Hornby: A Model World

[RichardT]

17 minutes ago, Robin Brasher said:

 

The new Hornby locomotives run well at the outset and are excellent reproductions of the prototypes but I don't think they are any longer purchases for keeps.

You’re “running” them!?  Ah, i see you’ve misunderstood: when Simon says “for keeps” he means that you buy one of each variant which should stay untouched in its original packaging or on display “for keeps”. That’s why it says “for adult collectors” on the boxes. You’re not meant to ruin them by taking them out of the boxes, putting power into them and hooking them up into a train!!  -)

Getting back on topic. Thanks to all contributors to this thread. I’m recording this series to watch at leisure over Christmas, as it sounds like it’s developing into a more broad brush look at the hobby than we’ve seen on popular tv for a while.  But all the tips about which bits to fast forward through are much appreciated.

 

Richard

[Barry Ten]

27 minutes ago, Robin Brasher said:

All my Hornby Dublo and Wrenn locomotives are still running as is my Tri-ang Princess so those were purchases for keeps but I wish the same could be said for my T9. My T9's motor is fine but unfortunately the gears no longer engage with the wheels.

ger purchases for keeps.

 

That's the motor mount problem, Robin. What happens is that the old mount fractures, and the gears go out of mesh. If Hornby won't help, Peter's spares were selling their own castings. It's a simple screwdriver job to change it and the job's a good 'un.

[Ian Hargrave]

The T9 is a good example of short life expectancy. So what do you do if,for instance,the motor mounts fail ? For some thing you probably bought a little while ago for around £100 and you either cannot source the parts or don’t have the necessary skills to repair yourself ? You may decide to bin it and perhaps buy another.In that. case H makes more profit. The split gears on the Bulleid is a common cause of failure…often from new. I’ve come to the conclusion that Hornby are what they are and such things are part of a calculated risk when you buy. Cynical ? Moi ?

[Ian Hargrave]

10 minutes ago, Barry Ten said:

 

That's the motor mount problem, Robin. What happens is that the old mount fractures, and the gears go out of mesh. If Hornby won't help, Peter's spares were selling their own castings. It's a simple screwdriver job to change it and the job's a good 'un.

 Our respective posts crossed. Didn’t see yours when I posted.Thanks. 

[Re6/6]

6 hours ago, Captain Kernow said:

....................................... The horror of that fellow being pulled along his attic floor by a mass of locos and the joy of Pete Goss's Copper Wort layout?

 

 

4 hours ago, PaulRhB said:

More impressive version here by the Miniatur Wunderland crew

 

 

Only the Germans would do such a thing! Blo*dy marvellous! 

 

Just imagine the total value of all those 182s... on loan from Fleishmann or Roco no doubt!

[Dunsignalling]

40 minutes ago, Barry Ten said:

 

That's the motor mount problem, Robin. What happens is that the old mount fractures, and the gears go out of mesh. If Hornby won't help, Peter's spares were selling their own castings. It's a simple screwdriver job to change it and the job's a good 'un.

My first T9 repair was before I discovered the Peter's Spares part and the Hornby bit was unobtainable at the time.

 

I just laminated up a platform from plastic sheet, glued that to the chassis then glued the motor to that, after first confirming a good mesh using double-sided tape.

 

It now runs noticeably better than it did when new, which suggests the gear meshing may not have been up to much in the first place.

 

I'm currently doing one of my own, the L/E preserved 120 from a few years back, using the P.S casting. Going well but I found the casting was a bit of a snug fit in places and benefitted from a little gentle filing here and there. That tallies with every other brass casting I've ever encountered.

 

I'll be ordering extra P.S mounts for my other T9s that are still currently OK as I think failures are pretty general to all versions, eventually. Hornby spares are now available again, but I'll stick with what I know works, and which I trust to continue to do so.

 

John

Edited December 2, 2021 by Dunsignalling

[298]

1 hour ago, RichardT said:

You’re not meant to ruin them by taking them out of the boxes, putting power into them and hooking them up into a train!!  -)

Getting back on topic. Thanks to all contributors to this thread. I’m recording this series to watch at leisure over Christmas.

 

Spoiler alert, you're not supposed to ruin them by seeing what happens when you put 30 volts into them....

[Miss Prism]

Viewers may find some of the scenes in next week's show distressing. If you are affected by any of the issues raised in the programme, details of organisations offering advice and support are listed in the credits at the end.
 

[Huw Griffiths]

12 minutes ago, Miss Prism said:

Viewers may find some of the scenes in next week's show distressing. If you are affected by any of the issues raised in the programme, details of organisations offering advice and support are listed in the credits at the end.
 

 

Let's guess: trained professionals, waiting for viewers' phone calls?

 

[Brian Indge]

17 minutes ago, Miss Prism said:

Viewers may find some of the scenes in next week's show distressing. If you are affected by any of the issues raised in the programme, details of organisations offering advice and support are listed in the credits at the end.
 

To my mind, Anything that has the “Carpet Kid” involved is distressing.

[Huw Griffiths]

24 minutes ago, Brian Indge said:

To my mind, Anything that has the “Carpet Kid” involved is distressing.

 

I can't help wondering if the sequence shown in the trailers might have some connection with his Variac routine.

 

Whatever the score, I suspect that any sequences involving this guy really need prominent warnings - along the lines of "DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME!!"

[Tim V]

4 minutes ago, Huw Griffiths said:

 

I can't help wondering if the sequence shown in the trailers might have some connection with his Variac routine.

 

Whatever the score, I suspect that any sequences involving this guy really need prominent warnings - along the lines of "DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME!!"

Don't believe everything you see on TV!

[Huw Griffiths]

1 minute ago, Tim V said:

Don't believe everything you see on TV!

 

I don't - but certain "innovations" strike me as seriously scary.

[Gilbert]

52 minutes ago, Huw Griffiths said:

 

Whatever the score, I suspect that any sequences involving this guy really need prominent warnings - along the lines of "DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME!!"

Don't hold your breath..

[DK123GWR]

Perhaps this is a stupid question, but how likely is it that somebody watching the TV program is going to:

(1) recognise all of the electical equipment being used AND (2) know how to source it AND (3) not recognise the dangers involved?

I don't think anyone who knows how to try it at home is going to be ignorant of the risks, and I don't think anyone who is aware of the risks but chooses to try it at home regardless is going to be dissuaded by a 'do not try this at home message'. Perhaps from a legal standpoint they are leaving themselves open, but they are the ones who would suffer in that case. Morally, I'm not sure that they're doing too much wrong though, for the reasons outlined above. That said, I would probably give a warning if it were my decision, and I think Sam usually does in his videos when messing around with stupid stuff.

[F-UnitMad]

On 30/11/2021 at 09:26, Georgeconna said:

 

They just need to spot the difference between a Lancaster and a Wellington now. 

That bit did mystify me a bit, as the artist seems to know his aircraft, yet was showing a picture of a Wellington on fire & a crewman ready to get out on the wing, but spoke about the incident when a crewman did that on a Lancaster...??!!

It's taken the little grey cells a while, but I was sure I'd heard of something similar happening on a Wellington, and tonight I found it....

https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-trending/that-time-a-wwii-bomber-pilot-climbed-onto-the-wing-mid-flight-to-save-his-crew/

I think this is the incident the Airfix artist has painted, but still I can't work out why he was talking about the Lancaster??

[Steamport Southport]

8 hours ago, Metr0Land said:

 

  That would be quite low.  XR729 intercepted a U2 at 80,000 ft......  (approx 5m 13s onwards)

 

 

And he still hasn't found what he was looking for.....

[Lambton58]

2 hours ago, F-UnitMad said:

That bit did mystify me a bit, as the artist seems to know his aircraft, yet was showing a picture of a Wellington on fire & a crewman ready to get out on the wing, but spoke about the incident when a crewman did that on a Lancaster...??!!

It's taken the little grey cells a while, but I was sure I'd heard of something similar happening on a Wellington, and tonight I found it....

https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-trending/that-time-a-wwii-bomber-pilot-climbed-onto-the-wing-mid-flight-to-save-his-crew/

I think this is the incident the Airfix artist has painted, but still I can't work out why he was talking about the Lancaster??

Remarkably, it a similar thing also happened with a Lancaster  - https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/sergeant-norman-jackson-vc .  What happened afterwards is just as remarkable https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Cyril_Jackson

 

Ralph

Lambton58

 

Edited December 2, 2021 by Lambton58

[F-UnitMad]

16 minutes ago, Lambton58 said:

Remarkably, it a similar thing also happened with a Lancaster  - https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/sergeant-norman-jackson-vc .  What happened afterwards is just as remarkable https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Cyril_Jackson

 

Ralph

Lambton58

 

Yes, that's the one I referred to earlier, and that the Airfix artist was talking about - he mentioned Norman Jackson V.C. by name. But the painting he was holding at the time was of a Wellington in similar circumstances, which was the incident I posted a link to.

[Lambton58]

9 hours ago, F-UnitMad said:

Yes, that's the one I referred to earlier, and that the Airfix artist was talking about - he mentioned Norman Jackson V.C. by name. But the painting he was holding at the time was of a Wellington in similar circumstances, which was the incident I posted a link to.

Ah, sorry.  I missed the previous comment.  Going a bit off topic now but, my goodness, what incredible bravery from both men.  

[SteveyDee68]

I’m slowly catching up on the series, so am probably well behind but …

 

A few questions, if I may?

 

A) “Sam’s Trains” - does he actually buy the stuff, or is he sent it for free? I would not be spending £100 perhaps £200+ on a model locomotive then (a) running it on carpet and/or (b) submitting it to voltages it was never designed for! What exactly was the point of discovering whether a particularly famous steam engine model could, in scale terms, be made to run faster than a Japanese Bullet Train?

B) My mum, bless her, ‘put up’ with my late father’s hobby from the day she met him. It never really interested her, she didn’t quite get what it was about, but she supported him because it was something he enjoyed. She watched Sam trip the electrics in his house, and consequent “experimenting” and asked me - from a total non-modeller’s point of view - “What is that idiot trying to do?” A few minutes later, she asked the question which I wish the TV programme had asked Sam - “Why?!”

C) The programme showed a retailer - ROCKET RAILWAYS - receiving a tilting APT model, and quite a bit of airtime was devoted to them. Is that the same ROCKET RAILWAYS that regularly features in our very own eBay Madness thread for overpricing tatty pieces of junk or, most recently, advertising “weathering” services?

 

I quite enjoy the programme, but every time I see the “Carpet Kid” (as he was previously dubbed) I feel the urge to change channels (which is ironic given that I am watching a recording!)

 

Steve S

[Legend]

6 minutes ago, SteveyDee68 said:

I’m slowly catching up on the series, so am probably well behind but …

 

A few questions, if I may?

 

A) “Sam’s Trains” - does he actually buy the stuff, or is he sent it for free? I would not be spending £100 perhaps £200+ on a model locomotive then (a) running it on carpet and/or (b) submitting it to voltages it was never designed for! What exactly was the point of discovering whether a particularly famous steam engine model could, in scale terms, be made to run faster than a Japanese Bullet Train?

 

 Dont know the answer to all your queries but he does buy the stuff and isnt given it for free .  Yes there are issues but for me thats why I like his reviews . He bought it, expects it to look and run well and his reviews cover that . The latest one on the Dapol Prairie for instance suggests there are issues with connectivity while passing over points .Verified in other reviews   Good to know. Ever seen any comments like that in a magazine review? It will be interesting to see what the mags do say.

 

While generally a Sam supporter I do cringe at some of the antics , like passing through 30V or running trains in a paddling pool . He might view that as fun but to me it devalues his Channel . I'm not at all bothered by his carpet though . As someone pointed out if the loco runs succesfully on Sams railway its probably a good indicator it will be fine on anyone elses (and Sam , himself would probably say that)

[SteveyDee68]

11 minutes ago, Legend said:

but he does buy the stuff and isnt given it for free

 

Crikey! He must have deep pockets then!!

[Legend]

22 minutes ago, SteveyDee68 said:

 

Crikey! He must have deep pockets then!!

 I dont know how much money he makes from YouTube but that might cover it . He does have over 100k Subscribers .  You also find people sponsor his channel and give donations during live streams .   He did used to do model repairs  , as he has succesfully repaired some of mine at reasonable cost . I was very impressed , especially restoring a dearly loved Class 81/ AL1 I had as a present in 1966. It runs good as new .  I think he may have given that up now , though as YouTube takes over .

Edited December 3, 2021 by Legend

[spamcan61]

48 minutes ago, Legend said:

While generally a Sam supporter I do cringe at some of the antics , like passing through 30V or running trains in a paddling pool . He might view that as fun but to me it devalues his Channel . I'm not at all bothered by his carpet though . As someone pointed out if the loco runs succesfully on Sams railway its probably a good indicator it will be fine on anyone elses (and Sam , himself would probably say that)

Agreed, whilst his 'on screen persona' gives me the wick I do find at least some of his content (generally about 5-10 mins. per video) useful, particularly measuring drawbar pull and taking the loco to bits so I don't have to.