Lima - 484 - Flatcar, 20M, Container Sgns - Freightliner - None

Specific Item Information: Car shows Lima Italy on bottom

Prototype History: Wagons with a loading length of at least 18.40 m (Type 2 conforming to UIC norm 571-4) can carry ISO containers with a total length of 60 feet; the majority can also be used for the transport of swap bodies. The Deutsche Bundesbahn expanded its fleet in 2007 by 615 wagons of Class Sgns (delivered by March 2009) with the option for a further 600 wagons (delivery by 2010).

Road Name History: Freightliner Group is a leading rail freight provider with businesses in the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, Australia and the Middle East. Having provided rail solutions for some of the largest blue chip organisations, we have established ourselves as a leader within the rail freight industry; setting standards, introducing new thought processes and industry firsts.

Freightliner Ltd is the leading UK intermodal rail freight operator for transportation of maritime containers by rail in the UK. With a comprehensive network offering, and provision of local delivery with our own road fleet we can provide either the complete logistics package or trunk rail moves.

Brand/Importer Information: Lima N scale European models were numbered with 3 digits until 1978. They were renumbered after 1978 by adding "320" before the previous number. e.g. "306" became "320306".

Manufacturer Information: Lima S.p.A (Lima Models) was a brand of railway models made in Vicenza, Italy, for almost 50 years, from the early 1950s until the company ceased trading in 2004. Lima was a popular, affordable brand of 00 gauge and N gauge model railway material in the UK, more detailed H0 and N gauge models in France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and the United States as well as South Africa, Scandinavia and Australia. Lima also produced a small range of 0 gauge models. Lima partnered with various distributors and manufacturers, selling under brands such as A.H.M., Model Power, Minitrain and PMI (Precision Models of Italy). Market pressures from superior Far Eastern produce in the mid-1990s led to Lima merging with Rivarossi, Arnold, and Jouef. Ultimately, these consolidations failed and operations ceased in 2004.

Hornby Railways offered €8 million to acquire Lima's assets (including tooling, inventory, and the various brand names) in March of the same year, the Italian bankruptcy court of Brescia (town near Milan, last headquarters of Lima) approving the offer later that year. In December 2004, Hornby Railways formally announced the acquisition along with the Rivarossi (H0 North American and Italian prototypes), Arnold (N scale European prototypes), Jouef (H0 scale French prototypes), and Pocher (die-cast metal automobile kits) ranges. As of mid-2006, a range of these products has been made available under the Hornby International brand, refitted with NEM couplings and sprung buffers and sockets for DCC (Digital Command Control) decoders.

From Wikipedia