Hornby announce TT:120

[Hobby]

13 hours ago, Ravenser said:

I think he means a moving coupler pocket for the coupling , not the coupler itself. A coupler on the front is pretty essential

 

Someone reported this moving arm had broken and he had stuck the assembly in place with no apparent detriment to coupling or vehicle road holding. Hence the suggestion it would be better if the coupling is just a rigid mount

 

Perhaps for pulling or pushing stuff round R1 curves you'll need some movement with that type of coupling which is different to the hook and bar coupling seen on 00 stock? I can't check to see as all my curves are minimum R2!

[Les1952]

7 hours ago, Hobby said:

 

Perhaps for pulling or pushing stuff round R1 curves you'll need some movement with that type of coupling which is different to the hook and bar coupling seen on 00 stock? I can't check to see as all my curves are minimum R2!

 

My front kinematic coupler mechanism disintegrated so I glued the coupler back solid.  The loco performs exactly the same pushing with the solid front end as with the kinematic rear.  It is very short which helps.

 

Les

[andrewshimmin]

On 28/10/2023 at 12:21, idd15 said:

Am at GBMR show today and am one happy bunny because the folks on the Hornby stand confirmed that a Pendolino is on the to do list. Where on the list or when they could not say. 😁

 

An APT would be nice - would go with the HST!

[Jeff Smith]

The Pendolino is actually the successful application of tilt technology that was one of the problems with the various iterations of the APT.  Considering the market target for Hornby's TT:120, the Pendolino will probably have been seen or ridden on by many more people than the APT.....  However in OO Rapido seems to have had some success.....  Perhaps in time a niche company may tackle it in TT.......

[The Outcast]

On 27/10/2023 at 20:46, Hobby said:

I think they have acknowledged that it will sell by including it on the list in the early stages. But are you really saying that it will sell better than the locos they're already got into or going into production?! I think you've let you love of all things GWR get the better of logic! ;) :)

No, my point was more that you can't really make a prototypical layout at this moment, since the stock available is all from different eras. Which is fine, and it makes sense they want to do the heavy hitters early. All I was saying was that a pannier tank alone would have allowed a reasonably prototypical model of a GWR branchline terminus to be modelled. That, and an 0-6-0 steam engine is a big missing link atm, and I think the pannier would be the most popular locomotive that could be done in that department, other than perhaps a J94. 

 

Doesn't particularly matter, just a lament on my end. 

[Hobby]

I'm modelling preservation era, gets round the different era issue...

[Jeff Smith]

Has anybody commented on the Hornby uncoupling ramp?  Any good; comparisons to continental versions?

[Hobby]

No, but I'll be interested to see any comments as I'll need three at the end of some sidings! I was thinking of making my own as it's only a ramp!

[Guest]

I have two. They do work ok but are a little fiddly to fit. They’d suit motorising as  the little operating tab is quite hard to get to when rolling stock is in the way. 

[dunnyrail]

On 29/10/2023 at 11:27, AY Mod said:

 

Are you left-handed?

No but have button to the left with camera take thingy to the right.

[dunnyrail]

On 03/11/2023 at 13:29, Jeff Smith said:

Has anybody commented on the Hornby uncoupling ramp?  Any good; comparisons to continental versions?

I have a couple and find them quite good. Easy to fit to straights and work well, being entirely out of the way when not needed.

[AY Mod]

6 minutes ago, dunnyrail said:

No but have button to the left with camera take thingy to the right.

 

Try it with the button to your right. See if that works.

[dunnyrail]

Test run showing my Corgi Rail Legends A1 in the process of being made fit to run as a Copley Hill one, not Tornado. Aha that did it.

[J-Lewis]

On 31/10/2023 at 06:26, The Outcast said:

 an 0-6-0 steam engine is a big missing link atm, and I think the pannier would be the most popular locomotive that could be done in that department, other than perhaps a J94. 

It was definitely a sorely missed element of the range at launch.  Hornby have confirmed a GWR Pannier and a J94 as releases for phase 3 / phase 4 (sometime late next year or early 2025).

There is also a ‘mystery’ tank engine to be announced this autumn.  My money is on that being a Jinty.

[natterjack]

2 hours ago, J-Lewis said:

It was definitely a sorely missed element of the range at launch.

I have wondered whether Hornby have their own smaller electronic kit in the pipeline for the 0-6-0's etc and if this influenced their loco launch strategy. The wonders that 'enthusiasts' have been achieved with the Class 08 point towards future 'all singing and dancing' small locos, most of which would have even less internal room to play around with than that little diesel.

[smr248]

Heljan were proposing an 08 and a J94 so perhaps that influenced them?

On the other hand we haven't got the 31 yet, so perhaps not?

Perhaps they rushed the 08 a bit, hence lack of provision for sound?

A Jinty would be easier than a J94 with daylight (but Farish can do it in N, albeit without a speaker).

All idle speculation, of course.

[natterjack]

Heljan projected a lot and have thus far produced zilch. I suspect early customer pressure brought the 08 forward in the schedule.

[Porfuera]

32 minutes ago, natterjack said:

Heljan projected a lot and have thus far produced zilch. I suspect early customer pressure brought the 08 forward in the schedule.

 

The 08 wasn't brought forward - it was one of the locos in the original release announcement in October last year - check the first post.

 

IIRC it was originally scheduled for release in January 2023 together with the 21T minerals.

 

Edited November 4, 2023 by Porfuera

[natterjack]

12 minutes ago, Porfuera said:

The 08 wasn't brought forward

That may well be the case but you have to concede the spec of the supplied loco is unlikely to be the same as the same model a few years down the line. The point I clearly failed to make was that Hornby were not then or presently ready for the fully equipped small locos- the forthcoming 0-6-0 (s?) will demonstrate either way.

[Jeff Smith]

I would have pre-ordered a green 08 to go with my Easterner had it been proposed a year ago.......

[Johan DC]

1 hour ago, natterjack said:

That may well be the case but you have to concede the spec of the supplied loco is unlikely to be the same as the same model a few years down the line. The point I clearly failed to make was that Hornby were not then or presently ready for the fully equipped small locos- the forthcoming 0-6-0 (s?) will demonstrate either way.

I don't know how 'close' Hornby and Arnold R&D deps are, but Arnold has an 0-4-0 diesel shunter, so they should be ready.

[Porfuera]

1 hour ago, natterjack said:

That may well be the case but you have to concede the spec of the supplied loco is unlikely to be the same as the same model a few years down the line. The point I clearly failed to make was that Hornby were not then or presently ready for the fully equipped small locos- the forthcoming 0-6-0 (s?) will demonstrate either way.

 

Sound has been done already with the current TT:120 Class 08 with TXS Next18, stayalive, flywheel, lights and crew so Hornby shouldn't have too much trouble copying that - or at least some of it.

 

But there comes a point where they're just too small - you end up sacrificing metal to make space for the lighter components (chip and speaker and maybe stayalive) to fit and then traction can suffer as a result.

 

So I guess it will depend on size - how does the 08 compare in size with the 5700, J94 or Jinty? I'd guess a Terrier would definitely be too small with the current technology.

 

Farish has done an 08 with sound but has any RTR manufacturer done anything smaller than that with sound? I guess someone will have but then it also comes down to cost.

 

And according to SK the 0-6-0 steamers were designed a while ago so that they could go for tooling so I'd be surprised if they're much different to the 08 this time around.

[J-Lewis]

Class 08 was an odd choice when a Tank engine would have been more versatile.  So perhaps last minute changes to the release schedule meant some launch models got pushed back until sales numbers could be assessed.

 

We do know phase 3 & 4 models were only sent for tooling after the launch (and based on what we saw with Phase 2 those models should appear as engineering samples by around spring 2024 then hit shops by winter?)

 

I’d love to hear the real story of how the TT plan developed.  Certainly the launch range has some obvious gaps and omissions like the missing green 08 (ladders were seen on prototypes) and the PO wagons should have had a goods engine to pull them which could easily have been the tank engine(s) so there must be plenty of juicy behind the scenes drama before the announcements and first releases hit the shelves.

 

 

 

 

 

[Porfuera]

32 minutes ago, Johan DC said:

I don't know how 'close' Hornby and Arnold R&D deps are, but Arnold has an 0-4-0 diesel shunter, so they should be ready.

 

The Arnold Kof is 6-pin and I don't think it has any provision for sound. Obviously 6-pin sound decoders exist but you still need to find space for a speaker. Someone may have done it, though.

[natterjack]

43 minutes ago, Johan DC said:

don't know how 'close' Hornby and Arnold R&D deps are, but Arnold has an 0-4-0 diesel shunter, so they should be ready.