British Railway Modelling (BRM)
MULTIPLE UNITS ANNOUNCED
New tooling for 2022 by Hornby on multiple units will see the Class 755/3 and 755/4 immortalised for the first time in Greater Anglia livery, as delivered by Stadler. Two variants for each of the respective three- and four-car units are to be manufactured in this first model year – codes R3963 and R3963A for the Class 755/3, and R3964 and R3964A for the Class 755/4. Recommended retail prices are expected to be £362.99 for the three-car and £411.49 for the four-car units.
The Fast Light Intercity and Regional Trains (FLIRT) have been used in the UK throughout East Anglia by Greater Anglia since 2019, and are an evolution of Stadler's bi-mode concept, the origins for which date to models delivered for the Swiss Federal Railways in 2004. The first unit was delivered to the UK in November 2018, though trains would officially enter service on July 29, 2019. At present, 38 of the 100mph units are in service with the operator, with 14 three-car sets (755325755338) and 24 four-car sets (755401-755424).
Southern Region electric modellers of the late 1980s and early 2000s should welcome the news of a Class 423 EMU, produced for this year initially in South West Trains (R30107) and early 2000s Southern Railway (R30106). The newly-tooled four-car models will carry an RRP of £362.99. BR-era modellers from 1967 until circa 1988, when the first units were internally refurbished with fluorescent lighting and additional seating, many question if the manufacturer intends to produce these, but for now, both newly-tooled livery variants will provide variety to late 1990s/early-2000s modellers.
Not newly-tooled for 2022, though recently tooled for its 2021 range, Hornby is to introduce its Class 370 Advanced Passenger Train (APT) in a five-car pack with sets 370003 and 370004 (R30104) at £477.99, and as a seven-car pack with sets 370001 and 370002 (R30229) carrying an RRP of £586.99.
Continuing its train packs, further liveries to its Class 800 tooling will see five-car unit models emerge of a Class 802/1 train pack in the classy green of GWR (R3967), a Class 801/2 in LNER ‘Azuma' livery (R3965), Class 802/2 ‘Nova 1' in Trans-Pennine Express livery (R3908) and Class 803 in the blue livery of low-cost travel operator, Lumo. All four variants are to carry an RRP of £502.49.
In other news, a subtle modification to its Class 43 HST power cars will see them emerge minus bufferbeam cowling and fitted with buffers and in the livery of Rail Adventure (R30218). The three doublepower car sets are to be used in the UK to haul multiple unit trains using translator technology, enabling them to operate brakes, while their use is also planned in mainland Europe as traction vehicles at test centres.
New liveries to join its Class 43 in its most-recent guise with LED light clusters, and fitted with MTU engines are First Great Western green and gold (R30096), GWR green (R30098), East Coast (R30099), and East Midlands Trains (R30219). The new train packs will carry an anticipated RRP of £362.99 and provide post-privatisation modellers with much-needed crosscountry, ECML and WCML passenger stalwarts.