So I've bought a pair of the new release TRSB coaches for the APT set. As put in the GlenDollar thread, my intention was to sell one on and make a 2-PC-5 rake. With the opportunity to take some photos of it while I have the set, it would be rude not to.
I was tempted not to try to sell it having looked at it on the window sill, but looking at the photo I took in the garden in the summer, it'll be too long. My intention was that everything I run will fit through the inner line of the loop with the exception of the HST set, that means the APT can be max 8 cars total.
APTs generally ran as two sets together, a full set would be 7 cars:
Driving Trailer Standard - Trailer Standard - Trailer restaurant standard buffet - Trailer unclassified - Trailer First - Trailer Buffet(?) First - Non driving Motor.
A 14-car train would therefore be two sets with the NDMs connected. It seems, from research, that the number of times 2 full sets ran together was actually pretty limited. The reality was that, in service, mostly they ran as one full set and a short set. The short set would be minimum DTS-TBF-NDM but could have a TRSB. Making them 10 or 11-car trains. I can't see may times they ran without the second NDM except in testing.
A model railway is only ever a representation of a real train, we try to get as close as we can but there will always be compromises. So with that in mind, here are some photos of different configurations with what I have.
Symmetrical 4-PC-4
3-PC-5
As I'll run it 2-PC-5