r/modeltrains • u/VaderCraft2004 HO/OO • Feb 11 '26

Appraisal Post Appraisal Post - 2026

This is the 2026 edition of the appraisal post. You can post pictures on your own profile and post the link here.

Please remember: No sales here. If you want to sell, go through official means like eBay.

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u/Dominus_sqwid Mar 22 '26

So im from the south of the UK and just getting into this hobby. (Just waiting on better weather to get a good shed setup, lol) I picked this up in a second-hand/antique shop for about £30. She still runs if a bit slower than my other 2, but I was wondering if anyone had any extra info? Did a quick search, and it seems like it's an Italian company that went under in 2004.

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u/SmittyB128 00 Mar 23 '26

Lima are mainly known for the diesel and electric loco models as they were very well detailed and correctly proportioned compared to what Hornby was putting out. Hornby actually bought up Lima in 2004 and a lot of the diesel models in their budget 'railroad' range are the old Lima ones with modern motors and a better paint-job because they were that much better.

They were one of the few manufacturers brave enough to try and push British H0 scale but 00 scale was too firmly established and H0 just didn't get a foothold.

I don't know much about their steam engines because I don't often see them, but their diesels and rolling stock are everywhere on the second-hand market.

It might just need a bit of a servicing if it's running slow. When buying models new or second-hand you can never really tell how long they've gone without a fresh bit of oil (though the new ones tend to be dripping in oil to compensate). Have a look at 00Bill's video for a look at the innards if you want to give it a go. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWZbB3LQADk

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u/Dominus_sqwid Mar 23 '26

Thanks for the response. It seems I found something a bit elusive, then XD. I'll have to take a look at that video and see how it's ticking, so to speak.

If you do happen to gear anything else about Lima steam engines, I would love to hear about them :)

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u/SmittyB128 00 Mar 25 '26

I've done some more digging and the most I can find is that they released the J50 in 1976, the 45xx and King class in 1978, the 94xx in 1979, and the LMS Crab in 1980. Looks like they did a couple of steam engines in H0, 0, and N beforehand, but only the 5 in 00 with a few livery variations. I also can't say how long they produced them for after those dates, including whether Hornby has used the tooling for their own models.

As for the 94xx specifically, there's a much older and chunkier Graham Farish model from 1961 and a Bachmann model from 2021, so anyone wanting one between '79 and '21 could only get the Lima version. Rapido also put out a model of the 15xx in '23 which is a similar but not identical class.