Inspection required…
I had been contemplating spending nearly £150 on a Revolution ‘Caroline’ for 97304 before sanity kicked in and I relented. However, thoughts on a cheaper solution continued…
The idea of adding 37405 and 10 log wagons has subsided of late but the prototype often runs with shorter trains - perhaps a piece of track equipment (such as a tamper) or occasionally an inspection saloon…
The Revolution model is wonderful, and certainly worthy of being considered a locomotive in terms of decoration, detail and justifying the price. However, it was going to be wasted on DC on my small micro layouts… The N gauge society commissioned a smaller, shorter, cheaper version from Bachmann a number of years ago now - I wondered if this could be the basis for some plausible reality?
I decided a ‘preserved’ era livery might be more believable and so this period maroon one was sourced from Kernow with a set of B4 bogies. Should be a simple replacement, or so I thought…
The result, even at this stage, sits well with 97304. A few stages remain, beyond the obvious weathering. First of all I need to add some modern overhead warning flashes, and second, an orange cantrail stripe. Then it’s a question of whether it needs yellow ends… for now, probably not, assuming it’s only ever towed…. What about an ETH socket or something though?
The bogies unclip very easily and the B4 were a straight swap… but (top photo below) they left the ride height somewhat on stilts! The bogies had a moulding around the hole that raised the coach by around 1mm (or 6”). Carefully removing this with a dull blade allowed me to drop the ride to the original level, and give the coach a more modern appearance. Adding details to one end and a DG to the other she was ready for testing…
Sometimes these ‘easy’ projects are just challenging enough to feel satisfying yet not overwhelming. I’ve enjoyed swapping the bogies and getting this to feel right. Yes there is more to come, but for now, I’m enjoying the pairing on Wrecsam and wondering if they’ll ever get to stretch their legs on a larger (DC powered!) layout one day? Until next time, more soon…
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I considered buying Caroline too, the NSE version looked good. I already own two Farish saloons and decided that I couldn't justify the cost. I like the fact you have gone for a maroon finish on your saloon James. Wouldn't it be great standing on the platform on a grey February day at Wrecsam when the combination of inspection saloon and yellow 37 arrived instead of the usual DMU!! Take care.
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