I hope the following exterior detail shots will be of use to historians and modellers alike. I have endeavoured to cover most aspects but inevitably there were some aspects I was unable to capture or the photo was too poor a quality to illustrate the point.
If you have any good quality photographs that fill the gaps, please contact the webmaster.

All photographs on this page are by Colin Duff unless otherwise credited

This set of pictures compares both sides of the MBLS pre and post re-building at Crewe to provide a larger passenger standard class saloon and then after the rebuilding at wolverton to replace the buffet and snug with a first class saloon, the vehicle thus become a MBC.

Servery/former servery side:
(top) MBLS 62938 of 2402 at Clapham Junction on 24th May 1996.
photograph by John Lewis

(middle) MBLS 62946 of 2409 at Southampton.
photograph by Natalie Jones

(bottom) Motor brake composite of 62950 for Gatwick Express use

Corridor side:
(top) MBLS 62940 of 2411 at Clapham Yard in December 1993.
photograph by John Lewis

(middle) MBLS 62960 of 2424 at Waterloo
photograph by Oliver Ashmole

(bottom) Motor brake composite of 62947 for Gatwick Express use

For more views of the central section of the car following re-building at Crewe please also see the following underfloor equipment photographs.

The underframes of the trailer cars are basically as for any Mk3 coach but the MBLS underframe carries the traction equipment.  Both sides of an MBLS are illustrated here.  Above on unit 2404 car 62939.  The equipment groups left to right are (thought to be) rear of air-conditioning unit, circuit breakers, camshafts and switchgear.  Below on unit 2402 car 62938, where the equipment groups left to right are weak field resistances, EP brake unit, starting resistances, auxiliary equipment case and air-conditioning unit.

The MBLS has two motor bogies providing four traction motors - the motors being recycled from 4 Rep units.  This is clearly one of the motor bogies of unit 2402.

A trailer bogie with shoebeam and pickup shoe.  Pickups are fitted to the 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th bogies in the formation, that is to the bogies under both driving cabs and on the bogies of the TS and TSW next to the MBLS.

A trailer bogie without pickup.  This can positively be identified as the inner bogie of the DTF of unit 2402.