The LNER Encyclopedia

are there anycompanies making the class 317 or 365 emu units in 4mm scale which now run on the former LNER GER lines?

As far as i know, no-one produces kits of either of those types, however some conversion work could yield a 365 from Hornby's 465/6. A slightly harder proposition might be using MTKs old 507 kit as a basis for a 317. NNK of Cardiff have them now, if what the website says is to be believed, they've improved the etches and materials.

not knowing what a 507 looked like i had a peak on wikipeadia and i think we have a conversion project, thanks very much as for finding a 465 to convert i think needle in haystack.

many thanks

Thats no problem. I spent 4 years in Liverpool so i got to know the 507s and 508s quite well (Incidentally, the Merseyrail network is superb, much cheaper and faster than buses, especially if you're going from one side of the river to the other, or even from south to north Liverpool).
Didn't realise the hornby networker was so hard to get hold of, although I'd suspect one might occasionally turn up on eBay, as might a Bachmann 166. Not sure about the compatibility there though.

The 507 isn't an ideal start for a conversion into a 317 as the body profiles are quite different. The 507 was derived from the 4-Pep prototypes of the 1970s, whereas the 317 was based on the body of the Mk 3 carriage. This picture shows a Class 455 (same basic design as the 317) formed with a former Class 508 trailer as the second vehicle and illustrates the contrast quite well:

http://www.the-siding.co.uk/class455/pages/5711.htm

A better source might be one of the EMU kits by Bratchell Models, who have made a speciality of the Mk 3 derived units. Unfortunately, their EMUs are the later type without gangways, so you would need to mix in the front end of their class 150/2 (or scratch build for the early angular type) and probably modify a fair amount of other detail. But at least the basic body shpe would be correct! Their website is at

http://www.bratchellmodels.co.uk/

If you can hold your breath for a very long time indeed, you could even wait and see what transpires from the forthcoming Bachmann 150!

Hope this helps.

oh rite. I was going to build a 322 or 321 anyway but i didn't relise they were related to the 317. Having come from near to Cambridge and regularly used the Cambridge to Kings X or Liverpool ST the 317 and 365 is about all you see other than the odd EWS freight train. Maybe i will start by building a 321 or 322 before i start kit bashing and then i can run it as a missplaced unit.

Thanks for the info.