Les1952

It does seem to have a "collectors item" status by some - though definitely not by me..... Les

The coupling box on the Farish vans is also a little fragile for exhibition use. When you have (as I had) trains running at scale 60mph (goods) and scale 80mph (passenger) at a show it takes only a slight distraction for an operator to pile one train into the back of another in the fiddle yard, either through setting the road incorrectly or not spotting the tail of the train was out of punter's sight so it could be slowed down. I have three or four Farish vans left over from Croft Spa that are missing a coupling box- lost at a show. These will eventually get Dapol nem boxes glued where they were for an new club N-gauge project (Croft Spa's goods stock being about 95% sold on). Les

Update on the sticking. Giving it an extra two hours running seems to have solved the sticking. I've been shunting it slowly up and down the test track most of the day and it has refused to stick once. Lets see what Retford show brings next week when it works turn and turn about with others of the preserved fleet on NO PLACE. Checking- the firebox glow mostly corresponds with the shovelling. For a tank loco it is probably fired a lot more frequently than the prototype. Les

Photoshoot won't be the issue so much as the loco being a livery sample. These get handled by all sorts of folk, and from what experience I have of them, not always handled too carefully. Based on one that came my way it is lucky to still have both bogies attached to it..... Les

no, just a chat... Les

Mine (an sound-fitted NCB one) did a running-in spell at the clubroom - about 45 mins each way. I got used to the ribald comments about explosions in the cab from the over-bright and too frequent random firebox glow, and will speak to Rapido about this at Warley. It then went out to Hinckley show with NO PLACE. Unfortunately it occasionally sticks when it stops running forward, not wanting to start again. Cured by lifting it off the track and jer-jer-jiggling the wheels gently. Not good when it sticks at a show with punters watching, It has now had another two hours running in forward plus an hour in reverse. Next is to run it slowly along the programming track in each direction to see if it is still sticking..... Les

I don't think we can necessarily read too much into the "what is in which phase" argument. What we DO know is that there was a starting list, and a lot of the items on that list are at various stages of development. We ALSO know that each different model produces its own difficulties which mean each progresses at a different rate. And that production slots have been used up meeting unexpected demand for more of the earlier models AND China is still having Covid closedowns, skill shortages and other problems we know little about AND there is still a shortage of shipping containers and so on.... What we DON'T know because Hornby are not about to give out commercial information that might help possible competitors is how many additional production slots are being shifted to TT:120 rather than potentially less profitable OO or other items- we DO know that TT:120 is generating a healthy profit despite the nay-sayers. We just need to wait for announcements - and learn that virtue which huge numbers of RMWebbers lack - patience. Les

One thing that I picked up from my chat at Gaydon, though it didn't come out as a specific mention is a feeling that some of the design work for the 08 was outsourced to the manufacturing factory and that there are aspects of the 08 they aren't entirely happy with. I stress that this isn't a specific mention but an impression from the conversation. What I did get is that stuff will be much quicker from announcement to realisation, i.e. announced later. This includes the loco that they haven't announced at all yet (my words, not theirs), which appears to have jumped the queue. Of course this could be something they have mentioned but not put into one of the phases- we will find out when it is actually announced.

One thing that has been ignored by many when discussing the lesser amount of detail- In the Hornby TV series one of the designers was talking about scaling down a OO model to TT- you can't just use the shrink ray- not just because the scale to gauge ratio is different but because of thickness and strength of plastic. Some parts of the loco in OO scale are about at the limit of plastic being able to hold itself together when handled. Reduce the thickness of that plastic and it is no longer able to support itself. One reason I got out of US outline N-gauge was that the newer loco models I wanted (types not in my stock that I needed to make the overall railway work) came with thinner and thinner handrails. Why? because modellers demanded them. Not metal- too difficult to fabricate to correct thickness of handrail knobs and bent too easily- plastic. Each new model was arriving with a polystyrene (expanded or foam depending on the origin) packing piece between the handrails and the loco body. Try getting this out without snapping the handrails- not easy but manageable. Now place the model on the track without touching the handrails. Done it? Just about. Now return to its box- move the box without the packing piece in place- broken handrails. Don't expect finer and finer detail in small scales- there is a physical limit where the model can't survive being handled- and remember these are trains that youngsters will handle. Les As an aside someone could make a fortune making replacement bogie chains for Accurascale Deltics and door bangers for OO 20-ton wagons - the parts that come off almost as soon as the model gets used.....

Just to show UK TT:120 and German TT:120 coexisting on the same track. I will add that while Bregstadt is to be a German exhibition layout in its own right (see thread) it is also being used as a test layout for UK stuff ready for me to start the UK layout in late 2024-early 2025. And an older vid with UK and Continental stock being pulled over the joint between Hornby and Peco track by a Roco BR38 sourced from 3SMR The layout is a lot further advanced now and makes its debut at South Notts show next April. Gaugemaster connection? Some of my Continental stuff in TT:120 comes from Gaugemaster. Les

One thing worth mentioning with these couplers. They work brilliantly on TT:120 stock- the stronger centring springs on the kinematic couplings in the larger scale mean that when the trip pin is pulled off to one side by the magnet the jaws open rather than the whole coupler being pulled sideways. In addition the greater weight of TT stock means that when pulling the couplers stay coupled, and when propelling the wagons don't tend to shuffle relative to one another, meaning that if the jaws are actually apart (still difficult to achieve) they stay apart until the shunt has finished... Les

I have derailment problems at times with empty 21-tonners of all makes. Dapol's are no worse than Hornby's (though there are fewer detail parts to fall off/get damaged..) This is because they are too light to propel through prototypical NCB trackwork - ie rough. The solution is extra weight wherever it can be added out of sight. In this instance the Dapols are better than the Hornbys as there is less moulded on detail to prevent weights being stuck in place. The couplings I glue in place in vertical and horizontal planes as any movement places the minute neodymium magnet on the dropper in the wrong place to repel the neodymium magnet on the trackbed. I also remove the dropper from one end of each wagon and both ends of each loco. Les

You only get hassle if you don't put enough detail into the description. Les

46477 with sound? I could have sold them mine.. Seriously, nice to see a Darlington engine there. 46477 was built at Darlington, used at 51A Darlington shed, and scrapped at Darlington. I think it qualifies as a Darlington engine.......... Les

I don't know how you know it doesn't as you've already admitted you haven't seen it. I've seen the model close up and I've seen far too many of the real thing for a North Easterner. To me it looks just like a class 50 should, and that makes it a class 50. Still out of my region and time frame so I'll not be having one, though I am sorely tempted.... Les

My front kinematic coupler mechanism disintegrated so I glued the coupler back solid. The loco performs exactly the same pushing with the solid front end as with the kinematic rear. It is very short which helps. Les

Not a loco for my collection, I'm afraid, but it looked fantastic and bodes well for the future ones that ARE on my shopping list..... Deserves to be a really good seller. Les

It is not the coupling that is redundant but the kinematic mechanism - the two air tanks mean it hardly moves at all. Les

I had a chat with one of the guys on the Hornby stand, giving some feedback on the 08 and what could be improved in future 0-6-0 chassis in terms of running- I did learn the following. The J94 is ON for 2025, probably an open secret. There is another loco coming earlier than this that has not been announced or (he thought) included in any of the "phase" lists. 21-ton hopper wagons are in the pipeline though he didn't say how far along.... He took on board that the axle bearing pickup used by Bachmann and others was more reliable than the wipers on the 08. He also agreed that the kinematic coupling at the nose end of the 08 was a little redundant. I added feedback that the channel at the top of the 08 chassis was best omitted from future models as it restricted the chip that could be got into there. I came away from Malc's Models' posh new stand with a couple of Peco wagons so I can now compare them with my Hornby vans, though I can't run them until after Warley as I'm preparing Bregenbach im Schwarzwald for Nottingham and Warley and NO PLACE for Retford until then... Les

They are not that intrusive but I'm finding that they don't always stay coupled when I need them to and don't uncouple all that easily when I want them to... For stuff that I want to stay coupled lap after lap I've switched most things over to Hunt magnetic couplings. For stuff I want to uncouple out front (reliably) I've switched to Dapol Easi-shunt couplings, which work better in TT than in N due to the heavier wagons. My point was that small details on wagons are normally harder to see on a layout than the somewhat larger couplings, yet on RMWeb folks go to great lengths to point out these missing or incorrect details ignoring the much larger incorrect prototypical detail of the coupling, whatever type it is.... Les

As far as incorrect or missing details are concerned- I'm going to wait until I can see them standing on the layout, and moving on the layout. Then I'm going to see just how much I'm able to spot wrong with them in the circumstances I want them to perform under. Out of the showcase and away from the magnifying glass I suspect the biggest thing I notice will be the unprototypical buckeye couplings (Easi-shunts) Les

Everybody does NOT do that today- a lot because they don't want to and many (including me with RSI and mild dyspraxia) because they can't. The number of people on the various Farcebook forums for TT:120 has now gone well over 10, 000. I wonder how that compares with the 3mm scale association. Les

I'm using the Hunt couplings extensively on my TT gauge stuff - basically the vast majority of the stuff I don't want to shunt. They fit the NEM pockets very well- I've only broken one coupler head by shoving too hard, which given my dyspraxia is better than I would expect... For stuff I have to shunt I'm using the Dapol N-gauge Easi-shunts, which work better on TT than they do on N. This is because the centring springs are stronger on TT stock, meaning that when the coupler pin gets moved to one side, rather than the whole coupler going with the pin, the jaws actually open almost every time. In addition the heavier stick means that the couplers stay coupled when being pulled and stock stays closer rather better when being pushed. Les

Hang onto them and leave your descendants a goodly chunk of cash when they sell them on...... Les

Neither of the Farcebook links in the previous half-dozen posts work- access restricted by FB to the poster and a small group who have particular access to them. Les