Buffet Car Sc79443 is the last survivor of the first batch of 'Swindon" Inter-City DMU cars which were built in 1956 for the Edinburgh-Glasgow service (via Falkirk). It is a "TFLB" (Trailer First Lavatory Buffet), with three First Class compartments.
Sc79443 is in a poor state, having spent too many years out in the rain. Like all BR Mark 1 coaches, this is a steel frame body, and over the years water ingress has corroded everything below window level. Sc79443 is a spectacularly bad case!
As part of our Heritage Lottery Fund Project, we carried out a full repair to a section of badly rusted bodyside. Access is good because all internal fittings and panels were removed during the asbestos stripping which occurred before we acquired the coach. This work showed that repairs are practicable, requiring the complete replacement of welded main body frame members and new bodyside panels. The completion of this work will require a further project. We have a extensive kit of parts with which to rebuild the interior.
