Any love for high speed electrics?

Very sharp unit!

Anyone interested in seeing this produced in O gauge?

Yes, very much.

That bottom red/maroon set just cries out for some GM&O decals - those Alton colors

are undeniable! (OK, kidding about the decals - though the color is close enough.)

Make it; I will show up.

Absolutely.

Here's a look at the Ferrovie dello Stato ETR (Elettro Treno Rapido) 500 Series:

Bob

Nice Bob!

jhz563:

This is a great thread. Thank you for starting it.

For Italian high speed train sets, we can go back to 1937 when the ETR 200 Series was placed in service between Bologna, Rome and Naples. These trains were capable of speeds in excess of 200km/h.

Bob

I would buy any high speed train produced in O gauge. I love them all. Imagine a specially banked loop around the room and the train whizzing around at top speed, fantastic.

I love riding them, but wouldn't even consider buying one in 0 gauge. My layout isn't big enough, I'm basically a steam era modeler, and if the Lionel Acela is any guide, they would basically have to be set up and left set up, just too much trouble to assemble and disassemble. So basically, a whole line, or at least a long siding, would have to be devoted full-time to the one train. For those who have that kind of space, it's great - but those of us with smaller layouts just don't have that much room, it's out of the question. 

Not high speed and not pure electric, but the TALGO CASCADIA trainsets in the NW US would be nice.  And TALGO in Europe?

This type of thing is the exact reason I joined a modular club.  Obviously its not up year round but in about 4 to 5 hours we have a gigantic layout set up and all the room you could need for long or fast trains.  Only problem is that when the weekend is over you have to pack it up again!

I could see buying a set of these and then having to figure out away to run them, but that would not be the first time the engine came before the track.

Thanks for sharing the images, they do look great in an O so modern way...now just to see when actual O scale, ideally with PS 3.

I'm with a lot of folks. It would be great to have any high speed train. Thanks for sharing the pics.  Terry

Ever since MTH started offering European trains, when each new catalog has come out, the first thing I have done is go to the European section to see if they are going to offer a TGV, Eurostar, etc. high-speed train.  I would love to see one of these in O gauge.

A couple of years ago I got so desperate for one, I bought an HO TGV train when I was in Switzerland.

I've got 6 Shinkansen sets + the TGV. All Kato, all N Scale. They run very nicely(and fast). The longest one is about 42" long-- and that's just the basic set-- the add ons would add another 20". So a full sized O set would be about 11-12 feet long! The shorter sets(theTGV) are aot 30" long--still about 8 ft in O scale. So, If they were made, it would have to be severely compressed lengthwise---- 

Some high-speed electrics are already prototypically 3 rail. 

I'd like to see a 500-series Shinkansen:

The real ones have been shortened to 8-car sets, the coaches are 82' (end cars are 88'), so one of the later versions could exist  in 'O' without completely overwhelming a layout (unlike the 16-car sets)

---PCJ

Even an 8 car set would still be too long-- that's 17+ feet long in true O scale. Typical oval of O-45 on a 4x8 is 19.8 ft of track. So, they could really only be run on LARGE around the room style layouts(or at a modular club/ train show). IF any were ever made, the basic set would have to be only 2 or 3 cars + the end cars. Motor car would be in the middle-- that's how Kato does their sets. And as I said before, the length would have to be compressed--think RailKing style--

Those are all pretty sleek.  The new Shinkansen looks great.  I also like the first generation TGVs in the orange and white and silver and blue schemes.

Thank you all for input.  As a matter of disclosure I actually work for Alstom, but not transport division.  I was just totally impressed with the AGV design and I love that maroon color scheme.  There were some very good points brought up about the final length of the model and the need for a dedicated track or some serious "tucking" of the dimensions. 

Given the limited number of responses however I am guessing that wishing for this to be produced in O gauge on a large scale is probably a lost cause. 

Thank you for all your input. ( And I can grudgingly agree that the Shinkansen is pretty impressive too.)

High Greens to all - John Z.

The FS ETR 300 Series:

This equipment was built in the 50s.

Bob

Here's the ETR 450. It was the first series of Italian tilting or "Pendolino" train sets:

Bob