nightstar.train

I'm looking for some decent roof photos of the class 73/9s, both the RVEL/Network Rail ones and the Brush/GBRf ones. Unfortunately most of the shots i can find on the web are from ground level.

Thats rather serious. Dellner couplers are used everywhere and well known. They shouldn’t be parting unexpectedly. I wonder if it was another software fault with the coaches?

I’m amazed to see Mk4s there already. I thought they had a fairly bright future. Some going to Wales, some going to be used for Euston-Blackpool, and then the other open access that wants them for London-Cardiff.

Both sections of the low lander sleeper are showing at platform and ready to go on Real-time trains as I type. So if it did have a problem it’s been sorted. 1500 seems awfully early to be taking the ECS across to Edinburgh too.

That is basically stagecoach livery. They’ve just pealed some of the stripes off and added EMR lettering. The full EMR livery is purple. They’ve done a 222 in it for the launch.

That is basically stagecoach livery. They’ve just pealed some of the stripes off and added EMR lettering. The full EMR livery is purple. They’ve done a 222 in it for the launch.

Seeing as they’re special trains to connect Scotland’s 7 cities I’d expect them to be named after the cities, and landmarks within them. I hope one gets named Glasgow University, then I could celebrate my uni.

That yellow panel on 57601 is really odd somehow. Doesn’t suit it at all.

I’ve just received my lovely Hornby model of the Inter7city powercars. I’d quite like to renumber them so they’re a bit different from everyone else’s. So have any of the HSTs been named?

It’s not just lease costs. Maintaining the necessary maintenance infrastructure (spare parts, manuals, fitter training) and driver training for a small separate fleet will be very costly. Even if a 707 cost the same as a new train to lease, from this point of view it makes sense to just add few onto the new train order and have common maintenance and driver pool.

They’re 14-16 years old now. I know the HSTs have gone on and on but what’s standard life expectancy for a unit? 30 years? In which case they’re middle aged.

Does anyone know if the 222s meet the requirements for lights so as to not have yellow ends? I’m curious as to wether it’s compulsory for the 222s, or if it’s a style choice by EMR. Personally I think trains without yellow ends look rather weird.

Scotrail don’t have any 153s, except for the 2 (or maybe 3) currently at Kilmarnock being made into bike vans. There’ll be 5 of those eventually and they’ll couple up to 156s or 158s or Oban and Fort Bill trains. I think that its Transport for Wales who want to get more 153s to double up their existing ones. Basically undoing the conversion from 155s into 153s.

Yes you’re right, must’ve misread the photo I saw. List updated accordingly.

Thanks for all the replies. Updated list Intercity Swallow GNER blue with white letters GNER blue with gold letters GNER blue with white NatEx stripe NatEx grey and white NatEx grey and white with an East Coast sticker GNER blue with white stripe and East Coast sticker East Coast silver East Coast grey 91101 East Coast purple and grey Flying Scotsman livery (with matching DVT) East Coast 91107 Skyfall 007 promotional livery (with matching Mk4 set and DVT) 91110 Lest We Forget - initially East coast, then rebranded to Virgin, then LNER. 91111 For the Fallen - initially East coast, then rebranded to Virgin, then LNER. 91114 East Coast Durham Cathedral with Lindisfarne Gospels Durham livery. 91125 blue Sky 1 HD promotional livery (with matching Mk4 set and DVT) East Coast silvery grey with diagonal red block and Virgin logo Virgin red and white Virgin red and white with white cab roof. 91101 Flying Scotsman Virgin red and white with Saltire design, rebranded to LNER. 91106 Virgin Red and white with #GetNorth2018 lurid stripes, rebranded to LNER 91103 #trainbow with pride month hearts and embellishments 91114 Virgin Durham Cathedral with Durham Cathedral livery, rebranded to LNER 91128 Claus 91 in Virgin Christmas livery (with matching DVT) 91132 Time to Change Pledge (mental health discrimination) Virgin red/white, rebranded to LNER Red and white with LNER lettering 91121 LNER #trainbow with rainbow NE So I make that 34 liveries (including all rebrandings). Not bad for a fleet of 31 only running in one location.

I’ve decided to try and make a complete list of liveries that the class 91s have worn. In approx chronological order. Intercity Swallow GNER blue with gold letters GNER blue with white NatEx stripe NatEx grey and white NatEx grey and white with an East Coast sticker GNER blue with white stripe and East Coast sticker East Coast silvery grey East Coast purple and grey Flying Scotsman livery East Coast 91110 Lest We Forget East Coast 91111 For the Fallen East Coast 91125 blue Sky 1 HD livery East Coast silvery grey with diagonal red block and Virgin logo Virgin red and white Virgin red and white with Saltire design Flying Scotsman livery Red and white with LNER lettering Red and white with LNER lettering and #GetNorth2018 lurid stripes I kind of thought I’d like to model one in every livery, but that’s 16 different liveries, so quite a challenge.

Thats actually NatEx livery, with an East Coast sticker. The full East Coast livery was a sort of silvery grey with a light purple stripe. Not much better than above though. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Coast_(train_operating_company)#/media/File%3A91_128_Kings_Cross(8077556150).jpg When Virgin took over they slapped a diagonal red patch over the East Coast livery. That was really bad. https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:British_Rail_Class_91s_of_Virgin_Trains_East_Coast#/media/File%3ALoco_91114_at_Peterborough.JPG

These are extremely “back of an envelope” calculations, but it gives an idea I think. It’s oft quoted around rmweb that it costs in the region of £100,000 for the development of a small tank engine and £150,000+ for a large tender engine, and maybe £50,000 for a coach. So let’s say the power unit for the APT will be equivalent to a large tender engine, given the need for fiddly things like pantographs and the tilting mechanism. Then 4 different coaches (inner ends, pointy ends, saloon and buffet). Given the need for them to have articulated tilting bogies I’d add another 20% on and say £60,000 per. So you’re looking at fixed development and tooling costs of £390,000. That’s before an production and assembly costs, shipping, VAT etc etc. If youre only selling 400 sets then you’re starting at a cost of nearly £1000 before any production costs, let alone profit. DJMs cost of £1000 for a 5 car set doesn’t seem good on that, and at £1250 for a 14 car (I think it was), that’s not much margin. Even if we slash my figures by half that’s still about £500 fixed cost per set, then add material cost, production cost, shipping, VAT etc. It could well be that the factory gave him a bill for tooling (or even an estimate) and he realised he’d never pay for it at whatever level of crowdfunding he had, and decided to quit before he was further behind.

I’ve no doubt that an APT-P would sell, but the real question is how many and at what cost. The reason railroad models are so cheap is 1) the tooling is less complex and 2) Hornby have either long since paid for it, or plan on using it for many thousands of models, so the tooling cost per model is low or 0. Unlike limited edition high spec steamers (Stirling single, Caley 812 etc) that have a very high tooling cost per model. It’s oft quoted around rmweb that it costs in the region of £100,000 for the tooling for a small tank engine and £150,000+ for a large tender engine, and maybe £50,000 for a coach. So let’s say the power unit for the APT will be equivalent to a large tender engine, given the need for fiddly things like pantographs and the tilting mechanism. Then 4 different coaches. Given the need for them to have articulated tilting bogies I’d add another 20% on and say £60,000 per. So you’re looking at fixed tooling costs of £390,000. That’s before an production and assembly costs. If you can only sell 500 sets then you’re starting at a cost of £780 before any production costs, let alone profit. DJMs cost of £1000 for a 5 car set doesn’t seem so unrealistic. In fact it might well have been too cheap! I model the current scene, in fact the APT-P was withdrawn whilst I was still in nappies. And I’d love a model of one. But not at £1000+.

The 745s have been cleared for service by the ORR, so I expect those services are switching over. I believe the plan is to run a pair (or maybe even 3) 745s coupled together. The 755s will presumably be cleared pretty soon too as they’re very similar. I’m not sure of the PRM compliance level of GAs fleet. I think the original plan was to have complete fleet replacement by the end of this year with the new stock. Obviously the Bombardier units are running significantly behind schedule. In fact everything is, for just about every company. I think whoever’s job it is to sign derogation orders at the ORR (or DfT? I don’t know) will have an RSI come late December.

Thanks for the reply Keith. I remember having a chat with you last year at Warley, so if you have EP samples available this year I think that’s pretty good going. From pie in the sky to production ready in a year. When will the order book stay open until? I would imagine showing off the EPs will bring in a few people. Quite understand about not having stock. Even at cost price to yourself having 50 in stock is still many thousands of pounds (or loonies).

@KR Models Where is the project at the moment. Have you got final CADs? 3D test prints? I’m very very tempted to buy one, DCC sound probably, but after the recent DJ Models debacle I’m a rather wary of crowdfunding. Thanks

Stepping through the video frame by frame I’m pretty sure you’re right. The yellow stripe for first class doesn’t go all the way to the end and it seems to have an odd window arrangement. I believe the BFOs did run on Manchester Pullman services.

Does anyone in the know have info on the what the Fort William portion will be with the new coaches? Accurascale have it down as 2 x seated and 2 x sleeper which doesn’t seem right to me. To fit in with current workings I’d assume it’d have a club car, which you need to sip Whisky through the highlands. And I’d assume on of the sleepers would be an accessible one? Otherwise there’s no disabled provision on the Deerstalker. So the formation would be club car, seated, accessible sleeper, sleeper.

Why? Is there a problem with the 67s? Or is this for extra services? It seems an awfully complicated proposition as, AFAIK, HSTs use their own multi working systems that isn’t what’s on the DVTs, or TDM which used to be on the DVTs.