Revolution Ben

Hi Ian, I haven't researched the 508s deeply, but I believe Merseyrail changed the light clusters in the early 2000s which immediately means tooling new cab car bodyshells and associated light guides. The closest might be a retailer commission representing a 508 in pre-2000 condition - with the caveat that there may be some inaccuracies in the underframe I don't know about - but there are no such plans at this time. cheers Ben A

Hi all, I spoke to the factory last week. Everything is done - they are just waiting on PCBs to be able to complete the models. The global shortage of semi-conductors - dubbed 'Chipaggedon' by some - is having an ongoing impact. The causes have been much discussed (so I won't revisit here) and impact on pretty much every powered model (or non-powered model with lights) for manufacturers. If the PCBs arrive in the next couple of weeks then all will be well for a Q3 delivery; if not then that date may slip. Obviously none of us want this, but the reality is that it is out of our hands. cheers Ben A.

Hello all, Yesterday Mike H, Mike B and I joined the 'Peps On Tour: Sussex Rambler' Class 313 farewell railtour organised by the Branch Line Society and Southern Railway as the nearly 50-year service life of these venerable units comes to an end. The day raised £25000 for the Chestnut Tree House children's hospice and the Railway Children charities through ticket sales, an auction of memorabilia and a raffle to which Revolution donated a Class 313 model, or rather a voucher redeemable against a model when they arrive. I was genuinely surprised how many people came to photograph the tour, and how many of them were young adults and teenagers. On board the tour was well-known internet trainspotter Francis Bourgeois. It was clear that he's quite a celebrity among youngsters in particular and at every stop he was asked for photographs or selfies, which he agreed to with unflagging courtesy and good humour, even when asked by not-so-young fanboys... Development of the Class 313 and 314 units is now nearing its end; the remaining deco samples should be here within the next few days and once approved we will look to close the order book and put the models into production. If you are still unsure which model to order (or whether to order at all!) then they will be on display at the N Gauge Society's 'Celebration of N gauge' at the National Railway Museum in York on May 13th and 14th. There's more information about the models, and the tour, on our website's news page. And purely to avoid a slew of questions: No, we don't have any plans to produce these in 00! cheers Ben A.

Hi there, Yes, it should be opening very soon. cheers Ben A.

Hi there, Nice project, and you're making great progress. I really like the sub-station idea. What era(s) are you aiming to depict? The stock I can see suggests early 90s. cheers Ben A.

Hi all, Really looking forward to this one! Revolution Trains will be there and we hope to have some exciting new samples to show off! cheers Ben A.

Hi there, Although we have had plenty of information/drawings etc from Stadler we haven't seen the real thing in the flesh ourselves yet; decisions about how the models will be configured for delivery are yet to be finalised. In general we try to leave the customer as little to do as possible, but it is clear from photographs that an undeployed Dellner will foul the tension-lock coupler, so I suspect we will end up with some kind of switchable solution for flexibility. cheers Ben A.

Hi Mike I hadn't realised you had a thread for your layout. Nice! Building, laying, rewiring and re-scenicking the track sounds like a lot of work. Will you get it done in time for Taunton? cheers Ben A.

Hi there, Yes, we only produced one DB red running number. cheers Ben A.

Hi all, ROG have posted an image of 93001 on their website. It is currently undergoing testing at Stadler's Valencia plant but is expected in the UK within the next few weeks. https://railopsgroup.co.uk/news/ What the photo doesn't show is that unlike the images previously released the locomotives are being shipped with yellow front end warning panels. cheers Ben A.

I think that email must be an typo - the models should be here within the next few weeks, and within Q2. cheers Ben A.

Hi all, Apologies - you're right. We are still sorting out the (small number of) tooling alterations needed to correctly depict the latest Touax and Wascosa/Network Rail variants. cheers Ben A.

Hi David, I have had some Dapol FEA-Bs with similar warping. I think the cause is a combination of: * the embedded metal weight not reaching the end * the plastic deck getting significantly thinner at that point, and * possibly the model itself being kept in a location where the temperature is not consistent, perhaps a loft or garage. I find it can be cured by resting the wagon upside down on a wooden block with the start of the bend on the edge of the block and then gently pushing down and holding for around 20-30 secs. I usually find it is necessary to push the outer end a little further than required, so when it springs back slightly it finishes straight. cheers Ben A.

Hello all, No nudging needed - just a flying visit to our Projects Page which always gives the latest status on any given models. cheers Ben A.

Hi Mark, Yes, Loksound 5 Nano E24 decoders are in production and are scheduled to be available before the locos arrive. If you want the same sound project as installed in the Revolution models, that we recorded at Merehead last year, then you'll need to purchase it from Legomanbiffo. I haven't looked but there may be other class 59 sound files available. cheers Ben A.

Hello all, I have added a news item to our website explaining the various subtle and not-so-subtle detail differences between the various sub-classes, and individual locos. For example, the original Class 50/0 locomotives had the exhaust facing left, no NRN pods, single dampers on outer bogie axles only and no centre yaw damper. All of these were later altered. The article has similar diagrams for the other sub-classes. See here: https://revolutiontrains.com/news/ If you're still umming and erring about whether to pre-order it might be of assitance. cheers Ben A.

Hi there, We are still waiting for the first working sample for checking. Once it is here we will post images etc. As to the centre cab variant - my understanding is that is intended for the export market. cheers Ben A.

Hello all, Just a gentle reminder that if you want to pre-order a Revolution Class 59, or upgrade an order from DC Silent to DCC sound, please do so before the deadline tomorrow (Friday) at midnight. The advance order price is £124.95 (DC Silent) or £219.95 (DCC Sound.) Also, I strongly recommend not leaving it until the very last minute as experience shows lots of simultaneous orders can cause the merchandising interface to creak a bit, with the possibility that orders get missed. Of course if you don't want to pre-order that is fine - the models will be available from our usual retailers with an MSRP of £154.95 (DC Silent) or £259.95 (DCC Sound.) cheers Ben A.

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.

Hi there, Yes, and once we have delivered a few of the delayed models we will feel more comfortable offering completely new items. cheers Ben A.

Hi David, Yes, the issue around intermittent supply is one that has vexed us too. We completely get that not everyone can have everything all at once, and that when popular items sell out it can be frustrating, especially to 'new blood' coming into the hobby. But the reality is that the only way of avoiding this is to have larger production runs and be prepared to hold stock. Holding stock requires somewhere to store it, and a larger production runs means a bigger upfront payment to the factory. These both cost money. Bachmann/Farish do it this way and have a large warehouse and their pricing reflects this. Smaller manufacturers without such resources, who want to keep their prices more competitive, have to look at alternate methodology. Having a pre-order book open for as long as possible, and inviting retailers to stock items post production, is the best way we have found to square that circle and *most* Revolution models are available still if you look. It is not a perfect solution but then in the current climate I am not sure if there is one, and I am keen to avoid letting perfect be the enemy of good! cheers Ben

Hi David, I could argue the opposite: That a competitive market, which gives the consumer a choice, is almost the definition of a healthy and thriving hobby. More seriously: Feedback we have, and our own view, is that the existing 66s on the market don't really cut it any more, and if you've developed a 59 then it isn't a huge stretch to get to a 66. We have started to offer reruns as our business grows - eg Class B tankers, Pendolinos, JNA and TEA wagons in 00 - and although I am not able to give more detail now we have in mind a new marketing methodology for the 66 which *should* make it a little different to anything that we have done before. Incidentally, you may recall that the original Farish and Dapol 66s were launched almost within days of each other, suggesting the market can support more than one manufacturer of this ubiquitous type. Also, who says we aren't developing OTP? You're right - we do want to! cheers Ben A.

Thanks! Just wait until you see the obvious follow up... Re the 59 in 00: We've been asked this a lot at shows etc by 00 guys looking at the samples. We did think about it but the recently released rival model seems to have satisfied most 4mm customers... are we wrong in that assessment? cheers Ben A.

Hello all, Many congratulations to all winners and nominees, and a big thank-you to everyone who voted for the Revolution entries. In a strong year for N gauge we were delighted to get silver with our Class 320/321 (coming very close to the Farish 90 which even I can see was a worthy winner!) and silver and bronze for the IWA vans/timber carriers and JNA box wagons. And being given silver for N manufacturer of the year is also hugely rewarding, and was the cherry *on* the icing on the cake this weekend after a very enjoyable show at Alexandra Palace in which we had some hugely encouraging feedback from those we spoke to.. cheers Ben A.

Hi there, No, the model does not incorporate a stay-alive because as a heavy co-co diesel we didn’t think the added cost was worth it! cheers Ben A.