I want to join the club

[tgv_obsessed]

seems like its a one or two person club at the moment, but now its one more.

I want an n Pendolino, and I would prefer it if it was made by the Kato/Lemke folk but magicaly in 1/148. I want it to go at scale speeds of 225 kph, and I want it to come as one whole train.

Seems reasonable to me!

[Sprintex]

Well, the best express train in the world - the HST - has now been done properly by Dapol in various colour schemes, so once they've produced the rest maybe, just maybe, they'll get around to "lesser trains" like the pendo 


Paul

[Pete Mc]

I agree with you Paul,the hst is the best train in the world.Not bothered about the Pendolino myself,so as long as an APT-P is produced in N,then they can do a Pendolino.After all,the APT was the first tilting train,and furthermore,the Pendolino was introduced when the tilting mechanism couldn't be used.What use was that?
Not sure if they use the tilting capability now though.
I saw the high speed train episode of Pete Waterman's series on Discovery Channel a while ago and he says the reason the APT-P failed was due to the tilting mechanism being too effective ie that it took all the sideways motion away from what passengers saw through the window and what their brains told their bodies what was actually happening,making them feel ropey and giving motion sickness,and also a lack of investment.I thought that the whole development project was substantially more than Concorde,but as it turned out,it was only £50 million,Concorde was over a billion.
How wrong was I?
Still,if only and all that,BR had an appropriate development budget for the APT,maybe they would be banging up the East Coast Main Line instead of the horrid looking 225 sets we have running alongside the wonderful hst's.
Now that in my opinion would be something.

Pete

[Pengi]

I just want Dapol to say exactly what their plans are for the Pendolino - 'on the back burner' is so vague. I wrote to Farish asking them to produce it and that said that Dapol were doing it. If Dapol are not going to do it, why don't they say so and perhaps Farish might do one - particularly as they have dipped their toe into current EMUs with the Desiro. There was also the rumour that Dapol had cooled on doing the Pendolino because of poor sales of their electric locos - I think this is the wrong as the Pendolino is an easily recognisable EMU that non-railway experts have travelled on, kids love it and that could attract people to N. A different market than the electric locos.

I also wrote to Kato but did not get a reply (probably because I wrote it in English). Got to admit they would be my first choice to make it. If I won the lottery, I'd commission them to make an NGF branded Pendolino train pack and starter set.

I've given up hope of it appearing, kept my OO one and bought an oval of Kato HO to run it on.

i guess all we can do is to keep nudging Dapol to produce one (and a Javelin and Electrostar too - or am I being greedy!)

[Sprintex]

Agree with every word Pete 

Under investment, added to this country's knack of completely slating something the moment it doesn't work 100%, killed the APT prematurely. Would have been great to have a fleet of those running around, but then the HST would also be long gone by now if we did, so maybe it's just as well 

I just want Dapol to say exactly what their plans are for the Pendolino - 'on the back burner' is so vague. I wrote to Farish asking them to produce it and that said that Dapol were doing it. If Dapol are not going to do it, why don't they say so and perhaps Farish might do one - particularly as they have dipped their toe into current EMUs with the Desiro.

Business tactics  Dapol say they're doing it to stop Farish getting in first, then put it on the "back burner" so they're not committed. Sounds like they're scared that if Farish got there first they might make a mint out of it! 


Paul

[Pengi]

Dapol may also be waiting to see what happens with the sales of the Desiro - which would be a more valid comparison than the electric locos. I hope Farish chose the right version to model (there are far more 4 coach SWT versions in real life).

[EtchedPixels]

i guess all we can do is to keep nudging Dapol to produce one (and a Javelin and Electrostar too - or am I being greedy!)

Still likely to be quicker to make your own. 'Ringroad' has both an N gauge Javelin and a Pendolino. The Javelin construction was covered pretty well on rmweb by its maker, and used the very similar Japanese unit (Kato Kamome 885) by the same company with the roof changed and vinyls. The Kato unit (and thus the conversion) even tilts on corners.

Alan

[JosephP]

I think that OP writes in full knowledge that what he is asking for is probably not too realistic commercially. Not too many modellers - even in N - have the space to run an 11-car Pendolino or even a 9-car. So it is a limited market.

I don't remember the exact formation but it would probably be more realistic to sell a 5-car set with 2-car add-on packs.

One factor in Dapol's reluctance will be poor sales of the 00 version. When will the manufacturers realise (Jouef made the same mistake with its various TGVs) that most modellers will not buy the 4-car motor vehicle set until they are sure that there are going to be the other cars to make up a complete train?

I remember a Jouef rep coming into my shop to proudly present a new TGV model (Eurostar, I think). I told him what a good job they had made of it. So how many, he asked, was I going to order. None, I replied, until you bring out the intermediate cars.

[EtchedPixels]

manufacturers realise (Jouef made the same mistake with its various TGVs)

And Dapol with the HST....

[Greybeema]

i guess all we can do is to keep nudging Dapol to produce one (and a Javelin and Electrostar too - or am I being greedy!)

I am just hoping that the kit makers come out with Electrostars & Networkers.  As I can't see either GF or Dapol doing RTR versions.  I kinda hoped that the GF 4CEP would prove a comercial basis for these but don't know how profitable it has turned out to be and thus how interested the major manufacturers would be in producing them..

[Ollie3440]

I'll admit i'm waiting patiently for Dapol to actually do something with the Pendolino. In my head my larger layout represents a section of WCML so naturally i could do with a couple to go with my Pretendolino rake and Desiro's when released. Having said that i am in no great rush for them, i know my layout will take me a while to do and there are other items due out soon i've got my eye on.

It was my understanding that Dapol were waiting to see how the Farish Blue Pullman sold (Complete train, over £200). And mentioning Farish i wouldn't even dream of them doing a Pendo, purely as Hornby do the OO Version.

I think a Javelin would be a poor choice by a manufacturer, the Hornby one in OO has sold very very poorly and obviously there is limited space in which they could run. As with other units it's just a matter of time before they'll be done, We've got the 2EPB, MLV, MPV to come through the shrinking ray with Bachmann and who knows what Dapol will announce.

Oh and i may (though work) have found out something Bachmann may be doing in OO (and to follow in N) but i'm not saying anything more apart from some of you  will be happy by it.

Ollie

[Pengi]

Oh and i may (though work) have found out something Bachmann may be doing in OO (and to follow in N) but i'm not saying anything more apart from some of you  will be happy by it.

Ollie

Is it something that an current day EMU fan would be interested in?

[Ollie3440]

I'm not saying anything more, you'll have to be patient.

Ollie

[Pengi]

Still likely to be quicker to make your own. 'Ringroad' has both an N gauge Javelin and a Pendolino. The Javelin construction was covered pretty well on rmweb by its maker, and used the very similar Japanese unit (Kato Kamome 885) by the same company with the roof changed and vinyls. The Kato unit (and thus the conversion) even tilts on corners.

Alan

If any of you are looking for this post on RMWeb it is in the old database which is currently off-line because of performance issues.

Thanks Alan for the info though!

[Pengi]

I'm not saying anything more, you'll have to be patient.

Ollie

Well, by a process of elimination, you have mentioned that the Javelin is not a good choice and the Pendolino will not be produced by Farish. You have not mentioned the APT, HST, networkers and the Electrostar. The HST is not new news so it can't be that and Farish have been making Turbostars (not a million miles away from Electrostars)

You are right - will have to be patient but a South Eastern Electrostar (for Greybeema) and a Southern one for me would be grand!