Just for fun - the best N gauge models of the first 50 years?

[ohlavache]

I entered British N gauge only 6 years ago. But I started N gauge in general when I was a child.
At that time I was much impressed by 2 locomotives and a set of coaches:
- Arnold Crocodile Ce 6/8 (ref. 2468)
- Minitrix 0-4-0T PtL 2/2 (ref. 11087)
- Arnold Rheingold coaches with interior details and lighting (ref. 0142)

In British N, I started with a Graham Farish class 37 and new Mk1 coaches. I was also impressed by the high level of details and the reasonable price.

Now at the end of 2016, the key models for me are:
- Union Mills Adams, which brought me back to steam locomotives
- Dapol Terrier
- REE Modèles with its tank cars (the upcoming DEV and postal coaches seem so promising!)
- Kato CIWL set

[Bornin1980something]

After considering it for a few days, here is my late reply. I might be missing some obvious ones, but I am only mentioning items I actually own.



-The Minitrix 42. Recently acquired one second hand, thought of mentioning it before all those other posts about it. I was amazed to read that it actually dated back to 1970. This would probably make it the first ever realistic and reliable British diesels in N. I wonder if it helped that the prototype was actually based on a German design in real life.
-Farish 94xx pannier tank. Farish'es second steam locomotive in N, but one of their longest lived. The body casting perfectly brings out the unusual taper boiler on top, and is surprisingly effective underneath, with a surprising amount of daylight and splashers well placed to hide the worm gear. The chassis might have been the most versatile ever produced, powering thousands of kits. I think some have wondered why Farish chose one of the most obscure pannier tanks, but I suspect the answer might lie in the fact that it was the largest. Many other models of the time were stretched to fit the mechanisms, but it was possible to produce an authentic 94xx without a stretch, allowing it to fulfil the roles of the generic pannier tank for the average customer and an authentic model in its own right. Disclaimer; this is all conjecture on my part.
-Peco 10 foot and 15 foot 'Quality Line' wagons. Not the most detailed of wagons, but the most affordable and the most versatile, able to provide a ready to run rake on a budget, or provide an easy entry into kit building. Interestingly, it seems that keeping production in this country now makes them cheaper than anything else!
-Farish class 37 refurbished (late 80s model). Now, I know this one was stretched. What makes it a winner in my eyes is that its combination of six axles, pivots designed for tight curves, and narrow bogies allow it to keep running in almost any track conditions. At my last exhibition, I used one I had repainted in West Coast Railway livery as a rescue loco, just like its prototype.
-Farish 4MT (1991 model). The ultimate cast metal body, so good even its most recent successor could not be better in every way.
-New Farish Ivatt 2. The first model to show the level of miniaturisation possible with the coreless motor in the boiler. Running reliability is second only to a diesel. It's also tougher than it looks; mine actually survived having a 1kg camera fall on it. A nearby Oxford Diecast tractor was smashed, but the loco showed no damage at all.

Still, while most of the iconic models have always been locomotives, my real expertise is actually in road vehicles. In that category, there is one clear all time winner:
-the Intertrans 148 MAN truck. Literally the only fully detailed modern image diecast vehicle in British N scale of its time, this sadly missed truck is more detailed even than the latest from Oxford Diecast, including almost full interior detail and a tip up cab with engine. In fact, the detail was superior even to contemporary Farish trains! Does anyone know who really designed and made these models, or why the deal did not survive the Bachman takeover?

[railsquid]

Globally I'd like to nominate the Kato E351 Super Azusa - for various reasons I decided to acquire one and being of a skinflint nature opted for the cheapest one available on the local auction site. It turned up today, all 8 cars of it, and the lot number reveals it was produced in 1996, just after the prototype was introduced. Just like the prototype (which runs as an express train on the mountainous Cape gauge DC electric lines westwards from Tokyo) it has a tilting mechanism, and despite being 20 years old it looks like new (though I suspect it hasn't been used much in that time). The power car did sound like a bucket of spanners for a short while but is now running nice and smoothly (not entirely quiet but nowhere near as noisy as some very recent Grafar and Dapol locos I have) and I'm confident it will keep running with nary a split gear nor directional lighting failure.

[railsquid]

Oh yes, and it has the Scharfenberg-style close couplings, originally pioneered I believe by Tomix in 1991 with their E253 Narita Express (which I also have), now personally I'm not one to lose sleep over the sight of Rapido couplings but there's less than a 5mm gap between cars and they hold together like the real thing, despite the inevitably unprototypically tight curves.

[fisherman]

The  Dapol  9f got me into  N gauge...

superb model...

spec for  an S & D man!