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Class 116 DMU
I have a crisis with my DMU. I want a Derby Class 116 to represent the typical West Midlands local rail fare of the mid-seventies. As a unit it is typical of many such that provided bread and butter service on UK railways for upwards of thirty years. The only problem is, I can’t get one.
The Bachmann Class 108 is a low-density Derby unit and a two-car so whilst it could provide the basis of a three car high density unit it wouldn’t be easy. New etched brass sides and a centre car conjoured up from the ether perhaps?
What I have is an aged Lima Class 117. Whilst on paper this is pretty close, just modify the cab ends and remove the corridor connections to make the required 116, reality falls a little short. As usual with Lima the model doesn’t quite match the look of the prototype and there is a whole list of things to be addressed to make it representative of a 117, let alone a 116. In summary: convert one of the driving brakes to a driving second, fit flush glazing, fit decent wheels, fit a decent motor, lower the ride height, fit some detailing components (cab steps, buffer beam piping, windscreen wipers, etc.), attend to the skimpy detailing on the underframe...
Apart from the cost of acquiring a 3-car Lima DMU on the secondhand market
(about £40), there is the conversion kit to eliminate a
brake compartment (£9 -
Silver Fox),
flush glazing (£6 - South Eastern Finecast), new wheels
(£40 - Ultrascale), remotoring
(£18 - ModelTorque) and a
detailing kit (£6 -Craftsman) plus the usual paints and decals, but you expect that...
So that is about £120 all up, plus a lot of carving and hacking to end up
with something that approximates to a representation of the prototype.
Is it just me, or is this a bit strange. Since the early 1960s you haven’t been able to lob a stick at the British Railway network without hitting a DMU but the RTR market is still woefully supplied. Is this any way to encourage people to return to, or take up modelling British railways of the past forty years? Given my need for a high-density unit I can’t even go to the kit market. Why?
May 2008: Well, at least the motor problem has been solved. With the reintroduction of the former Lima Clas 121 by Hornby with an upgraded motor bogie. The motor bogie is available as a spare part at a bargain price.
Hornby service sheet: 292c
Spares available from
Abbiegails - highly recommended.
- Motor bogie X9634 (nya) - the bogie is not directly compatible with the Lima chassis so you will either have to use the Hornby underframe or fabricate your own mounting.
- Trailing bogie X9635 £2.65 - the Hornby trailing bogie picks up from both rails, not just one like the original Lima version.
- Underframe X9638 £2.95
- Buffers (10) X9642 £1.85 - if you need bigger buffer heads. Two sets are needed for a three car unit - with 8 left over.
- DCC socket & plug £6.20 - only needed if you don't want to hard wire the chassis for DC or DCC.
If you are ordering some spares then replacing the bogie frames with the equivalent Hornby Class 110 items gives a better appearance - but again they need a bit of work to make them fit. L5596 £1.10
P.S. I did try to order some parts on-line from modeltrains4u.co.uk - the PayPal payment was processed but I did not receive what I ordered or any reply to follow up emails.