Hornby announce TT:120

[Jpinewoods]

For those of you located in South East London or North West Kent who haven't yet had a chance to see TT120 in the flesh, Hornby have kindly loaned us their display layout for Orpington & District Model Railway Society's annual exhibition this coming weekend. It will be on show in Pratts Bottom Village Hall, Norsted Lane, Pratts Bottom, Orpington BR6 7PQ. 

 

The layout will be in operation on both Saturday 29th and Sunday 21st May from 10am to 5pm both days. We are easy to find, just off the A21 and 5 minutes from junction 4 of the M25. There will also be plenty of other layouts to see in all the major gauges.

[meatloaf]

Did anyone find a solution to having no front coupling on the A3/A4?

 

Was thinking of doing an end to end but with no front coupler makes it difficult until the 34 / 47 arrives. Unless of course i run one loco into the station then back a second loco on to take the train out.

[Roy L S]

On 17/05/2023 at 13:17, Steamport Southport said:

The new magazine just popped through the door.

 

Duchess expected in Phase 2 in September so that debunks the 2024/2025 idea. Class 66 around the same time.

 

 

 

Jason

If Hornby haven't even seen the  first Engineering Prototype yet as I recall the mag saying then I would suggest there is zero prospect of the Duchess arriving in September. When the first EP does arrive they will need to review it, very likely tweak the tooling, further EP, then deco samples to review and approve before production can even be contemplated. Then 6 weeks for shipping on top of that, so is all likely to take many months and I would think it may actually be well into 2024 before they arrive.

Edited May 18, 2023 by Roy L S

[meatloaf]

Despatch email recieved - but not sure if its for the 08 or the bits i ordered after the 08 arrived.

[Grovenor]

7 hours ago, andrewshimmin said:

Meanwhile in January again by email when I asked him about tank engines he said Hornby "have [one small tank engine] already in tooling and we have another waiting to be tooled so things are moving along." Again, I don't know what that means, but it certainly suggests we could see a couple of tank engines in the next twelve months. But not a peep on the website or in the magazine

Tank engines are mentioned in the magazine, letter and reply, bottom of page 32.

[Steamport Southport]

11 minutes ago, Roy L S said:

If Hornby haven't even seen the  first Engineering Prototype yet as I recall the mag saying then I would suggest there is zero prospect of the Duchess arriving in September. When the first EP does arrive they will need to review it, very likely tweak the tooling, further EP, then deco samples to review and approve before production can even be contemplated. Then 6 weeks for shipping on top of that, so is all likely to take many months and I would think it may actually be well into 2024 before they arrive.

 

They don't always show samples. They didn't for Rocket and I can't remember any for Lion.

 

I hope they remember what a Duchess looks like as I have two normal size ones due to arrive any day now....

 

 

Jason

[Flying Pig]

35 minutes ago, meatloaf said:

Did anyone find a solution to having no front coupling on the A3/A4?

 

Was thinking of doing an end to end but with no front coupler makes it difficult until the 34 / 47 arrives. Unless of course i run one loco into the station then back a second loco on to take the train out.

 

That sounds like a decent solution and if you are planning to have a fiddle yard then you can turn locos offscene.  The new Peco loco lift is supposed to accommodate 12mm gauge, or you could go for something more ambitious:

 

 

[Steamport Southport]

12 minutes ago, Grovenor said:

Tank engines are mentioned in the magazine, letter and reply, bottom of page 32.

 

And numerous times in the videos.

 

Seems they might have forgotten they let the Terrier and Jinty slip out....

 

As for the letter, can't see them doing a J69 or J72, but Hornby have the J50 in the 00 range which is much more useful.

 

 

Jason

[MartinRS]

1 hour ago, meatloaf said:

Did anyone find a solution to having no front coupling on the A3/A4?

 

Was thinking of doing an end to end but with no front coupler makes it difficult until the 34 / 47 arrives. Unless of course i run one loco into the station then back a second loco on to take the train out.

At the moment I just don't have time to engage in any modelling though I do have plans for a trail chaser  with a couple of junctions, one leading to a dockside station (to justify any freight traffic), the other leading to a minories station but with a goods shed and just a couple of sidings. Tri-ang did a turntable in TT3. Has anyone out there tried joining TT3 track to either Peco or Hornby TT120 track?

[andrewshimmin]

3 hours ago, Grovenor said:

Tank engines are mentioned in the magazine, letter and reply, bottom of page 32.

 

Yes, although again they don't tell us which type. Mysterious! In a good way.

[Steamport Southport]

1 hour ago, MartinRS said:

At the moment I just don't have time to engage in any modelling though I do have plans for a trail chaser  with a couple of junctions, one leading to a dockside station (to justify any freight traffic), the other leading to a minories station but with a goods shed and just a couple of sidings. Tri-ang did a turntable in TT3. Has anyone out there tried joining TT3 track to either Peco or Hornby TT120 track?

 

I would expect a turntable from PECO at some point.

 

They do one in nearly every other scale/gauge and already have one in H0m. Maybe they could alter that as it works out at 60 foot in TT.

 

https://www.hattons.co.uk/35776/peco_products_lk_1455_turntable_150mm_diameter/stockdetail

 

 

Jason

[Ravenser]

On 15/05/2023 at 19:51, adb968008 said:

Dont forget Hornby is selling direct to customer, Bachmann sells to retailers.

There would need to be sufficient margin buffer for that.

 

i’m not seeing how a TT tooling cost can be significantly less than a OO one myself… research, cads, cutting metal, squirting plastic, painting, assembly, box art etc…

they are not done by smaller sized people, or people working 1/3rd less hours or hopefully 1/3rd less pay etc than OO people etc..

 

 

 

 

In two words - Design Clever.

 

It's visible that Hornby are going for moulded details not seperately applied handrails. In a smaller scale , if done well , that's perfectly acceptable. Farish's highly detailed N gauge autoballasters are so expensive to assemble and produce that it's borderline whether further runs are commercially viable

 

The other saving is shared design and research costs. Hence Hornby's declaration that they are only intending to do things in TT:120 if they already do them in 4mm (I am convinced Hornby must be working on a OO 57xx, otherwise they wouldn't be doing a TT:120 one)

 

The other element is of course selling direct. I'm sure they are using some of the retailers' margin to keep the price down. But they are also working on a "no discounted prices" basis*

 

I do share your view that selling through retailers would be problematic because of the need to add a retailer's markup on top. I don't see Hornby agreeing to increase website prices for TT by 25% just so the dealers can make some money. Equally I think the range needs to be stocked in depth to succeed , and I simply can't see most retailers wanting to do that

 

(*I mean no remaindering/sales . The TT Club mirrors their Airfix club , a key part of their plastic kit marketing strategy. You now have to pay to join the TT club, so it's not exactly a straight discount. But with Airfix the exclusive plastic kit actually covers a good deal of the cost, and the discount can take you quickly into credit. You also get club discount on club renewal with Airfix)

Edited May 18, 2023 by Ravenser
Clarification added

[Ravenser]

9 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

Don't forget that most container ships, especially the long distance vessels, are 'liner' services and work to a timetable that is published in advance although obviously the weather or port problems can cause delays.  Nobody is going to divert a ship for a few higher value boxes but in spme cases transhipment does take place at intermediate ports for all sorts of reasons - sometimes as simple as getting the vessel though its wrork there as quickly as possible,

 

But the ship will have a published UK port arrival date and the shipping agent can track it to check if it is running to schedule so it will be known in advance when the vessel is due to arrive.   The shipping part is probably the most predictable part of the whole process although the weather can be a factor.

 

 

I would also question the idea that containers of model ralway goods are low value.

 

In my time I've seen a lot of freight rates professionally. The idea that contributions on Hornby and Bachmann containers are below things like waste paper, German chemicals, annual contracts for major automotive manufacturers , and the likes of IKEA and Tesco (to name a few horrors off the cuff) is mistaken. Mind you those kind of people can put 100 x 40' on a single vessel, several times a month. Hornby is a minnow,,,,

[PeterStiles]

15 hours ago, Steamport Southport said:

I have two normal size ones due to arrive any day now....

you mean 12" to the foot! that's the only "normal size" you know...

[Porfuera]

Just arrived! Unfortunately I have to go out so apologies for the rushed photo!

No ladders, though, for anyone that was worried!

 

Edited May 19, 2023 by Porfuera

[meatloaf]

Mines just come as well - its tiny!!

[Ben B]

Mine is due today, will be a nice pressie for after work :)

[JSpencer]

1 hour ago, Porfuera said:

Just arrived! Unfortunately I have to go out so apologies for the rushed photo!

No ladders, though, for anyone that was worried!

 

 

I may be optimistic here: but does the DCC options allow us to use DCC sound (by default)? Or will this be limited to a plain DCC decoder?

[natterjack]

1 hour ago, Porfuera said:

Just arrived!

That is going to pop a few balloons of pessimism.

[meatloaf]

17 minutes ago, JSpencer said:

 

I may be optimistic here: but does the DCC options allow us to use DCC sound (by default)? Or will this be limited to a plain DCC decoder?

Hornby are saying theres no room for the sound decoder. I doubt HM 7000 would fit but i wouldnt be suprised if a loksound micro plus sugarcube would fit 

 

 

[natterjack]

42 minutes ago, meatloaf said:

but i wouldnt be suprised if a loksound micro plus sugarcube would fit 

Any room in the cab roof or against the rear bulkhead?

[HExpressD]

48 minutes ago, meatloaf said:

Hornby are saying theres no room for the sound decoder. I doubt HM 7000 would fit but i wouldnt be suprised if a loksound micro plus sugarcube would fit 

 

 

Is that a diddy little flywheel I spy?

[meatloaf]

First fault already reported on facebook - rods slipped and out of alignment much like the 00 does now and again :(

 

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=6027976840633601&set=pcb.2189624544556085

[Roy L S]

Mine was delivered lunchtime, disappointingly one of the buffers was broken, but rather than return the loco for that I decided to glue it back in place.

 

Overall, my first impression of the model is pretty favourable, there are nice touches like an open roof-ventilator and cab window, the finish is very good and it has a reasonable level of detail. The rods are very fine indeed with tiny crankpins, I hope they transpire to be robust enough in use. It does seem fairly light for it's size and so how much it will be able to haul will be interesting, hopefully sufficient for reasonable shunting duties.

 

Someone mentioned how tiny they think it is, and that is I would expect from someone more used to OO. For an N Gauge modeller it isn't, and by way of another comparison, here it is next to one of my Farish 08s. As can be seen on the Farish loco the rods and crankpins are a bit chunkier, but in other areas it actually has better levels of detail than the TT120 model, with more separate handrails and lighting conduits. Of course what really sets the Farish loco apart is internal, this one has a Next 18 DCC socket, Zimo sound-chip and a speaker, so in a different league to the basic DCC spec of the Hornby model, however it is early days for TT120 and maybe a sound version will come in time.

 

Roy

 

 

Edited May 19, 2023 by Roy L S

[Hobby]

5 hours ago, meatloaf said:

Mines just come as well - its tiny!!

 

Depends what you are used to!