GWR8700

I thought the shared name of Borchester was merely a coincidence?

Where were the two lines meant to diverge to after the junction?

Ouch!

Great news! I hope the Blacksmith range has a future too. A lot of good stuff in there too

There's a few nice GWR things there, after a few years of not having a lot. It's the usual that I've now come to expect. Mostly stuff pitched at collectors, a few old tooling ancient models marked up well above what you would pay on ebay for an equivalent and a newly tooled LNER locomotive. They weren't in a good financial position a few years ago but since doing this things do seem to have picked up for them. Not to my taste but it seems to be working for them.

Yeah, I completely understand it being a more limited range given what is happening right now. I certainly won't be able to afford to spend much on the hobby this year. Despite that, there's a few things I like in there. Since Simon Kohler returned the thinking every year seems to be lots of high end collectors models with anniversaries that people didn't even know were on, and lots of LNER locomotives. Not really my thing but if it improves their financial situation then fair enough.

Ooh, 2 Castle Class locos! Very nice. Completely understand 100 year anniversary of the Big Four. However, an anniversary set, to commemorate 10 years since an anniversary (great gathering)? Have I got that right? Seems a little silly if I am honest. 85th anniversary of Mallard too? They make Mallard every year, just seems like they will add 'anniversary' to anything to stick a few extra quid on it.

Am I right in thinking the Penrhyn livery change was in the mid 30s?

Very excited by this! Glad they have chosen something suitable for Bodmin too

Very exciting. This range appears to be going from strength to strength!

Sounds like an ideal complimentary addition!

Hope this isn't a daft question, but if I was wanting to make the Aberdare to EM gauge would I be able to use the existing chassis provided in the kit? Would it be better to use an alan gibson mill frame? Would the brassmasters Finney chassis be an alternative I could use?

Very sad to hear this. I have always enjoyed reading his books over the years

Thank you very much all! Will look into getting those over the next month. For a railway which is quite well regarded and represented with the GCR it is somewhat surprising there is so littme available on it at the moment. That forthcoming book does sound interesting!

I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking that looks really tempting!

I'm looking to kearn more about the GCR, specifically about the buildings and structures on the London Extension in the pre grouping period. Does anyone have any recommendations? I have George Dow's Great Central Album. It is a nice introduction but I'm looking now for some more in depth.

Can I asķ what kit makes those L&Y locos are? I presume the top 2 are Craftsman but I can't figure out the bottom 2. Excellent work!

Am I right in thinking the C13 was a part of this range? That would be a nice reintroduction.

Haven't read the whole thread so may be repeating someone here but a 57xx/8750 with the top feed variants. Hugely popular prototype, the existing model is good but times have moved on.

I notice the GCR signal box in GCR livery has changed somewhat with cream sections on the wood panelling. Is this an earlier or later paint style than the previous Bachmann release (the wood panelling was only green)? I cannot find any information on GCR building colours.

Is the L&Y signal box a new tooling?

Is this in its 50s livery?

I've looked back at my comment and I don't think I stated anything about public sector real terms pay, I mentioned the private sector. While that is true we don't know the number of models produced and subsequent rereleases may underperform.

I'm sorry but that is simply not true. Real wages in the private sector only returned to 2008 levels q1 of 2020. That took 12 long years! An 8% rise but inflation now stands at 11% and as whart57 rightly points out, this is exaggerated by the further increase for high flyers. Standards have risen but another problem is they were already quite high. To give an example, the new Bachmann Class 47 looks and sounds absolutely fantastic. However, if I already had quite a few 47s from the previous range I'm not sure I'd be rushing out to spend £200 or whatever on one at the moment given the way the economy is right now and the fact that the previous models are already 'good enough' for most people. As markets become more niche, the consumer base is reduced. There are untapped areas (I think there is a lot of scope for pre-grouping) but those areas are becoming few and far between.

I often see criticism of rising prices shut down on here on the basis that, "People have always moaned about rising prices." While true, this ignores the economic reality that wages have stagnated over the last decade. Price rises, compounded with stagnating wages and now a cost of living crisis will inevitably lead to less money spent on the hobby as disposable incomes are squeezed. I am sure I am not alone in spending less money than I used to on this hobby and unfortunately I believe the market is reaching saturation point. Less suitable prototypes are available to model, more manufacturers are entering the market and people have less money to spend which makes me think the current boom is sadly coming to an end.