Author: Ben Ando

A lot of work has gone into the design of the inter-vehicle couplers.

Our aims with this component were to find a solution that was simple to use, unobtrusive and robust, but that also provided close-coupling while at the same time transferring power between vehicles.

We considered a magnetic solution but had some concerns about the effect of current on magnetised parts over time.  We also wanted to avoid any large electrical power connectors, and anything that is too fiddly or awkward to easily couple up on the track.  Some products require the model to be placed on its side, then rotated into place, and while this might be OK for a 4-car of 5-car train, for an 11-car Pendolino we felt it would be asking for trouble!

The solution the designer came up with looks, in CAD form, to be simple and elegant.  However, a CAD design is one thing; an actual working model is something else, and once we receive samples we will test and re-test the couplers in all conditions to ensure they are suitably robust and functional.

One car has a pin, the other a socket.

Both the couplers are on self-centering expanding CAM mountings.

One other advantage of this system is that it ensures the cars can only be put together the right way round, and the vehicles will also be labelled to ensure assembling the train prototypically is a snap.

On a model railway forum we were asked whether we had checked the livery will look “right” on our Pendolino.

The answer is that we have compared photographs to the CADs and we believe all is good.

In this head on image we traced the curves of the livery in green; then duplicated them onto the CAD scaled to be the same size.

We feel they match almost perfectly!

The Pendolino is now in tooling and we should have moulded samples to show soon.  Once this happens we will be close to the deadline for ordering – and remember, only customers who pre-order will receive models.

We give at least a fortnight’s notice on the order deadline here, and send an email reminder to all who’ve registered to receive newsletters, so even if you’re not ready to order we suggest you register to be sure you don’t miss out!

Hello all,

At the N Gauge International Show recently a few supporters were asking about the Pendolino front lights and couplers.

We have always intended to make the front coupler accessible, so that our model can be prototypically “dragged” either away from the wires or in the event of a failure.  For a while Pendolinos were routinely towed by Virgin Class 57 locomotives along the Cambrian coast to Holyhead, while failed Pendolinos are now usually seen in the company of DRS Class 57s.

This view shows how the front cover simply pops out.  On the real thing it automatically folds up inside the nose; this proved impossible in this small scale.  Our top tip is make sure you don’t lose it!

This clip taken during our trip to Longsight depot in Manchester shows it in action.  The coupler deploying in the dark reminded me, for some reason, of the Alien films!

Coupler deploys

In this exploded diagram I have pulled the lighting components down from their position behind the nose.  The red tail lights are illluminated in direction of travel, as are the main headlight (far side) and on the nearside the smaller marker light – coloured green on the CAD.   As the image below shows, this is prototypical.  The top headlight above the windscreen is also illuminated.

Thanks to Martyn Read for this image showing the lights on:

Finally, this exploded drawing shows the arrangement of the power car.  Items such as the PCB board, motor and soundspeaker that are common components are shown simply as indicative shapes; it is not necessary to draw them out in detail.

This image also shows the separate windscreen wipers, roof detail parts and underfloor skirts.

The checking is done; the CADs are approved.  Now we just have to wait for the tooling to take place and the first Pendolino test shots to arrive.

If, like us, you’re struggling to contain your excitement then here are some calming images to help you relax.  We like to think of them as a little zen-gauge…

And for those that asked on Saturday and Sunday, checking against the 3 sample cars we estimate that when coupled up on the track the 9-car trains will be 1492mm in length, and the 11-car trains 1820mm.

The Class 390 Pendolino CADs for the intermediate cars have now been approved for tooling.

The cab cars have also been improved on condition of one very minor correction.

This is the arrangement for light clusters on the driving car:

This image shows working the table lamps in first class vehicles:

At the International N Gauge Show at Leamington Spa this weekend we displayed stereolithographs produced for us by the Jewellery Department at Birmingham City University.  These enabled us – and the many visitors to the show who admired them – to visually check that the models looked “right” in terms of detail and presence, and that they are the correct scale dimensions.

Once Rapido have sent us sampled produced from the toolings we will be sure to post images.

The production cycle will now see us approve mouldings, test and debug a working train and check livery samples.

Once that is done Rapido will ask us to specify the number of models we wish to produce.  At this point we will close the order book and that will be the number produced.

There will be no additional models available post production, so please make sure you keep an eye on this site to ensure you don’t miss the deadline!

The Revolution Trains – Rapido Class 390 Pendolino in N will be the first RTR mass-market model to be provided with a DCC Sound option.

This has proved popular with customers, and last night we were invited to Alstom’s Longsight traincare depot in Manchester – the home of Virgin’s Pendolino fleet – to record the sounds of the real thing.

Longsight handles 15 Pendolinos each night.  From 2208 the units begin to arrive in the depot and are first sent through the carriage washer and a laser scanner that can register anything from the thickness of the brake pads to the state of the pantograph’s carbon contact heads to check whether they need changing.  From there they are sent into one of 15 reception sidings for overnight work to begin.  An initial one hour exam is followed by a thorough clean.  On-train diagnostics will have communicated ahead with the depot control room and fitters will already know what, if any, specific repair work is required.

Inside the workshops longer term maintenance is underway – at the moment the fleet is undergoing a programme of 800,000 mile “H4” examinations which involve full bogie changes and replacement of the emergency couplers – so the entire nose assembly has to come off!

One of those undergoing its H4 exam was 390103 – the Poppy pendolino and one of the ten models we are offering.  With the trains in this conditions we were able to record some sounds not otherwise possible, though we had to be careful not to get in the way as the work is very tightly rostered.

Most of the recording was done outside; this is generally preferred by our sound recordist Legomanbiffo as there is no chance of any unwanted echoes, or the clang of a dropped spanner, that can mar the recording.  He tends to take at least 3-4 captures of any given sound to be sure of a good “take.”

Strict depot rules meant that the sounds of the horn had to be recorded before 2300 to avoid incurring the wrath of local residents.  Alstom likes to be a good neighbour!

Even though this was Manchester we got lucky with the weather – the only precipitation was from the water washers – just one of over 20 separate sounds we recorded.  Who knew a Pendolino made so many different sounds?

Huge thanks to Dave Jones and everyone at Alstom Longsight depot for helping us to ensure our N Gauge Pendolino with DCC Sound will have the best quality and most accurate sounds possible.

Just a quick update to show that the front hatch has now been rendered removable, to allow our Pendolino model to be “dragged” prototypically by a diesel locomotive across non-electrified lines.  For clearance reasons a coupler cannot be permanently fitted; removing the hatch will expose a pivoting NEM socket to which the modeller can fit a standard coupler or another of their choice.  Also a couple of smaller details around the nose and end have been incorporated.

The prominent seams adjacent to the cab side windows – that mark the join between the aerodynamic nose and the standard profile of the body – are also present now.  In the image below I have highlighted the construction lines in black to make them easier to see.

We are close to approving these drawings now – just a couple of very small issues to sort out..

Here are the first images of the CADs for the cab cars. 

 There is still a little work to do but we feel the shape is pretty close….

We have received revised versions of the interior mouldings.  This is standard class with standard seating, for coaches E, F and U.

Following feedback, the designers have now changed the profile of the seats to more accurately reflect the distinctive curved seating used by Virgin in the Pendolino trains.  This moulding is for Coach J – first class with disabled toilet.

This comparison of the Shop area (Coach C) plan with the same section as depicted shows the attention to detail being offered.  Even the seat in the small guard’s cabin is, correctly, of a different type.

The designers have even depicted the two types of table – single and twin-leaf – that Pendolinos carry.

The CADs previously seen of the trailer vehicles are now ready for approval, once the driving cabs are approved the model will move to tooling.

Revolution Trains will be at The N Gauge International Show at Leamington Spa this September – and we plan to have prototyped samples on show.  Come and ask us more about our projects.

We are now close to approving the various CAD drawings for the Pendolino. All the interior cars are pretty much there – we are just waiting for the all-important driving cabs before we can move to tooling.

This is an overview of Coach U – vehicles in the 653XX number range.  These vehicles have pantograph wells but no pantographs and with coach F form the pair of additional cars in 11-car sets, and are part of the add-on sets for those wishing to depict delivery trains.

The component on the far right is just the coupler mech from the adjoining vehicle that the CAD designer has added to “virtually” check clearances etc.

The Pantographs have been improved and are now accurate depictions of the unique Brecknell Willis pantographs fitted to Pendolino trains.  These differ slightly from the standard high speed pantograph because they are designed to operate on tilting trains.

There is some work still to do on the main coach interiors, however the cab interior is looking ready:

We’ve now laser scanned a Pendolino power car at the Virgin Talent Academy at Crewe.  The weather was cold, dull and overcast – but not rainy – apparently ideal scanning conditions!  If it’s too bright, or the surface is wet and shiny – reflections can make it a lot harder for the laser to get a clean fix.

The laser scanner is made by Leica and costs around £70,000.  It’s known as a “time of flight” scanner – that is, it measures the time it takes the light to travel out and be reflected back, and from that calculates the precise distance to the point.  It generates a million data points per second, and at the range the scan was carried out is accurate to +/- 0.3mm.  When this is scaled down for N gauge the error margin is around 2 micrometers!

The whole process took around 3 hours and involved the two operators – David and Jonathan McCrory of Scantech International – postitioning the scanner at various points and allowing the laser to make a sweep.  They first scanned around the train at low level, to ensure bogie and underframe detail was captured, before using a tripod and the platforms present to scan further up and eventually along the roof to ensure the entire body was scanned.

The resulting “point clouds” from each pass will be stitched together, cleaned up and extraneous items such as the track and any fencing/shrubbery removed to give Rapido’s CAD designers a clean outline to begin designing the model.  Look out for more updates soon!

After an abortive first attempt to laser scan a Pendolino on January 29th that had to be abandoned due to snow we will be trying again on Monday Feb 2nd.  Our schedule was that the scan would be completed “late Jan/early Feb” so the delay should not set us back appreciably.