Lima Class 117 DMBS to DMS - Pt 4

The reason I have a Western Region Class 117 is because I thought it ran on the LSWR main line when the Western took over Southern services west of Salisbury from 1963. This is further supported by a photograph in the book 'Yeovil to Exeter' (isbn 0-906520-91-6) that shows an unidentified unit at Broad Clyst in 1964 on a Yeovil Junction to Exeter Central service. Further evidence is its head code of 2C50, which has been independently reported as also being seen on the Plymouth - Exeter LSWR route in 1963.

There is just one problem. It might have been a Class 118 because these were more prevalent in the West than 117s. The only physical difference between the two classes at this time are the car number allocations and the headcode box roof, which is more curved on the 118. With such small differences I am content to run the 117 as a representative DMU on my model of the main line.

Apart from the DMBS body panel conversion and the flush glazing the only other items I have enhanced are set out below.

Cab  Front

A new head code, 2C50 printed from computer. This code means Western Region, Exeter Plymouth District, Train Number 50. The closest true type font to that of the prototype offered by the Windows operating system is 'Century Gothic'.

The destination blind behind the centre window shows Yeovil Junction. At the other end of the train it shows Exeter Central. Probably not correct to have two different destinations but on the model railway it is convenient for travelling each direction.

Window wipers have been installed made up from thin plastic sprue.

DMS Number

The numbers on the 3 car set I purchased whilst individually correct do not form a known set of the prototype. The existing DMBS has the number W51342. The DMS conversion needs a new number so I choose W51384 from the same set as the DMBS. The TC (trailer composite) has the number W59518, which is not of this set. It should be W59494 but I don't intend to change that. Further more, these cars were allocated to Southall shed so probably never ran on my modelled line. It is most likely that sets from Plymouth Laira shed would have been used.

On one side of the DMS (ex DMBS) the existing number near the drivers door needed the last two numbers changed. I found it was easy to remove these using a piece of masking tape pressed over and then peeled away, which lifted the numbers without damage to the paintwork. HMRS Pressfix numbers were then applied but their colour was much brighter than the remaining Lima numbers. I toned them down with grains from a black pastel crayon embedded in the matte varnish that was wiped over the numbers to fix them.

On the other side the numbers were on the body panel that was removed during conversion. Therefore, a complete number sequence had to be applied below the largest window near the rear end. These were treated the same as the other side to tone down the colour.




Gangways 

The gap between cars set by Lima is wider than the prototype to allow the train to negotiate toy track curves without fouling but, what is worse is the chasm between the dummy gangways. All my trains have full gangways fitted and this one is no exception. They are made from paper stuck to a piece of eighth inch cork that is held in the dumy gangway of the model.

The End.

To Part 1.