Bachmann announce Class 117 and Class 121 at Collectors Club event

[cromptonnut]

For the 117s I'd be surprised to see change out of £250.  Hasn't stopped an order going in though.

 

That's the key thing in all these price discussions.  We might complain about the cost of things but if we really, really want one we'll somehow save up and find a way.  It may be that we only get one instead of the two we really wanted but we'll still manage somehow.

 

If we decide it's not worth the money... we probably didn't really need or want it in the first place. 

[TheSignalEngineer]

My Dad cut out smoking to help me pay for my Dublo 'City of Liverpool' when it was announced. i've still got it and it still runs. Thanks Dad.

 

Back to the topic, I will see if there is any progress on the 116 at the time the 117 comes out before I decide on buying one for a conversion.

Edited September 7, 2015 by TheSignalEngineer

[Dunsignalling]

 

Hattons have the 4-CEP on pre-order for the next batch at £170 - and that's a four car set.

Yes, but the 4-CEP tooling has probably paid for itself already (depending on Bachmann's accounting methods) whereas the 117 is starting from scratch.

 

Also, both units consist of 3 vehicle types (the 4-CEP having two DMBSOs) so the initial tooling costs would be comparable had they been done at the same time. 

 

John

Edited September 7, 2015 by Dunsignalling

[Clive Mortimore]

If they do the 116 will they do it as a 4 car unit for the Bedford/Luton/St Albans to Moorgate services of the late 60s and early 70s. They ran with 3 power cars in each train. As for a 127 to run with? Or a 125 for the GER and GNR services, plus the 116s ran on these lines as well. Not everyone models the GWR London suburban lines. 

 

 

Crawls back under the rock where he came from.

[TheSignalEngineer]

 

 In fact they were not total strangers to the Midlands in the 1970s in rail blue, they often turned up at New Street via Worcester or Oxford despite not being allocated locally.

I regularly rode on a London-based Class 117 or 118 out of Moor St in the late 1970s - early 1980s. It arrived in the morning on a stopper from Reading and as a fill-in did the 16.55 to Shirley, returned ECS to Moor St then another run to Shirley before heading back to the London area in the evening. Even had a Class 123 turn up on a couple of occasions.

[Gwiwer]

 

 

I regularly rode on a London-based Class 117 or 118 out of Moor St in the late 1970s - early 1980s.

 

And a few years later let's not forget that the GW150 class 117 unit was based at Tyseley for a time.  Apparently that was still considered "Great Western" which it once legitimately was.

[Geep7]

Slightly OT, I wonder if the sound fitted options will have the ability to rev the guts out of the engines without going anywhere, like they frequently used to at Paddington.

[Downendian]

Just checked my records, a lot of 117s were seen in Bristol in the mid 1970s, and at the time a fair few sets were allocated to Cardiff. It's a great move by Bachmann, but for me it's more interesting that they will now have a 4mm version of the 64' chassis rather than the 57'. This bodes well for the future release of more first generation DMUs, and for my layout class 119/120 cross countries would be welcome additions.

Neil

[TheSignalEngineer]

And a few years later let's not forget that the GW150 class 117 unit was based at Tyseley for a time.  Apparently that was still considered "Great Western" which it once legitimately was.

It was one of the first sets to run into Snow Hill when it re-opened from the south end.

[dibber25]

L701-4 were allocated to Old Oak Common.  Officially for Gospel Oak - Barking but they were allocated, apparently at random, to that depot's other duties at times.  They appeared on Slough stoppers and on the Greenford, Marlow and Henley branches at least.  I note Chris Leigh's comment about never having seen one at Windsor; I had thought they reached there at least once.

 

After their replacement (by class 115 on the Barking duties, displaced by class 165 on the Chiltern lines, and by class 165 directly in the Thames Valley) they were withdrawn for scrap.

I didn't see the Windsor line every day, so they might well have got down there. I did photograph a 101/104 combination coming off the branch. I have only one picture of a two-car 104 but several shots of 104s combined with other units, indeed I have a three-car at Slough formed (from memory) 104/117/101. Like I said, they were a mess.

CHRIS LEIGH

[dibber25]

Slightly OT, I wonder if the sound fitted options will have the ability to rev the guts out of the engines without going anywhere, like they frequently used to at Paddington.

The 121 will also need, when being revved like that (presumably to get the air up so that the clutch would operate) to produce a great fug of dirty grey smoke capable of filling a Staines West-sized station canopy!.

CHRIS LEIGH

[BrushVeteran]

The 121 will also need, when being revved like that (presumably to get the air up so that the clutch would operate) to produce a great fug of dirty grey smoke capable of filling a Staines West-sized station canopy!.

CHRIS LEIGH

The main reason they were revved before moving was to create enough vacuum to get the brakes off, the exhausters being very slow to create vacuum at times.

[Joseph_Pestell]

Slightly OT, I wonder if the sound fitted options will have the ability to rev the guts out of the engines without going anywhere, like they frequently used to at Paddington.

 

In general, I wonder about sound on DMU models. My memories of DMUs (mainly St Pancras to Bedford) are of lots of gear changes and long periods of coasting, especially when taking the crossovers between the fast and slow lines. Does DCC replicate this and is it difficult for the operator?

[PenrithBeacon]

My wish list would certainly include the Trans Pennine and Calder Valley units.

 

Regards

[spiket4]

Well both of these are on my wish list for Chalford. As a teenager i remember travelling to High Wycombe or Marylebone on both class 121's and 117's.

 

It will be interesting to see who wins the race to the shops with producing the 121.

 

Regards

 

Mark

[Gwiwer]

I don't think there's a race any more.

 

Can't remember exactly my first trip on the type but it was on a non-gangwayed green unit as they all were at the time.  Grandparents lived in Yiewsley and for a few months after I arrived we lived in Marlow so we were hustled off fairly regularly to West Drayton & Yiewsley Junction for Uxbridge and Staines as it proudly proclaimed at the time.  Managed a ride on both branches on what I recall was a 2-car set, probably a bubble car and driving trailer combination.  On the "main line" (actually the Relief Line) the all-stations-to-Slough only ran hourly off-peak back in those days and as I recall the blinds when heading up to town read "PADDINGTON SUBURBAN", with the Suburban bit in rather smaller type beneath the Bear, as they ran into the Bishop's Road platforms (13 and 14.  "PADDINGTON" was reserved for trains serving the main part of the station which usually cruised through West Drayton at speed on the fast lines.

 

Many years later when the GW150 unit was one of the last regular performers on the St. Ives branch (along with a NSE-liveried class 101) my then newly-met friend, now Mrs. G., heard one climbing past Lelant golf club for the first time and announced "It's purring".  They have been referred to as "purry trains" ever since in this cat-loving household including those on the layout.

[DJM Dave]

Well both of these are on my wish list for Chalford. As a teenager i remember travelling to High Wycombe or Marylebone on both class 121's and 117's.

 

It will be interesting to see who wins the race to the shops with producing the 121.

 

Regards

 

Mark

 

As a youngling around 1975-1977 i was fortunate enough to have 2 summer Saturday jobs for 2 celebrities, living in Beaconsfield and in Gerrards Cross.

I used to walk to High Wycombe station and get my return ticket to G.X. to get off at Beaconsfield before getting a later train to G.X.

Eventually i was getting cab rides up to Beaconsfield and i remember one lovely day having the cab to passenger compartment blinds pulled down and invited (dont go there you mucky people) into the cab to drive the train to Beaconsfield except for the last 300 yards where the driver took over for braking into the platform.

 

I do have a very soft spot for them and will probably buy 1 in OO and 1 in N when they come out.

[Dunsignalling]

Well both of these are on my wish list for Chalford. As a teenager i remember travelling to High Wycombe or Marylebone on both class 121's and 117's.

 

It will be interesting to see who wins the race to the shops with producing the 121.

 

Regards

 

Mark

I'm only really interested in a 122 anyway as I spent a long time and not a little money improving a Lima 121. I hope I still feel the same way when I see the Bachmann one!

 

So, there's no race to where I'm standing anyway but it's quite possible that Dapol are too far on to turn back and we'll get a choice of 121s. Better still, they could drop the 121 and do the trailer to go with the 122 instead. However it pans out, I hope Dapol will persevere with the Gloucester bubblecar even if they get frightened off the Pressed Steel one. 

 

Looking on the bright side, dropping the 121 might move the Dapol B4 and GW Railcar up the list.

 

Heck, I'm in a positive mood today, dunno what's wrong with me..........

 

John

[spiket4]

As a youngling around 1975-1977 i was fortunate enough to have 2 summer Saturday jobs for 2 celebrities, living in Beaconsfield and in Gerrards Cross.

I used to walk to High Wycombe station and get my return ticket to G.X. to get off at Beaconsfield before getting a later train to G.X.

Eventually i was getting cab rides up to Beaconsfield and i remember one lovely day having the cab to passenger compartment blinds pulled down and invited (dont go there you mucky people) into the cab to drive the train to Beaconsfield except for the last 300 yards where the driver took over for braking into the platform.

 

I do have a very soft spot for them and will probably buy 1 in OO and 1 in N when they come out.

Gerrards cross was my local station as i grew up in Chalfont st Peter. Spent many an hour watching the NSE and Blue/grey DMU'S purring away. pLus the odd class 50 or 47.

 

Regards

Mark

[wombatofludham]

And a few years later let's not forget that the GW150 class 117 unit was based at Tyseley for a time.  Apparently that was still considered "Great Western" which it once legitimately was.

I've probably mentioned this before but my last annual "Railrover" holiday in about 1993 co-incided with the re-allocation of the former Great Western liveried 117305 to Laira. I did a trip down to St Erth to catch the St Ives train and what should be in the platform but 117305, still sporting Centro publicity including the address and phone number of our Customer Relations mamager, who just happened to be our Unison branch secretary. When I went back to work at Centro the following week, I popped into his office to ask if he'd had any strange comments or complaints from Devon and Cornwall about the local trains, explaining that one of Tyseley's old units was running around the area with his name and contact details still displayed.

 

Even more incredibly, someone had.

[dibber25]

I've probably mentioned this before but my last annual "Railrover" holiday in about 1993 co-incided with the re-allocation of the former Great Western liveried 117305 to Laira. I did a trip down to St Erth to catch the St Ives train and what should be in the platform but 117305, still sporting Centro publicity including the address and phone number of our Customer Relations mamager, who just happened to be our Unison branch secretary. When I went back to work at Centro the following week, I popped into his office to ask if he'd had any strange comments or complaints from Devon and Cornwall about the local trains, explaining that one of Tyseley's old units was running around the area with his name and contact details still displayed.

 

Even more incredibly, someone had.

When I went to St.Ives last in 2009, the two Class 150s were ex-Arriva Trains Wales and Silverlink. I seem to recall that both still had their interior publicity, contact details and even route maps from the previous operator. The Arriva unit had them in English and Welsh!

CHRIS LEIGH

[wombatofludham]

When I went to St.Ives last in 2009, the two Class 150s were ex-Arriva Trains Wales and Silverlink. I seem to recall that both still had their interior publicity, contact details and even route maps from the previous operator. The Arriva unit had them in English and Welsh!

CHRIS LEIGH

Well Kernewek (Cornish) and Cymraeg (Welsh) do have some similarities, so hopefully any Cornish speakers would have found the bi-lingual Arriva notices slightly less of a problem than most English speakers!

[Tim H]

When I went to St.Ives last in 2009, the two Class 150s were ex-Arriva Trains Wales and Silverlink. I seem to recall that both still had their interior publicity, contact details and even route maps from the previous operator. The Arriva unit had them in English and Welsh!

CHRIS LEIGH

 

Have a feeling FGW hire a couple of Arriva 150s to boost capacity every Summer during the high season, and they go back to Arriva in September.  The Silverlink ones were transfers, though. Think they were former Bedford-Blechley or possibly Gospel Oak-Barking sets.

[The Stationmaster]

I generally agree with Chris (dibber)'s comments about 117 etc although I honestly can't recall any arriving with round buffers but some very definitely acquired them later but both Reading and Southall held spares of both the 'chopped off' pattern and ordinary round headed buffers.  I would be a little surprised in fact if Pressed Steel had switched from one type to another during production (unless they were short of supplies for some reason?).

 

Equally I cannot recall the 104s appearing on the Henley - the atrocious 103 yes but not 104s unless it was in the rare event of a failure somewhere however Reading supplied the cars for the Henley branch and I'm far from sure if it acquired any of the 104s but as Chris has already noted some very strange things went on with London Division dmus in their final 'Modernisation Scheme' era.

 

Anyway here's an early Class 117 picture

 

[chrisf]

Now that's interesting.  The other pics of 117s on this thread have headcode boxes with flat tops. This one is rounded.  It can't be a 118 - can it?

 

Chris