DAPOL’s N GAUGE MIDLAND PULLMAN, is it any good?

[@Pixie586]

Hi John, Blue Pullman looks ace. Can't wait to hear the sound later. Susannah

[@АндрейГеннадьевич-м6б]

What a nice train set! I like it! Thanks for interesting review !

[@janetlewis7145]

Sounds like you got a great deal here. Looking forward to seeing it on Piccadilly. I was following the progress of the powered unit, looking at a black spot on the polystyrene. Bill and Janet from California

[@piccadillymodelrailways]

Thanks Bill, Ill get sound when Im able, but other things take priority Im afraid.

[@janetlewis7145]

@@piccadillymodelrailways I will patiently wait. Bill and Janet from California

[@onnomulder9775]

What a stunning trainset John!!! Great review too! Enjoy it!!!

[@piccadillymodelrailways]

Bless you thx

[@SteveArnold-n7e]

Rule 1 prevails! Valentas definitely do sound better than the rumble of the VP185! Looking forward to the next episode!

[@piccadillymodelrailways]

Thank you, not sure when I can get sound

[@goarmysleepinthemud.]

Very nice looking set.

[@moorlandmodelrailwayandy]

Very nice John. In 00 hornby have made a boo-boo with the coaches to drive cars ratio. All the coaches are available at rails at £19.95 each, good luck getting the drive cars tho. I did pre order the 00 but hornby cancelled it then said I could re order at an extortionate price, I didn't bother. Anyway back to yours it looks brilliant mate and it will look very impressive pulling into piccadilly. All the best Andy

[@piccadillymodelrailways]

Hi, yes I did see a few OO coaches just now at £19.95 but fair few at £38, so not as cheap as first thought. TBH I think any powercar would be ok, as I’ve seen real thing on videos with intercity exec, rail adventure and more. N gauge does pay dividends in this case.

[@medwaypeninsulaMR]

Hi John That is a mighty impressive set and well worth the money in my opinion , it will look great on the layout. Cheers Kev

[@piccadillymodelrailways]

Thank you, Im looking forward to that time. Hopefully I can get sound decoders sooner than later. Time will tell.

[@Kirbybellars]

Very nice model & I agree about the valenta engine. I definitely miss the scream of them

[@piccadillymodelrailways]

Thank you, I do understand the P Valentas were probably not that environmentally friendly, but the newer MTU engine just seems so lifeless. Hopefully Ill be able to get the sound soon, but we all have priorities to care for.

[@BritishRail60062]

Thanks for this video mate. I am thinking of getting one for Christmas.

[@piccadillymodelrailways]

Thank you, glad you liked it. Couldnt see any other videos on YT about the midland pullman. If you are used to the HST you'll know what to expect, but improved forward light is much better. It will be interesting to see DCC features and controls.

[@BritishRail60062]

@@piccadillymodelrailways I used to have a GWR one a while ago. But I thinned down my collection back in 2023 but I will be picking it up again and I am going to have 2-3 layouts once I have moved into a new home. I will have N scale as well as OO indoors and O Gauge outside as dead rail battery power with bluetooth control as then it removes the pain of dirty tracks. I am looking at using the BlueRailDCC and the RailPro controllers.

[@piccadillymodelrailways]

Sounds great! Thanks for commenting.

[@supstersmodelrailways3202]

Hornby ones now at £20 for coach at a lot of retailers. The issue is finding the power cars. They just didn’t make enough apparently. Cheers. Dave.

[@piccadillymodelrailways]

Hi Dave, yes that has been an issue. I saw Sam’s video and went looking as I could run them with Rail Adventure power cars, couldn’t see any below £29.99. Hornby same. Perhaps it was flash sale.

[@supstersmodelrailways3202]

@@piccadillymodelrailways even that’s okay. I did manage to get a full set with the power cars. They did the same with the blue n grey class 43. Too many coaches and not enough locos.

[@vincenthuying98]

Dear John, beautiful Pullmann HST! Just wondering on the consists with two motored locomotives; when those engines can indeed pull the lot, it should be possible to run the rear end locomotive in idle. Of course that will only work in DCC. Although I’m sure it could even be done in DC. Great addition, will be cool to see this train enter and depart from the Piccadilly Station on your layout. Cheerio

[@piccadillymodelrailways]

Worry not Vincent it’s one powered unit so no conflict

[@iansngauge]

Good morning John! Ooh! Finally something that is bluer than my baseboard! :) Dapol's new HST's are pretty good runners with their Super Creep motors! It's hard to believe, but they do work much better on DCC though! I envy your body shell removal skills! Even though I knew about the wires for the lights, and was very careful at opening up my loco, the wires pulled out of the connector on my dummy car! Why do they make them so short? Having one power car on a flat layout is obviously okay, but I wonder how it would fair when pushing all of those coaches up an incline, or across a complex interchange of points? There's no denying that it's a beautiful model though! Can't wait to see it running on Piccadilly! All the best, Ian.

[@piccadillymodelrailways]

Thanks Ian, lol, the nankin blue is lovely. The more you practice the easier it will get removing the bodies. I’ve probably got long finger nails. Few years ago Westhill Wagons Works wanted me to do a video testing their magnetic couplings. I used an HST with all my 14 coaches, no issues going up my incline at speed ( that was 2% mind). That was an older unit with 6pin decoder though.

[@robertstrainset6556]

Hi John, N gauge does have benifits if only we in OO gauge could have a set like this but you must be able to uncouple it all easily come on dapol or anyone do it in OO but as this set is. Thanks for showing us John will look forward to seeing her with sound on Piccadilly as a Christmas present. Cheers Robert.

[@piccadillymodelrailways]

Thanks Robert, I don’t think Dapol would be allowed as Hornby has the rights to this in OO. I heard someone say once, not sure if that’s right or not. Making it as a set in OO would certainly make it easier, but the cost of it could make it unsellable. I suppose having individual carriages means people can choose the length of train they want or can afford. You are right though N gauge has its benefits.

[@queenscentralmodelrailway]

Excellent model indeed. I preordered one at £424, so saved a little bit. 😀 I'd love to see how go about fitting a speaker and decoder to them as it's something I'd like to be able to do myself. I did fit magnetic couplings to mine, just to make life a little easier.. Looking forward to a follow up video at some point 😀

[@piccadillymodelrailways]

Hi, if the shop honours that price youve got a good deal there. Everywhere I looked it was the same price. Im hoping to fot sound sooner than later, but we all have financial priorities, time will tell.

[@queenscentralmodelrailway]

@piccadillymodelrailways Yeah I got it a few weeks ago, from Rainbow Railways

[@keithshayle7027]

In a word 'fabulous'!! Although it shows what an expensive hobby it is!

[@piccadillymodelrailways]

Yes, although its not cheap by any means, but compared to the OO version it does represent good value

[@thegrowler-blackwoodngauge]

It's a cracking model John - that said I think it would be better with both power cars powered (although I'm thinking of my helixes - doubt it would make it up either one. Can handle my 2+6 HST but would struggle with an additional 3 coaches). Maybe I'll wait for the Highland Pullman version 😊.

[@piccadillymodelrailways]

Thank you. Dont know if you remember those N gauge hunt coupling videos I did, but had a 14 coach HST whizzing up my incline with no inkling of stalling. However, my incline is 2% and straight. It probably would be harder around a helix purely because of the long curve. On 12v DC two powered units would benefit, Id rather stay with the one power car on DCC.

[@ngaugefouroaksstreetstatio6932]

Very nice indeed, is the power car drive at one bogie or both bogies? I wonder how it would go on gradients, superb model.

[@piccadillymodelrailways]

Hi Chris, both bogies have drive, central motor with two cardan shafts / worms. I did a test for hunt couplings few years ago, where I had 14 coaches speeding up my incline no issues. I do find some dapol locos have dodgy motors. Had 2-3 locos fail in such instances, time with tell.

[@davidrauger]

Great review as always and I enjoy your enthusiasm! Not meaning to rain on your parade, John, but on the right hand front of the powered car, is the paintwork next to the light cluster is a bit blotchy or is that glue as it seems to be on one of the lights. Apologies if I'm seeing things. The train does look beautiful.

[@piccadillymodelrailways]

Hi, yes I did notice that, but its sooooo small you cannot see it with the regular eye. I didnt think it worth mentioning. I did zoom in quite close and the camera can be somewhat unkind in what it sees

[@SteveArnold-n7e]

As you say, it is an excellent model, but unless rule 1 applies, the power cars have VP185 and not Valenta engines Rods Steve

[@piccadillymodelrailways]

Lol, with a model railway we each create our own little world. A world where blue, midland pullman HSTs have Paxman Valenta engines and scream as they leave Manchester Piccadilly enroute to Lindon St Pancras.

[@SuperTreble1999]

Looks great.. the paint job on second man side light cluster looks a bit shabby though.

[@piccadillymodelrailways]

Hi, yes I did notice that, but it’s so small I couldn’t see it with the naked eye, only when the camera zoomed in. Certainly not noticeable at 100mph, same with the glue mark on the corridor connection.

[@SuperTreble1999]

Minimal but when you’re paying £450 for a model it’s a little frustrating. I’d never see that detail with the naked eye but it stood out on your video. Not trying to put a dampener on it.. it’s a stunning model and thank you to you for your great videos.

[@piccadillymodelrailways]

I know, but I did zoom in to probably 5/6 its size.

[@Elvenhome]

It's a lovely model John, although there won't be many layouts can do it justice, even in N scale, with all 11 cars. LSL own the original and as Euan mentions they have just bought a second set - which I think it going to be five cars long - to run extensively in Scotland, particularly along the West Highland Line. Stephen

[@goarmysleepinthemud.]

Well to be fair no model railroad in any scale can do justice to the real thing. It's always about compromise.

[@piccadillymodelrailways]

Hi, yes I love it and always wanted one. It is slightly longer than my pendolinos but only couple of inches and just about fits into Piccadilly on the longest platforms, so hoping it will look quite impressive entering and leaving. As I said I do want to fit sound, but other priorities have to come first. Oh well.

[@piccadillymodelrailways]

Yes ofc, and especially at this smaller scale. But... when the a train is thundering past, you just dont notice any moulded or missing details.

[@dionwoollaston2389]

@@piccadillymodelrailways

[@th0rgrim]

No doubt being Dapol won't be long before the lights blow in one direction.

[@piccadillymodelrailways]

lol, who’s the optimist? I’ve had motors go on dapols, namely an older HST on 6 pin decoder and 2 class 86s, neither on the layout. Never had lights go.

[@HauntedRailway]

The Pullman 43 should be still running as I sore it a couple of months ago

[@piccadillymodelrailways]

Yes definitely, it often appears on Leslie Gilpin's videos.

[@barleyvalengaugemodelrailw3694]

the colas power car doesn't have a smoke deflector in real life and it also has a different cooler group hence the difference between fans and grills on the roof

[@piccadillymodelrailways]

My point exactly, Each region had sutle differences according to their needs and varying units have been adapted for similar reasons. Hence the variations. My point was most of Dapol's HSTs were similar and Ive had 4-5 bought / sold etc

[@armandoperez7967]

It’s expensive, but it’s still costs less than a single brass locomotive.

[@armandoperez7967]

It’s a really beautiful train set. To me, N scale is the perfect size.

[@armandoperez7967]

Too bad both locomotives are not powered.

[@armandoperez7967]

Does this manufacturer still make trains?

[@BritishRail60062]

@@armandoperez7967 Yes they do. Check out their range from someone like Rails Of Sheffield. they are great models all in all.

[@piccadillymodelrailways]

I love it, and perfect 'nod' to the former midland pullman, where all were scrapped.