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Bachmann announce Class 117 and Class 121 at Collectors Club event


Andy Y
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From the photo’s I’ve seen, and various reviews, the 121’s will be superior to the Dapol models in that you have full depth interiors, an unobstructed guards van, much more engine and other underfloor details, etc.,  Better destination blinds too. So just a better model in most if not all respects, and with the running as good as the new class 158/159, that is a big plus too, since it drives only the bogie under the guards van. The bogie at the other end is non powered.  No cardan shafts to remove in order to try and improve the running as with the Dapol bubble cars.
 

Rob.

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The 117s do seem expensive, but as my fascination/obsession with railways began at Oxford in 1971, when all over blue 117s (or as we called them then Pressed Steels) were the staple diet on local services, as soon as a blue version is released I will be having one, whatever the cost !

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1 hour ago, caradoc said:

The 117s do seem expensive, but as my fascination/obsession with railways began at Oxford in 1971, when all over blue 117s (or as we called them then Pressed Steels) were the staple diet on local services, as soon as a blue version is released I will be having one, whatever the cost !

You youngsters ;)  My association with the Pressed Steel cars began as I train spotted them when being delivered and from the time my railway career started I spent several years travelling on nothing else to/from work and I was srtill travelling on them occasionally right up to the end of their career on the London Division.  My layout interest is not the London Division but I feel it would be extremely rude not to buy the three car set in the green livery I remember from relatively early in their life - so one will be coming to me via Camborne.

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New info regarding delivery, received in comms from Bachmann just now.

 

Models arriving next week:

35-500 BR Green Class 117 

35-501 Blue and Grey Class 117

35-525 BR Green Class 121
35-526 BR Blue and Grey Class 121
35-527 NSE Class 121

Arriving within 4 weeks, on the next container:

35-502 NSE Class 117

 

Apologies for the slightly incorrect info provided in my earlier post.

Edited by Derails Models
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14 minutes ago, The Stationmaster said:

You youngsters ;)  My association with the Pressed Steel cars began as I train spotted them when being delivered and from the time my railway career started I spent several years travelling on nothing else to/from work and I was srtill travelling on them occasionally right up to the end of their career on the London Division.  My layout interest is not the London Division but I feel it would be extremely rude not to buy the three car set in the green livery I remember from relatively early in their life - so one will be coming to me via Camborne.


IIRC,the WR London Division received DMUS later than Birmingham and South Wales. The Pressed Steel units were somehow smarter liveried than those trundling around the South Wales Valleys.They had  4 character headcode boxes ( a touch of glamour here ) as opposed to whiskers only ( Birmingham) or plain 2 digit box ( South Wales ) and received more powerful diesel units I think (?) .

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Did NSE 117s get out the Thames Valley much? On Flickr there's a picture of one at Neath in 1987 on a Swansea to Bristol service, but other than that I've not seen any pictures of NSE ones "off route".

Tempted by a Blue Grey one for my Weymouth area layout, but NSE just looks better! (sorry)

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10 minutes ago, SouthernMafia said:

Did NSE 117s get out the Thames Valley much? On Flickr there's a picture of one at Neath in 1987 on a Swansea to Bristol service, but other than that I've not seen any pictures of NSE ones "off route".

Tempted by a Blue Grey one for my Weymouth area layout, but NSE just looks better! (sorry)

This might be the same one in Cardiff in 1987, also from Flickr:

Prominent at Cardiff Canton are 56038 and 56049 together with another Class 56. a Class 47 and a Class37. A Class 117 NSE dmu scuttles across the background with a service to Barry Island. 25August1987.

 

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The 117 does look nice ,but its a shame its not in the earlier NSE livery, I dont think I could justify the cost of the model £200+ then respraying the blue to the correct shade, I could wait but that will depend if Bachmann were to have the original NSE in the next batch or the one after

 

NL

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9 hours ago, SouthernMafia said:

Did NSE 117s get out the Thames Valley much? On Flickr there's a picture of one at Neath in 1987 on a Swansea to Bristol service, but other than that I've not seen any pictures of NSE ones "off route".

 

Rather before the NSE period, but the only time I visited Barry scrapyard was IIRC in 1977, on a Sunday excursion from Oxford to Barry Island formed of two, or maybe even three, Class 117 sets.

 

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10 hours ago, SouthernMafia said:

Did NSE 117s get out the Thames Valley much? On Flickr there's a picture of one at Neath in 1987 on a Swansea to Bristol service, but other than that I've not seen any pictures of NSE ones "off route".

Tempted by a Blue Grey one for my Weymouth area layout, but NSE just looks better! (sorry)

 

They roamed far and wide in their later days. They certainly made it to the West Midlands as I remember bits and pieces of them showing up in all sorts of Tyseley mismatched bitsa sets when I was travelling to secondary school on them.

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/railpics-online/24003538418

 

Noteworthy in the image linked is the TCL replaced with a DMS, although not an unusual sight.

 

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6 hours ago, aureol40012 said:

Has there been any discussion about who can provide the most appropriate sound chip for the 117? I know at least one supplier rejigged their 24 chip for the new 24/1 and wondered if anyone is doing this for the 117?

The simplest answer would surely be to go and record one!  There is one on the Glos & Warks Rlwy and it sounds little different from the way they have always sounded - I had a ride in it during a get-together of various RMweb members a while back (quite a while back actually).

 

19 hours ago, Market65 said:

All the class 116, 117, and 118 units had 150 bhp engines. Leyland units as used in London buses.

 

Rob.

Oddly at depots they weren't known as Leyland engines because they had different cylinder heads from the higher horsepower Leyland engines ;)

 

As for the fairground South east livery I preferred them in the second version but each to theiur own of course.  And when they were delivered the early 3 car sets were in unlined green with the only adornment being the speed whisker, all the SPC were fully lined from new.

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12 hours ago, SouthernMafia said:

Did NSE 117s get out the Thames Valley much? On Flickr there's a picture of one at Neath in 1987 on a Swansea to Bristol service, but other than that I've not seen any pictures of NSE ones "off route".

Tempted by a Blue Grey one for my Weymouth area layout, but NSE just looks better! (sorry)

 

I am pretty sure there was photos of a NSE 117 in Scotland at one point.


Roy

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7 hours ago, aureol40012 said:

Has there been any discussion about who can provide the most appropriate sound chip for the 117? I know at least one supplier rejigged their 24 chip for the new 24/1 and wondered if anyone is doing this for the 117?

 

See posts on this thread around 11th May.

 

There are some generic sound files out there but I think I will wait for Legoman Biffo's

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On 10/06/2020 at 15:20, Market65 said:

All the class 116, 117, and 118 units had 150 bhp engines. Leyland units as used in London buses.

 

Rob.

Some London buses. London Transport buses were predominantly AEC-powered.

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1 hour ago, Coppercap said:

Some London buses. London Transport buses were predominantly AEC-powered.

Also, DMUs that had Leyland engines had 0680s which weren't regularly used on buses until the late 60s. I think the first London buses that had them were some of the DMS class. London Leylands such as the RTL and some Routemasters had the smaller 0600.

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3 hours ago, lyneux said:

 

Bump...

Given pretty much nobody has got their hands/screwdrivers on these models yet, it's unlikely anybody can give a meaningful answer to your question.

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On 10/06/2020 at 11:27, Ian Hargrave said:

I’ll be interested to see how the bubble cars compare with their Dapol counterparts. 

Read my 121 review a couple of issues ago. Just passed the 117 on for photography. Didn't want to part with it but it was the wrong livery for me, anyway.Got a green one on order. (CJL)

Edited by dibber25
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On 11/06/2020 at 10:42, The Stationmaster said:

The simplest answer would surely be to go and record one!  There is one on the Glos & Warks Rlwy and it sounds little different from the way they have always sounded - I had a ride in it during a get-together of various RMweb members a while back (quite a while back actually).

 

Oddly at depots they weren't known as Leyland engines because they had different cylinder heads from the higher horsepower Leyland engines ;)

 

As for the fairground South east livery I preferred them in the second version but each to theiur own of course.  And when they were delivered the early 3 car sets were in unlined green with the only adornment being the speed whisker, all the SPC were fully lined from new.

No, the 117s and 118s were all fully lined out from delivery like this one, it was only the 116s that were plain green.

549289773_X1972_BRClass117Tilehurstnd.jpg.92a4d68c70732ca0af52d46a29088b6e.jpg

 

Edited by Mike_Walker
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6 hours ago, Roy Langridge said:

 

I am pretty sure there was photos of a NSE 117 in Scotland at one point.


Roy

 

Haymarket did actually get some Class 117 sets at the end of their lives; Those I recall seeing were in Regional Railways livery but they could of course have made it up here in NSE colours first. They didn't last long, you were lucky to get past Haymarket station on an evening peak departure from Edinburgh ! 

 

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