Northern Electric

Forgive me if this has already been covered but, do we have any info yet on exactly what condition NSE 86401 will be produced in? When it first received the livery it was unnamed and had no TDM equipment. Latterly it received the front end mods in line with the rest of the class and I think around 1989 it was named Northampton Town. The TDM cables were also carried in the early "upside down flap" arrangement the later pocket arrangement - though not for very long in that livery. I'm also curious as to whether it has been decided it will be in the early or late shade of NSE blue. (My money is on early given the date at which it was repainted) Cheers

Thats a nice executive repaint! I like the cross arm pantograph conversion too, though I don't think those survived very long into the Intercity era (?) so would not be correct for the early 90s look I am after. That said I agree with previous comments about the plastic BW pan - Far too flimsy! I have a couple of spare class 92 pans for when the factory item breaks off which it seems certain it will 🙄 Hopefully the holes left by the roof tank are not large and can be filled in with a bit of Milliput or such like? I do have some RailMatch rail grey but I was planning on giving the roof section a good weathering along with the bogies anyway - The roofs never looked that bright grey in service the way I remember them, and the cab roofs often looked quite grotty too, much like their diesel contemporaries at the time. Any recommendations as regards decal softeners? Also if anyone happens to know what the correct size BR arrows are for 86/87 Executive livery that would be a help, cheers!

Like a lot of you here I too recently picked up a heavily discounted 87001 with the view to repainting and backdating. I noticed Horby announced an executive version for 2022 which would be ideal for the period I am modelling (1990-ish) but a couple of things are bothering me about it - Mainly the RRP but also Hornby have a habit of messing up the colours on their IC livery applications , the lower beige band in particular. The new APT has shown that actually they CAN get IC colours right when they really try, but I worry that their executive 87 will emerge with that rather yellowy looking shade on the lower body which stands out as being totally wrong in my eyes. I'm thinking a repaint into either executive or mainline livery, along with removal of the fire extinguishers, may be the best (and certainly cheapest!) option to back date it to the early 90s. Has anyone attempted this and had success with it? How well does the loco dismantle for repainting? I like executive with the wrap-around grey cab front most, as shown by the photo of 87027 and will probably be aiming for something like that, but I'm not entirely sure how to approach the issue of the BR double arrows over the stepped and heavily rivited section between the upper and lower body sections... has anyone managed this sucessfully? The mainline version would avoid this issue of course, though I like the overall look of executive better. This photo taken 1993 shows it with the MW cables removed and the square headlight fitted so would avoid the need to tamper with the cab ends too much.

Just had a delve through flickr and of the RES examples 86401, 416, 417, 426 and 430 had the AMBR pan, while 86419, 424 and 425 had the BW pan. All the RES 86/2s had AMBR pans.

They all faded yes, but I was thinking more in terms of the actual shade of the preserved NSE repaint being in the later (incorrect?) shade compared to what it originally wore.. (it wouldn't be the first time the wrong shade of blue has been applied to 86s, but lets not go there! ) This photo of the two class 50s side by side demonstrates the different shades of blue for original NSE vs revised NSE very well. If you search there are also photos showing a mismatch in blue between the loco and coaches depending on which version each happenned to be in at that time. But since 401 was so seldom seen hauling anything in NSE livery (it seemed to spend more time on parcels and freight going by photo I've seen!) opportunities for a direct shade comparison were scarce unlike with the class 50s.

A couple of shots of 86401 taken in 1990/91. I know lighting can make a difference, as can film quality but the blue definitely look quite different to those later pics.

I might be imagining it but, I could swear the shade of blue used on the retro repaint seen here is different to the original (1986) version applied..

Marvellous! I will definitely be in the market for a RES example I was just wondering which type of pantograph the RES example will come with? From what I remember, the 86/4s seemed to be about half AMBR type as built and half Brecknell Willis type. Ditto the 86/6s. Hard to recall which locos carried which without referring to old photos taken at the time.

The IC Executive livery application looks good to me. I always thought the original application with the 2/3 height yellow front and wrap around grey looked the best, so I'm quite pleased thats the one they went for. Personally RES would be my first choice, but the decorated sample I've seen so far shows the roof section in the wrong colour...hopefully that will be corrected before they hit the shops! (?) I hate having to repaint new models to correct silly livery errors! One thing I'd love to see Heljan offer is 86401 in its NSE livery. I know that one was a bit of a Marmite loco that split opionion but I always liked it just for how much it stood out. Not sure about the pantograph though. I will reserve judgement for when I can see it in the raised position. I seem to recall some complaints about the Bachmann 90 pan, the lower linkage being unrealistic etc. Looks like this one will be the same deal though I suppose you could remove it if it bothers you. It's just a pity the cab gutters were never corrected for the new tooling, but we've already covered that. Nice model overall though and a vast improvement on their old 86/2. There's plenty more liveries left for Heljan to exploit within the 86/4/6 subclasses too: Mainline version of Intercity, NSE as already mentioned, early parcels sector red/grey, EWS, Freightliner triple grey etc. And then of course all the many 86/2/5/7 versions! A very colourful and interesting fleet when you think about it!

The gutter mod looks good. Though probably a bit easier to do on BR blue examples than the sectorised/privatised liveries, as you have the wrap around orange lining to contend with on those ones.

RE the cab roof gutters, does anyone know of a practical solution for this? As it looks like they won't be correct for the period on these 86/4 models. A bit dissapointing given how much the rest of the detailing has been changed, and will most likely require some repainting work. (?) Not something I really want to be doing on a new £170 model! On the up side, the TDM cables look decent and the hand rail on the cab front looks better than the wire on the AL6 I have. Might have to get the spares sprue to swap that over.

They were generally painted the same shade of grey as the roof. I use Railmatch Rail Grey on mine, then weather as required. But thats when the roof section it's self is also painted the correct shade of grey.... There doesn't seem to be any consensus between manufacturers about what shade of grey to use on the roof of the electrics. BR blue 85s, 86s and 87s all seem to wear distinctly different shades out of the box which is a little annoying! That said, since the brushes/washer jets couldn't clean the roof area, they did take on that dark grey/bronze colour pretty quickly when in service, so you can mask the differences somewhat without having to completely repaint the entire roof section.

@The Johnster I've been there and done that with old style card pre-payment meters. Dark times, literally and metaphorically. Never again (hope to god!). I suspect anyone who has lived with a prepayment meter will be very well aware of their energy usage and know how to eek the most out of every last penny. This is partly why I am not keen on the idea of smart meters - any money savings are a result of changes in consumer behaviour, not the meters themselves. And I have serious questions over the amount of information and control they place in the hands of the energy providers. For instance, if for whatever reason you miss a payment, can they remotely switch you off? I've had that done with internet and phone a few times this last year and thats upsetting enough. I remember on the odd occasion when my card meter DID run out and I wasn't able to get to a shop to top up, having to spend even one evening with no light, heat or computer access was genuinely upsetting.

I'm not a conspiracy theorist but this is EXACTLY the kind of thing that I can see becoming mandatory in the future. Then next thing you know some distant computer algorithm is telling us when we can have a shower or make a cup of tea etc. It may seem farfetched but, all the technology to make it happen is already in place. It makes me very uncomfortable

Hey folks, Just interested to hear people's opinions/experiences on this subject. I am looking to change energy supplier, having been with my current one for about 4 years. They have been sending me "Book your smart meter installation now" letters on a monthly basis for the last 2 years which go straight in the bin, (but 10/10 for persistence!) I have noticed on energy comparison sites that almost all new energy deals now state that smart meter installation is "required" for eligibility.. Claims of helping you save money and helping us move toward more renewable energy features prominently in the sales blurb, without any explanation as to how they actually achieve either... Has anyone who had one installed ACTUALLY saved money? Or is it just another piece of surveillance equipment being sold under the guise of being "greener" ? Any feedback welcome.

Just out of interest, what was the main reason for doing pan swaps on these locos? I always used to find the old locos (older Hornby, Heljan etc.) had massively over-sprung pans that would distort or even damage catenary if used in a contact setup. I have new Bachmann class 85, 90 and Heljan AL6 (planning on a new Horby 87 at some point) and had assumed the new pantographs on these models would be better suited to running in contact with OLE, but I have not actually had the opportunity to test this.. Can anyone confirm or deny this?

You mean like Peco and Dapol did? haha I do take your point, but I'm not so sure if that's really how "most" people buy things. (?) From what I've seen, most people build their layouts gradually over a period of a few years (or more) and buy parts as/when needed, rather than up-front and in bulk. Certainly there will be SOME people who build that way, but I don't know if I'd describe them as the majority. You have to have substantial disposable income to do it that way which is not the case for everyone. Your more average modeller has to spread the costs out over time with smaller purchases to suit their budget. In any case, I think if it is made clear to buyers that the intention is to release further structures to make up a range over time, that makes it easier for people to plan ahead with their projects and less likely to hold off on that basis.

I appreciate that what the modelling community needs is a decent RANGE of products but, unfortunately, I can't start by launching a dozen different products at once, the cost would be prohibitive. Thats not to say that isn't the ultimate goal however. But obviously it makes sense to START with the products that are likely to prove most popular and profitable and work upwards from there, rather than vice versa. Thank you for anyone who has so far taken the survey. I must get down to Chester to see that massive layout!

Here is a link to the first survey, all feedback appreciated. It should take less than 2 minutes to complete. Cheers https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/SLDCHD3

Poll will follow shortly. NB, once I have the test prints done and assembled, if anyone would like to purchase those prototypes, please PM me. Being 3d printed they are not the cheapest, but I will sell them at cost price and it will help me to recoup some out of pocket expenses and continue to develop this project further. Also, (bit of a long shot perhaps) but if anyone has any old technical drawings of the MK1 OLE, or contacts at NR who might, please let me know as this could prove extremely useful! Cheers

Booster transformer

O/H catenary wire supports and registration arms for tension overlap - constant tension equipment.

Registration fittings for fixed equipment, single and double wire (junctions).

3 and 4 track tension portals and registration arms.

Hi folks, apologies to all following this topic for the extended pause. I haven't forgotten and things are still on the go! I have been working on various fitting and accessories. Registration fittings, anchor/tension portals and booster transformers etc. I will shortly be ordering test prints of these. In the mean time I am setting up a poll to assess which specific product lines I should focus on (it would be impossible to cover all of them at once) and what buyers priorities are. Below are a few pictures of CAD renders of my most recent projects, now ready for test printing. I will investigate having mouldings made for the most popular product lines if feasible with the hope of being able to produce self assembly kits at an affordable price. Cheers