RJS1977

Perhaps in this sense, "capsule range" could mean working together across different brands, rather than the "silo" mentality. So, for HP, you've mentioned loco, rolling stock and buildings. But the Ford Anglia and the Knight Bus could be added as part of the Hornby range, or even a MicroScalextric Anglia to race against the Hogwarts Express (yes, I know the scale isn't correct), maybe with a working "whomping willow" as an accessory, along the lines of the old Minic "Mad Motorist Reversing Hazard".

A scarlet Tube train with a DCC sound chip that says "Minador"....

The fireplace is blocked, but unlike the waiting rooms there is (or was, last time I was in there - pre-pandemic!) still a fireplace surround and mantelpiece. Other than that, nothing really of interest - there was a cupboard to the right of the door as you enter (that we kept tickets and things in), a couple of tables, two chairs (all decidedly non-heritage), a fridge, and a microwave. Incidentally, the fridge had previously been in the (old) cafe at our station in Wallingford (at that time in the Cambrian coach) and was moved to Cholsey by train as taking it by road would have involved carrying it up the stairs (and the train was going anyway!). There was also a telephone directly connected to Reading Panel for us to use in the event that one of our trains derailed and fouled the Up Relief. We did have plans to fit the room out properly as a heritage-style ticket office (the volunteer who painted the door had managed to source a ticket window for us to use) but we had to wait for NR/GWR to fix a leak in the roof first, then the room needed to be redecorated, which we're still waiting for before we can reopen it, let alone "heritage" it.

For some reason, I'm seeing that digger on the train and thinking "Skyfall"...

Incidentally, the right hand (western) chimney only goes down as far as platform level, and the fireplace (in the C&WR ticket office) is on the diagonal across the corner of the room.

I was going to say that that AIUI track in the bay was lifted when the connection from the branch was removed in 1981, and was relaid by C&WR (with the run-round loop being installed later), so there is no guarantee that the buffer stop is in the same place as originally.

I guess a question is whether the design and development staff, if they leave, leave of their own volition or are laid off. One factor there will be how transferable or otherwise their skills are.

I believe it is on the "to do" list - both Mark Hopwood and Peter Hendy changed trains at Cholsey when they came to open the canopy at Wallingford station two years ago and were both horrified to see the condition of Cholsey station. (Unfortunately the C&WR ticket office door was repainted by GWR contractors a few years ago when it shouldn't have been! One of our volunteers - a GWR employee - got permission to paint the door in heritage GWR colours. A few months later, GWR's contractors came along and repainted all the doors in GWR green - including ours!) We are currently (and have been since the pandemic!) waiting for Network Rail to finish redecorating the inside of our ticket office so we can reopen it.

Getting it on is easy enough - use the scoop to build an earth ramp, then drive up it!

If the branch runs along the edge of the baseboard - where is it going to finish up? Or is it just going to be a "long siding"? Personally, I'd lower the black "semicircular" part of the baseboard in the first photo down to the level that the branch finishes up, as none of the branch is in a cutting, and instead use trees to disguise the sharp curve.

If operated as originally intended, with a station pilot shunting stock from one platform to another to release locos, a lot of coupling and uncoupling would be involved, which could be quite tricky to automate. However, if operated with multiple units, the MERG auto shuttle (which is more than just a simple shuttle as it allows a number of different trains and destinations in the sequence) could probably be used.

Unfortunately there is a somewhat snobbish and quite vocal element in the hobby who think that Hornby should only build what *they* want (i.e. very-high end models, £250+ locos and £100+ coaches), and stuff anyone who doesn't want to purchase those.

But clearly there were purchasers who wanted a nice long rake of Southern coaches (and perhaps weren't too bothered about prototypical formations). Marketing as 1 of a set of 3 might have deterred people who bought the extra CKs, without actually increasing the number of BKs.

Of course the fall in unit sales could be due to the price increases....

Or indeed by the TV company - as has been noted, Simon and Montana were two personable individuals who worked well on screen. Their replacements may not work as well.

On the other hand, they may well have sold more CKs than they would have done had they marketed them that way.... The question is - were there potential customers who decided not to buy the BSKs because there were no CKs to go with them?

I have mixed feelings about the phrase "for added operational interest". Railway companies didn't make their trackplans awkward to operate for the sake of it - extra movements took time and used extra coal and water, and also got in the way of passenger movements, though against that there is a need to balance the cost of installing and maintaining more track and signalling equipment to reduce operational awkwardness. Personally I'd replace the point just above the signal box with a double slip connected to the centre road, and put the milk platform on its own short siding. That way, not only can locos coming off the centre road access the loco facilities without having to jiggle around on the main line, but coaches can be shunted from the centre road to the lower two platforms without impeding on the upper (Down?) line. Incidentally Aberystwyth station had an interesting move that can be replicated on this plan. The York parcels (passenger train with a parcels van at each end) would arrive in Platform 3. The station pilot would shunt the rear parcels van into the short siding at the end of the centre road, shunt the passenger coaches to a different platform, then shunt the other parcels van to join its partner. The train engine would then run to the loco shed and a different loco would take the coaches out on their next working. Later in the day of course, the whole process would be reversed.

Similarly the Met side of Uxbridge has platform faces both sides but doors only open on the north side (i.e. the side furthest from the Piccadilly line platform) so you can't go on to the platform between the two lines and wait to see which is first. It also makes it more difficult to change between the Picc and Met at Uxbridge, but there won't be many people wanting to do that, except for Tube Challenge nutters like me! By contrast, doors open on both sides in some of the platforms at Morden and it is possible to change from one platform to another by going through a train!

Maybe provide them with an extension tube that can go down through a pre-drilled hole in the platform/baseboard and clip on to the spindle of an SG90 servo....

Are you sure 9017 was the first ever preserved steam locomotive? ;-) Maybe the first steam locomotive to be preserved by the Bluebell Railway....

I cannot over emphasise that it was the April issue....

Modelu should scan him!

Are you thinking of something that gets put out in the morning of a nice day, and put away later in the day (effectively an indoor layout set up outdoors?), or something a little more weatherproof that can be left out for days or even weeks at a time but isn't a permanent fixture?

Just watched this video about Tower Gateway station, which almost had a more familiar name instead....

If the platform and fiddle yard roads cross baseboard joins at 90 degrees, you can always slip extra sections in later if you want to run longer trains.