Revolution Ben

Hi there, The centre car is powered. cheers Ben A.

Hello all, Any 'what's the latest news...' queries can be answered by checking the Project page on the Revolution website. When we have news we don't hold it back. https://www.revolutiontrains.com/projects/ cheers Ben A.

Hello all, Just catching up with this thread after the announcement at Glasgow. Thanks to all for the response, and useful feedback on the route map; I have tried to rectify the omissions highlighted though I suspect there may still be the odd one! cheers Ben A.

Hi there In the Revolution N gauge versions, Pack 1 is TP04, with destinations Scarborough and Liverpool Lime St, and Pack 2 has the vehicles numbered to represent set TP09, with destinations Scarborough and Manchester Airport. Apologies for the late reply but we have just got back from the Glasgow Show - a fun, but exhausting, weekend. In practice I suspect we haven't yet deactivated the order buttons on the website's e-commerce platform, so if you want to make changes you probably still can for the next few hours. cheers Ben A.

Hi there, Revolution Trains has its own YouTube channel and recently launched our Class 18 shunter there as you can see. There are also videos launching our Class 59 in N and some Facebook Live recordings etc. There isn't a huge amount of content there yet, but we are working on it! Generating decent quality video, if it isn't your core business, takes considerable effort. cheers Ben A.

Hi David, As Mike says the body should unclip pretty easily. If you look at the parts schematic you'll see there is a plate that retains the kinematic coupler arm, and a fine wire spring. Just refit the kinematic arm and spring and push the retaining plate down. If it is loose that suggests the glue bond has failed, in which case it is probably best to lock it in place with some plastic weld or similar, being very careful not to get any on the visible bits of the wagon! For the rigid coupler between the wagons the spring isn't really necessary, though it makes sense to have it on the outer wagon. It is easy to lose, and if you need another, or any of the parts are damaged, PM me as we still have some spares. cheers Ben A.

Hi there VIc, Thanks for posting these images, and your descriptions of some of your techniques. Inspirational! Please keep them coming if you can! cheers Ben A.

Hi Stephen, We may re run them in the future but we are conscious that budgets are stretched and at the moment we are focussed on our HOA hoppers, which carry fairly similar commodities. cheers Ben A.

These models were produced for Revolution by Rapido. Though it could probably be moved over... cheers Ben A.

Hi Jack, 2nd radius curves are toward the lower limit, but it should be OK. Assuming you've given it a good running in to loosen up the couplers/wires/pivots etc then it may be worth checking if anything is impeding lateral movement of the couplers, or stopping the bogies from rotating freely. cheers Ben A.

Hi Graham, Yes, one chip is all you need. The couplers carry both power and the DCC control signals along the train. There is a Next-18 decoder socket on the PCB in the power car (it's the pantograph car, like the prototype) and all models have factory fitted speakers to make upgrading to sound a snap. cheers Ben A.

Hi Dave, They look great! AFAIK the data panels (showing the wagon number, home depot, owner, contacts for repair etc) were regularly wiped clean simply because they needed to be read from time to time by railway staff. cheers Ben A.

Oh no. It's just a mess. I was told at a talk last night by Sir Peter Hendy (chairman of Network Rail) that the 'new' logo was produced with the help of some of those from the DRU who worked on BR's original corporate identity. I cannot believe any of them would've signed off on this. I am struggling to find anything good about it at all. It is not going to sit well on vehicles, it is meaningless to large parts of the union (if the flag thing is meant to represent that) and if you want to turn the union flag into an arrow BEA did it far better on the tailplanes of its Tridents about half a century ago. It is quite impressive in one sense - it has found a way for literally every single element in it to somehow clash with the others. Perhaps they should've copied EWS and opened up the logo design to a public competition, or better still asked MIke Denny/Roundel to have a bash. cheers Ben A.

Hello there, (From the N Gauge Forum in answer to a similar question.) Now we are getting back to normal and attending shows again the need for Facebook Lives has diminished and TBH they require considerable effort and create a significant and sometimes stressful distraction from the 'proper' work. Deciding the structure, preparing stills and video beforehand, playing-in clips and selecting camera feeds, monitoring sound levels etc, while presenting a coherent and structured narrative is tricky using domestic equipment. We are always happy to chat to people at shows; indeed, this year we are 'hitting the road' more extensively than we ever have before. As things return to normal, and having missed many shows over the last 2 years, we want to see as many people as we can. We will be at the SEC in Glasgow later this month for Model Rail Scotland, then at the other end of the country we are the London Festival of Railway Modelling at Alexandra Palace. This is the furthest south we have been (the previous record was Milton Keynes!) but that record won't last long as in April we are supporting the Heaton Lodge Junction Tour at the Bath Showground (actually near Shepton Mallet). Then after a couple of months off we are back on the road for DEMU Showcase at Sutton Coldfield. This is usually the first weekend in June, but has been moved to July this year due to the extended bank holiday weekend marking the Platinum Jubilee. Beyond that we'll be at TINGS, GETS and Warley. This makes a total of seven shows we are attending, across the country, so we are hoping that at some point anyone who wants to can come and have a catch-up! In terms of plans, we are expecting to offer one or two new projects at Model Rail Scotland, another at Alexandra Palace, and beyond that we will have a steady programme of developing existing and new items, and it is likely our new project proposals will be unveiled at or around shows. cheers Ben A.

Hi there, It may not be rocket science, but it is certainly not an exact science. When commissioning products there are a variety of factors to consider, and some are more flexible than others. These include but are not limited to: 1) What is the minimum order the manufacturer will accept to tool up and produce for any given model. 2) How many variations occurred during the life of the prototype, and which of these are worth offering. 3) What is the minimum order the manufacturer will accept for different variations/liveries within the overall total. 4) What is the market likely to want in the next 5 or so years? For example, it is fairly well documented that sales of BR Blue models have grown significantly in the last 5 years against the formerly dominant transition era. It is quite possible that the yellow Railease wagons and air braked Bauxite wagons - associated with the late 70s on - will become more popular as the demographic changes. 5) In the case of the carflats, the arrangement with Bachmann was that the models would enter the Farish range after 2 years, so it is entirely likely that future runs of the more popular models will come. These are just some of the considerations that are made at the commissioning stage - which is often 18 months or more before the models appear - and I am happy to acknowledge that we don't always get it exactly right. You are correct though that Revolution's pre-order business model can mitigate against these uncertainties (which is one reason we do it) but it can't see it working for the NGS or Farish. cheers Ben A.

We could, but it would be something of a meaningless comparison as the production quantities are vastly different: Models destined for the UK market alone are likely to have a production run of around 2000-3000; Kato have said openly in the past that their minimum run for any given livery is 10,000; and in addition the vast majority of their Eurostars and now Class 800s they expect to sell in Japan, where the population is double that of the UK and the model railway market (dominated by N) market is conservatively estimated to be 40-50 times larger. If Farish - or Revolution, come to that - were producing 10,000 313s or 321s the price would be significantly reduced as all the fixed costs - design, tooling, paint masks, tampo masters - which comprise around 75% of the total price are spread over far more models. cheers Ben A.

Hello all, Revolution Trains will be attending the Alexandra Palace show for the first time, and it'll be the first time we have attended an exhibition anywhere further south than Milton Keynes. We will also be at Model Rail Scotland at the end of this month, and are really excited about getting back on the road and into busy and fun shows again! With Warley cancelled last year, these are the first shows we have attended for several months, and we look forward to seeing and chatting to visitors. If things go according to plan we should have at least one new project to offer too. cheers Ben A.

Hi all, Very happy to see the Class 769 as it shows that Farish haven't given up on new tooling in N! I have also long felt that there are some lines in Wales that are very modellable; so the TfW version is especially welcome! Like woodenhead I will probably be trading in my current Farish 08s to generate the cash for one of the new DCC Sound versions - probably RSS black, or Network Rail yellow re-imagined as a private spot-hire loco. cheers Ben A.

Hi Roy, Yes, I would like to think that those on here would understand the issues but I thought it helpful to explain why Revolution have not considered (and are not considering at this time) any locomotives with outside valve gear. For steam era locomotives I think Sonic Models offer perhaps the best hope. The founder Sam is a steam enthusiast himself and as many will know he was formerly at Farish where he designed the very well regarded Princess Coronation locomotives. Sam has so far produced an 0-6-2 56xx and his next model is the 0-6-0 J50. Going forward he plans to grow his range in sensible, incremental steps. But I believe the eventual target is large steam locomotives. cheers Ben A.

Hi there, I remember seeing a short rake in Norsk Hydro livery while travelling through Doncaster on a GNER service some time in the late 1990s. One look at the viking longboat insignia and I was hooked! Discovering more about the history of Norsk Hydro, not to mention many viewings of The Heroes of Telemark, only added to the allure! Glad you like them. cheers Ben A.

Hi all, I don't think many appreciate that assembling N gauge steam locomotives with outside motion is a painstaking task and requires significantly higher levels of monitoring and checking than, say, diesel or electric locomotives in N. Apart from the dexterity and consistency required of those assembling the parts, skilled production line supervisors who can ensure reject numbers stay within tolerable levels are relatively rare. cheers Ben A.

Hi John, Yes, the SR version has been tooled to correctly depict the pantograph removed. 313201 in the modern version of BR blue grey (with the doors in grey for accessibility) would be an excellent choice. I understand this vehicle (originally 313001) has been set aside for the National Collection once it is withdrawn to reflect the PEP family's importance in British railway history. cheers Ben A.

A dummy version may be possible but as it would need revised PCBs for the centre car in fewer numbers the unit cost would almost certainly be higher than for the powered model. We think it wouldn’t prove popular on those terms. Because all the pickups are axle pin points, not wipers, the chassis does not have too much drag however. cheers Ben A.

Well done Guy, it can be frustrating making a decision that you know won't please everyone. As we were for 5 years pre-pandemic, Revolution will certainly be there! cheers Ben A.

Hi Jo, Nice job on the red TEA - I particularly like the hint of 'Petroplus' visible under the painted out panel. cheers Ben A.