VIA Rail Renaissance Passenger Cars in N Scale

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I am trying to find some VIA Rail Renaissance Passenger Cars in N Scale but no luck. Any body have suggestions

2

I don’t believe there are any of these cars available in any scale. They were purchased from a failed railway venture in England and brought to Canada and extensively refurbished to be able to run here. So there never were any prototypes running in England, so no models would have been made there. Who knows, maybe someone will make some?

3

If anybody will produce these cars it will be Rapido Trains. Jason Shron is a huge VIA Rail fan so maybe sometime in the distant future. I doubt it would be N scale though as Rapido is strictly a HO scale company.

4

I know this is an old thread, but I thought I would offer a useful suggestion.

The cars made into the renaissance cars, built for the Nightstar service in the UK, are based on BREL Mark 4 coaches. You can purchase these in N scale from Graham Farish, although I must warn you, it is British N scale, which runs on the same guage track, but is slightly larger in proportion. It’s close enough for most people though.

There is also a company called “Electra Railway Graphics” who make vinyl car sides. These are self-adhesive vinyl sheets that have printed graphics and details on them, and can be applied to a base coach. Electra makes coach, service car, and sleeper variations of the Nightstar cars, designed to fit on Graham Farish Mark 4 coaches.

Here’s a link to the Nightstar section of their website: http://www.electrarailwaygraphics.co.uk/

I’m thinking about buying some to try myself, with the Graham Farish cars. I’m also currently working on converting Hornby OO scale Mark 4 coaches into Renaissance coaches (I’m working in HO, but using OO as the closest substitute).

Basically you’d have Nighstar coaches then, and all you’d have to do is add the VIA markings. VIA kept the same paint, and just added a yellow stripe between the blue and green, and painted the thin red stripe at the top into yellow. For VIA decals, in N you might be best to work with P42 decals (I think Microscale makes them). You could probably use suitable yellow stripes from that.

I don’t know how the vinyls work, or how easy they are to add paint or decals to. I know the detail isn’t maybe the best, but it’s a much easier way to make the coaches, and not that expensive. It saves you the main painting and you can use just generic Mark 4 coaches.

I’ll be posting a thread soon with updates on my work on making HO Ren coaches, and if I tr

5

I should mention, I was in touch with the guy behind Elektra railway graphics, and he said that, once he does some more research, he would be willing to produce the Nighstar cars in VIA Rail Renaissance colours!

If anyone else is interested in it, you can contact him (Adam Warr) as well through the site, and express your interest. Since it’s printed vinyl, they can do smaller more specific orders, so it shouldn’t be difficult to get them made.

Again, you’ll also need the Graham Farish Mark 4 coaches as a base, and again, they are British N scale, so you’ll have to deal with the slightly oversized nature of the cars.

6

Rapido is releasing N scale Panorama line passenger cars in CN livery in May. Perhaps if sales are brisk they will release Via Rail Renaissance cars too.

Todd

7

That would be nice, but unlikely. I would say more probable is that, after they finaly release their HO scale LRC’s, Rapido would release an N scale model of the same.

I know Jason did say back at the start that the Renaissance cars were one of the models he eventually wanted to do, it is not likely to get started until after they’re through with the LRC’s in (hopefully!) both scales. I expect there’s a bigger market for them.

8

Can you provide a link to Adam Warr’s web site ?

Where do you get Graham Farish Mark 4 coaches ?

9

Here’s a link:

http://www.electrarailwaygraphics.co.uk/

You’ll have to search around for the Graham Farish coaches. I know there will be plenty of suppliers in the UK I’m sure you can get them from, and I’ve seen them occasionally pop up on eBay as well. I don’t know about any domestic suppliers in North America (but you never know). Best bet is to Google search it and see what comes up, sorry I can’t do better than that.

10

Sorry, I forgot to actually enter the URL into that link. Here is a (hopefully) functional one:

http://www.electrarailwaygraphics.co.uk/

11

Thanks for the Electra Railway Graphics link.

With the help of Google, I found the Canadian distributor of Graham Farish products – Vancouver-based British Scale Models (Canada) Ltd. ( http://www.bsmcl.com/index.html ). Unfortunately, they don’t seem to have any Mark 4 models in stock at the moment ( http://www.bsmcl.com/GrahamFarish.htm ). They distribute to various LHS’s around the country ( http://www.bsmcl.com/Retailers.htm ).

UK-based Holt Model Railways ( http://www.holtmodelrailways.co.uk/search.php?search=gner ) does seem to have some available.

12

Hey guys,

Just thought I should update you on the progress of my Electra inquiry.

Adam Warr sent me sample artwork for the service car in VIA Renaissance colours, and it looks great! He said he is getting close to finished researching and getting the basic artwork together, and work is underway on the project. He is going to be doing coach, service car, and sleeper variations.

He said I can let you all know that he expects to have them ready in a week or so.

Again, anyone interested, you can contact him through his website (Electra Railway Graphics) and let him know. If all goes well, we’ll have a quite reasonable N scale option for Renaissance coaches!

13

I just ordered and received a set of Mk 4’s from Holt Model Railways. The transaction was quick, and everything came through as it should! They’re decent N scale cars, although not nearly as detailed as what I’ve come to be accustomed to here in North America. They also lack interiors. Still, the price is good, and they’re smooth rolling. Now, once I get those vinyls, they should look great! I’ll be sure to post pics and further info up here for anyone interested.

14

Just thought I’d throw on another update for any of you guys interested.

I’ve been in touch with Adam Warr (of Electra) again, and he has indeed finished up the Renaissance vinyls. They should be going up on the website in the near future. I’ve got a set ordered and being shipped right now. The Mk4s are waiting at home, so once I get everything together, I’ll start putting them together and hopefully have pictures up here before long!

Also, in case you’re wondering, all of Baggage, Coach, Service Car, and Sleeper versions are available.

I’ll be sure to put up samples once I’ve got them!

Also, in case you’d like to see them now, somebody else over on the Trainboard forums already got some done, and put up pictures here:

http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?t=112921

Please note, the new runs available will have vinyls for the ends of the cars as well, so the paint won’t end at the end of the side, and the proper marker lights will be there on the ends.

15

While I have yet to put the coaches together, I did get the vinyls yesterday.

Here they are: First, the coaches (note that all windows are pre-cut, and will be removed for application)

And then the sleeper (top) baggage (middle) and service car (bottom):

I now have to wait until I get my coaches (I already own them, but they’re at one home, and I’m at the other right now). Once I do, I’ll put these on, and get some photos of the finished product up here.

*Note: The vinyls for the ends of the cars are also included, but not pictured here.

Cheers!

16

Okay, this will be the last thing from me until I have some finished coaches to show off.

I just wanted to send along the update that Electra Railway Graphics now has these VIA Rail vinyls officially posted on their website, under their new “International” range.

Here’s the link, for anyone interested:

http://www.electrarailwaygraphics.co.uk/

Enjoy.

17

For anyone interested, here are two of the finished coaches:

First, a standard Renaissance coach:

And, the Renaissance Baggage-transition car:

I have now completed a full standard 7 car Renaissance Corridor consist (Baggage-coach-service car-coach-coach-coach-coach), and I will take photos of it later and post it here. It looks great behind a Kato P42, or a rebuilt F40 (which I just painted up).

18

Nice work !

Wish the same models were available in HO. I have a lone VIA P42 that is waiting for similar cars. Meanwhile it pulls a 7-car set VIA (Rapido Continental).

Martin

19

I have two HO P42s waiting for some (now long awaited) Rapido LRCs! But I would love HO Renaissance coaches too, it’s just not too likely any time soon.

Here are just a couple more shots of my N scale Ren cars, for whoever is interested:

First, the full 7 car Corridor consist:

Some individual shots:

I do have a few sleepers as well, but no photos of them at the moment. They are essentially the same as the Baggage car, but with the windows cut out, and the VIA Rail logo and larger Canada Flag.

Hope this opens up some new possibilities for some of you VIA modelers out there (the N scale ones at least).

Cheers!

20

This is fantastic information. I have the KATO P42. With a little work I found the Mark 4 coaches for about $16 each from Hattons.

My questions is how difficult was it to modify the couplers? Did you modify a coach or the locomotive. Do you have any tips for that?

Thanks!

–Ben