Class 117 & 121 EP Sample Update

Two recent Branchline OO scale Engineering Prototype (EP) samples to arrive at our Barwell HQ are those for our Class 117 Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) and Class 121 Railcar. The highly anticipated Class 117 will be initially available in three liveries consisting of BR Green (35-500), BR Blue & Grey (35-501) and Network SouthEast (35-502).

Above: Side view of our Branchline OO scale three-car Class 117 engineering prototype sample

The Branchline model includes a wealth of features and detail variations including:

Three coaches – Driving Motor Brake Second (DMBS), Trailer Composite with Lavatory (TCL) & Driving Motor Second (DMS)
Switchable directional & interior lighting
Original & modified bogie variations
Intricately modelled underframe detail
Gangway & none-gangway versions
Flexible speedo drive between the body & bogie
Alternative cab ends (original, marker lights & marker lights with headlight)
Prototypical exhaust pipe variations (original one-piece, two-piece & exhaust with silencers)
A lowered drive mechanism in driving cars to create an unobstructed view through windows
Conductive couplings requiring only one decoder for DCC operation
21-Pin DCC decoder socket
Factory-fitted speakers
Accessory pack

Above: Front view of our Branchline OO scale Class 117 engineering prototype sample

The Class 117 DMUs were built by the Pressed Steel Company between 1959 and 1961 as 3-Car units, comprising of a Driving Motor Brake Second (DMBS), a Trailer Composite with lavatory (TCL) and a Driving Motor Second (DMS). Though not originally fitted, between 1965 and 1972 gangways were added to all vehicles in the class. The units were based in the Western Region when they entered service, working the suburban routes out of London Paddington and local services in Cornwall. By the 1980s some units could also be found operating stop-gap services around Birmingham and Scotland prior to replacement vehicles being delivered. The class was gradually retired from 1995, with the last vehicles operating in 1999.

We have also received three EP sample models of our Class 121 Railcars which will be available in BR Green (36-525), BR Blue & Grey (35-526) and Network SouthEast (35-527) livery. They will include a number of features consisting of:

Switchable directional & interior lighting
Flexible speedo drive between the body & bogie
Sprung Buffers
21-Pin DCC decoder socket
Factory-fitted speaker
Accessory packAbove: Three engineering prototype samples of our Branchline OO scale Class 121s

Sixteen Class 121 Railcars were built by Pressed Steel Company in 1960. These single car units went on to become one the longest-serving DMU/Railcars on Britain’s railways with a working life of over 55 years. Nicknamed “Bubble Cars” by enthusiasts, they originally saw use on a range of branch lines on the Western Region of British Rail. When the process of privatising Britain’s railways started in 1994, a number of the Class 121s found work for Silverlink and later Arriva Trains Wales and Chiltern Railways. The last two units were finally retired from service by Chiltern in Spring 2017 due to spare parts becoming difficult to secure. A number of them can now be found on heritage railways across Britain.