Hornby announcement 8th May

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

...Perhaps Hornby is going to upgrade its settrack system?  Its been eons since System 6 was introduced, nearly 4 decades ago, and model fidelity has changed out of all recognition since ...

Couldn't agree more, (and I think it is knocking 5 decades since introduction) nothing would say 'a change in direction for Hornby' than such a move. Call it 'Premier Line', 'Permanent Way' or 'insert preferred evocative name here' and sell thousand of miles of it.

[FJ1701]

I think most of us can agree that if someone were to produce an Electrostar, Bachmann would be the preferred choice even if it took two years to manufacture  

[jjb1970]

Funnily enough,having run Kato trains on Unitrack in N gauge over the last five years,I was thinking about utrying an oval of Kato HO gauge track for my dormant Hornby collection!

But I won't be buying it from Osborn's!!

If you want a pre-ballasted set track system then I think Kato Unitrak is probably the best there is. Clearly such a product isn't for everybody, but for what it is it is a superb quality product. I have quite a lot of N gauge Unitrak and a little bit of HO and I'd recommend either to anybody considering it.

[Steamport Southport]

I'm not sure what the reference to the OO gauge Brighton Belle is for, but I'm sure it's not such a popular train (eg: Mallard, Flying Scotsman) where it will sell in box loads in other scales (eg: O gauge). In N gauge it wasn't such a great seller, they haven't done any other re-runs of it. The first half of my post was basically talking about Hornby's possible and sensible ways to test the O gauge market by doing something they already do in OO so I suggested the 0-4-0 Sentinels, unlike their odd test for N gauge.

 

Regarding the N gauge Brighton Belle, there was nothing continental about it. If it was it would've been made in 1:160 scale. Hornby-Arnold from the very beginning decided that the Brighton-Belle was to be aimed at the British market and from the very beginning it was 1:148 scale.

 

And to conclude Hornby have publicly stated that they aren't going to jump into O gauge any time soon.

 

 

 

Your comment was it was " a comical choice".

 

How is making one of the better selling models of the last few years in 00 gauge available in N gauge comical? They're not exactly in the bargain bins for a couple of quid.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hornby-Arnold-Brighton-Belle-1969-Blue-Pullman-5-car-set-New-in-unopened-box/302694526632?epid=13014125559&hash=item4679ffeea8:g:sTYAAOSwUd9acfxE

 

There is no point in making A3s or A4s as they are already part of two N gauge ranges. Three if you include Minitrix. 

 

So a taster into N gauge that could have possibly led to more EMUs such as the 2HAL and 2BIL was an excellent idea. IMO.

 

 

BTW the Arnold Brighton Belle was on sale in Europe before the UK. I remember the complaints from those that couldn't get them.

 

 

 

Jason

[Steamport Southport]

I don’t think it’s Hornby but someone has laser scanned 2 buses recently.

 

I think that may be Rapido. They have a bus thing going on.

 

 

 

Jason

[bart2day]

I think most of us can agree that if someone were to produce an Electrostar, Bachmann would be the preferred choice even if it took two years to manufacture

Two years? You're generous. More like five judging by their recent performance like the class 158 or 319 in n.

Edited April 30, 2018 by bart2day

[jjb1970]

I thought all the research tells us that office workers are just a tiny percentage more productive than a century ago (after all that capital investment in IT!), because we’ve simply made more pointless work for ourselves producing PowerPoint presentations and status reports. Meanwhile the real productivity gains have been on the factory floor.

 

Paul

I think that depends on what you consider to be an office worker. When I was doing engine and shafting design verification I did the work in a fraction of the time it would have taken not so long ago, not because I am clever but because tools like finite element analysis software, the in-house vibration analysis software, thermodynamic modelling tools and even the more prosaic tools such as Mathcad allowed me to do in a a day what would once have taken an engineer and an assistant many days to do with far less precision. And that is without considering that a lot of things that are now taken for granted were impracticable not that long ago simply because of the amount of calculations necessary (which in itself has facilitated huge gains, such as reducing typical engine weight by 50% since the mid 80's). The section I worked in had never been as productive in terms of the amount of work being done yet head count had reduced from over 50 to 7 since the early 90's. Other sections such as hull structures had seen a similar growth in output and major headcount reduction.

[James Makin]

It wouldn't surprise me if they are going to announce an Electrostar. That is the one train with the most units/coaches in the UK, and its area of use has increased in recent months with the GWR out of Paddington. Yes, there are many differences between the versions, but that should not be too difficult to overcome. It could be a great money-earner for them.

Every year since Hornby dropped the hint in the 2007 Model Rail Magazine interview I’d hoped there would be an Electrostar, and with each year that has gone by, its got more and more illogical that they’ve not announced one! There’s a ridiculous amount of these units out on the network now, surely it is only a matter of time...or will we still be saying this in 2029 haha..!

 

Cheers,

James

[The Johnster]

As long as those fishplates come in a massive box from Hattons.

 

 

 

 

Jason

 

I so want them to come in a massive hat from boxtons...

[tomparryharry]

I so want them to come in a massive hat from boxtons...

For the price of some of these items, I expect a delivery in a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, with a footman running alongside....

 

Cheers,

 

Ian.

[Les1952]

Hornby are to announce a merger with Morrisons?  seeing as Asda and Sainsburys are doing the same?

 

Does Hornisons have the same ring to it as Asbury (or is it Sainsda?)

 

Les

[DJM Dave]

I think that may be Rapido. They have a bus thing going on.

 

 

 

Jason

I understand not, but I can see your logic.

[Vistisen]

What I want most at the moment is some decent insulating rail joiners for bullhead rail that look like the Peco metal bullhead joiners, but insulated. A bit of an unusual request for Hornby, but hey, there are people wanting a Fell, or Hornby to produce trams that can't be used on any current layout,

[John M Upton]

On the buses front, Hornby do own Corgi and originally on its acquisition promised railway related releases but that seems to have come to nothing and as far as I can see the Corgi bit is pretty much dead.

[ThaneofFife]

I think an O gauge class 87 would be financial suicide for them.  I cannot see a market for O gauge AC locos at the moment nor for some years yet..........Hornby made their intentions clear regarding those 7mm scale cabs. 

[dogbox321]

If I were Hornby, a top of the range Class 66 would have been top of my list..........

 

And try to "Sweat" a few other assets - Waster container for the KFA, Sealions/Seacow in Transrail, for example, and then.....

 

With Bachmann doing all these limited editions - produce a range themselves with a release every couple of months (but supplied Nationally, not on a regional reps basis), of say between 400 and 700.  A DB 60 or 2, a couple of Class 50's, Northern Belle Class 67, Class 56's, a few HST livery packs of lesser/vynil liveries etc.

 

Regards,

 

C.

[hellotojasonisaacs]

I think most of us can agree that if someone were to produce an Electrostar, Bachmann would be the preferred choice even if it took two years to manufacture  

Imagine the cost though!

[FJ1701]

Imagine the cost though!

 

Yes a higher cost, but a higher quality of product and customer satisfaction. You see we can all agree that Bachmann has the upper hand when it comes to modelling emus/dmus and has a history of getting it right, something Hornby lacks with disapointing models such as the 423 vep. However this is not a thread for slagging off Hornby, I'm merely suggesting that if an Electrostar were to be produced, people will pay the higher price for guaranteed satisfaction. Cheers, Rory. 

[multivac]

Azuma?

Edited April 30, 2018 by multivac

[hallmodelspares]

A set they could make the southern strike set which includes an emu with a system which detects if the driver is on board and does not work without the figure onboard

[wombatofludham]

Azuma?

Bless you, sounds like you've got a nasty cold developing there...

[Andy Y]

I almost clicked funny, but then had a dreadful feeling that you could be onto something given Hornby's past form for sinking their future into churning out muck and tat merchandise that goes down like a lead balloon, many a thing said in jest and all that........

 

For the true abominations in this regard one has to look to Peco's commemorative efforts. As there's a trend for loaded wagons at the moment maybe we'll get something like this?

 

 

They did this some years back but they fell apart after a while and derailed in tunnels.

 

[Vistisen]

For the true abominations in this regard one has to look to Peco's commemorative efforts. As there's a trend for loaded wagons at the moment maybe we'll get something like this?

 

Louis Hopper.jpg

 

They did this some years back but they fell apart after a while and kept derailing in tunnels.

 

are we talking about the truck or the marriage?

[Wickham Green]

Azuma?

Bless you !

[greatcoleswoodhalt]

Apologies if this has been seen and discussed previous: -

https://twitter.com/locationsphotos/status/988837661581414400

Edited December 16, 2020 by jafcreasey