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Which Models would you wish from RevolutioN Trains?

Stefen1988

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Roy L S

Roy L S

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There is one model that I cannot see mentioned on here although I find it difficult to believe it is not somewhere on RevolutioN's "radar" already and that is the Class 76 1,500 volt Bo Bo Electric loco: -

 

  • Prototype completed during WW2
  • Ran operationally on the Woodhead Route from 1952 to 1981 thus covering BR steam, BR Transition, BR Blue Pre-TOPS and BR Blue TOPS an absolutely perfect "sweet spot" of modelling interest allowing them to operate alongside steam, green diesel, and blue diesel.
  • Already done on OO by Heljan who have said often they have no plans for N so extremely small risk of going through the "shrink ray".
  • Scored highly in recent D & E poll for N Gauge.
  • One preserved.
  • A very good candidate "Rule 1" purchases due to iconic nature and looks of model.
  • Only ever done as kit in N, but quite old now and suitable continental chassis getting harder to come by.
  • It follows that there are a number of livery variations to choose from, starting with BR Black, BR Brunswick with (or I think without) small yellow panel, BR Blue with full yellow front, both pre and post TOPS.
  • "EM1" stood for Electric Mixed Traffic 1 so a loco that could be deployed on a variety of trains, passenger and freight, a number even had steam heat boilers. Farish Mk1s, Dapol Gresleys both spot on in various liveries up to and including Blue/Grey.
  • Out of a Class of 58, aside from prototype "Tommy" another 12 were named, carrying intriguing mythical god names such as "Pluto", "Prometheus" and "Triton".
  • In terms of viability this is a loco ripe for multiple purchases, they were (especially in later years) frequently seen double-heading MGR trains.
  • Given the use on mineral trains in particular maybe a prospect to cross-sell the recently announced RevolutioN hopper wagons.
  • Potential to produce complementary OHLE masts in the distinctive style of the route.
  • Infrastructure on the route essentially unchanged from early 1950s until closure in 1981 so scope to operate more than one era prototypically on a single layout.
  • "What if" could see Woodhead Route kept open longer or 1,500DC electrification expanded.
  • Loco swaps (Sheffield Victoria or equivalent?).

 

British Rail Class 76 - Wikipedia

 

Is tis enough to form the basis for the model to be considered?

 

Edit: it also neatly fits RevolutioN's criteria of having a number of "niche" qualities about it.

 

Roy

 

P.S. Yep, I'd have two at least.

 

 

Edited by Roy L S
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TomE

TomE

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On 13/01/2023 at 16:52, Roy L S said:

Scored highly in recent D & E poll for N Gauge.

 

Top of the DC Electric Locomotives section with 46% of the vote and sixth overall. 


I'd love to see one in N, but for my own safety I have to add after a 25/3 has been done....
 

Tom.  

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Stu from EGDL

Stu from EGDL

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Hi Gang,

 

I have absolutely no need for any Class 76 locos.

However, if anybody were to announce one, I would probably have at least 3 of them….1 without MU cables and 2 with MU cables. All would be in BR Blue condition, shortly before the end of operations.

 

Rule 1 and other eccentricities would ensure that I would support anyone who ventured this way!

 

But I would, as a priority, rather have either a Class 81, 85 or a Class 303 EMU…pretty please……..

 

Later,

Stu from EGVN.

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whoppit

whoppit

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PWA Palvans as used by Shellstar/UKF/Kemira. They could be seen on all regions had a distinctive shape and has only been made RTR by Lima in 00. UKF ran them in block trains, Kemira also ran in speedlink services along with OCA and IWA vans.

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Roy L S

Roy L S

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Posted (edited)

A thought I have had more than once is the possibility of producing a first generation railbus in N. This would represent a tiny complete train in itself, potentially at reasonably low cost given the simple 4 wheel design, yet with space for DCC/DCC sound given the recent generation of micro-sound decoders and "microcube" speakers.

 

There were a number of different manufacturers of the prototypes whose products were all subtly different, each produced only a small number. They could be found in different parts of the UK, and while lasting only 10 or so years in BR traffic, a fair number found their way into preservation and survive to this day. I had the pleasure of going on one (AC Cars from memory) on the North Norfolk Railway, and with the driver's little cab set off to the side sat right at the front, recording the whole journey unobstructed. 

 

To take two examples of which five each were manufactured we have the German built Waggon und Maschinenbau ones (done by Heljan in OO). These appeal because they have buffers and drawgear, and I can visualise under "Rule 1" some people hooking a single fitted van to them.

 

WMD Railbus (railcar.co.uk)

 

Or the AC Cars one which have a more rudimentary buffer arrangement and no drawgear: -

 

AC Cars Railbus (railcar.co.uk)

 

Dapol do a former Kitmaster/Airfix kit of this model, and again I think it has been done as a RTR model in OO and O by Heljan.

 

Liveries were BR Green, either with speed-whiskers or small yellow panel, I think I saw a Heljan W&R one in a departmental livery too, but don't know if this is prototypical. I guess as a "what if" livery BR blue with full yellow end might well be an attractive option too.

 

They could seat nearly 50 people and were in many ways the forerunner of "pacer" type units BR developed subsequently.

 

Many would I think see this as a "Rule 1" purchase but it would also be a perfect model to use on "micro" layouts in N.

 

Slight disadvantage would be no opportunity to upscale to OO, but as Heljan have stated often that they have no interest in N there seems little prospect of a mainstream manufacturer otherwise making one in N.

 

It certainly sems to fit the "niche" criteria that RevolutioN have carved out for their products.

 

Thoughts??

 

Roy

 

 

Edited by Roy L S
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TomE

TomE

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The AC Cars type came out top in the railcars section of the NGN D&E poll with 32% of the vote and placed 32nd overall. The Waggon und Maschinenbau type were in second place in the category with 19% and 89th position overall. 

 

Tom. 

 

 

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Roy L S

Roy L S

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Posted
10 minutes ago, TomE said:

The AC Cars type came out top in the railcars section of the NGN D&E poll with 32% of the vote and placed 32nd overall. The Waggon und Maschinenbau type were in second place in the category with 19% and 89th position overall. 

 

Tom. 

 

 

Hi Tom

 

Thanks for the poll info, it would appear then that the general idea of such a Railbus carries a lot of support which is encouraging.

 

Roy

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Revolution Ben

Revolution Ben

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11 hours ago, Roy L S said:

Liveries were BR Green, either with speed-whiskers or small yellow panel, I think I saw a Heljan W&R one in a departmental livery too, but don't know if this is prototypical. I guess as a "what if" livery BR blue with full yellow end might well be an attractive option too.

 

Thoughts??

 

Roy

 

 

 

Hi Roy,

 

Thanks for the suggestion.  It's something we have talked about but the issue was always which one to do; as you rightly say there were several very distinctive designs and each tended to be produced in small numbers and *fairly* limited geographically.

 

As an aside as you mentioned it, and while I understand it can work for others, I am not keen on 'what if' liveries!

 

cheers

 

Ben A.

 

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Roy L S

Roy L S

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13 hours ago, Revolution Ben said:

 

Hi Roy,

 

Thanks for the suggestion.  It's something we have talked about but the issue was always which one to do; as you rightly say there were several very distinctive designs and each tended to be produced in small numbers and *fairly* limited geographically.

 

As an aside as you mentioned it, and while I understand it can work for others, I am not keen on 'what if' liveries!

 

cheers

 

Ben A.

 

Hi Ben

 

Thank you for responding and sharing your thoughts about the railbus, your points are all well made. What I would say though is that from the data Tom has provided there would certainly appear to be a market for a first gen 4 wheel railcar, and if the AC one came top of the "Railcars" category then that would look like the one to go for. In terms of regional spread, as they were designed to fulfil a specific purpose (i.e. to provide cost effective transport on less heavily used lines) it is inevitable that the different variants would have been confined to certain specific areas. However, my thinking is that this will be very much a "Rule 1" purchase for a lot of people anyway and hopefully a competitive price-point for such a simple design would enable that, so both the regional limitation v's the specific version chosen may not actually be that critical. Also, a number being used on preservation lines widens the appeal even further.

 

I actually agree with you as far as "what if" liveries are concerned, but I was trying to factor out my own "prejudices" and look at the bigger picture as it has been cited as a way to make a model more viable (by another manufacturer whose name also begins with "R") but I accept that business principles and models are inevitably different between companies.

 

Anyway, I'll leave it there, I appreciate only a few ideas can ever be taken forward.

 

Regards

 

Roy

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Hamm 69

Hamm 69

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Firstly I would like to see the class 06 shrunk,only ever seen one in tow behind class 20s or a 25 traveling between Thornton and town hill sheds, the last one I saw was in early 81 traveling west past lochgelly between a class 40 and a severely worn looking 25,still had the numeric head code blind at OOOO but because they weren't geographically traveled I would like to suggest the sentinel 4wdh or the 0-6-0 dh.plenty of user's and we'll traveled they would be ideal for anyone looking for a shunter to pair up with there wagons like the class b, class a,tanks. I would like to create the Westfield locos 10268 and 10269. both fitted with spark arrestor because of the close proximity to the gasholder at the lurgy plant they controlled the west sidings. I'm also up for the apcm bagged cement van again we'll traveled both north and south of the border and ideal for a small distribution sidings or cement terminal.a second vote for the ukf palvan.seen in speedlinks to Thornton with c02 and vba's.

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Revolution Ben

Revolution Ben

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2 hours ago, black and decker boy said:

For 00, Carless mud oil TUA tanks. Travel widely in small groups in Speedlink or longer block trains and continue to run now

 

 

Hi there,

 

Thanks for the suggestion - interesting wagons.  We have the Rainbow TUAs almost delivered, and the Alcan PCA tanks due over the summer, so if these two do OK then we will certainly look at more specialised tanks, and the mud-oil TUAs certainly fit the bil.  Nice traction in that last shot too...

 

cheers

 

Ben A.

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keysan

keysan

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On 23/03/2023 at 20:04, Hamm 69 said:

Firstly I would like to see the class 06 shrunk,only ever seen one in tow behind class 20s or a 25 traveling between Thornton and town hill sheds, the last one I saw was in early 81 traveling west past lochgelly between a class 40 and a severely worn looking 25,still had the numeric head code blind at OOOO but because they weren't geographically traveled I would like to suggest the sentinel 4wdh or the 0-6-0 dh.plenty of user's and we'll traveled they would be ideal for anyone looking for a shunter to pair up with there wagons like the class b, class a,tanks. I would like to create the Westfield locos 10268 and 10269. both fitted with spark arrestor because of the close proximity to the gasholder at the lurgy plant they controlled the west sidings. I'm also up for the apcm bagged cement van again we'll traveled both north and south of the border and ideal for a small distribution sidings or cement terminal.a second vote for the ukf palvan.seen in speedlinks to Thornton with c02 and vba's.

This post may just answer what I was discussing with an old school friend tonight. Seeing a 06 shunter trundle past Springs Branch Wigan towed by a 40 with a few brake vans and a 25 in tow.1981 March or April would stack up. Can anyone add any information on how 06002 and 06003 made their way to Reading. I know for certain one went past Springs Branch and what a sight it was. Up there with Tulyar on a diverted Sunday Liverpool to York.

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