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Trivia: Unusual "refurbishments"

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Clansman

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As the title says, any unusual refurbishments of trains you can think of.

Ones I can think of are;

Scotrail "English 8" 158s - Ex-SWT units receiving Scotrail Saltire flooring, with Ex-Arriva trains seating replacing old style seating. The most tatiest "refurbishment" I've ever seen. The other units received the Old National Express seat covers despite Saltire branding being used throughout other fleets, with the retention of Alphaline flooring and door buttons.

Scotrail Ex-HT 170s - Buffets are still in place but remain unused since Scotrail started trialling them. First class removed with the plating up of plug sockets and reading lamps, yet the walls where the interconnecting doors once stood as well as the thicker luggage racks, still remain. Seating layout in standard class remains unchanged, with more airline seats than bay seats - the only 5 units in the 170 fleet to have so.

Caledonian Sleeper Mk2s - Seat covers changed to Saltire in the seated coach, yet the floor and carpeted walls retain old National Express Scotrail covers.

By refurbishment, I mean any minor/major changes by TOCs to rolling stock which are deemed unusual for whatever reason.
 
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Melancholia

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I'm gonna include GWR LA16 Mk3 set, GWR green on the outside, but retained the original interior, unlike it's sister set, LA15.
 

43096

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I'm gonna include GWR LA16 Mk3 set, GWR green on the outside, but retained the original interior, unlike it's sister set, LA15.

But LA16 was not a refurb, as it still has the same interior as before. It was just a straight C6 overhaul and exterior repaint.
 

fgwrich

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FGWs 142s. I recall them saying they weren't going to receive a refurbishment initially but we're so appalled at the state of them that they had some of the dado panels, seat covers and hand rails repainted into the then FGW colours of Olympia and Rubine Red while retaining their FNW liveries and original brown flooring in some units / FNW in others.

SWT for a while had some of 456s and early 158s with SWT stickers on the inside prior to they're main refurbishment.
 

61653 HTAFC

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The seats used in Northern Spirit's 142 refurbishment are unusual - unlike any other seats I've encountered on train or bus! They started falling apart within weeks with headrests going missing and whatnot. They seem a little sturdier since the Northern refresh a few years back, so I assume they fettled them in some way...

144012 also deserves an honourable mention, as does the solitary 141 which received new transmission as a trial for sorting the 142s out.
 

Strathclyder

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In Scotrail-land, 314203's 64588 (ex-64426 from withdrawn 507022, replacing the original 64588 written off in the Newton collision in 1991) was treated to a experimental refurbishment before being formed into 203 in 1996, the main differences being the coach's vestibule partitions and disabled area. These modifications were left intact when 203 was refurbished in 2011, maintaining it's 'unique' status in the process.
 
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LowLevel

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The bizarre decision to put wrecked ex Class 158 seats in the Wales and West 153s?
 

yorksrob

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I have a picture in a book of a HAP unit interior which was refurbished in bus moquette. Holdsworth's were apparently on strike, hence the lack of BR moquette.
 

AC47461

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While the old GE class 307s all got a full refurb with new interiors, flourescent lighting, seats, corridor connections and a removal of all the compartments, the 302s didn't. I think the GE based ones (the first 20) got the same, but the certainly not all (if any) of the LTS ones did, I remember travelling on several that just had the compartments removed and the new seats fitted, but retained the old lighting, still with no corridor connections or new interior. It looked really odd.

I guess there was no more money in the pot to completely refurb the lot, but there was the clamour at the time to get rid of non-corridor compartments (after some nasty incidents).
 
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Deepgreen

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GWR's 166205. What I suspect will remain the sole example of an internal refurbishment, including leather seats in first class - although, unbelievably for such a relatively high profile unit, the first class has been mis-labelled and the interior and exterior identification mixed up!

From another era - 4CEP 7153 - the prototype for the fleet refurbishment, but which retained its sliding window top lights, when the fleet received hoppers.
 

JohnElliott

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I have a vague memory that the first 4EPB to be refurbished had a curved plastic ceiling of a design not seen elsewhere in the fleet. All the others either had flat plastic ceilings, or just fluorescent tubes stuck onto the original ceiling.
 

Taunton

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I have a picture in a book of a HAP unit interior which was refurbished in bus moquette. Holdsworth's were apparently on strike, hence the lack of BR moquette.
A lot of SR suburban emus were redone at the time with the old moquette used by London Transport on their old RT buses, they apparently had huge amounts in stock and were glad to get rid of it. Then the replacement buses didn't work out and the old ones were retained and refurbished themselves, so the sale was regretted.
 

yorksrob

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A lot of SR suburban emus were redone at the time with the old moquette used by London Transport on their old RT buses, they apparently had huge amounts in stock and were glad to get rid of it. Then the replacement buses didn't work out and the old ones were retained and refurbished themselves, so the sale was regretted.

Interesting additional background!

I wonder if BR ever reciprocated with some spare Trojan perhaps?
 
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The Chiltern Railways 168/3s (previously the First Trans Pennine Express 170/3s and the South West Trains 170/3s before that) kept both of their first class automatic sliding doors at each end of the units when the were refurbished by Chiltern Railways recently. When they were with SWT they had two first class sections each (one at each end) but are now 100% standard class.
 

Mag_seven

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GWR appear to have some ex MML (East Midland Trains) HST's as distinguished by the "jingle" prior to any announcement by the guard.
 

Deepgreen

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Still on on the slam door era - the small fleet of 4/3JOPs, converted from 4VEPs, where the first class corridor structure was removed to leave the bench seating (4-a-side) with a side aisle. It was done for security reasons I believe. It looked very strange.

There's also the oddity from the SWT class 456 conversion programme where the ex-toilet windows were retained and therefore a few seats are adjacent to a blank wall between the small window and the next standard-sized one. Of course, there's also the issue of the non-functioning cab destination screens, never used since SWT installed them and seemingly destined to remain blank for the rest of their lives!
 
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delt1c

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I have a picture in a book of a HAP unit interior which was refurbished in bus moquette. Holdsworth's were apparently on strike, hence the lack of BR moquette.

Are you sure it wasnt one of the side corridor SAP's which were reupholstered using RT bus material
 

pemma

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They started falling apart within weeks with headrests going missing and whatnot. They seem a little sturdier since the Northern refresh a few years back, so I assume they fettled them in some way...

They also lost the armrests and one of the overhead luggage racks in the process.
 

TEW

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Or to replace the seating on the 158s with the seating that was used on 153s, 155s and 156s in other areas.

And also installed on the 143s and 150s in the same area! It meant the 153s were the only units in the area not to have Chapman seats.
 

Islineclear3_1

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I have a picture in a book of a HAP unit interior which was refurbished in bus moquette. Holdsworth's were apparently on strike, hence the lack of BR moquette.

Reminds me when 2EPBs were undergoing refurbishment during the 1980s(then called "facelift") and during a time of shortages of blue check moquette, one unit (and a 4EPB) were reupholstered in the old-fashioned Trojan moquette
 

yorksrob

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Are you sure it wasnt one of the side corridor SAP's which were reupholstered using RT bus material

I have the book to hand (Michael Welch's excellent "Slam Doors on the Southern") and the saloon is definitely a BR design HAP (lack of toplights being the give away).

That's not to say some of the SAP units weren't done as well !
 

yorksrob

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Reminds me when 2EPBs were undergoing refurbishment during the 1980s(then called "facelift") and during a time of shortages of blue check moquette, one unit (and a 4EPB) were reupholstered in the old-fashioned Trojan moquette

Why waste it - its still a wonderful design :)
 

yorksrob

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Still on on the slam door era - the small fleet of 4/3JOPs, converted from 4VEPs, where the first class corridor structure was removed to leave the bench seating (4-a-side) with a side aisle.

That wasn't a refurb - that was vandalism.

I was extremely unimpressed when one of those (or the COP's) turned up :|
 

yorksrob

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The worst ever vandalism was the "refurbishment" of the Kent Coast 4Cep/Beps <(

Alas, I only remember ever going on an unrefurbed one once sadly (when I was about five), however the refurbed CEP's weren't a patch on the phase 1 GIG's which had received a much lighter facelift instead.
 

randyrippley

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Once rode on an early MkII compartment coach in which the full-depth opening windows had been replaced with double glazed sealed units. I presume it had air conditioning fitted, but I don't remember it.
I always assumed this was a Mk2C that had been given a trial conversion, even though the books say none of them were actually given the a/c mod.
Only saw it the once, I think on Waterloo-Exeter, but after 30 years that could be wrong
 

158757

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142005 has it's seat tops painted purple, it was the first one done under FNW and no others got done.

142042 and 142044 didn't have their Merseyrail yellow grab handles painted purple when Northern did their "refresh" on them, 142042 also got treated to repainted wall/window panels in Northern purple, but none of the other Merseyrail ones did.

142019 got Northern striped headrests on refurb, but the rest of the ex ATN ones had them in plain purple.

153321 when it first came to EMT had Wessex grey and pink moquette (As per Wessex 150s), despite AFAIK never working for Wessex.

155346 did have lighter coloured external Northern blue and purple internal grab handles than the other 6.

156420 has some white seat grab handles, all the rest of the ex FNW fleet were left in dark blue.

Before its recent refurb 158752 retained its dark blue wall carpet and regional railways floor carpet, and in the complete opposite, for a good year after it was refurbed 158754 ran round with a full Northern interior except for the seat covers and cushions which were still regional railways moquette and very uncomfortable!

158853 did for a while when it first came to Northern ran round with ex MML Rio blue seat covers in one coach.

158839 never gained the ATW teal seat covers like the rest of the fleet, it retained Alphaline blue camoflauge covers right up to the WAG funded refurb.

158722 when it had the Inverness refurb ran round for a good few years with FGW blue seat covers in one coach, and one other 158 had the plain purple "first class" style moquette in standard class in one coach.

I think that covers enough for now :P
 
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fgwrich

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Still on on the slam door era - the small fleet of 4/3JOPs, converted from 4VEPs, where the first class corridor structure was removed to leave the bench seating (4-a-side) with a side aisle. It was done for security reasons I believe. It looked very strange.

Ah, those were the VOPs - of which 2 survived at Chart Leacon until it's closure by Bombardier - One ended up being chopped (like so many units sadly) for the Brighton Belle, The other is now in pres in Dartmoor. The JOPs IIRC are / were the Junipers?

Isnt or wasn't there an ex East Midlands TGS in the East Coast fleet that was for some time running around with ex FGW Dynamic Lines Seats along side the original Ex BR IC70s?
 
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