Trenitalia in HO: Lima Expert + ViTrains E464s, Vivalto+ MDVE/C (with doppio trazione simmetrica)

Here is another ViTrains and Lima Expert "mix and match" session.

The main reason of the video is to test how well "top and tail" (doppio trazione simmetrica) works with my Vivalto coaches. The answer being- very well if you have two well paired locos. I can tell you now that Lima Expert and ViTrains locos are not very compatible at all! The Lima Expert locos are much heavier, more powerful and faster (if I had two, I guess they would work nicely). However, the ViTrains locos work very well together indeed, without any disasters.

It took me a while to apprecaite the E464, as it replaced some of my favourite locos (like the E656 and E646). However, I began to take to them when they were paired up with the Vivalto coaches (which are quite pleasant to travel in). Then one day, I had a ride on a Vivalto set with a loco at each end (this sometimes happens if a pilot coach is defective) and although I think the top speed may be limitted to 140km/h, the performance was quite exciting. I have taken to the more since then and particularly like them being used on express services in Sicily.

So, my train has Vitrains E464s in top and tail mode with a mix of ViTrains and Lima Expert Vivalto coaches in between.

The other train is a rake of Lima/Rivarossi MDVE coaches, with a ViTrains MDVC Pilota at the head and my Lima Expert E464 pushing. I have put smaller wheels onto my Lima MDVEs so that the coaches run at the same height as the pilota.