tomparryharry

Aha, Jason, not so fast! When Hornby bought out the 42xx, There were-was hundreds of pages on froth. Then, when the little Avonside came along, it started a new trend of high-end models. Good for them, I say. People do indeed buy Hornby; perhaps they don't want to admit it... "Who? Me? Never" sort of thing. I can foresee the demise of the yearly catalogue, and (from a personal perspective) it would take a lot of pressure off the people making false promises. I'd much rather see a new model unexpectedly, than have a promise which may, or may not, happen. Do I want to see Hornby prosper? Yes, without question. Why? Because Hornby now know full well, they have competition to the degree unheard of in recent years. When the new Toad was released, it was pretty much right on the money. The prairie, new coaches, all good stuff. Remember, Hornby Hobbies have a quite large product catalogue, and it's not just Flying Scotsman, if you get my drift... Scalextric, Airfix, and the TT model line.

Aberdare, Stella, Bulldog, Railcar 18, the (wish) list is longer than you think!

One of the first rules of business:- Have a look at how the competition does it. Keep your business flexible; be prepared to change it. Have a look at what the customers would like to have . Be honest. If it's a niche model, then tell the client that it's not a viable project. BUT! If the client would want it, then expect to pay. Engineering (in any scale) there is no such word as 'cant' unless you're going around the bend.... You can't really knock Triang. Both them and Bachmann have set themselves up as 'the' people in model railways. Give them a couple of years to sort themselves out. As a personal observation. Steam Punk? Oh dear... Remember.. The only thing that's worse than being talked about, is not being talked about. Enough of negative press though. It must be a least 6 months since we had a 'totally exclusive ' release of Flying Scotsman!

7018 Drysllwyn Castle. A poor steamer until rebuilt. We had a 56xx (modern day) where the brick arch was built too low in relation to the firebed. As a consequence, the fireman couldn't get coal into the front, leaving gaps. Once the fire got pushed forward, the steaming rose dramatically.

One of the things that happen is when an individual expands his collection. Then we'll hear phrases like 'nothing for me here' . Taken out of context, it's a bit of a downer. In fairness, the manufacturers are closing down the niche gaps, so the missing links get even more niche. In turn, manufacturers are less likely to commission a model when the returns on investment gets a bit sketchy. A bit of Catch-22, methinks... The ever advancing age demographic plays a deadly hand; how many people remember seeing steam in real life? Missing in my collection is:- Large Metro, 39xx tank, Ex- Cardiff Railway Kitson, Armstrong standard goods So you see, we're straight down to niche in just 4 sentences... None of those locomotives exist in real life; only in photographs. Un-numbered wagons, please, especially the large fleets. Cheers, Ian. By the way, did I mention un-numbered wagons....? No, it's not idle wish-listing...

A prime contender for a gasworks layout; looks good. Dumb buffers is a bit of a no-brainer:- Nice!

Slightly off-topic, but relevant, nonetheless. A friend accompanied me to a Kidlington railwayana auction, many years ago. He was amazed at the amount & diversity of things on offer. But! He also had some money, and it was burning a hole in his wallet. I told him to view meetings like this as a circus, or a merry-go round. Bid on lots by all means, but don't get too hung up on missing out on lots. The chances are that the same item, or similar, will come around again. Sure enough about 2-3 years later, he bagged what he wanted, which was a pannier numberplate. I'm sure other readers can recall similar situations.

'It's Soc-fest time No need to be afraid, It's Soc-fest time, Where we change Argyle, and put on Plaid, And with a slug of brandy, to drink with auntie Joy, Throw your arms around the World, It's Soc-Fest time! But say a prayer, And pray for the other ones, At Soc-Fest time it's hard, When the sprouts are under-done 'There's a shop outside your window, And the curry's not too dear, And the only water flowing is a tin of pound-shop beer, And the ringing bells you're hearing as Argos makes a sale And soon it's Easter eggs.... Never fail...... And there won't be chips in Accrington this Soc-fest Time, The greatest gift they'll get this year is pies.... Oo-oh When transport never goes, It gets right up your nose, Do they know it's Soc-fest time at all.....? Heel the World! Let them know it's Soc-Fest time! Heel the World! Let them know it's Soc-Fest Time!

In fairness to Hattons, some their offerings are pretty good, whilst some are less so. I managed to buy 20+ Airfix mineral 16t wagon kits for £25 some years back. Likewise, a Baccy 56xx for £30, with a loose wire. A 5 minute fix, and it happily ran, but in wrong direction. Yes, I'd reversed the polarity..... Don't mention their rubbish H&M knock-off point motors... Oh dear.....

I'll bet a certain E-Bay retailer works there part-time.....

It's a typical production technique. Manufacturers will deliberately over-run stock for any number of reasons. Then, it'll dwell in stores until the demand is there, or the price rises to the desired profit margin. A job we did was for console buttons for National Panasonic. We made a lot; 24/7, 6 days a week. The tool came off on a Sunday, ready for Sunday night to the following Sunday morning. The draw down was prodigious, so we always kept a weeks worth of production in stock for the customer.

Hello Quirky Poll Team, Excellent diversity as usual. I must sadly confess that I wouldn't be buying any of your current selection. My collection of Work In Progress far outweighs my desire to vote, and buy, anything. On a really positive note, the discussions which surround the Polls are extremely worthy of note. It appears the manufacturers are gaining confidence to look at the niche stuff, instead of 'sorry, not here' response. Nice!

Queen Victoria is not amused... "Take this wretched thing away! 'Tis nothing for me here!" " In years to come, grown men will fight & die over the scale, gauge & colour, especially the green bits..." Mama! Papa! What is a Froth Machine, please?

Hello Folks, Sorry I've been away... Ian LMS: Yes, spot on. The rivet holes accept a small set-screw which can pass through the frame, from one side to the other. If you use a countersunk setscrew, you can tap the one side to keep the motors on station, and you don't need a torsion bar, as those 2 screws takes care of it. I'd suggest going for 'size' at least as axle diameter. Measure the axle first. If it's 3mm, use a reamer that size, or 1/8", if it's imperial. If you've got doubts, try the hole with a ground HSS drill bit, but not a Chinese version. Pay the slight extra cost, and get it right. That Micrometer is just there.... I'm very interested in how everyone has got on thus far. I've had to box up everything, and my memory is a bit dim. I do remember I've got an Aberdare or two somewhere, and if these work, there's a couple of 1701 panniers in the distance. Many thanks, Ian.

The change from inside pipes to outside pipes would only happen if there was a cylinder change.

I hope Dapol continue on their present course; Seems to be going in the right direction. Private owner wagons in 00... I really wish the large fleet wagons (such as the Welsh coal fleets ) would not put the running numbers on. Some of these wagons easily ran to 5 figures. In fairness to many model wagon manufacturers, some of the detail is first rate; tare & return details, etc. Thus, covering over existing numbers is not always ideal. In this highly pleasant era of customer focus, it'll be nice to see small changes like this. After all, the prospect of different numbers on wagons might need to increased sales. Naturally, any manufacturer would issue a disclaimer to the effect that said manufacturer bears no responsibility for cack-handed application of running numbers. Something to the effect of:- "Dapol, its staff, employees & agents, bear no responsibility for the mis-application of running numbers to our wagons... " I deleted a lot (and I mean, a lot) of text before posting this.... Moderators were on hand with rubber mallets & tranquilisers...

A nice photo. 6763 was a Swansea-based locomotive for most of her life.

Worry not, research will gain, and continue. It totally depends upon what era & locality you wish to portray. To be fair Bachmann made a nice job of their pannier. Good weight & tractability, etc. What Bachmann missed was the longevity of the class, and all of the iterations gained over the first 12-15 years. To compound that, Bachmann knew full well that the sans-topfeed model was wanted: After all people (like me) have been banging on about this since Granny was a boy.... Will I buy the Accurascale model? Yes, both early 57xx model, and 67xx model. Llantrisant had quite a few panniers down the years, so an extra 2 or 3 won't be a problem. It wouldn't surprise me if Hornby made a re-tool of the venerable 27xx, upgraded to the early 1930's. These worked turn & about with the 57xx & 8750's. Fit right in, they would....

No, not really. Conversion was done on a loco-by-loco basis. Converting a boiler entailed tank changes, new pipe routes, and additions & subtractions of the existing fittings.

Sorry old chap, but 6743 is one of the 'unfitted' batch. No vacuum, no steam heat, no topfeed as built. Delivered to Ebbw Jcn in 1930, and was shedded mostly at Pill & Ebbw.

A slight aside from this. Taff Vale 28 had the distinctive twin sliding ventilators to allow the 'aerials' push pull to work, via the cab roof. Sadly, the cab roof was plated over at Llangollen, where the staff failed to understand the significance. Despite the locomotive being class 01, the cab structure might indeed be an earlier M class The giveaway being a plated-over section of the cab-sheet, where the vacuum ejector pipework passes forward to the smokebox. The extant boiler has probably saved the locomotive to its present day. the firebox crown is festooned with a multitude of flanges & takeoffs. I wondered about this for ages, and I finally realised the boiler was designed to be a universal fitment, being compatible for Vacuum, air, and steam heat. There are photographs depicting a Barry Railway cab layout, with such an arrangement. Here endeth the lesson....

If we swing over to GWR.org site, there is a Mitchell kit of a 44xx by Ted kanas. Opinions, please?

Aren't we all!

I think we're talking at cross purposes here. For he sake of clarity, shall we start again?

More importantly, the 44xx is outside cylinder, whereas the 850/2021 is inside cylinder. I still can't find a decent photo of a 44xx coupling rod knuckle joint.