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Sticking this in here instead of having a splinter in the Bachmann thread! They did withdraw some sleeper services soon after/during building the Mk3's but I didn't think it had much effect on carriage requirements until the bigger changes later in the 1980's when the ECML lost their sleepers? I'm happy to be corrected, were routes like Barrow and Stranraer just split portions off other trains enabling the more profitable Anglo-Scots sleepers to be strengthened? Looking at the 1988 platform 5 book suggests 12 didn't reach their 5th birthday in service assuming there were 120 SLEP and 87 SLE as built; 10524/528/659/664/667/669/676/677/681/694/695/698/721 are missing, a few of those may have been accident write offs or Royal Train convertees.

No, I should clarify- about 30% of the GW sets had 402xx buffets so they were the minority, the rest had 407xx three window buffets. So when choosing a prototype set to model in blue/grey, executive, swallow, GW or FGW modellers should choose one that included a 407xx in the formation or come up against the problem of having to hack about with your caterer! You indeed correct- ALL 102xx RFM's have four window bays, there are smaller variations depending on the source of the vehicle, some were converted from 405xx HST kitchen cars, the bulk from 100xx WCML hauled buffets. There is a Hornby 4 window version, I think it may only be available in Arriva Trains Wales, Grand Central and one or two other privatisation era liveries.

From the summer 1992 timetable all those services were fully HST, the only loco hauled left in/out of Paddington after that were the odd Cross-Country to Birmingham/beyond and the Night Riviera Sleeper. There was a morning Padd to Cardiff and back (and the times above certainly fit) but that ended in May '92 - the arrival of ex ECML HSTs in the fleet provided enough HSTs to operate all daytime services on the GWML. However.... when HST shortages occured some Padd-West of England were "loco hauled vice HST" - they could do this as only certain depots (not Bristol or Swansea both ends or Cardiff Senior Conductors) retained knowledge of such things because of the sleeper. There was a brief loco-hauled revival from 2000-2003 when some Mk2's showed up (and for the life of me I cannot remember where the stock for those came from!) and some Padd-West Country daytime trains were turned over to them, this released HSTs to operate franchise commitment extra services which were intended for late delivered Class 180's. If someone turns up evidence of a loco hauled Inter-City train into South Wales after 1992 I'd be very surprised.

Just don't forget to take the buffers off if you are modelling a HST, the Hornby scale length should just pop out whereas the Lima ones (including the rebooted Lima TGS released by Hornby) need cutting off as they are moulded to the chassis. It always amazes me how many people miss this, I've even seen it at shows where someone has done a really nice detailed model of a HST and forgotten that basic detail. The ONLY exception is for 8 ECML TGS vehicles which had buffers at the luggage van end during the late 1980's and into the early 1990's allowing a loco to be attached at that end of the set. As per RoyalOak above- if you are using RTR Hornby or Lima choose your GW set with care- the buffet cars produced by both are "three window" types of the 403xx and 407xx number range, these were the more common type and after the post ECML electrification reshuffle only a minority of GW sets had 4 window 402xx buffets as the rest were all on Cross Country as 404xx.

I suggested two 150/2's to them directly at a show; original "running man" Sprinter logo (as worn by all 85 of them and a fairly small adjustment from the Regional Railways version) and the Wessex Trains purple with pink doors. I'd go as far as suggesting a second Regional Railways release with different numbers and destinations would sell now that it's been nearly a decade since the original 150270 with Leeds and York, and that is getting very scarce now. Reading through this thread shows one thing- everybody wants something different! Doesn't give them a clear direction to head in other than to play catch up on old promises.

It was later than that before the big run-down of Sleepers following various decisions to chop the ECML ones and concentrate on a smaller number of longer trains on the WCML. Then (1991/2?) the Cross-Country Sleepers got withdrawn. I think all or nearly all bar accident victims from the Mk3 sleeper fleet would have made it into Swallow, let alone executive.

Thanks to both, my BSO can stay as 9481 which is the RTR number applied by Hornby, the window layout and end gangway end blanking are done/in progress- lots of inspiration there and useful images there- the real 9481 went into the Network Rail fleet and retains the FGW modifications. The RMBF can become 6720 as per the number on the Railtec sheet unless someone comes back with regular fixed formations for those rakes which they may have had back then!

A quick check of RMBF in a photo search site pulls vehicle numbers like 6720 and 6722 but the vehicle is 100% bang-on for the type of vehicle I made an approximation of out of the Hornby Mk2 at the time. Photo (not mine) gives a good example... https://www.flickr.com/photos/robertcwp/2207299110/ The Railtec transfer sheet has 6720 so that is the one I will use for that.

Please does anyone have some sample formation (actual vehicle numbers) for the locomotive hauled First Great Western services which operated around 2000-2003 using Mk2e/f air-cons? In those days normally hauled by their own pool of Class 47's (811, 815, 816, 830, 846 and others) and trial Porterbrook livery 57601 as their own four 57602-605 came later. Online research suggests they typically ran as 7 cars, formed BSO, TSO, TSO, TSO, TSO, FO?, FO but one of the FO's had a modified window layout and contained a "micro buffet" positioned at the standard class end of the vehicle. What was the classification of these and/or does anyone know a typical vehicle number, were they just RFB vehicles in the 12xx series or their own varient? Some of them were extended to 9 cars by the addition of two modified GUV vehicles in use as Motorail but I'm not trying to model those. Some, but certainly not all, BSO were modified with a disabled toilet and had the first full window bay reduced to half-sized, I could do with a number for the ones which did get that modification. #9488 which was at Barrow Hill for some years after is an example of a modified BSO, I've found photos of "regular" FO's but none of the buffet added FO other than within formations.