ClaughtonSteve

Just to add my ten pennyworth, it is sad to see such an institution go, but unlike a lot of retailers, restaurants, etc that have gone recently and many more that I suspect are about to go, Hattons are going with their heads held high. They have not called in the the receiver or liquidator and will leave the retail market without debts to besmirch their name. Having looked at their recent accounts I can fully understand why they have decided to close. Whilst Hattons Originals tooling may be snapped up by another manufacturer, recent history shows that retail businesses have very little residual value, Wilco being a good recent example of this. There will many good business reasons for closing now, apart from the quadruple storm (Brexit, Covid, Ukraine and now the Middle East) that has hit businesses over the last five years, so don't be surprised if the other majors in our hobby review their business models. So, all I can do is thank everybody at Hattons for their service over the years and wish all there the best for the future. Steve

It was the 110v Hornby Metropolitan Train of 1925. Guess what, it didn't remain in production for long! Replaced by a 4 volt, then 6 volt and finally 20volt loco.

I knew there was a reason to continue my development of a Boche Buster to fire real ammunition!!!

My only observation is that if you view Rapido's "reply" to Hornby's announcement, the use of clips from the Film are so well edited into Rapido's production and are sanctioned by Studio Canal, the way it has been written and presented all suggest that in all but name it is a Studio Canal production. if not they certainly had a big say in the matter, and it certainly wasn't cobbled up over night. Whether it's the first shot or Hornby have already been served with a cease and desist notice only Hornby and Studio Canal know. No doubt money will sort out the situation, but I agree that whilst we need Hornby to be successful, we don't need them to be the bully in the playground or act as a petulant child, which it has appeared as a number of times recently.

Have just received 2 of these from Chris, they look very good. Will be looking at one to see the potential for conversion to a 19" Goods. When I get time will provide comparison to my GEM ones (I know the LRM ones are excellent, but you've not seen my soldering!!!)

I've only just come to this topic. Just to say that I have a copy of the LNWR society publication "LNWR Great War Ambulance Trains". Within that publication are details of "Headquarters Staff Train" built by the LNWR for Hague. There were 12 carriages 42' 0" x 8' 6" and 2 carriages 45' 0" x 8' 0".

Enough said!!!

Just to put this into context, I have just looked at some prices for Hornby Dublo frpm the late 50's and early 60's. An 8F would have cost £ 4 1s 6d which equates to £ 90 based on RPI or £ 199.90 based on labour cost. The figures for a West Country were £ 5 16s 5d, £ 113.80 and £ 271.90 respectively and a City of London £ 5 5s, £ 111.10 and £ 245.30 respectively. The prices do not seem to have gone too far out of line, given the improvement in quality - there is no comparison between a modern City and an HD one, although I still like the old one.