I next turned my attention to fitting the interior lighting. I had originally intended to make up a false ceiling which I would drill holes in to hold the LEDs and run the connecting wires above the ceiling and under the roof. I had pre drilled 2 small holes at the top of each partition to take the wires through. While looking at these the thought struck me that I could run 2 parallel lengths of brass rod through these holes and then solder the LEDs to them. This avoided the need for a false ceiling. After removing the bogies, the wiring from the battery box was led through a hole in the floor of the guard's compartment and was then soldered to the two rods, making one positive and the other negative. Wiring from the LED tail lamp was also connected up to the battery box. I then suspended 6 yellow LEDs between the two rods (one in the guard's compartment, three in third class and two in frist). I bent the LED pins at right angles and then soldered them to the rods (long pin is positive). Once soldered, the excess length of the pins was snipped off. The lighting was then tested and it worked fine. The on off switch is on the cover of the battery box and is easily accessible under the coach.
I had purchased a sheet of brass from Worsley Works to make the roof but I have put this to one side for a future project and I cut the roof from a sheet of thin ply instead. I sprayed the inside white, to help reflect the LED light down into the coach interior. I then glued the roof in place with 'Serious Glue' and held it in place with a lot of elastic bands until the glue set. After that I covered the roof with a sheet of office paper cut to size to represent canvas and to hide the wood grain of the ply, this was glued on with diluted PVA adhesive. I made a pair of rain strips from 1/16" strip wood and fixed these in position with PVA.
I had purchased a sheet of brass from Worsley Works to make the roof but I have put this to one side for a future project and I cut the roof from a sheet of thin ply instead. I sprayed the inside white, to help reflect the LED light down into the coach interior. I then glued the roof in place with 'Serious Glue' and held it in place with a lot of elastic bands until the glue set. After that I covered the roof with a sheet of office paper cut to size to represent canvas and to hide the wood grain of the ply, this was glued on with diluted PVA adhesive. I made a pair of rain strips from 1/16" strip wood and fixed these in position with PVA.
 Interior LED lighting |  Ply roof held in place with elastic bands while the glue sets |  Roof covered in paper, rain strips in place |
I then glued the Brandbirght coach door handles on with cyano glue and did the same with the handrails made from brass rod. Two rather nice Brandbright offset flexible brake pipes were then attached to the coach ends, unfortunately I had to cut the lower part off of the one at the end with the swivelling coupling to allow it to pass underneath without obstruction.
It was then time to paint the roof, I used satin black paint in error and so once this had dried I applied a coat of matt black. Then it was time to apply the transfers, once these were dry I applied varnish to them and had a bit of a disaster. The varnish reacted with the paint and started removing it! I managed to bodge a cosmetic repair with the aid of a spray can and the result is acceptable but there are a few blemishes. Once that was sorted the the bogies were reattached after greasing the bearings. Job done!
It was then time to paint the roof, I used satin black paint in error and so once this had dried I applied a coat of matt black. Then it was time to apply the transfers, once these were dry I applied varnish to them and had a bit of a disaster. The varnish reacted with the paint and started removing it! I managed to bodge a cosmetic repair with the aid of a spray can and the result is acceptable but there are a few blemishes. Once that was sorted the the bogies were reattached after greasing the bearings. Job done!
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