Uses for the Triang Clerestories

With a bit of modeller's licence concerning the body width, Nick Wood has 'cut-and-shut' some original Triang offerings to produce a D37 brake 3rd and a C10 all 3rd, to run on his Much Murkle layout.

The Triang GWR clerestory coaches, first introduced in 1961, can be obtained secondhand at swapmeets and online auctions such as e-bay, and are occasionally re-introduced by Hornby. Though not to any particular prototype, the bodies from these coaches provide a tempting subject for hacking about into more prototypical diagrams. The following notes are intended to provide a helping hand in that direction. (Mikkel Kjartan describes further conversions of these Triang bodies for a C10 all 3rd and a V5 4-wheel PBV.)

These bodies are the 'old' Triang offerings, with moulded panelling, and should not be confused with the later Hornby longer gangway/corridor versions (see below), whose panelling is denoted merely by the printed lining. Two body types were produced; the Brake 3rd, and the 2nd. The other key difference is that the old Triang bodies are 8' wide, whereas the later Hornby coaches are 8'6" wide.

Triang Brake 3rd

Triang Brake 3rd body

• The Triang Brake 3rd is numbered '2316'. The corresponding prototype number was carried by one of the vehicles in lot 972 (29/06/01), which was a 5-compartment brake 3rd, cler(3) to diagram D37 (nos 2312–2316). It was 50'0¾" long, and 8'6¾" wide. The D37 diagram was similar to the D24s, which had one compartment less.
  
  
• The actual Triang body scales to a 46'6" length and has one set of luggage doors less than the prototype D37. The Triang body is also only 8' wide, and is therefore of little use as a D37 (or a D24), both of which were 8'6¾" wide.
  
  
• The body is suitable for stock that is 8' wide. The distance between the centres of the compartments in the Brake 3rd is 23.25mm = 5'10", and thus could be used for diagrams of 5'6" between partitions.
  
  
• On this basis, the following diagrams appear to be feasible conversion projects: Clerestory 3rd to diagram C10, Brake 3rds to diagrams D7, D8 and D37; low-roofed Brake 3rds to diagrams D16 and D17, and similar Brake Composites to diagrams E40 or E50. Other diagrams might also be feasible with further hacking.

Triang All 2nd

Triang 2nd body

• The Triang 2nd body is numbered '5017', for which I cannot find any record. In general, this body has less potential for conversion than the Brake 3rd.
  
  
• Again, the body is suitable for stock that is 8' wide. Distances between centrelines of compartments in the 2nd is 26mm = 6'6" (which equates to approximately 6'2" between partitions).
  
  
• The nearest equivalent seems to be Clerestory 2nd to diagrams C19 (50' long).
  
  

One of the later Hornby longer (and wider) corridor clerestories, with simulated lining.