Why the lack of RTR EMUs?

But well into the west, and we all know how well served the WR modeller is...

But if you are correct, why has Heljan produced a 33 and why are Hornby releasing the ex Lima 73, neither of which spend much of their lives 'north of the Themes'?

":::Jerry::::" wrote

33s were allocated as far north as Aberdeen in their last days and were only recently disposed of by DRS which used them on Sanbach to Sellafield workings. In the 80s they worked BR Cardiff to Crewe (and Manchester) passenger turns on a regular basis. 73s in recent years have also travelled north of the border, although I accept that was exceptional, they have also recently made it to Leeds and York, and in Network Rail livery are likely to travel even further afield.

John.

"John Turner" wrote

forgot to add that in the 1960s pairs of 33s were responsible for working the Cliffe (Kent) to Uddingston (Scotland) cement trains as far a York, so there were regular north of the Thames at that time too.

The 33s also a fairly easy conversion to classes 26 and 27 (which Heljan have planned for 2006 release) both of which started their lives working suburban services out of north London termini before migrating to Scotland where they survived well into the 1980s.

John.

The 33 is one of only a small number of diesel classes which survived into the 70s and beyond, which wasn't already available. FM Rail still operate these locos today and they were seen well up into the midlands on a regular basis.

The 73 is a cheap re-release for Hornby and is regarded as one of Lima's better efforts. The 73s are (like the 33s) still in use today and by their very nature, strayed beyond the third-rail quite regularly.

In comparison, the 1st-gen DMUs are also very poorly catered for. Next year, the most widely spread and recognisable class, the 101 will be available again for the first time in several years, along with the 121. Meenwhile, classes like the 104s and 105s which were common all over the north-west, wales and beyond are still unavailable except as kits. The same could be said for numerous other classes, which were always more likely to roam further than EMUs.

The Lima 101, I suspect will sell rather well. If it does really well, perhaps Hornby might try a new 1st-gen multiple unit model....

Adrian

Derby lightweight?

Yes, and the MK1 coach was an easy conversion for BR into the SR EMU stock!..

How similar were the carriages in the Nelsons to Maunsell steam hauled stock? But in any case it would be better than repainting pseudo-Collett carriages in green.

":::Jerry::::" wrote

Which were very geographically limited in their area of operation, and then only on layouts with 3-rail operation, and I can't say I've ever seen very many of them.

John.

So were GWR loco's, so were LMS loco's, so were LNER loco's, without (in the main) any chance of the RTR model railway companies tooling them in such a way that allows them to produce a range of other 'motive power' - unlike the BR Mk1 coach which not only were the base for the SR EMU's but ER EMU's and WR, MR, Sc region DMU's...

Hmm. Now there's another point. Anyone know how Union Mills' N-gauge R class 4-4-0 (LN&E D20) sold? The D20s worked through to Liverpool, Bristol and IIRC Southampton when they were new (mainly on emigrant trains) and IIRC some later ended up working in Scotland. And, of course, they regularly appeared alongside WCML engines and trains in places like Carlisle.

Anyone know what the sales of UMs' NER models have been like?

":::Jerry::::" responded to

with

What's pointless about 3rd rails? They were essential for the operation of

3rd rail EMUs. You can't realistically use a 3rd rail EMU on a stereotypical GWR branch line for example.

John.

Don't forget Fragonset/FM Rail, who still use them.

You would be surprised how many people run overhead electrics with the pantograph down and no catenary.

operation,

operation of

Nor can you operate a steam engine without real coal, or a real fire or real steam...

Anyway, don't Peco (amongst others) make juice rail components? Also, like a model 25Kv system, it would not be that difficult to actually make the system work, how many 4mm live steam loco's do Hornby market?...

"Christopher A. Lee" wrote

That doesn't make for a realistic scene though Christopher.

John.

":::Jerry::::" wrote

They certainly used to, but how many 3rd rail layouts have you actually seen?

John.

I never said it did - it's one of my pet hates, on both sides of the Altlantic.

At the shows I've been to, precisely... zero.

"Rich Mackin" wrote

I've seen one - 'Chessington' built (and recently sold) by the Hull Miniature Railway Society. So even though there is an element of local interest in Southern Region operation I'm still convinced that sales of EMUs would be relatively poor.

Naturally of course I'd expect the interest to be significantly higher south of the Thames, but still think it would be a risky investment for one of the manufacturers to produce a ready-to-run example.

John.