New to the Graham Farish N Scale range, the Class 450 Electric Multiple Unit builds on the success of the sister ‘Desiro’ unit, the Class 350, and this example carries South Western Railway livery making it suitable for current day operations.
Unlike their sister Class 350 units, the Class 450s are fitted with contact shoes on the bogies for third-rail current collection instead of pantographs. These changes have been implemented on the Graham Farish model, including the modelling of the empty pantograph well with the blank mounting points as seen on the real units. The 4-car set is brought to life by the exquisite livery application using authentic colours, logos and markings to depict the South Western Railway livery in full detail. The model is equipped with a powerful drive mechanism which incorporates a flywheel for smooth operation and is fitted with 6-pin decoder sockets making it easy to equip the model for use on DCC.
MODEL FEATURES:
- Graham Farish N Scale
- Era 9
- Pristine South Western Railway livery
- Set No. 450036
- Comprises Car Nos. 63236 (DMOC), 64236 (TOSL), 68136 (TOSLW) and 63636 (DMOC)
- Destination Blinds for London Waterloo
- Directional lighting – switchable on/off via DCC or the chassis-mounted switches
- NEM Couplings
- Accessory pack
- Equipped with 3 x 6 Pin DCC Decoder Sockets – recommended Decoder 36-568A
- Ready to Accept a Speaker
- Length 576mm (over couplings)
CLASS 450 HISTORY
The British Rail Class 450 third-rail DC EMU began service during 2003. They are a part of the Siemens Desiro modular train family. Used for outer suburban services, the Class 450s were built with standard and first class accommodation. The units have a maximum speed of 100 mph (161 km/h).
In April 2001, 785 vehicles were ordered by South West Trains in order to complete the replacement of its slam-door rolling stock, in accordance with its franchise commitment to do so by 2005, as the slam-door trains were coming to the end of their useful lives, and did not meet modern health and safety requirements. Introduction to service was delayed by the required power supply upgrades capable of powering the new trains, which feature air conditioning, a feature not present in the slam-door trains they replaced. In the December 2004 timetable change, the Class 450 Desiros began serving most intended routes, although introduction was delayed until June 2005 in some areas. The units are owned by and leased from Angel Trains.
The entire Class 450 series consists of four car multiple units, semi permanently formed as DMOC (A), TOSL, TOSLW and DMOC (B). Now operated by South Western Railway (SWR), the Class 450 Desiro trains operate on certain London commuter rail routes, as well as outer suburban and regional services from London Waterloo, and local services outside of the London area. They are used on all SWR lines.
The Siemens "Desiro UK" family also includes units of Classes 185, 350, 360, 380 and 444. These trains are the most numerous trains in South Western Railway's fleet, and also the most numerous units in the Desiro UK family.
