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About 1980 the brand-new and colourful restaurant, sleeping and Pullman cars of Rivarossi (1:87) did
surprise everybody. Remarkably was that with the exception of Rivarossi all other brands came of a French
family. With these ‘Artisans Français’ all would not well be over, because they do not exist anymore. Finally
the models of Tram, which in their turn did come from France Trains, landed at Jouef. Afterwards Revell
came out with construction boxes based also on Jouefs models. After the merger of Electrotren, Jouef, Lima
and Rivarossi under the name of Hornby only the original Rivarossi models did remain. According to the
country where they were employed in reality, these models were released successively by the mentioned
brands. They were and are in some cases the best you could and can wish.
Recently however Heris and L.S. Models joined the group of producers concerning Wagons-Lits models.
The last mentioned is a Belgium company that in her early start did release some Jouef CIWL restaurant cars
in the Eurofima colour, C1, under the name Euroscale. The models produced nowadays by L.S. Models are of
a special class.
Not only the amount of planned variants shows the thorough research that has been and will be done for the
possibilities of one or another type. With today’s knowledge, based on archive research, divers publications,
photographs and internet, must be said that the Hornby-group models are out of date.
Unfortunately they are not faultless too. Details like the mobile bridges installed on the front side in the
expanded bellows, the incorrect axle boxes, the division of the windows of the ‘Flèche d’Or’ (Golden Arrow)
cars or missing details like the signal holders, are now things that, to use a contemporary expression, are no
longer done. A comparison between the models of L.S. Models and those of the Hornby group turns out to
the advantage of the first mentioned.
Concerning the proverbial dot on I, L.S. Models wins. In the meantime she has dethroned the Hornby group
from the CIWL model throne.
Moreover the agreement between the SNCF, the present-day owner of the logo, the text ‘Company
Internationale des Wagons-Lits’ and the term ‘Orient Express’, and Hornby expires by the end of December
2012. So models with the monogram and full text will no longer be released by Rivarossi, Electrotren or Jouef
anymore. Models of CIWL cars taken over by other companies expectantly will still remain available. But
these do need, as argued before, with the exception of some modern sleeping cars, a patching up. We can
look forward to a few things coming from L.S. Models.
Models of restaurant, sleeping and Pullman cars are about to be produced or delivered.
Heris has once announced a VR (restaurant car) of the 4200 type, but it did not appear at the editors to this
day.
It is to be hoped that L.S. Models does decide to produce models of these series.
VR 2975, series 2968-2982, Jouef H0. The faded blue colour does not administer justice to the CIWL and gives
the model a plastic look. The window-frames are put in but are situated a little bit too deep.
Pullman & La Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits et des Grand Express Européens News
Edition No.09 - October, November & December 2012 Page 46 of 58