Pre-Owned Item, in as new condition.

975025 was converted from the buffet car of a former Hastings unit in the late 1960s, as a saloon for the General Manager of the Southern Region of BR to entertain VIP guests, but was also used by the engineers for line inspections and assessments. Originally numbered TDB975025 and with a kitchen and catering on board made the saloon a very versatile and unique coach. Being derived from Hastings line stock – which was built to a tighter loading gauge than most BR vehicles due to clearance issues on that line – it can travel
on virtually any part of the network, and with driving controls can be both loco hauled and propelled and – almost uniquely – allows invited guests to see the railway from a driver’s point of view.

After the introduction of Network SouthEast, 975025 was repainted into the attractive “toothpaste” NSE livery, but the privatisation of BR saw a temporary reduction in the use of the coach under the ownership of Belmond Pullman. It was eventually purchased from its owners and refurbished and given the name
“Caroline”. The inspection saloon now resides at Derby with LORAM/Network Rail and is widely used for track inspections, line repair assessments and still, occasionally, to entertain VIPs. Caroline has also been earmarked for the national collection once her service life is over.

Our highly-detailed model incorporates all the tooling changes to reflect the changes made to the real coach including changes to the front end headcode boxes, lighting arrangements and multiple working equipment as well as interior changes.

The model features:

• A highly detailed interior,
• Directional and switchable front and rear lighting
• Interior lighting
• Era-specific driver's desk and chairs
• All wheel pickup on NMRA RP25 wheels
• Kinematic coupling system with NEM coupler pockets