InterCity 225

[chris]

Hornby have managed to get something out of China.

Their Flying Scotsman train pack is a Class 91 + DVT + 2 Mk4s in a one off version of the East Coast livery.

I'm sort of tempted by this because these trains pass the house all the time so it's a good fit. The down side is that it's an electric and I ain't putting OHLE any time soon. So I'm only half interested.

I've seen the model first hand and for me it's a disappointment. There is one part of the livery where the purple should fade to silver, on the model I saw this looked terrible. Also the train has no lights, which is a big issue for me. Without lights in the DVT there is no reason to have electric pickups on the wheels so adding lights would be even more tricky.

The cost is reasonable, at about £130 for the train pack and about £22 for each coach, of which I think I'd get 5 more. So potentially you have a big train for £250, but to DCC it at both ends and lights as well you start to get much closer to £300.

I'll have to procrastinate on this one for a while.

[ba14eagle]

Its about time Hornby re tooled the class 91, DVT & Mk4 coaches ( should have done this instead of the Mk2E) - after all, its one of the few classic type of passenger trains left in this country.

[chris]

You're right, of course.

I've always assumed there's less of a market for model electric trains because few modellers will model the OHLE. Added to that the 91+MK4 is an EMCL only fleet. These two factors will suppress demand. But there's been enough liveries over the years (Skyfall train, kids?) and they will be leaving their patch in the next few years, probably to East Anglia, maybe Open Access, should mean that there is demand for the model for years to come.

It will be interesting to see how many models of electric units come along in the next few years. All new rolling stock in the UK will be electric for the for at least the next 10 years so modern image modellers may have to follow Network Rail's lead and start erecting masts and wires.