On the opening day of Model Rail Scotland, Revolution Trains have announced their intention to produce N Gauge models of the Alstom Class 175 'Coradia' and Class 180 'Adelante' diesel multiple units.
Class 180 'Adelante' 5 Car DMU
The 125mph Class 180 5-car trains are designed for higher speeds and while they share many family similarities with the Coradia units they feature very differently styled aerodynamic cab ends. They were constructed for First Great Western expresses from London to South Wales and the West Country, however they were not a success and were transferred to routes to Oxford and Birmingham.
After recurring technical problems with the trains, FGW handed them all back to leasing company Angel Trains in 2008/09. After a period in store, they were leased to Hull Trains and Grand Central, while the remaining five units returned to service with FGW. The latter five have since moved to Grand Central, whilst the four Hull Trains units have been transferred to East Midlands Railway.
Class 175 'Coradia' 2 car DMU
The 100mph Class 175s were built by Alstom in Birmingham between 1999 and 2001 and initially entered service with First North Western. The fleet comprises 11 two-car sets and 16 three-car sets, and after spells with Wales and Borders and Arriva all are now in service with Transport for Wales, operating across Wales and into the Midlands and North West England.
The Revolution Trains model will feature their usual high specification including directional lighting, couplers that can transfer power and DCC control signals between cars, smooth coreless motor with pin-point axles and full interiors with saloon lighting as standard.
“The Coradia and Adelante units are full of character, eye-catching and have been used widely in England and Wales,” says Revolution Trains’ Mike Hale. “We think they are exactly the kind of interesting, but niche, model that our customers will like.”
“Both these trains are interesting in different ways,” adds Revolution’s Ben Ando.
“The 175 has been a stalwart in the English West Midlands, North West or Wales since the late 1990s whereas the 180 – despite its inauspicious start – has proved to be a successful and stylish train in Grand Central’s unmistakeable black and orange colours – and has seen operation on three of our busiest lines.”
Revolution has been working on the Class 175 and 180 for some time, with the assistance of Alstom, Grand Central and Transport for Wales.
CAD work on the N gauge version is almost complete, and the design will be upscaled to 00 in due course.
Liveries have not been finalised yet, as the order book has not opened, however they are likely to include original First North Western, Arriva and Transport for Wales for the Class 175 and for the Class 180 First Great Western, First Hull trains ‘dynamic lines’, Grand Central and East Midlands Railway.
“For lots of people modelling the last twenty years these units are the ‘missing link,” explains Ben.
“The 175 opens up the chance to model many very appealing locations in Wales and the Marches, while the Class 180 goes every well with either First HSTs for those modelling the Great Western mainline, or the latest LNER ‘Azumas’ on the East Coast. And the 180s create new scope for modelling the present day Midland mainline too.”
The N gauge model is expected to precede the 00 version by a few months and the order book, with a low EarlyBird price, is expected to open up in the next few weeks.
For more information, visit the Revolution Trains Website.