Talking of delayed items (Chris's list) - I finally managed to get some intercity blue/grey mark 3's to go with the new Hornby HST set I've had for some time now.

They were grandly specified for the HST as having no buffers!  On opening them up I see that all Hornby have done is not fitted the buffers and just put them in a plastic bag.  Nothing has been done to remodel the buffer bar and it is just left with the open holes where the buffers would have been mounted.

Has anyone done any detailing of coaches for HST operation?  Can't see anything in the index.

I'm also interested in a buffet/restaurant car to make up a full rake but as far as I can see Hornby don't have any plans to produce one.  Can anyone recommend a suitable donor coach in another livery that I could get resprayed and renumbered?

Thanks

Hi Mike hornby have just produced a mk3 buffet although its the later RFM design and is part of the blue/grey Wrexham & Shropshire three coach pack. There is a review in the current model rail. The old lima mk3 buffets still crop up on ebay so that may be your better soloution. I have one that I will eventualy be using in a push/pull set. Hope this helps. :thumbs

Hi Mike

Which buffet do you want?  There are several types.   There's a small step on the lh end (as you look at the coach) which can be reproduced using n gauge signal ladders with some rungs removed.

Hth

Jim

This what you are after Mike?

http://www.kernowmodelrailcentre.com/product/27655/R4393_Hornby_Mk3_Trailer_Restaurant_Unclassified_Buffet_Car

Thanks for the information chaps. 

I'm have ordered the TRUB from Chris tonight and also a TGS.  These together with the trailers I have will allow me to make up a couple of different formations.

I dug out A Model Rail mag from Oct 2006 when they did a special on 30 years of HSTs.  In that they described a number of formations from 1976 - 2006.  Actually none of them show an unclassified buffet, all the blue/grey formations have a single TRSB or a TRUK (Kitchen) plus a TRSB although it seems that the TRUKs didn't last long.

Looking closely at the pictures of the trailers in the 1976 formation the TRSB matches the window layout on the TRUB in the post from Chris having a smaller sitting aree with 3 large windows compared to the TRSBs in later formations which have 4 large windows.  

So, the TRUB available at the moment will look ok with an early formation but if I want to put together a later 1981-2002 formation with a TGS (Trailer Guards Standard) the detail would be wrong.  The article mentions that Hurst Models do a coach side overlay to produce a correct TRSB but with all the other things I have to do I'll live with it for now.

I think my working compromise formation will be DM+TF+TF+TRUB+TS+TS+TS+TGS+DM and that should make a nice looking HST on the track.  The cross country formation is shown with only one TF and an additional TS so that's another possibility.

Jim thanks for the pointer on the steps - I'll put that on my to do list for the bench.

I did flirt with the idea of installing sound but the cost of two sound decoders made me think twice:shock:  Has anyone done this?  If it really sounds stunning then maybe it's worth a rethink - I do love my HSTs:thumbs 

Cheers

Mike

DM+TF+TF+TRUB+TS+TS+TS+TGS+DM

That would be a fairly typical formation even if it is missing a TS.  As you mention the cross-country sets generally had only one TF and used a TRSB but it was (and is) fairly common to see what should be an 8-car formation running with a TS missing usually due to maintenance requirements.

HST formations are a minefield.  The TRUK cars had a relatively short life as such but some were later used in place of unavailable TRUB vehicles.  Providing a buffet service from them proved difficult as the only option was through a 2-foot wide doorway which had a tiny lift-up ledge fitted for use as an emergency counter.

I am not sure how accurate the Hornby buffet coach is, but nobody else does one at the moment so it is all you can get!  I know that the TRUB is hardly mentioned in any article, and yet I am fairly certain that every train I travelled on in the 1970s and 1980s in Cornwall had one in (except the NE / SW sets).

It did not take us long to rumble that because it was unclassified the seats in it were 1st class but anyone could use them.  Theoretically they were for people who were dining of course, but this did not matter in Cornwall as the buffet was very rarely open with the crew not joining until Plymouth.

I have toyed with having sound in my HST (just to hear the Valenta scream again!) but I have not yet done this.  Like Mike, a combination of the cost and not being sure how good it will sound with two power cars makes me wary.

Mike have a look on you tube for the 00 layout of Doncaster station im sure the hst's on there had sound fitted. ;-)

Here you go Mike have a look at this..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOi5Plyiyzs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEtNvq96tx4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWiSK1kByEM

:thumbs


 

Just found this one of a hst pulling away from a signal stop great stuff !!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEzWyl30kAo 

:doublethumb

Correct me if I'm wrong here but weren't the Western Region formations only 7 coaches at first? I'm sure some are still running with 7 as I often see them while playing golf as the railway line runs along close(ish) to the 12th and 15th holes at Erlestoke.

I believe they were DM+FO+FO+TRSB+TS+TS+TS+TS+DM as the TGS didn't come out at first. I think/hope my memory serves me correctly anyway as I'll be putting at least 2 HSTs on my N gauge layout.

I believe you are correct for the very early months of operation.  While the ECML sets initially had two catering vehicles and were 8-car sets from the outset the WR sets mostly had a single catering vehicle.  

The prototype class 252 set which ran on the WR had two catering vehicles and I seem to recall it was the intention to offer a second class buffet and first class dining car as was done on the ECML in the early days.  WR authorities begged to differ and ended up with a single buffet-restaurant combined.