British Passenger Trains

[Scouser]

I'm originally from the UK but now live in the US, I'm trying to locate some HO scale 'British Rail' or preferably 'Mersey Rail' passenger trains like the image below, does anyone know any US based suppliers?

 

[jsanchez]

Models 11  in Texas carries some of the modern British Trains, Britannia Models in Vancouver Canada also.  Pennsylvania Model RR Supply carries some British Trains,mostly steam era. 

[xdford]

Have you checked out Hattons in Liverpool? Here in Australia, orders have been here in a week and their range is fairly comprehensive although I have not seen the scheme you are interested in...

Good Luck

Trevor in Oz

[Scouser]

Thanks guys, I'll give both of them a try.

Embarrassingly, I had completely forgotton about Hattons and I grew up only 5 miles away from it, doh!!  yet another senior moment, lol

 

 

[gmpullman]

Hi, and

I have dealt with Reynaulds and have found them to be reliable:

https://www.reynaulds.com/index.aspx

Another possible source, located in Canada, would possibly be here:

http://www.eurorailhobbies.com/products.asp?mn=8&ca=23&sc=HO

I have no experience with the above seller.

Good Luck, Ed

[BroadwayLion]

Funny... I thought there was a ferry 'cross the Mersey

[chutton01]

Scouser

I'm originally from the UK but now live in the US, I'm trying to locate some HO scale 'British Rail' or preferably 'Mersey Rail' passenger trains like the image below, does anyone know any US based suppliers?

Hold on, is there that much HO scale (NOT OO scale) British railway modeling out there to begin with?
There are mentions of the "British 1:87 Scale Society", but their website (http://www.british-ho.com/) looks defunct (it redirects to a "Network Solution" page, with the note "british-ho.com expired on 12/20/2016 and is pending renewal or deletion", which doesn't sound promising).

RMWeb doesn't even list a 3.5mm forum on their Scale Specific list. I found one or two other minor websites searching around, but how popular is British HO scale in the first place?

 

 

 

[Anonymous]

British outline HO scale modelling is as rare as hen´s teeth and I am even inclined to say as alive as the Dodo.

There is OO scale of 1/76, but running on "incorrect" 16.5mm gauge track.

There is also EM gauge, using the a little more correct 18.2mm gauged track and, finally, there is P4 finescale standard with a correct 18.83mm gauge.

IIRC; EM gauge and P4 gauge trains are not available comerrcially made.

[chutton01]

Sir Madog

British outline HO scale modelling is as rare as hen´s teeth and I am even inclined to say as alive as the Dodo.

There is OO scale of 1/76, but running on "incorrect" 16.5mm gauge track.

But 16.5mm gauge is pretty correct for HO scale, which is why OO scale models use HO scale track (or at least use to, perhaps now they use correctly scaled ties and whatnot).
I think the original reason (perhaps an urban legend) is that British locomotives were too narrow for standard HO electric motors of the era, so they needed to make the models a bit bigger scale. Hence, 1/76 scale vs 1/87.
British 'N' scale is also a larger scale than regular N scale, 1/148 vs the normal 1/160. British N scale uses regular N scale track gauge.
All I can say is...ugh, as there are a number of neat looking British models I'd like to use on my HO scale modules, but no-can-do (without it looking silly - I once saw an image comparing an HO SD40-2 against an OO Class 66 locomotive side by side, and they were about the same height. This is not true in reality of course - the SD40-2 is 15ft 7in, and the Class 66 is 12ft 10in).

[Graham Line]

The only commercial British outline HO I can think of is the long-deceased Lima product, which looks like TT next to North American HO-- the loading gauges are that much different. Even European railroad equipment is noticeably larger than in the UK.

If you want to go for OO, Hatton's has a wide selection and ships very quickly.

[RRR_BethBr]

Assuming you're looking for readily available British/UK OO models, I've had good luck with ordering through Amazon UK and Hatton's. 

Have a very nice Hornby Flying Scotsman with sound and DCC that runs right alongside all my US HO equipment. Maybe not prototypical, but the Gresley Pacifics are objects of mechanical beauty and I wanted one.

-Paul

[M636C]

Even assuming that British OO models would be acceptable, there are no models of the Class 508 available in any colour schemes, Merseyrail or not. None of that generation, third rail, overhead or dual have been modelled.

Only relatively recently have the Southern third rail units become available (although Tri-Ang had one in the 1950s and Hornby had one in the 1960s, they vanished without trace)

Pre WWII Southern units and mid 1950s units are available.

None of these resemble the pre WWII Mersey Railway cars, nor the 507/508 generation.

There aren't many models of US commuter electric trains either, of course...

Peter

[trevorsmith3489]

There is an OO scale, 1:76, model of a class 508

http://www.southernelectric.org.uk/modelling/news/2015-ayjay-508-kit.html

Nothing in HO 

Trevor

[Scouser]

This is great info, thanks everyone.