RyanN91 Posted December 23, 2020 Share Posted December 23, 2020 On 20/12/2020 at 22:03, Steamport Southport said: Did that have Right Said Fred on the B Side.... For those of a different generation this is one of the adverts. Just click the YouTube link and the rest are there. Including the record I think. I wonder if our wonderful Bernard Joseph Cribbins, OBE Lancastrian (I know Oldham is now part of Greater Manchester has been since 1974!) Actor of Film, Television, Stage and Radio, Musician Audio book narrator and Advert actor. got to keep this fascinating 1977/1979 layout sets rolling stock etc for doing the Ads? Yes the instructions vinyl is fantastic! 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanN91 Posted December 23, 2020 Share Posted December 23, 2020 On 20/12/2020 at 23:47, LNWR18901910 said: Day 20 Industrial Freight...wow, what an exciting name. Yes, while doing my research, I am totally aware that this is not the only time Hornby re-used this name, but we'll get to it later. Right now, let's focus on the box. What a charming site to behold - on the bottom right, a horse-draw wagon ambling along on a railway platform (which you don't see nowadays except probably in certain parts of the world like India or Africa or New Zealand, maybe) and on the top left, something they took from a cookbook or something, I don't know. The wagons in question are something you may or may not have seen IRL (a 7UP plank wagon, a Pepsi tanker wagon, a Tango box van) - when did they actually exist? Okay, I get it - It's supposed to appeal to kids and modellers of all ages (some who feel almost like kids again but I'm not gonna judge, I'm not lethious). The locomotive No. 105 is quite nice and is almost a simplified version of the Midland Railway crimson lake but on a GWR locomotive. It's like in Thomas & Friends where Duck's GWR green livery is in a brighter green like in the original illustrations (mainly the Dalby one) and the same was applied to Oliver as well! Sorry for going off-topic, there, but those are my thoughts on it so far. However, I totally have nothing against this set. To re-introduce the Kit-Kat box van in the range, would that be out of the question? Still, it would be nice for kids to have on their layouts as well as use in double-advertisements (because hey, if they can do it with Yellow Pages, they can do it with Kit-Kat). Also, when I said at the beginning about the set name being re-used, well...this explains it. Yes, no kidding. Remember how BR thought about red wheels on their locomotives? That's what they didn't go for. Also, the box van is just a generic red van, so chances are maybe they couldn't find a suitable product brand to advertise or just simply left it as is, I guess? The thing about motion-blur on these boxes is that the wagons are hard to make out and read what they say. Unlike this recent incarnation: Two GWR wagons, a PO Wagon and, what's this? LMMR? What's that stand for, Liverpool, Manchester and Merseyside Railway? No? How about London Midland & Merseyside Railway? I've no idea. If Hornby wanted to make up railway company names, well, congratulations goes out to them - well done! So, there you have it - the many guises of Industrial Freight. Oh, how we hardly knew thee... I'll leave it off with some other variants I just found. Caley Pug 0F ahoy! N.B: Special thanks very much to those who liked and agreed with my thoughts as well and enjoying them, I really do enjoy yours, too! Thanks goes out to those who shared memories and fun facts as well as photos and memories and such. Hroth, thanks for sharing the album with us, this would have been the grand-daddy of DCC sound before there was such a thing! Imagine a kid wanting to play it and run trains at the same time unless their poxy, poncy pimply-faced brother or sister was hogging the record player (imagine running trains while rocking out to Elvis, Cliff or The Beatles, that would be interesting yet surreal). So, I hope you enjoy this amusing post, I'll be back with another one tomorrow - I Can't Believe It's Christmas (a great title song for anybody who wishes to try and create another Christmas single even with a slim chance of entering the Top 10 Charts and played over and over every year again along with Slade, Bing Crosby and The Jackson Five, please go ahead and use it anyway). See you all tomorrow, stay safe and healthy and Merry Christmas, y'all! Wow fantastic photos! it is also worth noting that the 1996 R841 Industrial Freight set box design differs slightly from the 1997-1998 , R1005 Industrial Freight issue. The 1996 one has on the lower right hand corner an Ariel image the fantastic first ever Hornby TrackMatRT which was three sections on polymer, and on the reverse of the box Build a Hornby World as Big as Your Imagination with The Hornby TrackMatRT slogan pictured below is the full completed layout based on the footprint of the 1996 TrackMatRT featuring featuring the Flying Scotsman Set. As you can see from the images below pictured is the 1996 Train set and reversebox and third is the reverse image on the 1997/1998 issue. The only difference being the track mat images on the front and reverse. It is also worth noting that this the blue box train sets designs were used between 1996 and 1999 featuring the old 1986 Hornby Railways logo. This logo would go on to appear on instructions sheets etc until 2003 when it was eventually replaced with the current 1997 Hornby logo. The 1978 Hornby Railways logo still appeared in about the mid to late 90s on instruction sheets etc. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruffnut Thorston Posted December 23, 2020 Share Posted December 23, 2020 Interestingly, the second trackmat image is a mirror image of the track plans below it... 1 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Legend Posted December 23, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 23, 2020 13 hours ago, Nearholmer said: This 1997 catalogue, which does indeed seem to have plumbed depths of blandness when it came to presenting the product on the page, makes me wonder if this was another 'watershed' period. We saw earlier how 1976 and beyond was when the market began to seriously shift from children to adults; was the late-1990s when it went from 'detailed' to 'utterly obsessed with every detail and individual locomotive variant'? I was well-out of 00 at this stage, getting into 'garden' scales, so most of this whizzed past me, but was it when manufacture began to transfer to China? Hi Nearholmer . Yes this was the period manufacturing transferred to China . They had acquired the Dapol tooling . Yes as you say bland period , although frankly foR me it is an age thing . I don’t think Hornby will ever be able to recapture the enthusiasm of my youth , even though trains in the early 70s were much less detailed than the ones today . But was it more fun? I get the same amount of pleasure running my 1970s B12 as I do my Locomotion/Rails LNER 4-4-2 , more actually as I’m not visualising £189 running round the layout once in a blue moon! 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted December 23, 2020 Share Posted December 23, 2020 59 minutes ago, Legend said: although frankly foR me it is an age thing Likewise here. One of the things I rather like about this thread is that it is educating me about the "train set culture" of the years between when I grew out of that side of things, and when I regressed back into it! 6 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hroth Posted December 23, 2020 Share Posted December 23, 2020 (edited) It was a train set that got me back into railway modelling. I was looking through the argos website in 2013 when I came across the Pennine Express set (R1158) at a greatly reduced price. Contents, borrowed from Hattons, some items missing! Ok, a GWR 101 pretending to be a L&Y loco, a GWR livery 4-wheeler, a brown van and a mineral wagon labelled "Settle Limes" (perhaps it should have been green rather than yellow?) isn't going to win prizes for prototypical accuracy, but the set was cheaper than its component parts so I plunged... Naturally, I have never totted up the ongoing costs arising from this gateway purchase.... Edited December 23, 2020 by Hroth 4 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steamport Southport Posted December 23, 2020 Share Posted December 23, 2020 It's wasn't quite a train set, but it was a mail order catalogue special that got me back into it. Certainly back into 00 after dabbling in O gauge for a few years. My mum got me a Heart Of Midlothian train pack that was on discount on the Littlewood catalogue. I think they were something like £100, but had been reduced further. https://www.hattons.co.uk/33463/hornby_r2794m_heart_of_midlothian_trainpack_with_a4_pacific_steam_falcon_60025_with_3_mk1_coa/stockdetail.aspx Quickly followed by a Rebuilt Bulleid BB and Pullmans Cunarder pack. So whilst not train sets, these where my first experiences with the "new" Hornby models. Jason 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Legend Posted December 23, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 23, 2020 (edited) 21 hours ago, LNWR18901910 said: Day 22 Yes, you all saw what was coming - the one model I have avoided getting for so long (not because I have nothing against the LNER, but because of my devotion to Pre-Grouping stuff, but I have considered saving up for a GNR condition A1 in the near-future). What can I say about Flying Scotsman? This is the most popular steam locomotive we are talking about (next to Thomas the Tank Engine). The improved tender-drive version was released in 1981 and has been continuously released over the last thirty years but nearly approaching forty come next year (as old as Postman Pat, no doubt). Just like with the Duchess set I talked about, this box art looks totally epic! The model itself rushes along the countryside behind orange Gresley coaching stock, it's supposed to be teak but it looks orange like in the Railway Series books. The motion blur on the valve gear and wheels looks totally dynamic in comparison to Photoshopped box art, this is what we need more often! But I should point out which version of the famous preserved steam locomotive to get - the now-rare Thomas & Friends version with the same face as Gordon, the LNER green version, the twin-tender version, the NE black version, the BR blue version, the BR green version, the NRM version, the USA Tour version, all kinds of them, the list goes on! It's like there's so much to choose from it's hard to say or tell which either one you like best! Maybe I should've started the New Year wearing a mask of the one thing I put off adding to my collection for so long...this bad boy (or girl, whichever)! Imagine anybody who asks Santa for this set and then at school these kids would brag about it, it's like this: "Hands up who owns the Flying Scotsman set?" "I do!" "I do, too!" "I have, like, six of 'em!" "What about you, mack?" "Me?" "Do you...or do you not...ask Santa for a Flying Scotsman set?" "Uh, um...no, I didn't. Why do you ask?" "LOSER!" And then everybody laughs at you, especially the school bully and including your teacher. Oh, how hard school can be...how did we survive childhood? Anyway, apart from that, the iconic steam locomotive has come a very long way even with DCC compatibility and in the Railroad range which is still equally aimed towards kids like the former Thomas range was. "What's that, Johnny? Your trains don't have faces on them? Don't worry, you can make your own and stick them on the smokebox door and pass them off as characters! Happy, now?" When I mentioned about masks earlier on, there are some Flying Scotsman face masks on Redbubble I saw while Googling 'Flying Scotsman mask' (some nice and some kinda weird, they even have A4 Class No. 4468 Mallard on them, I'm not making this up) so they're worth checking out. N.B: Special thanks to those who liked and agreed with my last post, I appreciate hearing your thoughts and agreeing with them as well as mine. Also, thanks to BernardTPM for providing me a high-resolution image of Hornby's 1997 catalogue, I will be updating Day 21 with a much better image. Butler Henderson, I agree with you and thanks for sharing trivia. I can't believe we are nearly there to Christmas! A couple more days to go and this Advent thing is done! But one thing bothers me - should I leave it up after Christmas? After all, we all have fun memories and great rare images to share. See you tomorrow with another one, I will be back with something which I will save as a big surprise for Christmas Eve, bye for now! Ahh yes the Flying Scotsman was an introduction to many to Model Railways . I had a friend at primary school who got one for his birthday . I was confident my AL1 that was very speedy would beat his Flying Scotsman and was crestfallen when the Scotsman proved faster in a race! Such things matter when you’re 10 . 4 years later I was allowed to select my Christmas present . This one came from Boots in Argyle St Glasgow . They didn’t usually stock Hornby but obviously stocked this train set for Christmas period £19.95 I think in 1976 , which was probably cheaper than elsewhere and was the reason for buying there .Usually it would have come from the fantastic model shop Argyle Models under Central Station or John Menzies that had a large Hornby dept. I had to act surprised on Christmas morning! So I have been driving one for 44 years Edited December 23, 2020 by Legend 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steamport Southport Posted December 23, 2020 Share Posted December 23, 2020 They all need Reassembling.... https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b086t7c9/james-may-the-reassembler-series-2-1-james-may-the-christmas-reassembler See what I did there? You might have to login. Sorry foreign peeps I don't think it'll work in your area. But it's probably somewhere on T'internet. Check YouTube. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hroth Posted December 23, 2020 Share Posted December 23, 2020 (edited) If you're in the UK, you missed the broadcast on BBC 4 at the civilised hour of 7pm on Tuesday. However, if you have a PVR, or are willing to stay up late, its repeated on BBC4 at 01.55* Thursday. This is good if you're fed up with having to log in to watch BBC programmes... * (Yep, two in the morning on Christmas Eve) Edited December 23, 2020 by Hroth Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coppercap Posted December 23, 2020 Share Posted December 23, 2020 2 hours ago, Hroth said: If you're in the UK, you missed the broadcast on BBC 4 at the civilised hour of 7pm on Tuesday. I'm in the UK and I didn't miss it... 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNWR18901910 Posted December 23, 2020 Author Share Posted December 23, 2020 (edited) Day 23 Introducing a familiar locomotive aside from Thomas that needs no introduction whatsoever! Two words: 1. Smokey 2. Joe After nearly two decades, this li'l guy gets his own official train set and about time, too! A popular favourite among modellers and kids alike, this has to be a celebration of a company mascot from the 1980s along with Inspector Gadget, G.I. Joe or Action Force as we call it in the UK and (dare I say it) Transformers, My Little Pony and Care Bears and not to mention The Smurfs. A small local freight train hauled by the titular and aptly-named model happily chug-chug-chugs past the Springfield Power Plant against a smoggy background. This image could be a metaphor for escapism in which we are faced with every day which is constantly changing over the years yet it's enough to make us question our existence. That's what the Hornby train set is for - not (just) as a scapegoat for rubbish marriages or a surefire way to put off chores much to the chagrin of parents and legal guardians, but as a a way to relive scenes from the past or just to run trains round and round (which is what I would mostly do, no kidding)! Hence the purpose of train sets! To think you had half a dozen wagons, then it's down to four or five but now it's down to three probably for cost reasons, but then again, if you wanted and needed more wagons, then you'd save up for wagons either from your local model railway dealer or on the second-hand market (one can only wonder what's to see and find). The train set is only just the beginning and I know it because I started out that way same as every modeller. N.B: Special thanks to those who liked and agreed with my thoughts on each set and catalogue. Come tomorrow, Christmas is nearly here and I am equally thrilled as much as everyone! This Advent saga is almost done and I have a special surprise in store! So, Merry Christmas and stay safe and healthy! See you tomorrow one last and final time! Edited December 23, 2020 by LNWR18901910 11 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben B Posted December 23, 2020 Share Posted December 23, 2020 1 hour ago, LNWR18901910 said: Introducing a familiar locomotive aside from Thomas that needs no introduction whatsoever! Two words: 1. Smokey 2. Joe After nearly two decades, this li'l guy gets his own official train set and about time, too! A popular favourite among modellers and kids alike, this has to be a celebration of a company mascot from the 1980s along with Inspector Gadget, G.I. Joe or Action Force as we call it in the UK and (dare I say it) Transformers, My Little Pony and Care Bears and not to mention The Smurfs. When I built a model railway (well, train set with scenery) for Younger Child, she specifically requested "Smokey Joe" over any other model. And to link in to with the other pop culture icons, her layout frequently features invasion by My Little Ponies Can I just say thanks for doing this thread? Train sets at Christmas... perfect, and it's been a great trip down memory lane! 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steamport Southport Posted December 23, 2020 Share Posted December 23, 2020 The one that always gets forgotten..... A decent attempt at an industrial Neilson. Photo borrowed from Hattons (can't find another decent one). Jason 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted December 23, 2020 Share Posted December 23, 2020 (edited) Desmond a.k.a. Smokey Joe is a very fitting successor to Nellie, really, because he is similar enough to an LSWR 0458 class, while she is clearly derived from an LSWR S14. I know they've painted the GWR 101 tank in a weird brown LSWR livery; has this one been seen in LSWR or SR colours? Edited December 23, 2020 by Nearholmer 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BernardTPM Posted December 23, 2020 Share Posted December 23, 2020 Hornby's second Caledonian Railway loco, though perhaps the antithesis of the first! 40 years old now. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanN91 Posted December 24, 2020 Share Posted December 24, 2020 (edited) Hornby ads - YouTube Nothing Grows Like It Hornby Advert - YouTube Hornby TV Advert "Crocodile" (1982) - YouTube Hornby TV Advert ft "Supersound" (1988?) - YouTube Hornby TV Advert "Trakmat" (1996) - YouTube Hornby Railways Traditionally The Best advert 1990 - YouTube Classic Tri-ang and Hornby Railways Adverts - YouTube Edited December 24, 2020 by RyanN91 missed information. link didn't work oh dear haha well if you feel like searching for them ! 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going2theDogs Posted December 24, 2020 Share Posted December 24, 2020 Hi All, Just wanted acknowledge these fantastic posts throughout this month. They have brought back so many great memories. Pure nostalgia. Thank you for sharing. Merry Christmas. 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Legend Posted December 24, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 24, 2020 (edited) Yes this has been a great thread . Thanks for LNWR18901910 for fantastic idea . Actually it was better than the official Hornby Advent Calendar . You might have thought celebrating 100 years they might have done something similar with past images from catalogues . Bet they are kicking themselves . Actually I’m going to head up the loft and change over to my “heritage fleet “ for Christmas . Happy memories brought back to life . Meanwhile here’s an image from the 67 and 68 catalogues with the steam fleet still in BR liveries . A B12 on the Freightliner . I don’t think so , but it was all good fun . Merry Christmas to everyone thst posted and shared memories on this thread . Edited December 24, 2020 by Legend 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butler Henderson Posted December 24, 2020 Share Posted December 24, 2020 37 minutes ago, Legend said: Meanwhile here’s an image from the 67 and 68 catalogues with the steam fleet still in BR liveries . A B12 on the Freightliner . I don’t think so , but it was all good fun .. Looks like Polly has stalled on the dead frog of the crossover 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steamport Southport Posted December 24, 2020 Share Posted December 24, 2020 15 hours ago, Nearholmer said: Desmond a.k.a. Smokey Joe is a very fitting successor to Nellie, really, because he is similar enough to an LSWR 0458 class, while she is clearly derived from an LSWR S14. I know they've painted the GWR 101 tank in a weird brown LSWR livery; has this one been seen in LSWR or SR colours? Unfortunately the Hawthorn Leslie doesn't look much like the Neilson side on. I've checked! https://sremg.org.uk/steam/0458_class.html Obviously it might be alright for a "vaguely looks like", but I was looking at it for a proper model. Jason Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted December 24, 2020 Share Posted December 24, 2020 I looked at it a while back, and decided that it would take a fair bit of work to make a reasonable representation, , entirely different cab for starters, and that the quality of the chassis/motor would always let it down, so I decided not. But, I have seen conversions that are instantly recognisable, if possibly not spot-on dimensionally - I think a section had been taken out of the length of the tank. Mind you, I was thinking of it as a "toy" LSWR loco in the context of this thread, not a scale model. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted December 24, 2020 Share Posted December 24, 2020 And, thank you to LNWR for an excellent thread, and to everyone who has shared memories of toy train sets past. Have the best Christmas that present annoyances permit. 1 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hroth Posted December 24, 2020 Share Posted December 24, 2020 Thanks to LNWR18901910 for starting this thread, I've enjoyed reading it and everyones thoughts and memories of train sets and Christmasses gone by. Merry Christmas to all and hopes for a happier New Year! 1 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruffnut Thorston Posted December 24, 2020 Share Posted December 24, 2020 (edited) 10 hours ago, Butler Henderson said: Looks like Polly has stalled on the dead frog of the crossover Hopefully not running towards the running line with Flying Scotsman and train on! And, please stop before running into that M7! Best Wishes to all, and Nadolig Llawen.... Yes, this is the better Advent Calender type thingy! Edited December 24, 2020 by Ruffnut Thorston More added 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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