Andy Y Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 NORTH EASTERN RAILWAY ELECTRIC AUTOCAR EXCLUSIVE 00 GAUGE PRODUCT FOR 2020 DESIGNED AND MANUFACTURED IN ASSOCIATION WITH Heljan PRE-ORDER NOW @ www.railsofsheffield.com/exclusive NER ELECTRIC AUTOCAR - A WORLD FIRST Around the turn of the 19th and 20th century, many railway engineers were increasingly interested in the potential of electric traction. The initial focus was on urban transport, using trams and multiple units, but Wilson Worsdell and Vincent Raven of the North Eastern Railway saw even greater potential for electrically-powered rail vehicles. In 1903, a pair of unusual railcars was unveiled by the NER, pioneers that would pave the way for future generations of self-powered passenger trains both in the UK and around the world. Vincent Raven, the Assistant Chief Mechanical Engineer of the NER, was a forward-thinking designer who recognised the advantages of electric traction, The modern electric tramcars taking over the streets of Britain at this time showed that electric power provided superior acceleration and hill climbing ability over steam. Raven used this technology in his autocars but went a stage further, Instead of drawing electricity from overhead lines, as trams did, without the expense and inconvenience that installing these involved, the autocars carried their own power plant - a petrol engine driving a dynamo which supplied power to the electric motors. It was the world's first use of an internal combustion engine in a passenger carrying rail vehicle, but at the time the petrol engine was in its infancy and reliable diesel engines would not emerge until the mid-1930s. The two autocars, Nos. 3170 and 31712 were also fitted with electric track brakes, another first for the railways. The pre-order price is £199.95 secured with a £30 deposit and three versions are available as shown below. 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HonestTom Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 I wondered if we'd see more NER prototypes in the near future, but I didn't see this one coming... Great choice! 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin_R Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 Nice! Personally I would’ve liked to see it in conjunction with Rapido but will watch developments closely. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonF Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 Deposit paid! Better start saving my pennies! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heritage Tim Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 Wow! This one has caught me by surprise, thought that even with the revival of the thing it would be too niche to be produced by a manufacturer in RTR. Delighted to be proven wrong though and will start saving pennies to place an order! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold D9020 Nimbus Posted November 19, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 19, 2018 Only two made—and only two liveries. (I assume that 3171 stayed in NER livery until withdrawn.) It looks as if preservation is now an important factor in choosing a prototype to commission. But it's an iconic train, even if its survival wasn't even known about till recently. Might be interested in the LNER version... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broadway Clive Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 I wouldn't have thought this would tick many boxes or suit many layouts so I hope it doesn't lose money for it's backers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
micklner Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 (edited) Why?? 3 liveries I wouldn't have thought this would tick many boxes or suit many layouts so I hope it doesn't lose money for it's backers. Why would you think that? . Attractive liveries and looks, and ran in NER and LNER periods, and its prototype is up and running now. Perfect for any NER based area branch line .The Sentinel Railcar its replacement is high polling this year again on the latest Wishlist thread as well. I have ordered the LNER version. Edited November 19, 2018 by micklner 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatofludham Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 Those of us who have been crying out for more "Heritage" EMUs didn't really have this in mind...Joking aside and despite it being most definitely the wrong side of the country for me it is a very interesting subject and I can see it being a star of a number of "Rule 1" layouts. Only snag I can see is that the rebuilt prototype features a modern Cummins diesel engine which I would bet sounds completely different to the original petrol engines. I wonder how the DCC sound engineers will sort that one out? 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Ian Hargrave Posted November 19, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 19, 2018 I wondered if we'd see more NER prototypes in the near future, but I didn't see this one coming... Great choice! Consider the link Rails has with the NRM and maybe it fits ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndon Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 Completely out of my modelling period but, as a north east lad, I couldn't resist, order placed... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennyboy Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 It was a bit disingenuous of the NER to call it an Electric Autocar though! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pteremy Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 Wow! Not for me. But wonderfully niche. At a suitable price for a niche product. Wish it well. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Andy Hayter Posted November 19, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 19, 2018 It was a bit disingenuous of the NER to call it an Electric Autocar though! Why? The motive power was electricity. After all we do not call a steam locomotive a coal engine. I do accept though that we lazily do simply call some diesel electric locomotives as just a diesel. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted November 19, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 19, 2018 Nice to see but I would have thought a sentinel railcar would be a better seller 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold chris p bacon Posted November 19, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 19, 2018 Nice to see but I would have thought a sentinel railcar would be a better seller Why? the prototype for this is alive and kicking, They can scan it to help production and it's in the railway press giving it publicity. The sentinel polled well but which version do you produce? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil gollin Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 . Well, it should please the NER brigade. I have a soft-spot for clerestory coaches, and I sincerely hope they model the clerestory well, with character. With this, and the dynamometer car, hopefully some more widespread examples will be produced. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted November 19, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 19, 2018 The LNER version with a few different versions 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwardian Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 Only two made—and only two liveries. (I assume that 3171 stayed in NER livery until withdrawn.) It looks as if preservation is now an important factor in choosing a prototype to commission. But it's an iconic train, even if its survival wasn't even known about till recently. Might be interested in the LNER version... Three liveries - originally in NER lake, but only for a short time, as per the bottom picture in the OP. I think you are correct that 3170 retained NER livery until withdrawn. Probably best described as a petrol electric autocar. 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oliver Rails Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 Many thanks for all the initial comments and the huge amount of orders placed so far. The Autocar really is a fantastic looking locomotive and we are sure we can do it justice in OO scale with a fantastic looking model! I was lucky enough to be one of the first to take a ride on the restored Autocar at Embsey last month during brake testing and it really is a thing of beauty. Stephen Middleton and the whole restoration team have done a brilliant job restoring this important piece of history. I found an interesting series of videos which shows various stages of the restoration: When work first began Testing of the underframe and engine Fitting the body to the chassis Initial testing Completed restoration A real interesting watch. Videos are courtesy of the BBC and the Electric Autocar trust. 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium The White Rabbit Posted November 19, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 19, 2018 Only snag I can see is that the rebuilt prototype features a modern Cummins diesel engine which I would bet sounds completely different to the original petrol engines. I wonder how the DCC sound engineers will sort that one out? No bet... One possibility might be to step away from heritage railways and look at heritage tanks and/or marine engines, either originals/replicas or audio from old film footage? There's a debate about whether the third engine is from a WW1 tank (probably a Ricardo engine for a Mark V** tank?) or a marine motor launch engine. Either way (or if you wanted sounds for the original Napier engine or the Wolseley (1903-23) engine) it does seem like a tricky task. Would you be able to get a good enough sound from old footage? I don't know about such things but I'm sceptical. From memory I think I was told one of the Cinerail DVDs has a little footage of an autocar in York station but have no idea what the sound's like. (I assume that 3171 stayed in NER livery until withdrawn.) As far as we know, it was never repainted. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OOgaugeJaf Posted November 19, 2018 Share Posted November 19, 2018 What a brilliant announcement. I model in BR but will definitely order one of these. Probably go for an NER livery 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold adb968008 Posted November 20, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 20, 2018 This is a great unit, just wait until it hits the road and is seen by a wider audience. I think this will sell well, and i’ll definitely be in for one of these at some point. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NXEA! Posted November 20, 2018 Share Posted November 20, 2018 Wow! This is extremely tempting, and good on Rails for doing something very left-field. Rule #1 applies I think. I think Rails are wrong with their profile of the fleet, I’d read somewhere that they had been cascaded to work branch lines in East Anglia and had lasted until very early nationalisation... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
'CHARD Posted November 20, 2018 Share Posted November 20, 2018 A very pretty and interesting prototype, an inspired choice by Rails - I wish it all the success it deserves and God bless all who sail in her 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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