JSpencer

A wonderful win. I would love Rails/Dapol to do Fenchurch in A1 condition with DCC sound. I think a sprung centre axle would be a quick win on this design. Alter all the connecting rods are split and drive is on the last axle. The paradox is always the small locos most likely to suffer stalling yet being small also means little space unless you place it in a cab or something. The old Dapol/Hornby one was a cow to fit DCC in general.

Dapol's solution with their tilting axle on their B4 tank is very effective under these conditions. I never had one stall on points once. The down side is that you have to be very careful when taking the model apart. And once I had a kid suddenly speeding one up causing all the motion to lock up!

Subject line is "thanks for shopping with us" The bank details are of little use to me as I'm abroad and I need an IBAN number (and then 2 weeks to set up a foreign transfer with the bank). That would work quickly in my case. What is weird is that the first £30 was paid by card/paypal.

Rails are showing some - but not all - 33/2s as being "Sound ready". I know about the LED and 21 pin upgrades, but did the most recent batch also include a pre-fitted speaker?

Keep in mind that they only picked up the models from Hattons 5 minutes ago. I'm pretty impressed that they managed to digest all of Hattons research material (plus add some of their own no doubt), look at the samples, spot errors and send back feedback to get this prior planned batch underway in good order. So who knows what the future will bring with these models. But it's off to bright start.

The first thing I do with any new Dapol 73 is to spend time gluing all the loose bits on the bogies first.

Ah ok so maybe not the same loco. I am after 1876 so I guess Rapido's is 1982 which was scapped in 1971.

Excellent News. Bowaters No 1 for me. Although I must admit I cannot find a photo of her in the Brownish red of the model. Do we know when she was like this please? Every photo I've seen is either green or green with white.

Conception (of a new product) is always more fun than birth (getting it delivered to us)....

I guess Dapol, Oxford and Heljan could end up at those manufacturers. Indeed Heljan already did a general release of the Garratts. The last on the list is something of a cursed child... Safe bet they are with the A team. Time will tell of course. Now that Rails have the generic coaches... Some (say 4 or 6) in LCDR could be nice ;-)

I think Accurascale already said in the past that they will not do generics (like coaches & wagons). Indeed they even did that joke mk 1,2,3 mixed generic coach in double liveries a few years back!

Never a boring moment at Accurascale. I can imagine them starting the year full of zest tackling the vast list of projects in hand, about to be delivered etc... When the news broke of Hattons shutting down. More work moving fast to save most of Hatton collectables range and getting everyones orders on board into their systems. You guys are real heroes! Well done. 👏

latest e-mail. The UK 2b's are about to arrive. 2c will come later. Filling another gap....

I remember in the 70s and early 80s, people mostly wanted the big four models in big four colours. Then the 90s/2000s it was BR steam (including big 4 locos in BR colours) and this allowed people to have both steam and diesel on their layouts. (not that Modern image - as in what is running on the mainline now has always been popular but maybe never as large as peoples nostalgia). Today it seems to 70s/80s/90s locos which clearly make up most of my memories. But at the same time we also see a surge in pre-grouping steam and Industrial steam. The latter maybe inspire by preserved steam and those last few industrials hanging around in the 70s. While unique prototypes still continue to hold a charm of their own. Most of my money now goes on pre-grouping and south eastern 80s nostalgia. Nothing for me from Bachmann this time round, but there was the last couple of times around. So all good.

Well there are another 3 announcements throughout the year. And type 4s just got covered by a wide range of peaks. Not to mention leaving space for this round's flagship, the 30/31.

The idea itself is not new. They did this with a pair of Blue/Grey NSE mark 1s about 5 years back. They were about £100 the pair and ended up being £60 a pair a couple of years later (when I brought them). Edit: (and a Scottish pair too).

Duplication is a bit of a dangerous game. I think it will work with 37s and 47s as they were everywhere running a very long period. That said the Heljan 47 might struggle a bit against the Bachmann one which has achieved a very high level, has been out 2 years and are starting to get a bit more discount from retailers. (I brought SFX lady Diana last year because it was finally a fair distance below £300 - and I thought these were sold out). The 37s have seen a more even battle, with maybe an advantage to accurascale thanks to both being out in a relatively short time of each other. The 30/31s is going to be a bit more of a battle. They were generally Eastern region only engines until we get into BR blue days. So despite being the longest lasting type 2, they may not be as popular as 37s and 47s. The problem with a duplicate is that it might cause competition in the short term. But may hit the bottom line in time if they don't sell as fast. This not only for the manufacturers' but also retailers having to guess how many they will sell. The increasing number of duplicates could sink some retailers. Where as money put into types not done before opens up a new niche in which to exploit sales. I am reasonably happy with Hornby one, which is a guest visitor on my layout. It has a working variable fan (based off the motor speed and not DCC of course). But at £55 plus £40 for TTS chip, it serves as a rare type visitor for my region. By contrast a 33 to these new specs would grab my money and various yet to be steam locos even more (V4, U, Q, Z etc...).

They say there are other things that they have obtained so you never know. Though given who was behind it, this one might be a little cursed..... It would probably need to be entirely retooled!

It is a quality product from the word go. I guess Accurascale could enhance it over time, but given they are due in Q4, it is safe to say there won't be any changes other than the boxes.

Well, that is it. The last outstanding items I had with Hattons. And so glad to see the P class have found a nice home.

I think their agents are busy replying to questions this afternoon.... Mine ended up duplicated and I think I might know why. But excellent news that this has ended up with Accurascale.

It is for the SFX specials only. And the vid shows that the chip performs a sequence: 1/ buffer up 2/ trigger uncoupling mech 3/ pull back a few mm And my guess there will be one on each end since the hardest operation to automate in DCC is to uncouple, run round to the other end and recouple up again. IF you are using magnets (like buck-eyes or modified tension locs), you need a space to detect when the loco enters a braking zone, then a space that it will move slowly too to uncouple, and it needs to stop within a few CM gap. Then go back same 5mm, hope it has uncoupled and then pull away. Further detectors required to determine when the points are cleared, run round, and gently couple up. Very complex under an automated DCC system though can be done by eye (and you can pause the computer) program to allow for this action. This system makes detection easier, as you do not need to know within a few cm of where the loco stops. TBH, I remember Hattons advertising a system a few years back. But never saw the details.

Add the 03/04, 08, 20, 24/24 on top. Bachmann has covered most with all new tooling. Hornby are a bit stuffed. All their flagship diesels are now being done better elsewhere except the 08/09 and HST.

We definitely need 3 makes of Manors.... They will come on the tail of two other excellent models. Actually the WD 2-10-0 is a real risk IF Bachmann are announcing all new steam locos in OO gauge again.

Yep, e-mail them first. As for import fees, the parcel should clearly marked return/repair and replacement respectively so that these do not trigger. If they do, get the full postal receipt so Kernow can reclaim them.