PoshPaws

I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time and made the effort to help me out here. This was only my second post on RMweb, and I never expected to get so much help. I am now confident enough to order the extra coaches that I need, plus the window frames, lighting bars etc etc to make an all singing, all dancing early HST, and especially to order the necessary transfers (would you believe Railtec even introduced a new customisable sheet to their catalogue for this project? - usual disclaimer). Guess it's time to find every early photo I can of a TRUK, maybe the TRSB too...

You may think it's rushed, but it looks to me like you have put a lot of thought into it. I really appreciate such a thorough and helpful answer, and together with all the other really great answers this has made me a lot more confident in ordering the additional parts that I need. Thank you.very much indeed.

I just want to thank everyone for the really fast and detailed answer so far. I really appreciate your help and hope I can return it some day. Mike

Actually that's a really useful post because it shows where in the rake the additional TS went. Thank you.

I started as a Railman at Southampton Central in 1986, and customer assistance, including carrying baggage was a major and official part of the job. How we used to flock around the upside entrance for an hour or two after a major liner had berthed at the docks, as by this time many boat trains ran from Central bringing lots of Americans with their generous tips. Interestingly, when I became a Leading Railman on the ticket barriers I once helped an old lady on the footbridge who was struggling with her bags with no-one else around. It would have been inhuman not to and I didn't accept a tipbut that didn't prevent me from getting a bollocking off the station supervisor for doing someone else's job. Apparently another railman had noticed and complained. That bollocking still irritates me a little now...lol

That's my understanding too, also that this placed the buffet counter in the most convenient position for second class and avoided extra foot traffic through the restaurant seating. My memory's rather fuzzy though, and I didn't really become interested until about 1980.

Thanks to an amazing older thread on RailUKforums ( http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38938 ), I now know that the very first HSTs delivered to the Western Region had this formation: DMB - TF - TF - TRUK - TS - TS - TRSB - TS - DMB This was reformed after a couple of years when it became clear that 2 catering cars was an extravagance. TRUKs that had already been introduced were sent to the Eastern Region for inclusion in the class 254s, and were replaced by an additional TS, giving the following formation: DMB - TF - TF - TRSB - TS - TS - TS - TS - DMB (new build Western Region class 253s from this time were similar, but with a TRUB in the place of the TRSB). The third early change was the introduction of the TGS which replaced the end TS, giving: DMB - TF - TF - TRSB - TS - TS - TS - TGS - DMB Now the questions: 1. Does anyone recall whether the TS cars inserted in the sets to replace the TRUK were shuffled around between sets to keep numbering consecutive so, for example, 253001 would have W42003/4/5/6, or whether the new build TS was just swapped in one per set making the above W43003/4/5/91? I know this would have been a big exercise, but BR was rather proud of the HSTs. 2. I seem to remember that while there were two catering cars they were both orientated with the seating area toward the centre of the train, then single catering cars were orientated with the seating portion facing second class on a TRSB and first class on a TRUB. Can anyone confirm or correct this? 3. I seem to recall that depot allocation stickers were carried on car ends, below the C3 restriction label and the technical details. Again, can anyone either confirm or correct this? 4. Does anyone know whether the DMBs were fitted with rooftop smoke deflectors before or after the TGS cars were inserted? I hope these questions are OK, I have actually been asked to model an early HST set, and want to make sure it is as accurate as possible. Also, if anyone knows a good reference book for this, I would love to know. Mike

I'm sorry to ask a question which I would rather research myself, but photos of individual models are harder to come by here in the USA, where most ebay sales are blocked. What I'm looking for is suggestions for a suitable donor model to become 47053 in 1983, preferably ViTrains (first choice) or Bachmann. The basics are that it had a flat rebuilt number 1 end, a standard number 2 end with the plated over headcode box and a working (sometimes) Stone-Vapour boiler. The number 1 end was very unusual with the rubber grommeted lights normally found on a non-rebuilt front end rather than the hinged marker lights normally found on rebuilt cabs, but I know I wont find that on any donor. If there isn't a match then does anyone know of a model with an open Stone Vapour port and the usual plate over the Spanner / Clayton location? Thank you in advance Mike

Wonderful, but love that it has both Brush and Crewe works plates, the latter being correct.

Nope, sorry, like so many of Stratford's repaints 487 was unique. Watch out for the headcode box area too, on standard InterCity livery examples the grey / yellow border was straight across the middle of the box.

I think most of those centre cars added to the 110s in the mid 80s were actually from withdrawn 111s.