2021 hopes

[mdvle]

On 08/12/2020 at 07:09, TomScrut said:

I recon that new tooling might be a bit thin on the ground given what has been done this year.

 

The flip side though is that the lockdowns have increased sales, so the combination of more money coming in and a hot market might encourage them to be a bit bolder than they otherwise may have been planning - particularly with the increased competition in the UK market.

[TomScrut]

1 minute ago, mdvle said:

The flip side though is that the lockdowns have increased sales, so the combination of more money coming in and a hot market might encourage them to be a bit bolder than they otherwise may have been planning - particularly with the increased competition in the UK market.

 

Good point, whether they can react that quickly I don't know?

[fiftyfour fiftyfour]

4 hours ago, wombatofludham said:

The Oxford and Hornlimby Mk3s don't sit well together in a rake.  Fed up of waiting for Oxford to do some decent IC125 trailers to match the quality of the Hornby new power cars, I bought six Oxford loco hauled Mk3s and a Hornby TGS with the view to converting the TFO and TSO Oxfords into HST trailers by 3d printing replacement roof vents, and chopping off the buffers. Unfortunately there was such a difference in appearance between the two makes, not just the fifty shades of grey problem, that it would have looked odd.  Fortunately I also have need of a loco worked Mk3 rake so no wasted expenditure, but I'm now looking at having a majority Hornby rake of Mk3 IC125 trailers, although probably with an Oxford RFM as the buffet car because the Hornby model is a three bay job and has no roof vents.  I can live with a buffet that is visibly different but with roof vents, and at least one cross country rake did run with a four bay buffet first in 1993 which the RFM closely matches.  However, if Hornby do decide to do some proper job IC125 Mk3 slam door coaches to match the sliding door stock, I'll definitely be in for a seven car rake.

Cash waiting, Hornby...

I'm still one of those lunatics that think that the Lima Mk3's have yet to be beaten as slam door HST trailers. Add the Lazerglaze flushglazing, and install one of those great new interiors* in the TS vehicles if doing any livery post blue/grey and tidy things up a bit around the end beams and couplings and to my eye a very good standard of HST can be produced when sandwiched between a pair of Hornby power cars. Having come at the TRSB problem from both directions my conclusion is that hacking about with a Lima Mk3 buffet to create a four window version is a better starting point than the Limby RFM (you need a donor TF or TS to rob two full window bays and the "blank canvas" of a standard trailer roof to add the correct pods to, but the RFM is miles away from a TRSB when viewed from above). 40619 (to which you refer) was a three window bay buffet with first class (so not far off the Lima or Hornby buffets) was only ever a short term spare in the Cross-Country fleet on and off during the 1990's and is a bit of a hybrid/freak show to trial "cuisine 2000" which fell out of favour almost before it began.

 

*declaration of personal interest whilst stocks last!!

[Banger Blue]

On 05/12/2020 at 20:21, Chris56057 said:

More 56's, mainly another run of the Blue and Large Logo..  

 

That’ would score highly as my vote / wish / hope! Although the Class 56 makes a regular appearance, it’s been a while since BR Blue & Large Logo made an appearance.

After a quick Google I found the Model rail database  and according to the page on the Class 56 :

 

BR Blue last appeared in 2007 (56013) 2011 (56082) & 2012 (56083) 

Large Logo last appeared in 2013 (56084), before that it was back in 2003 with Non DCC ready models.

 

56124 “Blue Circle Cement” or 56133 “Crewe Locomotive Works”  would see me open my wallet with indecent haste!!

[Covkid]

21 hours ago, MGR Hooper! said:

 

I would also like to see the Oxford Rail Mk3 stock absorbed into the Hornby range.

 

They will certainly benefit from the better production standards that Hornby has. Yes I know Hornby faces QC issues every now and then and I know they also have had their fair share of problems with colours, but overall they've done a better job of such things. 

 

I really do hope that a majority of the Oxford Rail range is also brought under the Hornby brand. Oxford Rail have gone a little quiet lately. 

 

 

Not particularly hot on Mk3 differences but I believe Hornby have nearly all the components for the DATS test trains which run out of Leicester.  Basically ex MML HST power cars with DATS labels, class 91 locos and Mk3 stock.  I might be possible to have some DATS family theming to the products, which could encourage collectors to add the components.  Say two or three power cars two 91s  and around eight or nine Mk3s with some distinctive branding on the boxes.   

 

Here is a useful Youtube clip of one of the formations 

 

 

Edit - did you notice the Mk3b DVT in the formation ?  Another of the DATS "testing for speed" collectors items for the range.  

Edited December 10, 2020 by Covkid
Addition

[nathan70000]

25 minutes ago, Covkid said:

 

Edit - did you notice the Mk3b DVT in the formation ?  Another of the DATS "testing for speed" collectors items for the range.  

Even odder than the DVT was the "Test Coach 1" painted in Prototype HST livery! Or was that just a coincidence and not a deliberate homage?

[69843]

2 hours ago, nathan70000 said:

Even odder than the DVT was the "Test Coach 1" painted in Prototype HST livery! Or was that just a coincidence and not a deliberate homage?

The two Prototype liveried cars might be ones from the 125 Group that were paired with 41001?

[TomScrut]

5 hours ago, Covkid said:

 

 

Not particularly hot on Mk3 differences but I believe Hornby have nearly all the components for the DATS test trains which run out of Leicester.  Basically ex MML HST power cars with DATS labels, class 91 locos and Mk3 stock.  I might be possible to have some DATS family theming to the products, which could encourage collectors to add the components.  Say two or three power cars two 91s  and around eight or nine Mk3s with some distinctive branding on the boxes.   

 

Here is a useful Youtube clip of one of the formations 

 

 

Edit - did you notice the Mk3b DVT in the formation ?  Another of the DATS "testing for speed" collectors items for the range.  

 

Isn't there also talk of adding at least 1 90 into the mix in due course? I think at the moment they are simulating the 810s but they are supposedly adding a 90 in there when they are simulating the smaller EMUs so there are 3 or 4 pantographs.

[60800]

Since my wallet is still waiting to be battered by 2020's announcements, I only hope for five things in the 2021 catalogue;

 

LNER Mk.4's 

91110

91101

6233 

46203

 

Cheers,

  60800 

 

[surfsup]

6 hours ago, 69843 said:

The two Prototype liveried cars might be ones from the 125 Group that were paired with 41001?

 

They will either be MK3 B FO 11074 or MK3 A TSO 12092 - Both are now privately owned by DATS themselves. (11074 is a later build MK3 B and not so in-keeping with the HSTs). 

[SouthernBlue80s]

15 hours ago, Banger Blue said:

 

That’ would score highly as my vote / wish / hope! Although the Class 56 makes a regular appearance, it’s been a while since BR Blue & Large Logo made an appearance.

After a quick Google I found the Model rail database  and according to the page on the Class 56 :

 

BR Blue last appeared in 2007 (56013) 2011 (56082) & 2012 (56083) 

Large Logo last appeared in 2013 (56084), before that it was back in 2003 with Non DCC ready models.

 

56124 “Blue Circle Cement” or 56133 “Crewe Locomotive Works”  would see me open my wallet with indecent haste!!

This.

With large logo 56036 as the blindingly obvious start point.

[Karl]

4 hours ago, 60800 said:

Since my wallet is still waiting to be battered by 2020's announcements, I only hope for five things in the 2021 catalogue;

 

LNER Mk.4's 

91110

91101

6233 

46203

 

Cheers,

  60800 

 

 

I'm surprised we haven't yet seen the new Princess Coronation as 6233 in full LMS with deflectors as it currently is so I expect this at some point.

 

Dare I hope for one of the following LNER K4, LNER K2/2 or LNER D40! I do think it'll be the LMS year with LNER Pacifics still to come from 2020, the GWR prairie not long out and Southern having done well from Hornby in recent years. The LMS feels like the one Hornby have touched less and might visit this time around.

[TomScrut]

19 minutes ago, Karl said:

I'm surprised we haven't yet seen the new Princess Coronation as 6233 in full LMS with deflectors as it currently is so I expect this at some point.

 

That would be good, although from a preservation perspective most of my interest is smaller stuff as I have plans for a heritage line, I might end up with one or two big locos to bang up and down the main lines on railtours

[rope runner]

Blimey.

 

There are some truly crackers ideas on this thread and I think we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief that the finances and investment choices of Hornby are not in the hands of some on here!

 

Expect another industrial loco this year or next. Indeed, maybe even two (one diesel, one steam)

 

No new or retooled wagons last year and so I expect we'll see some this time around, one modern image and one earlier. 

 

Paul A. 

[Legend]

I'm not sure that the industrial market isn't now saturated . We seem to have gone from virtually 0 five years ago to Sentinels, Pecketts , The Hattons locos and now the Rapido ones .  There must come a time when everybody has got what they need . 

[fiftyfour fiftyfour]

14 hours ago, Covkid said:

 

 

Not particularly hot on Mk3 differences but I believe Hornby have nearly all the components for the DATS test trains which run out of Leicester.  Basically ex MML HST power cars with DATS labels, class 91 locos and Mk3 stock.  I might be possible to have some DATS family theming to the products, which could encourage collectors to add the components.  Say two or three power cars two 91s  and around eight or nine Mk3s with some distinctive branding on the boxes.   

 

Here is a useful Youtube clip of one of the formations 

 

 

Edit - did you notice the Mk3b DVT in the formation ?  Another of the DATS "testing for speed" collectors items for the range.  

Err, I think if you want to make up a train that existed once or twice EVER to carry out some tests, mostly nocturnally, then what you do with the thick end of £1000 worth of rolling stock behind closed doors is nobody else's business! Quite how many units Hornby would shift by packaging this up together as if it were a real train commonly seen out and about on the national network I'd not like to guess, but I imagine it to be in single figures.

 

I can sort of understand some commercial viability in doing the Midland Pullman for people who just buy "stuff they like the look of" and want a train that will run 20x a year nationwide running round their layout but this idea is a step into the surreal...

 

Edited December 10, 2020 by fiftyfour fiftyfour

[DLPG]

A newly tooled D49 or a J21 would be my main wish list items. I have suggest in the past an A5 would suit a number of folk as these were much travelled. 

[DLPG]

Might add there still seems to be a lot of interest in the S160. Would definitely buy one even though it would not fit my layout plans. 

[Dunsignalling]

2 hours ago, Legend said:

I'm not sure that the industrial market isn't now saturated . We seem to have gone from virtually 0 five years ago to Sentinels, Pecketts , The Hattons locos and now the Rapido ones .  There must come a time when everybody has got what they need . 

Nowhere near saturated so long as too many don't arrive at once. I reckon there's a decent market for one or two new ones every year almost indefinitely. The danger would be if a bandwagon got going, then one or all might get their fingers burnt.

 

There's a big difference between what folk need and what they fancy. With new large main-line locos getting up around the £200 mark, industrials appear cheap by comparison and don't look daft on the size of layout that many are restricted to. It matters not if the layout can only handle two out of your dozen locos at a time, just swap them over for different shapes and colours as the mood takes you.

 

John

Edited December 10, 2020 by Dunsignalling

[RichardT]

3 hours ago, 1whitemoor said:

There are some truly crackers ideas on this thread and I think we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief that the finances and investment choices of Hornby are not in the hands of some on here!

I don't think that there's any need to be worried Paul.  I've always assumed that this thread, and others like it, are here as harmless frotharamas for RMWebber's to shoot the breeze - the online equivalent of talking b*ll*cks in the pub after a club meeting.  I don't seriously expect Hornby to produce rtr Raven Pacifics!

 

Richard T

 

PS  Simon K - ignore what I've just said above - get those A2s tooled up now!

Edited December 10, 2020 by RichardT
Grammar

[rovex]

Ok, so here are things Hornby won't be announcing:

 

GWR Saint or Manor

GWR updated 14xx or pannier/tank engine

GWR restaurant car H57

New Autocar or B set coaches

Unique GWR wagon such as a coral or Corden.

 

What expect to see:

 

Another big Pacific loco or similar eye catching loco

New early loco to go with rocket

Some wagons for rocket

Some coaches that are no use to a GWR modeller

Similar wagon.

 

Hope you can see where I'm going with this

rovex

[nathan70000]

4 hours ago, 1whitemoor said:

Blimey.

 

There are some truly crackers ideas on this thread and I think we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief that the finances and investment choices of Hornby are not in the hands of some on here!

It's all good fun though! The annual speculation about big yearly announcements is always enjoyable and I'm sure if the hobby was more mainstream bookies would place bets on it!

 

I actually don't think there's many ways Hornby could go wrong. I'm sure many of the suggestions mentioned in the thread so far would be very profitable for Hornby, and I would wager that if they did do the Raven Pacifics, they would sell out on pre-order! How many people ordered an original W1 because their layouts really needed one? Yet it has been a massive success, and I should know, because it was a pain trying to find somewhere that was still taking pre-orders.

 

I actually think the riskiest proposition suggested on this thread would be re-tooling locomotives like the Black 5, the 8F, the rebuilt Merchant Navy and the 9F. These are already excellent models (admittedly the Hornby 9F is quite dated but the Bachmann one is fine) and I don't think many railway modellers are quite as preoccupied with fidelity as the user base of this forum might suggest. A lot of people will make their purchases based on cost-effectiveness, and if you've already got a Black 5, are you going to spend upwards of £170 on a new one? I wouldn't, but I'd certainly put that money aside for a Raven Pacific. And I think you'd be surprised at the amount of people who have roundy-roundys and run pretty much according to "Rule 1", who would make the same choice. I actually do prefer specific area(s) and eras, but I'm willing to make exceptions if the locomotive is special enough.

 

I reckon the cumulative impact of this effect ("I've already got X, so I'll buy X instead), as well as the supply of second hand and mint ex-estate examples on eBay, would lead to retooled Black 5s, 9Fs, RbMNs etc. sitting on shelves until they are inevitably reduced and snapped up for about £120.

 

A specialist company aimed specifically at enthusiasts (like Cavalex) could probably pull it off, but a big mass market one like Hornby would struggle with the large production runs required. I actually think things like Raven Pacifics, streamlined P2s, Great Bears, and Turbomotives would be more successful in terms of profitability.

 

That write up was much longer than I thought it would be when I started it!

[Iskra]

My hopes:

 

Clan Class

Reworked class 142

Class 73/9 Caledonian Sleeper

Some classic HST liveries; GNER, Midland Mainline.

 

[Gibbo675]

On 06/12/2020 at 18:20, phil gollin said:

.

 

S.160  -  I do not why there is such enthusiasm as they nearly all just served on the continent, whilst a few worked in the UK on mainlines only in wartime, so even wartime layouts will need several just sitting in a siding to be accurate (maybe an unpowered option).

 

However, if people will buy them then it will be worth Hornby producing them.

 

.

Hi Phil,

 

Second photo down in the link looks represents more than several !

 

http://www.railalbum.co.uk/steam-locomotives/usatc-s160-1.htm

 

Gibbo.

[Chrisr40]

Some new TTS chips would be nice.

Heritage DMU,Class 73...