I've said this elsewhere, but here it is again....

Personally I think the 4CEP is a missed opportunity, because:

(a) they usually ran in multiple, and two or three units is too expensive, and too long for many modellers.

(b) they were restricted to the relatively boring southeastern. 4VEPs on the other hand often/usually ran singly, and were seen all over the SR, including the far more interesting southwestern, where they met the WR's diesels.

(c) livery choice for unrebuilt CEPs: green, blue-grey. Total 2, end of.
Livery choice for a VEP: blue, blue-grey, NSE, Stagecoach/SWT, Southern, Connex. Total 6.
(The CEPs did wear the very attractive jaffa-cake livery - but only after a complete rebuild)

Even a SR fan like myself has limited use for a CEP.

The 31 is still on the old split-frame chassis. Looking rather dated now, IMHO.

Agreed that the unrefurbished CEP may not be the most obvious unit due to the lack of liveries but the OO one has been a huge success. There's a 2-EPB and MLV due in OO soon, as well.

Personally, I would have chosen a CIG for a RTR EMU, as these hardly changed externally throughout their lives and lasted from BR Green right through to the privatisation liveries. The VEPs received major modifications to the luggage van from the late 80s onwards and the CEPs totally changed when refurbished.

Still, anything that encourages Southern EMU modelling is good for my bank balance and those matching art-deco buildings are looking very tempting!!

Oh, yes, I'd forgotten about the VEPs' altered MBSOs, still much less severe than the CEPs' rebuilds.

A CIG would indeed be a great choice.

Thank goodness I found this  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_unit_designations

I really was getting to the stage where I was needing an interpretor 

That's just cheating!   

As usual - beware the Wiki!!

CIG is not Corrridor Brighton but Corridor Internal Guard.

They were so called because the brake van was in the middle non-driving power car, while the CEPs had two guards compartments, one at each end behind the cab. When rebuilt, these were replaced by just one in the middle composite car, replacing some little used first class accommodation.

The Southern Electric Group has the 'IG' in 'CIG' as maybe standing for both 'BrIGhton' or 'Intermediate Guard', saying that " it is difficult to find an authoritative source, including in official documentation, to establish and confirm the derivation of such codes."
http://www.southernelectric.org.uk/features/unitdes.html

Well if nothing else, I'm learning stuff on here, not that I'll probably ever run british stuff, never mind SR! 

I had always wondered what the codes stood for. 4 COR was quite easy, of course, but 2 BIL? Wasn't until the age of the internet that I finally found out.

Quote from: BROADTRAIN1979 on March 08, 2011, 01:58:32 AM
I had an uncle bill but he ran on paths not rails

Congrats on keeping your sense of humour through your troubles - great to hear the latest!

- Michael

My late Uncle Bill (William Moore) was "very important" on the Southern Railway up to and including WW2. My late aunt thinks he might even have been Chief Executive (that's probably what he told her whether true or not).

He was put in charge of rebuilding Belgium's Railways after the war. I wonder if that's why there were so many green EMUs there?

Hey! I just noticed - I'm a full member!!  Yay! 

I found, in the Old Bailey records of 1898, a William Moore accused of nicking stuff from the Southern Railway. 
http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/browse.jsp?ref=t18980725-499

Quote from: tadpole on March 08, 2011, 07:31:08 PM
Hey! I just noticed - I'm a full member!!  Yay! 

There were sooooooooo many replies I could have made to that, but would have had to spend the rest of the night modding myself 

Quote from: tadpole on March 08, 2011, 07:30:10 PM
My late Uncle Bill (William Moore) was "very important" on the Southern Railway up to and including WW2. My late aunt thinks he might even have been Chief Executive (that's probably what he told her whether true or not).

He was put in charge of rebuilding Belgium's Railways after the war. I wonder if that's why there were so many green EMUs there?

Very interesting.....a shame you can't find out more.