near enough the same as an English Electric loco cab roof vent so a made up six of these (from Shawplan) and then added 20thou to increase the height, in order to simulate G vents. Most sane people probably wouldn't even care.

 

These were then added to the roof and left to dry.

 

I then turned to the interior and cut out one bay of seats and added a counter.

 

The roof was then primered, Archer's rivets were added to the edges of the roof hatch and then primered again. The small handles on the hatch were easier than expected (when a brand new drill bit is used).

 

The screen between the counter area and the seating was made and painted and the rest of the interior also painted.  I could have smoothed things up a bit but more on that later.

 

So all the basic work had been done. A blast with Halfords matt black sorted the roof, a blanking screen for the window behind the counter and a strip stating Buffet for the window opposite, followed by a red stripe and a quick renumber and we have the below:

 

 

 

 

As for tidying up the interior wall before painting, you can't even see the counter let alone what the wall looks like!

 

All in all it took just under a week and I'm very happy with the result. Oh, and I've just straightened that footstep shown in the last photo.

 

Now, should it really be in this thread or the Mk2C one?

 

Seriously good stuff this! love it!

 

[The Evil Bus Driver]

21 hours ago, Flood said:

Thanks for the kind comment, and everyone else's appreciation.

 

I'm an idiot, I completely forgot about one of the selling points for these coaches...

 

That looks great! Just needs a big glass dome full of BR sandwiches* and paper bags full of cups of tea on the counter,  maybe a few packets of crisps and you're there. 

 

 

*Truly a thing of terror

Edited April 12 by The Evil Bus Driver

[dj_crisp]

20 hours ago, Flood said:

To help out all those that will be wanting a TSOT here is the full list:

 

NSE 6500, 6502, 6522, 6527 small toilets and Roevac vents as per the Accurascale model to come

B/G 6504, 6506, 6511, 6520, 6523, 6524, 6525, 6528, 6529 small toilets and Roevac vents as per the Accurascale model to come

 

NSE 6501, 6513 Mk2B toilet windows and GM vents (like EE cab roof vents)

B/G 6505, 6516, 6519 Mk2B toilet windows and GM vents (like EE cab roof vents)

 

NSE 6503, 6517 Mk2B toilet windows and G vents (taller version of EE cab roof vents)

B/G 6507, 6508, 6509, 6510, 6512, 6514, 6518, 6526 Mk2B toilet windows and G vents (taller version of EE cab roof vents)

 

NSE 6521 Mk2B toilet windows and Roevac vents

B/G 6515 Mk2B toilet windows and Roevac vents

 

Obviously all those in NSE originally carried Blue and Grey.

 

In my 1992 Platform 5 book theres a nice shot of 6521 in NSE - I couldn't quite work out what vents it had based on an annoying background so thanks for clearing that up! Do you know if the layout of the roevac vents is the same as the Accurascale version?

 

Many Thanks

Will 

 

[Flood]

On 12/04/2024 at 19:04, dj_crisp said:

 

In my 1992 Platform 5 book theres a nice shot of 6521 in NSE - I couldn't quite work out what vents it had based on an annoying background so thanks for clearing that up! Do you know if the layout of the roevac vents is the same as the Accurascale version?

 

Many Thanks

Will 

 

From what I have seen the vent positions didn't change between any of the Mk2C TSOs, just the style of vent.

 

The positions of the vents on my model were based on the B.R drawing and photographs, measurement of an actual Mk2C would be completely accurate. In addition, I have made the access hatch slightly smaller than those on the Bachmann Mk2F coaches. Thinking about it there is no reason why they should be any different but I originally made it to the Bachmann size and when compared to photos it seemed too wide (in comparison to the door and window positions).

 

Excellent photos are on Flickr from Steve Jones, here is just one taster:

 

Taking the centre of the small centre-line disc as a datum point, the far left end in the photo above, my vent positions are as follows:

 

23.5mm (near edge in the above photo), 61.5mm (far edge), 91mm (near), 129mm (far), 158.5mm (near), 196.5mm (far)

I've re-spaced these to my original Airfix Mk2D to Mk2C conversion which are equi-spaced.

 

The vents are in line with the original vents positions when viewing across the roof width.

The circular plate at the nearest end on the roof is around 3 to 3.5mm diameter (it is in fact to thin plates together which is what Accurascale has modelled). The photo above still does not seem to have this plate on the centre-line as far as I can tell and looking at the Accurascale development pictures their plate is also off-centre.

 

Edit: I've found this photo on Flickr which shows the position of this circular plate as being off-centre:

Copyright DMC1947

 

So you now know as much as me folks, happy modelling.🙂

 

Edit: one thing I've just noticed, M5505 has a Western Region style train description board frame still in place in 1980. The real question is why did it ever have one in the first place as it was never due to go to the Western Region? The British Rail Mk2 Coaches book has a photo of M5498 with one of these frames as well. I guess that nobody had told Derby to stop fitting them.

Edited April 16 by Flood
Additional photo added.

[younGGuns7]

 Erm late to this party 🤦‍♂️ anybody know where there are any ACC 2669 left ?

[Flood]

6 minutes ago, younGGuns7 said:

 Erm late to this party 🤦‍♂️ anybody know where there are any ACC 2669 left ?

According to the Accurascale website there are only Trans-Pennine TSOs and NSE FKs left.

[Dungrange]

45 minutes ago, younGGuns7 said:

 Erm late to this party 🤦‍♂️ anybody know where there are any ACC 2669 left ?

 

There is one on E-bay - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/166710557351

 

Looks like most retailers have sold out from a quick Google search.

[younGGuns7]

2 minutes ago, Dungrange said:

 

There is one on E-bay - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/166710557351

 

Looks like most retailers have sold out from a quick Google search.

Thanks 👍

[dj_crisp]

1 hour ago, Flood said:

From what I have seen the vent positions didn't change between any of the Mk2C TSOs, just the style of vent.

 

The positions of the vents on my model were based on the B.R drawing and photographs, measurement of an actual Mk2C would be completely accurate. In addition, I have made the access hatch slightly smaller than those on the Bachmann Mk2F coaches. Thinking about it there is no reason why they should be any different but I originally made it to the Bachmann size and when compared to photos it seemed to wide (in comparison to the door and window positions).

 

Excellent photos are on Flickr from Steve Jones, here is just one taster:

 

Taking the centre of the small centre-line disc as a datum point, the far left end in the photo above, my vent positions are as follows:

 

23.5mm (near edge in the above photo), 60.5mm (far edge), 89.75mm (near), 130.5mm (far), 157mm (near), 196mm (far)

Seeing as they probably should be equi-spaced then my dimensions are a bit out.

 

The vents are in line with the original vents positions when viewing across the roof width.

The circular plate at the nearest end on the roof is around 3 to 3.5mm diameter (it is in fact to thin plates together which is what Accurascale has modelled). The photo above still does not seem to have this plate on the centre-line as far as I can tell (due to the slight dip in the angle of the top but that may just be perspective).

 

So you now know as much as me folks, happy modelling.🙂

 

Edit: one thing I've just noticed, M5505 has a Western Region style train description board frame still in place in 1980. The real question is why did it ever have one in the first place as it was never due to go to the Western Region? The British Rail Mk2 Coaches book has a photo of M5498 with one of these frames as well. I guess that nobody had told Derby to stop fitting them.

 

Many Many Thanks! Loads of great detail and help :)

[robertcwp]

1 hour ago, Flood said:

The positions of the vents on my model were based on the B.R drawing and photographs, measurement of an actual Mk2C would be completely accurate. In addition, I have made the access hatch slightly smaller than those on the Bachmann Mk2F coaches. Thinking about it there is no reason why they should be any different but I originally made it to the Bachmann size and when compared to photos it seemed to wide (in comparison to the door and window positions).

I thought the 2f had a bigger roof hatch than 2c to 2e but might be mistaken. I believe 2f had a heater unit in the system which 2d and 2e did not as they had separate pressure ventilation for heating.

[mevaman1]

9 hours ago, Flood said:

From what I have seen the vent positions didn't change between any of the Mk2C TSOs, just the style of vent.

 

The positions of the vents on my model were based on the B.R drawing and photographs, measurement of an actual Mk2C would be completely accurate. In addition, I have made the access hatch slightly smaller than those on the Bachmann Mk2F coaches. Thinking about it there is no reason why they should be any different but I originally made it to the Bachmann size and when compared to photos it seemed too wide (in comparison to the door and window positions).

 

Excellent photos are on Flickr from Steve Jones, here is just one taster:

 

Taking the centre of the small centre-line disc as a datum point, the far left end in the photo above, my vent positions are as follows:

 

23.5mm (near edge in the above photo), 61.5mm (far edge), 91mm (near), 129mm (far), 158.5mm (near), 196.5mm (far)

I've re-spaced these to my original Airfix Mk2D to Mk2C conversion which are equi-spaced.

 

The vents are in line with the original vents positions when viewing across the roof width.

The circular plate at the nearest end on the roof is around 3 to 3.5mm diameter (it is in fact to thin plates together which is what Accurascale has modelled). The photo above still does not seem to have this plate on the centre-line as far as I can tell (due to the slight dip in the angle of the top but that may just be perspective).

 

So you now know as much as me folks, happy modelling.🙂

 

Edit: one thing I've just noticed, M5505 has a Western Region style train description board frame still in place in 1980. The real question is why did it ever have one in the first place as it was never due to go to the Western Region? The British Rail Mk2 Coaches book has a photo of M5498 with one of these frames as well. I guess that nobody had told Derby to stop fitting them.

Thanks so much Flood.  You are a goldmine of information.

 

Andrew

[ohmygoodnessme]

 

Thanks for the useful contributions to this thread, particularly from the the past few pages. I bought an Accurascale 2b with the aim of modelling an early Mk2c and particularly enjoy the “robust yet polite disagreeing agreeably” posts on colours.  Food for thought as I think about a Trans-Pennine rake.

 

Delivery:

Try not to waste any time thinking about or chasing as I did as there is nothing you can do about it. I had a similar experience last summer. Sent with Anpost, the parcel definitely reached DHL Germany but it was sent back. Despite phoning DHL and actually speaking to several helpful human beings, they couldn’t tell me why I didn’t get the parcel, that the sender would be informed of the reason and I never did find out why. It took a couple of weeks before the parcel was resent from Ireland.

 

Couplings:

If you are mixing Accurascale 2b with Bachmann, a plug and play close coupling option is Hunt Elite C in the Accurascale and Hunt “Buckeye” for Bachmann (Mk1, 2a). The coupler steps down and compensates for the too high, too far back nem coupling on Bachmann coaches. Saves having to bolt a coupler (e.g. a Kadee) on the underside of the Bachmann nem pocket, historical bodge to couple Bachmann Mk1 and 2 to coaches from other manufacturers. This will get you close coupled coaches that will (in my case) happily run round radius 2 curves.  

 

Coach height:

I haven’t found a height issue mixing Accurascale 2b with Bach 2a. Bachmann’s first generation Mk1 BG (e.g. 39-180, 39-181) sits too high but this isn’t a new issue. I’ve lowered mine, straightforward enough but there are pitfalls, a topic for another thread. If you're modelling Trans-Pennine, Bachmann's 39-181 is a useful starting point for a NEA. 

 

Roof hatch:

To model a 2c roof from Accurascale's 2b, there’s a very useful brass etch Ref. P135 for Mk2d/e still showing as available at southernpridemodels.co.uk (you need to go to menu British Rail Mk1 then British Rail Parts 1). The business is winding down so how long do you have to get these? The Mk2f hatch is larger and Ref. P136, also still available.

 

Roof vents;

Thanks to Flood for the 2b to 2c mod. I did think the Shawplan etches looked the same shape but not high enough. I might try that. There are some GM style vents Ref. P129 at southern pride models but I’m not sure they’re the right shape?

 

[Michael Hodgson]

On 12/04/2024 at 17:45, The Evil Bus Driver said:

That looks great! Just needs a big glass dome full of BR sandwiches* and paper bags full of cups of tea on the counter,  maybe a few packets of crisps and you're there. 

 

 

*Truly a thing of terror

Yes, that stale cheese sandwich was always being reported in the newspapers. 

You should check with the NRM to see whether they've still got it, so Accurascale can send these chaps to York to measure it up.

 

[SRman]

I decided to do a bit of troubleshooting and a minor overhaul of a Network South East class 50 (Hornby). It was intermittently shorting on left hand curves and any slight humps in the track, but not consistently, plus there was a hint of bearing shriek. I traced the short to a pickup wire having dropped off and touching the chassis just occasionally. Long story short, I put it all back together, and it ran beautifully hauling my NSE rake of mixed Bachmann Mk 2A and Accurascale Mk 2B coaches. The effectiveness of the magnetic close couplings can also be seen here. The train ran continuously for several minutes without fault, but I only videoed one complete circuit.

 

 

[Southernman46]

OT

 

I love my Hornby 50's - won't be getting rid of them - despite Warspite & Neptune on order

[blackpete]

1 hour ago, Michael Hodgson said:

Yes, that stale cheese sandwich was always being reported in the newspapers. 

You should check with the NRM to see whether they've still got it, so Accurascale can send these chaps to York to measure it up.

 

Are they sticks of stale cheese that they're holding?🤣🤣🤣

[robertcwp]

Test run of Mark 2b stock today. The train includes a Bachmann BG and a Hornby RB and FO. 

[Haverail]

On 12/04/2024 at 22:25, younGGuns7 said:

Thanks 👍

RMS still appear to have quite a few variants left

https://www.railwaymodelstore.co.uk/oo-gauge/oo-coaches/accurascale-oo-coaches/

[MistaMatthews]

19 minutes ago, Haverail said:

RMS still appear to have quite a few variants left

https://www.railwaymodelstore.co.uk/oo-gauge/oo-coaches/accurascale-oo-coaches/

Not sure what’s going on with them though. I’m still waiting on delivery. Maybe RMS is the retailer that people have mentioned is having delivery problems?

[Haverail]

6 minutes ago, MistaMatthews said:

Not sure what’s going on with them though. I’m still waiting on delivery. Maybe RMS is the retailer that people have mentioned is having delivery problems?

The delays I had were a different retailer and it was an issue with DPD. The retailer finally got the full quota of coaches on Frday and mine are due for delivery tomorrow. The retailler has been giving customers regular updates so I wasn't concerned. Perhaps RMS are having similar delivery problems.

 

[younGGuns7]

33 minutes ago, Haverail said:

RMS still appear to have quite a few variants left

https://www.railwaymodelstore.co.uk/oo-gauge/oo-coaches/accurascale-oo-coaches/

Thanks the ones that fit I have managed to get elsewhere but appreciate the post 👍

[The Evil Bus Driver]

21 hours ago, Michael Hodgson said:

Yes, that stale cheese sandwich was always being reported in the newspapers. 

You should check with the NRM to see whether they've still got it, so Accurascale can send these chaps to York to measure it up.

 

They might need hazmat suits by now though. Mind you they probably needed them back then  

[big jim]

Notice a few MK2s have appeared new on eBay at £59.99 in various liveries however upon clicking on the seller it appears they are based in Oakhampton, the same place as a number of previous since banned sellers who took peoples money but didn’t deliver the goods 

 

it may be a coincidence but I thought I’d mention it incase it’s the same person using yet another username and people get scammed again 

[Haverail]

3 hours ago, big jim said:

Notice a few MK2s have appeared new on eBay at £59.99 in various liveries however upon clicking on the seller it appears they are based in Oakhampton, the same place as a number of previous since banned sellers who took peoples money but didn’t deliver the goods 

 

it may be a coincidence but I thought I’d mention it incase it’s the same person using yet another username and people get scammed again 

The Model Centre are also selling them for £59.95 on ebay