The next diesel/electric loco from accurascale?

[adb968008]

58 minutes ago, GD said:

I recall sometime around late 1989, having arrived at Piccadilly on a late evening class 47 hauled pennine, catching the last Crewe service with a 304 to make the overnight to Holyhead for more 47 action.  Anyway a few of us were relaxing on the cart and as we pulled out, rapidly gaining speed, a drunken young couple opened the door and launched themselves onto the train and landed on my mate who by then was dossed out.....he wasn't amused!

He may have changed his mind if they asked him to join in.

304 seats were very “buoyant” afterall, especially at night on a long fast stretch.

 

Edited September 19, 2023 by adb968008

[AY Mod]

5 minutes ago, adb968008 said:

He may have changed his mind if they asked him to join in.

304 seats were very “buoyant” afterall, especially at night on a long fast stretch.

 

 

 

 

[97406]

24 minutes ago, AY Mod said:

 

 

 

Complete with Class 304…. 

 

[adb968008]

The 304 had a twin sister too..

 

 

one (77164) ended up working with 302 244 from Liverpool St for many years

 

(Flickr/not mine).

 

incase the boys need a hint…

 

 

and another work in progress..

 

(this from a Replica 64’ suburban), but ive also got a Bachmann EPB looking nicely at me… though a HAP with the loo maybe useful for a 304.,.indeed its pretty close for a 302 as well.

Lots of potential routes to a goal..which is why I think a 64’ suburban could open a lot of unit options.

Edited September 19, 2023 by adb968008

[Clive Mortimore]

6 hours ago, wombatofludham said:

For the four years I went back and forth from Walsall to Perry Barr as a student I hated the 304s especially on the fast section between Bescot and Hamstead through the Sandwell Valley.  It felt like the wheels were shaped like a 50p and the track was actually a ploughed field.  Mind you watching the one end of a packed coach bounce up followed by the other end was funny.  I always sat as close to the middle of the coach which seemed to act as a fulcrum.

Whoever at BR thought Gresley bogies and non-corridor trains were right for the new electric railway, where they ran semi fast services at some speed, needed speaking to as they were some of the most uncomfortable yokes running on the network.  They must have been probably the only case of an electric unit where the motor bogies ran more smoothly than the trailers.

We, living on the Eastern Region, had Gresley bogies under our AM2s, AM5s and AM8s, and the rode very nicely, well apart from the rough track at Shenfield which would wake even the the most diehard commuter. AM7s with those horrid BR Eastleigh trucks (couldn't call them bogies) were a bit different.

I have talked to many from up north who ventured on to the GER and LTSR they were surprised by the smoother ride compared to being bounced all over the shop in an AM4 from what were equivalent types of unit. Now as far as I can assume BR should not have allowed LMR fitters to maintain or fix Gresely bogies, in fact let them anywhere near them. The chaps at Illford were masters in looking after such a wonderful piece of engineering that we call the Gresley bogie.

 

I am now going to dream of RTR AM2s, AM5s, AM7s (well have a nightmare) and AM8s....even some slippery door stock, the AM6s.

Edited September 19, 2023 by Clive Mortimore

[wombatofludham]

20 hours ago, Clive Mortimore said:

We, living on the Eastern Region, had Gresley bogies under our AM2s, AM5s and AM8s, and the rode very nicely, well apart from the rough track at Shenfield which would wake even the the most diehard commuter. AM7s with those horrid BR Eastleigh trucks (couldn't call them bogies) were a bit different.

I have talked to many from up north who ventured on to the GER and LTSR they were surprised by the smoother ride compared to being bounced all over the shop in an AM4 from what were equivalent types of unit. Now as far as I can assume BR should not have allowed LMR fitters to maintain or fix Gresely bogies, in fact let them anywhere near them. The chaps at Illford were masters in looking after such a wonderful piece of engineering that we call the Gresley bogie.

 

I am now going to dream of RTR AM2s, AM5s, AM7s (well have a nightmare) and AM8s....even some slippery door stock, the AM6s.

It's funny but when the 308s were temporarily drafted into the West Midlands when the 323s went on strike, including some 308s in West Yorkshire PTE livery which added a splash of colour, they did seem to ride much better, especially north of Blake Street where the ride would get decidedly choppy.  I must admit I put this down to their having through gangways added when refurbished, acting as a friction damper to the pitching and bucking of the non-gangway Class 304, but perhaps it was something else.

Of course there was a plan when the WCML electrification scheme was announced for a fleet of "Clacton" style units for the semi-fast workings which would have been a much better solution than the 304s.  Having sampled the reallocated 309s when working in the North West they could have been a real game changer for the longer haul semi-fasts but it was not to be.

[GordonC]

34 minutes ago, wombatofludham said:

It's funny but when the 308s were temporarily drafted into the West Midlands when the 323s went on strike, including some 308s in West Yorkshire PTE livery which added a splash of colour, they did seem to ride much better, especially north of Blake Street where the ride would get decidedly choppy.  I must admit I put this down to their having through gangways added when refurbished, acting as a friction damper to the pitching and bucking of the non-gangway Class 304, but perhaps it was something else.

Of course there was a plan when the WCML electrification scheme was announced for a fleet of "Clacton" style units for the semi-fast workings which would have been a much better solution than the 304s.  Having sampled the reallocated 309s when working in the North West they could have been a real game changer for the longer haul semi-fasts but it was not to be.

 

Was the Semi-fast role not filled by Class 310s anyway?

[wombatofludham]

48 minutes ago, GordonC said:

 

Was the Semi-fast role not filled by Class 310s anyway?

Not really apart from the Birmingham to London corridor services and odd Birmingham to Manchester.  South of Birmingham the 310s were used on the London semi-fasts but the 1968-1972 timetable, where the Euston-Birmingham-Wolverhampton Inter City trains ran alternate hours to Liverpool and Manchester as part of the Euston to Liverpool and Manchester regular interval service, additional semi fasts ran from Coventry to Manchester via Stafford and Stoke roughly every hour providing intermediate connections to principal stations.  These were usually Class 304 units.  In the 1990s Regional Railways Central introduced a regular semi-fast from Birmingham to Liverpool which used a mix of 310, 312 and 323 units but when the original electric service was planned from 1967 onwards, the 310s were mainly confined south of Birmingham and the 304s north, with exceptions, so if you wanted to get to say Stoke on Trent from Birmingham faster than the all shacks, chances were you'd have to endure the 304.

[The Meerkat]

i know its not a loco but what about the royal mail Class 325, as far as i know no one has made it though they are 3d printed kits on ebay

[MidlandRed]

5 hours ago, wombatofludham said:

It's funny but when the 308s were temporarily drafted into the West Midlands when the 323s went on strike, including some 308s in West Yorkshire PTE livery which added a splash of colour, they did seem to ride much better, especially north of Blake Street where the ride would get decidedly choppy.  I must admit I put this down to their having through gangways added when refurbished, acting as a friction damper to the pitching and bucking of the non-gangway Class 304, but perhaps it was something else.

Of course there was a plan when the WCML electrification scheme was announced for a fleet of "Clacton" style units for the semi-fast workings which would have been a much better solution than the 304s.  Having sampled the reallocated 309s when working in the North West they could have been a real game changer for the longer haul semi-fasts but it was not to be.

Weirdly, the first time I ever saw an AM10 was early in 1967, in twilight from a bus at Winson Green - with its bright fluorescent lighting and totally different look from the archaic AM4 - it must have been running a Coventry to Wolverhampton stopper. I also saw them in those early days of electrification at Stafford - probably running the stopper to Rugby.

 

As you said, a Birmingham to Manchester semi fast would almost certainly be an AM4 bone shaker, most services south of Birmingham were AM10 operated. Remember though, a small batch of AM4s was repainted blue (syp) and used from Bletchley for Euston services for a time in 1966 pending receipt of the whole batch of AM10s.  

[adb968008]

5 hours ago, The Meerkat said:

i know its not a loco but what about the royal mail Class 325, as far as i know no one has made it though they are 3d printed kits on ebay

There was an abortion on ebay a few weeks ago, using a Bachmann turbostar.

 

The 325 is a 319, with 465 style cabs, and buffers. The 319 itself, is a restyled cab on a standard York mk3 multiple unit body.. which is the base of most second gen DMU and EMUs… 150,455,456,,317/8/9/20/21/22
 

So..

I think if you used a Hornby R2001 body (of which theres loads as the bogies rotted), cut off the cabs after the side cab doors, grafted some buffers and put it on a Bachmann 150/1 pair with its cabs removed, then got out the plaster, fill all the windows…

Then using a 150/2 fill all the windows again, and the driving cab ends / smooth down, cut a section of one roof and make a pantograph well… at that point your nearly there.

Edited September 20, 2023 by adb968008

[The Meerkat]

1 hour ago, adb968008 said:

There was an abortion on ebay a few weeks ago, using a Bachmann turbostar.

 

The 325 is a 319, with 465 style cabs, and buffers. The 319 itself, is a restyled cab on a standard York mk3 multiple unit body.. which is the base of most second gen DMU and EMUs… 150,455,456,,317/8/9/20/21/22
 

So..

I think if you used a Hornby R2001 body (of which theres loads as the bogies rotted), cut off the cabs after the side cab doors, grafted some buffers and put it on a Bachmann 150/1 pair with its cabs removed, then got out the plaster, fill all the windows…

Then using a 150/2 fill all the windows again, and the driving cab ends / smooth down, cut a section of one roof and make a pantograph well… at that point your nearly there.

 

way beyond what i can do which i will admit isnt much lol

[atom3624]

How critical is gearing in the locomotive design stage?

Will the forthcoming 50 be noticeably faster than, say, the 31 and 66?

Al.

[Accurascale Fran]

3 hours ago, atom3624 said:

How critical is gearing in the locomotive design stage?

Will the forthcoming 50 be noticeably faster than, say, the 31 and 66?

Al.

 

Hi Al,

 

We do built in prototypical speeds (plus a little bit of interest in places such as the Deltic as they had a few spirited runs beyond their 100mph permitted speed) so they do differ from loco to loco.

 

Cheers!

 

Fran 

[Flying Pig]

11 hours ago, adb968008 said:

The 325 is a 319, with 465 style cabs, and buffers. The 319 itself, is a restyled cab on a standard York mk3 multiple unit body.. which is the base of most second gen DMU and EMUs… 150,455,456,,317/8/9/20/21/22

 

Outside dedicated Metro systems, first gen EMUs were pre-WW1, so second gen would be the Tyneside and Merseyside stock of the 30s and 40s up to post-WW2 builds like the AM6; third gen BR-designed Mk1-based units; fourth gen Mk2-based units like the AM10; fifth gen the 4 PEP derived units.

 

Which makes the Mk3-based units at least 6th generation by my reckoning.

[TTDB]

19 hours ago, GordonC said:

 

Was the Semi-fast role not filled by Class 310s anyway?

I remember early 80s BR introduced a pamphlet with day excursions from Birmingham at a fixed fare, trips were taken to Plymouth and Swansea I remember these at £5 return (child) and Milton Keynes for £2.50 return for a trip to Taylor McKenna this was always a bit of high speed running on the WCML with a 310/2 the unit bouncing about , looking at the rear cab watching the speedo, also a trip to Liverpool again on a unit , they didn’t interest me then and wished I’d paid more attention to them ,,,,

[Craig1989]

I’m hoping for a 73/9 as most of the time the gbrf ones operate on the southern region but occasionally wonder up and do the Wirral lines from Crewe and travel up the midland mainline and obviously the scotrail ones to go with their mk5 sleeper coaches 

 

cheers Craig 

[E100]

On 14/09/2023 at 11:31, Michael Hodgson said:

I agree, but I suspect an LMS jackshaft shunter is too niche to achieve volume sales.

 

I think it's more likely to be done by one of the smaller players, such as KR who have chosen such things as Big Bertha, Bellerophon and the the Palbrick, or Rapido's Dynamometer car or Thunderbolt.

 

But of course there was always Heljan's NER railcar.

 

Could be a nice exclusive tie up.

[43078shildoncountydurham]

For me, Intercity 125, the whole train though, for me these are the only manufacturer who can produce the ultimate product…

[adb968008]

11 hours ago, Craig1989 said:

I’m hoping for a 73/9 as most of the time the gbrf ones operate on the southern region but occasionally wonder up and do the Wirral lines from Crewe and travel up the midland mainline and obviously the scotrail ones to go with their mk5 sleeper coaches 

 

cheers Craig 

Class 73/9 is surely the only gap now in classic modern image thats non-AC, that no ones touched.

Perfect for RHTT, NRTT, Southern ballasts, railtours and you really need a minimum of 2.

 

Looks like 73’s are getting interesting again. 

73002 looks like its getting attention and a rare picture of 73101/110 appeared online undercover at Eastleigh, they were shunted about in August.