Hi

Apologies if this is in the wrong place,

I have seen images and YouTube videos of the network South East class 442 wessex electric and I understand you cannot buy these ready to run but does anyone have any idea where I could purchase one?

Would really appreciate any advice as I have been searching for one of these for years started looking when I use to have OO but now n gauge

It's such a fantastic emu and one in which I would love to own, so if anyone knows where to get one, I would greatly appreciate it

Many thanks

Better talk to the boss!

Welcome to the NGF! 

Hi

Thanks for the welcome

And what do you mean better talk to the boss?

Tank, who runs the forum, has a couple, and a strong liking for Network SouthEast livery. There aren't many in jokes, don't worry.

TPM used to do the conversion parts for Farish mk3s, but they're harder to obtain these days as Bernard Taylor gave it all up. You can often get cab front and MBLS underframe details on eBay, but I've not seen any of the bogie sides and dampers in years.

Fox do NSE decals, with the whole livery on a single decal, you just need to paint the lower body side, cabs and roofs. Electra Rail do vinyl overlays for all the liveries, which mean you just need to paint the roofs and cabs.

In any of the liveries painting the cabs is quite fiddly due to the curves, but it's not a bad conversion. If you want to motorise it you can use the old Farish 158 chassis. 

The St Denys n gauge exhibition layout had several, they were superb, really well done.

Thanks njee20 for the advice much appreciated

I thought it would be a long shot asking, so probably just going to give up, as I could never build one from a kit etc, don't have the skills

And the forum owner has them, do you know where he got his from or did he build them himself?

Many thanks

The only option is to build them yourself sadly. They've never existed ready to run in any guise in either scale. Hurst Models did/do the OO gauge conversion parts, but that's a more involved conversion. Intercity Models had a "coming soon" for a brass kit of a OO gauge one, but it never surfaced.

The N gauge one isn't hard to do, if you can obtain the cab fronts why not have a go? They're not available at the moment that I can see, but my guess is that the seller was casting from either from the masters or from copies of the TPM ones, so I'd hope they'll reappear.

Ok thanks again for the advice.

I have never built anything model railway related so even cautious about metcalfe kits lol but if there was a guide of some sort I would definitely be interested in learning if it's not too difficult

I know there is a company called brittania I think who are building them in OO gauge to order at £950 but they have no mention of n gauge unfortunately

Quote from: Euston on January 21, 2019, 08:21:13 AM
Ok thanks again for the advice.

I have never built anything model railway related so even cautious about metcalfe kits lol but if there was a guide of some sort I would definitely be interested in learning if it's not too difficult

I know there is a company called brittania I think who are building them in OO gauge to order at £950 but they have no mention of n gauge unfortunately

Hi

There was an article in one of the model magazines about building one from the TPM kit. If I can remember where it was I'll edit this post.

One day I might actually get mine finished.

Edit: Model Rail May 2000 pages 30 - 33

Cheers

Paul

Would use 158 chassis. Mk3 body. Google n gauge class 442 or mr electra. Vinyls and ends as njee says

Hi Paul

Many thanks for that, would really appreciate it

Also you are building one yourself? If so be interesting to know your progress

Building is probably a bit of a grandiose term for the bits still available - you just cut the end off two coaches, stick the cab front on, change the underframe detail and paint it.

Like I say, the TPM kit came with correct bogies and the dampers which needed adding by filing away the tumble home on the coaches, given those bits are now far harder to obtain it's probably a bit moot. Sounds like Paul may still have a full conversion kit.

I've got one in NSE somewhere, and just got the vinyls to do a Gatwick Express one too. Both dummies, motorising was too much effort, the former was a display model the latter will be dragged.

Hello Euston,

As others have said, the main supplier of the parts was TPM.  Sadly he hasn't made them for some years now.  There is a seller on eBay who has basically copied and has been selling them for a few years - although I believe they don't supply the curved cab glass or the buffers.  I used Fox Transfers for the decals.

Here is a video of one of mine.  I have one which runs on a 158 chassis and another on the 153 chassis - which is faster.

Thanks for the replys and advice njee20 and tank much appreciated

I'm very envious of you both haha and the class 442 in your video tank is superb, is that kato track you have?

I will keep checking ebay as I have been daily almost for the last few years and hopefully something might pop up.

Thanks everyone for all the replys and advice

Happy to help.  Yes, this is Kato track.  It was only temporary whilst between layouts, but I've used it for about 7 years now!

Oh ok tank thanks for the reply, out of interest, would you recommend kato track over peco?

As I don't have my layout built yet, just been buying locos etc but do have a tiny amount of peco, but really interested in the kato stuff for simplicity

Oh and also proberly a huge longshot, if you ever decide (or anyone else please) that you would be maybe interested in parting with a 442 please consider me, either by cash or maybe a swap - even a rare item.

Many thanks