Heljan Metropilitan BoBo

5794 Views 27 Replies 7 Participants Last post by petmar, Jan 21, 2022

PeterPug

Discussion Starter · Aug 6, 2018

Ordered a Heljan Metropolitan (Vickers?) BoBo on Saturday from Hattons at Â£74 - looks like a 'bargain.' Has anybody else got one of these?

My excuse for buying (other than I like the looks - not pretty, but a nice example of the era, and the price) is that I can put my GWR clerestories behind it with some sort of justification in that I believe they were used to pull GWR trains from Paddington to 'the city.'
The one I've ordered appears to have Aylesbury / Liverpool St. on the 'blinds' - not exactly appropriate but with my eyesight being what it is that probably won't matter - but does anybody know what it should have - Paddington and where?

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PeterPug

Discussion Starter · #3 · Aug 6, 2018

Thanks - it would be ideal if it were Liverpool St. and as it's my first Heljan I'm looking forward to getting it, and of course a few 'test runs' and photographs etc.

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PeterPug

Discussion Starter · #9 · Aug 7, 2018 (Edited by Moderator)

Thanks SRman, interesting stuff. My copy of British Electric Trains ((H.W.A. Linecar, 1947) has a photograph of No 1 at Rickmansworth with the Liverpool St. to Aylesbury train - and it mentions that the change to steam power was at Rickmansworth too.
I did come across a comment about the lighting boards being fitted upside down on 'another forum' - not sure if I'd notice as I'm running on DC - how can I tell if it's the case?

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PeterPug

Discussion Starter · #11 · Aug 8, 2018

Thanks - I'll not worry about that then. It probably was your post - I've never posted there myself although I joined years ago - tend to come here rather than any other forum as it was MRF that got me interested in the hobby, so it's kind of 'home' to me.

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PeterPug

Discussion Starter · #18 · Aug 10, 2018

Mine arrived today - the detail is pretty stunning, not sure somebody as clumsy as me will ever be able to handle the thing without breaking bits off it.
John Milton in 'Metropolitan Railways' livery - I bought that one because I assumed (perhaps wrongly?) that it was the earliest livery (based on some brief internet searches) and I wouldn't feel too bad about it's pulling GWR clerestories