Prototype BR Mk.1 FO 3070 - interior views

[Dog Star]

First Open no. 3070 is part of a service set and in use on the Mid Hants Railway. This post offers some interior views of the carriage.

To start with a detail that is proving difficult to tie down - just how many fire extinguishers per carriage? This photo shows the only extinguisher that could be carried by this carriage on the basis that there is only one "shelf" for the item. The picture shows a detail which is likely to be from the oreservation era, the material that forms the draught excluder is the same as the material used on the seating.


The Bluebell Railway web-site has an excellent set of pages of carriage moquette, see Bob's (@Bob-65B) post below for the link. The moquette in the following photo features in the Bluebell pages where the pattern is noted as being introduced in the 1950s.


The interior of this FO is much lighter than most of the other coaches in the set... a nice golden yellow of Weathered Sycamore from somewhere in Britain. This photo shows the veneer below the glazing in a mid coach partition.


This photo shows the same veneer on one of the vestibule partitions.


How do I know that the veneer is Sycamore? Long-term readers of the Mk.1 topics may recall that a WTer, either Bob or Adrian, suggested that I ought to write a paper on the labels attached to the panelling in the body of a Mk.1. This photo shows how BR thoughtfully provided passengers with details of their surroundings.

 

[Bob Reid]

I'm not sure that about that moquette Graham - when these vehicles were still in BR service they'd have moved on to a much plainer 1st class one like that shown in your BFK pics - BR "rationalised" the patterns many years earlier and when stocks were exhausted they moved onto the newer designs. I suspect that whoever re-trimmed it has been sharing the same replica pattern moquette with the Bluebell Railway chaps - see here for some good info Carriages: Technical Page - 1950s' Moquettes and showing a version of that particular pattern. The use of moquette round the doors isn't original - it should be a rubber welt (more or less a chord wrapped in a black rubber casing) All of this isn't to decry the folk making a great job of restoring these vehicles as they can only use what's available or to hand and they are for daily use not sitting as exact replica time pieces in the NRM...

 

[Dog Star]

Thank you for the above comment Bob, the Bluebell pages are excellent. Photo captions updated.

 

[Heather Kay]

Why has no enterprising transfer maker produced suitable reproductions of these patterns?

Oh, I know why. Most modellers don't care about the interiors of their coaches, assuming they care about coaches at all.

 

[Bob Reid]

Ooh Err Heather - controversial....!

You need to move onto one of Doug Hewson's 5" gauge Mk1's - at around 1/11th scale you could replicate curly cheese sandwiches with some impunity and someone would notice it. I'd love to but the cost - ouch.

 

[Dog Star]

Why has no enterprising transfer maker produced suitable reproductions of these patterns?

Maybe a WT-er ought to ask @Railtec Transfers ?

Most modellers don't care about the interiors of their coaches, assuming they care about coaches at all.

Whilst accurate, that comment does not apply to WTers generally given the number of requests here about the colours of upholstery for seats and curtains in the past couple of years.

 

[Heather Kay]

Whilst accurate, that comment does not apply to WTers generally given the number of requests here about the colours of upholstery for seats and curtains in the past couple of years.

True enough. I was, admittedly, making a sweeping generalisation.

Bob, at 5" gauge I'd expect nothing less. I would need to find a much larger property if I went upscale, though.

 

[Bob Reid]

My abode would do fine, granted it would never be anything other than a giant shelf queen - this harks back to more youthful days visiting the museum at Kelvingrove with its large scale North British Locomotive Co. engineering models of their products - sorry for the interlude Graham.