Electric MU commuter trains in HO scale

hello!

i've been gone from these forums for far to long. they look entirely differnt, but better!

anyway back on point. i was wonderign wher i could obtain EMU commuter trains, like Arrow IIIs on NJT, or silverliners. i was Aware that IHP prodused silverliners, and Arrow Is, but their site seems to be "gone".

i saw alot of other similar passenger equipment, but they where all just oversized trolleys, and wouldn't match my trains. Bachmann metroliners i gave up one, because they are hard to get.

does anyone no any affordable ( non-brass) model EMUs are out there?

chris

No such thing. Sadly i wish there were cheap M units for MN. But at least i can make the Geeps and F's.

IHP is still online at http://ihphobby.tripod.com/

Not sure why you cannot find it. Has the URL changed?

IHP's site is http://ihphobby.tripod.com, it's been there for several years now. They do offer or are planning to offer several types of EMUs, but aside from them, there's really no other manufacturer. BTW, the Metroliners aren't all that hard to get - there's almost always at least one or two sets up on eBay. They sell like crazy, but you can't say they're not out there.

Also, IHP recently announced that they plan to have models of the Metroliner cafe and club cars available sometime this year (the Bachmann cars were just coaches). They'll obviously be more expensive than the Bachmann cars, but will probably have much better detailing.

yeah that was weird, i couldn't get the IHP site to come up. i've been their before, but when i went reently, it was this white page with no links or anything, just writing. it was still a webpage though.

oh well its back now, so i can't complain!

only one comapny sells american catenary, called model memories, and i can't rember the site. personaly i'm scratchbuilding ctatenary, but i thinkt he lack of affordable realistia american catenary is a shame. i think thats the reason that EMU models aren't more common as they are in real life . if there was a good catenary system out their, think bout how sales of gg-1s would jump! i bet it would be overnight! then we might get the rest of those heavy and modern electrics. apperently their isn't a demand for catenary at the moment, but maybe it will show up in the near future.

chris

yeah i find lots of metroliners around ebay, but i can't bid on ebay, lol, i'm only 15, so i need parents to do that, and they don't liek ebay.

IHP is stil pricey, so i better start saving. maybe some of those Arrow I cars would make a good christmas gift for next year.

Models of commuter equipment are not made for the mass-market, which is why many of them are made by short batch-run manufacturers in limited quanities- like IHP. They are not meant to be "affordable" and often require a lot of skill to assemble... so dont be surprised if you dont find affordable models of MN and NJT MU's...

-otto-

The Model Memories site is http://www.info-4u.com/modelmemories. As a side note, if you can't remember the link to a site, try searching on Google or another search engine.

While MM may be the only company offering specific American-prototype catenary (i.e. the distinctive PRR and NH styles), several European companies including Sommerfeldt, Vollmer and Marklin offer catenary systems that are more generic. I know that Sommerfeldt has simple I-beam masts, onto which you can string their pre-formed wire pieces. Also, a lot of newly-constructed catenary (such as on the Northeast Corrider between New Haven and Boston) follows the European style, so again components from Sommerfeldt's line would be useful.

I really doubt that your analysis of the EMU/electric market is accurate. Plenty of people are content to run their electric locomotives without catenary - in fact, the lack of catenary is really not so much because of availability/affordability but because it's such a nightmare to put up! And even once you get it assembled, it's another story trying to get reliable operation with pantographs up - especially if you're trying to have the models draw power from the wires. All in all, it's just a huge pain, and most people would rather spend their time working on other, less frustrating projects.

As Otto said (and as many others have said before), commuter models are simply not popular enough. There's not really anything that can be done to change this, that's just the way it is. Freight models are more affordable because millions of people want them and will buy them, and that's just not the case with commuter equipment.

yea, IHP is making M-1's in the distant future-PAINTED AND ASSEMBLED. I maght have to get my hands on some of those...

Commuter rail is less popular to model for a number of reasons. First, you need wide radius for that equipment to look good, especially if you are in HO. Second, it requires a lot of space for a layout to be realistic. It is probably more conducive for a club layout. I am currently planning a commuter themed layout: Jersey Central Aldene era. I am finding that it will require three walls of a large basement room plus a penninsula. The reason is that with a commuter layout the stations need to be spaced much farther apart than a freight or industrial layout to be realistic. Some of these problems can be solved by switching to N scale but changing to N does not get you as much extra space for a commuter layout as it does for other types of layouts.

Long distance passenger trains are easier to incorporate in a layout than commuter. There are plenty of tricks which can be incorporated into the design of the layout like a hidden siding inside a tunnel. Plus, long distance passenger trains can pass through the layout, making only one stop before leaving the scene.

Prices are higher for less popular equipment and lower for what is in greatest demand. F-Units are the most widely available which probably means they are the best selling. Commuter -- especially push-pull or MU's -- is a specialty or niche market. Most of us do not have the basement to model it correctly in HO.

i don't think you'd need to much of a big massive layout just to run liek 4 silverliners hooked up together. i mean it really depends i guess, but i don't see why i couldn't have a small set of them going onthe outer loop of my layout, which is onmly 4x8. most people who will ever see m layout don't know enough about the trains that they can actualy point something like the radius is to small anyway.

also, catenary isn't much of a pain as you think it is. its just a whole bunch of soldering, cutting, and bending metal pieces. its even simpler if you get that model memories stuff in a sense, cause all the parts are their, and correct to scale. i don't see catenary being a big problem, and once i get the stuff i need to make the trolley wire, i will begin putting it together. i also don't plan on actualy electrifying the catenary just yet, and as long as the joints between my wires are good, i don't think the pans on my GG-1s or anything will get to caught up. reaching under the wire shouldn't be a big deal either, atleast not for the 2 track mainline on my layout. and also cause of the materials the cateanry is made of, its very sturdy. if you knock it, its not liek to fall down, and you could probably bend back the wire ifyou hit it to hard.

peopel tell me they can play music on their wires . i think its worht the frustration, if there is any.