27/09/2023.
LS Models Dd4s Nord Rapide luggage van after modifications.
Observation
Missing parts
As noticed by several members of the LR forum, some spare parts are missing:
- folded bellows are supplied, but not the appropriate holders;
- no electric heating jumpers, and no place to install them.
These parts existed for the Rapide Nord coaches: why not include them here? For the owners of these coaches, this is not a problem, but for the others?
General appearance
The dimensions are well respected, apart from the slightly forced length. The engraving is fine enough, but nothing more. The markings are clear and legible.
On the end walls, there seems to be an inversion of the paint revision markings, which should be on the left.
On my model, with UIC markings, there should no longer be signal holders halfway up.
The handrails are very thin, as usual; by contrast, the gangway handrails, clearly visible with a folded bellows, are twice as thick. From this point of view, REE did better on its B4D Sud-Est. Perhaps the reverse is true for the steps… Nobody’s perfect!
Note: you can see on the photo of the van, taken after modification, that the jumpers coming from the Rapide Nord are not shaped correctly: they should, as on the B4D, go under the buffer.
Lighting
If you want to turn the lights off, you have to open the roof, which isn’t easy. But closing it again is even harder: I didn’t manage to do it, even though I pushed the frame in a bit and pressed like a deaf!
Once that’s done, the lighting strip comes into view. You might think that interior lighting in a van isn’t essential. However, the lamps are — on both sides: why choose one? LSM had apparently considered this at the outset, since there are three switches on the PCB. But there are no connections on this board to power the lights at the other end. The order of the switches is illogical: you’d expect SW1 for end 1, SW2 for interior lighting, and SW3 for end 2. But no: it’s SW1 for lighting, SW2 for… nothing, and SW3 for end 1!
