Revolution Mike B

It seems like absolutely ages since I’ve posted anything on either of my layout threads. Work has taken priority (which certainly isn’t a bad thing) and it’s been very cold in the loft too. As far as layout progress goes, I’ve not really done anything except 3D print some station buildings to see if I can get something workable before I resort to card and plasticard. Although they came out ok, they’ve warped a little so it’s back to the drawing board. I have however been working on some wagons and a class 37 which can be seen below: The little MFAs were quite fiddly, especially the buffer shanks! The HOA with the graffiti on started life as a different livery to the MRL ones and as such has different body sides. After some bodgery I’ve managed to get it looking similar to the MRL version. There’s still a way to go (and another 9 to convert)) but I’m pleased with how it’s progressing. 37025 is going to propel my test train (work in progress) and this one arrived courtesy of Rainbow Railways. I’ve got some etched ploughs to add at some point but for now it can just trundle round the layout as a light engine. I also took the plunge and bought some of the Rails of Sheffield limited edition JJA auto ballasters, and although these come pre weathered, I’ve reworked them to represent the time period of 2016 - 2019 which is more in keeping with the rest of my stock. I’ve got a few more things on order from work, namely some 59s and our Caroline Inspection saloon (also to pair up with 37025). Hopefully when the weather warms up I can go and run some trains again……

Yes Roy, you are correct, and the exhaust too, but for a basic renumber then it would be fine. I need to add the lifting eyes to the front of my 59206 as the model doesn’t have them

None at all (providing you don’t mind the prototypical differences) Although 001 has a bell. *edited for clarity

That’s great thank you

How did you flatten off the ridge in the roof Richard?

Lovely job that and one that I’ll be undertaking on my 59/2

59/2s in NP livery had drop head buckeyes and not screw links

Bif’s sound file needs a couple of tweaks but it’s 98% there and won’t disappoint. The lighting issue with Dapol is more than likely a mapping error, but the lights would be last on my list of things to be concerned about. I’d also say that £140ish isn’t overly expensive considering what you’re getting for your money - a model with minimum detail. Costs have increased, wages have increased, everything has increased so if you were paying £200 or more for it then id expect it to be correct in all of the detail.

I mentioned this to Rhys last night. The lighting is a little odd. I'm certain they can be mapped correctly though. I think possibly a more yellow LED would've been a better choice, especially for the marker lights which are pretty yellowish in real life.

Hi All Unfortunately, in my haste to get the replacement Strathclyde bodyshells out, I failed to notice that some people required more than one! I will atone for my heinous error and send them out next week. If anyone still needs a replacement, please fill out the form on our website. Cheers Mike B

Hi Ian You still have a little while yet until the order book closes. Cheers Mike B

Ben? I'm Mike (B) 😀 The layout is called Market Lavington and can be found in the layout topics on this forum.

Evening All. This evening I had one of our EP samples running on my layout effortlessly pulling a 30 wagon consist made up of 9 EFE JIAs, 10 of our JNAs and 11 of our HOAs. I’ll try and post a video at some point showing that our 59s will have no issues pulling scale length trains. We still need to make some small amendments to the lighting but we’re now very close to the final production model. Picture below for effect…..

Hi Jeremy That's very odd. I've sent you a PM Cheers Mike B

What email address have you used? I've checked the support inbox and we don't appear to have any emails from you. Mike B

I really wouldn't worry about the weight - our 59s will make light work of these 🙂

We were aware of an issue with the centre car livery on our Strathclyde Class 320 models and after speaking to the factory, they kindly offered to supply complete replacement centre car body shells which have now arrived at Revolution Trains HQ. Anyone wishing to obtain a replacement, please follow this link: https://www.revolutiontrains.com/strathclyde-orange-320-replacement-body-shell/

This is very true James - for a unit that looks the same, they are far from it! We spent a whole day looking at the real thing and we're now gathering other useful research material in order to produce the best model possible. 👍

They clip together very well but on some of the decorated samples, the lift off sections weren't fully pushed home when Ben took the pictures. As Bernard has shown, they've very much out of line in real life making our miniature versions quite prototypical. 🙂

Stu, you need to email us on the info address please. Thanks

The drive train on the 56 is superb and irons out the track undulations perfectly. I’ve never been a fan of grids but I feel a Colas one or two may find their way on to the layout. For an EPS, I’m seriously impressed and I couldn’t derail it on my rather dubious track work no matter how hard I tried. In true eBay styleeee…..5* A+++++++++

Having been part of a show organising team, I know how hard it is to get everything together and Guy and the rest of the DEMU team get a huge round of applause from the Oak Road crew. It was a bit warm in our hall, particularly on Saturday, when it was absolutely heaving and most of the public were stood in front of the fan! it was an honour to be among so many superb layouts.

Well that’s DEMU Showcase ticked off, and what a great show it was too! After a pretty annoying drive it was a relief to get the layout up fairly quickly and find a work around for a couple of small niggling issues enabling us to have all sorts of trains running just about everywhere. We were lucky to have some new Revolution samples to test and we also put the new Cavalex 56 through it’s paces. By all accounts, there were some pretty cracking layouts on display but we were so busy that we didn’t really get to see them. We could’ve got a look around this morning my dimwit here left his van key at the hotel so Rhys had to go back for it while Ian and I were stranded in the car park. Anyway, that’s another show done and dusted and the layout can go back to storage. Stafford 2023 is a very strong possibility for the chance to see it if you missed it this time around. Three notes to self: Don’t leave your key in your hotel room miles away from the venue. If it’s hot, take a fan!! Remember ear plugs - Ian’s snoring is getting worse!!!! Unfortunately some of the wagons got vandalised over night with graffiti which was most annoying. Looking at the tags, we believe it was someone called Wiz but they’d long gone by the time we’d managed to get in on Sunday morning. Many thanks to Ian and Rhys for doing a sterling job of keeping the trains running, along with a thank you to a chap called Pete from Warley MRC who stepped in to help operate the layout on Saturday afternoon and Andy who helped out for an hour or so today. Also thanks to Mick for the loan of two barrier coaches for the weekend. I’m not quite finished yet…. Thanks Cavalex and Revolution Trains for your company on Saturday evening and a very big thank you to Guy Molyneux and the Showcase team for making us all feel very welcome. See you all in a year’s time.

We’ve replied to every email sent to the support email address. Did you send just the one email?

This isn’t the case unfortunately as the Kato 800 suffers from a few design issues (and I say this as an individual not on behalf of Revolution Trains). Firstly, the sprung contacts for the wheel pickups can be problematic, the decoder ‘sockets’ are also problematic due to being an after thought. The windscreens fall out and the head / tail lights can dislodge making the illumination very dim. two of mine have motors that sound like they’d be better employed in a tractor - farm, not class 37! I’m in no way saying it’s a poor model (I have 5 of them) but it’s definitely not without faults. The assembly is simple because the model itself is simple - less detail makes it very easy to put together but when you actually take one apart, it’s easy to see just how basic the model is. And this relates to my point of being caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. We can all make basic models that have no detail parts and run like clock work…….but then people will say (as they have done with the 800)…they aren’t detailed enough. Sometimes we just can’t win….but that doesn’t mean we can’t try!