rogerzilla Posted December 27, 2022 Share Posted December 27, 2022 The wheel tyres looked extremely wide on the video I saw today: really overhanging the outside of the rail. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold adb968008 Posted December 27, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 27, 2022 (edited) If anything, at least you can guess 4472 is in production and probably not that far behind. Edited December 27, 2022 by adb968008 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted December 27, 2022 Share Posted December 27, 2022 2 hours ago, rogerzilla said: The wheel tyres looked extremely wide on the video I saw today: really overhanging the outside of the rail. To those of us coming from N gauge the tyres on TT locos don't look so wide. (with apologies to AYMod for cropping one of his pics of my erstwhile trainset to illustrate the point). Les Trouble with Andy's brilliant pics is that at that magnification they really show dust and wonky number plates and lamps..... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewshimmin Posted December 29, 2022 Share Posted December 29, 2022 On 27/12/2022 at 22:38, Les1952 said: To those of us coming from N gauge the tyres on TT locos don't look so wide. (with apologies to AYMod for cropping one of his pics of my erstwhile trainset to illustrate the point). Les Trouble with Andy's brilliant pics is that at that magnification they really show dust and wonky number plates and lamps..... That's some very nice modelling, anyway! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Brasher Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 Last few Scotsman sets left. Looks like the set has been a huge success. I have got no idea how many sets were made but it looks like it was at least 800 from reading the main TT:120 thread. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steamport Southport Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 7 hours ago, Robin Brasher said: Last few Scotsman sets left. Looks like the set has been a huge success. I have got no idea how many sets were made but it looks like it was at least 800 from reading the main TT:120 thread. Now "Out Of Stock". Pretty sure more will be being made in China. You can set up a "stock alert" so I don't think that's the last of them. I hope those that are saying there is no demand are eating some humble pie. Doubt it somehow.... Jason 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Brasher Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 The Scotsman is an attractive train set but I have held back from buying one because I wanted Pullmans with lights and the 'Flying Scotsman' and 'Silver King' and I did not want to get cluttered up with trains I eventually would not run. I am finding it a bit boring having a circle of track with nothing to run on it and a couple of buildings. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Brasher Posted December 30, 2022 Share Posted December 30, 2022 I am now faced with a dilemma about ordering coaches. I am not sure whether to pre-order the Pullmans and risk Hornby sending them out one at a time and then charging postage or to wait until they come out and risk Hornby raising the price in 2023 by 10% or more. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted January 2, 2023 Share Posted January 2, 2023 My Scotsman set arrived on Dec 30th and the loco was on its way back to Hornby the same day- having never before had a duff Hornby loco new it is my turn.. Still a quick phone call to Hornby to explain the problem got an email from them before the end of the call with instructions on how to pack it and what to put in the covering letter to get my postage back and get the problem sorted quickly when it gets back to them (probably tomorrow). All very polite and apologetic, and keen to get the issue sorted. And here is the problem- nimble fingered Chinese operative at factory forgot to add the trailing wheels before screwing on the cover plate. This might also be the reason it is rough running forward, though there is also an ominous click coming from somewhere. They said to mention that in the letter and they'll check to see what the cause is and replace the loco if it isn't a simple fix. Oddly on the track it isn't noticeable, probably why it had done a couple of check laps before I noticed it- which was only when I put it upside down in the loco cradle to remove the tender screws and chip it. Standing nose to nose with my Arnold 2-10-0, which is likely to be more useful on an end to end layout (not that I'm planning one) as it has a front coupler. The 2-10-0 does look a little odd pulling the Pullmans, though it has a proper 3-cylinder exhaust (and 4 platform announcements- correctly in German!) Les 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted January 7, 2023 Share Posted January 7, 2023 Blink Bonny returned yesterday morning after 7 days (including a weekend in the post outbound). In the mean time I realised that I have a 60051 Blink Bonny in final condition that ran on Croft Spa and before that Hawthorn Dene. I also have a 60051 in well weathered Gateshead 1959-60 condition that is used on the Club layout Wilford Road (making its exhibition debut at South Notts Show this April). So, here it is Blink Bonny standing next to Blink Bonny and Blink Bonny. The one in the foreground will be sold before that long, so I won't be that sad person who has the same loco in three scales for very long. As for 2550 it runs smoothly but slips too easily, especially on bends. It also shorted on right hand curves. I've taken the front bogie off and adjusted the angle of the securing bar to allow it a little more freedom. There is a small piece of insulting tape applied under the front footplate. It turned out to be too small allowing the wheels to wear the paint away on a right-hand bend and eventually short. I've replaced the insulating tape with a larger piece that actually covers the place where the wheels were making contact. Hopefully altering the bogie tension will prevent it being worn away. If it does start shorting on sharp turns I at least know the cause and the fix is easy. Altering the bogie has now also improved the haulage. Les 7 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porfuera Posted January 8, 2023 Share Posted January 8, 2023 (edited) 19 hours ago, Les1952 said: As for 2550 it runs smoothly but slips too easily, especially on bends. It also shorted on right hand curves. I've taken the front bogie off and adjusted the angle of the securing bar to allow it a little more freedom. There is a small piece of insulting tape applied under the front footplate. It turned out to be too small allowing the wheels to wear the paint away on a right-hand bend and eventually short. I've replaced the insulating tape with a larger piece that actually covers the place where the wheels were making contact. Hopefully altering the bogie tension will prevent it being worn away. If it does start shorting on sharp turns I at least know the cause and the fix is easy. Altering the bogie has now also improved the haulage. Les Hi Les, Just to make sure I've understood this correctly, this is your TT:120 Blink Bonny? The one that has just come back from a repair at Hornby yet has an intermittent short that has been (unsuccessfully) bodged by sticking on a piece of insulating tape that you've had to replace with a larger piece? I honestly feel a bit shocked that it has come back like that - it doesn't sound very good at all. Nor does the slipping. Presumably by sharp turns you mean Radius 2, as that's the minimum radius specified for these locos? I guess you don't yet have any curves that small to test it on. Small curves would presumably mean more drag and consequently more slipping and less haulage? I have an Easterner on order and this doesn't inspire me. Although to keep things in perspective, AFAICR I haven't heard of any other locos that have needed to be returned out of the (almost) 2000 that have been sold. And it is unfortunate that this is your first duff Hornby loco - commiserations. Please keep us posted with any further developments. Cheers, Neil. Edited January 8, 2023 by Porfuera 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted January 8, 2023 Share Posted January 8, 2023 (edited) 4 hours ago, Porfuera said: Hi Les, Just to make sure I've understood this correctly, this is your TT:120 Blink Bonny? The one that has just come back from a repair at Hornby yet has an intermittent short that has been (unsuccessfully) bodged by sticking on a piece of insulating tape that you've had to replace with a larger piece? I honestly feel a bit shocked that it has come back like that - it doesn't sound very good at all. Nor does the slipping. Presumably by sharp turns you mean Radius 2, as that's the minimum radius specified for these locos? I guess you don't yet have any curves that small to test it on. Small curves would presumably mean more drag and consequently more slipping and less haulage? I have an Easterner on order and this doesn't inspire me. Although to keep things in perspective, AFAICR I haven't heard of any other locos that have needed to be returned out of the (almost) 2000 that have been sold. And it is unfortunate that this is your first duff Hornby loco - commiserations. Please keep us posted with any further developments. Cheers, Neil. The intermittent short developed after a couple of hours running light engine. It appears that the black insulating tape is there to stop the bogie wheels shorting on the frame- it was a square piece but had not been applied straight. I suspect this is part of the manufacture but this is from a sample of one loco. It did not go for attention to the front bogie, but for missing Cortazzi wheels. Dismantling at repair would be limited to unfastening the screw under the cab, inserting a wheelset and replacing the screw. I suspect testing would be checking it ran quietly (which it does) but not on R2. The tape also covers the head of what I think is the front screw that holds the chassis to the body. Indeed its purpose may be to protect this. I didn't investigate further. Sharp curve equals radius two. When it first arrived as a 4-6-0 the tender wheels were trying to lift on R2 curves, which is what I have, the R3 being still in the box. After return I found the bogie wheels were trying to lift, particularly when the loco was turning right. I attempted to bend the bogie link with pliers to get the loco to sit on the track, and may have caused the insulting tape to move. In any case the bright metal was beyond the tape. I may have caused the bogie arm to become off centre making the wheels rub more heavily, so the short could have been self-inflicted.. I tried then to run the loco with the bogie spring omitted- a trick which improves Graham Farish pony trucks, but this just made things worse. This was when I noticed the front driving wheels were not making much contact with the track. Bending the bogie arm to take a little pressure off the bogie has cured both problems- the loco did a trouble-free hour this afternoon hauling every piece of stock I have- six coaches and two fairly heavy Continental wagons, half an hour in each direction round the test oval. There is a slope on my shed floor so the curve at one end of the layout is slightly uphill. There has been no slipping since I adjusted the bogie. I have the Easterner set on order plus a 60084. The aim is eventually to replace 2550 with a second 60084 renamed as 60051 Blink Bonny as I model 1960s. In terms of what I have needed to do to this loco, it pales into insignificance compared with modifications I have needed to keep locos of other makes (Farish, Dapol, Minitrix, Bachmann, Heljan) running, and I've returned Fleischmann, Liliput, and Farish for out-of-the-box issues far worse than this one (apart from the missing wheelset). So far I know of four locos that have had to go back- that makes about 0.25% returns at most. Les Edited January 8, 2023 by Les1952 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porfuera Posted January 8, 2023 Share Posted January 8, 2023 Hi Les, Thanks for the detailed reply. When my Easterner arrives I'll check it over, paying attention to any masking tape and how the front pony truck is behaving. Hopefully I shoudn't need to - and going by your estimate of a 0.25% failure rate I'd be very unlucky if anything is wrong anyway. Cheers, Neil. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grovenor Posted January 8, 2023 Share Posted January 8, 2023 1 hour ago, Les1952 said: So far I know of four locos that have had to go back- that makes about 0.25% returns at most. Les I would think the 4 needs to be calculated as a % of those you know about, do you really know 1600 purchasers? Or are you getting this info from Hornby? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted January 8, 2023 Share Posted January 8, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, Grovenor said: I would think the 4 needs to be calculated as a % of those you know about, do you really know 1600 purchasers? Or are you getting this info from Hornby? This is going on box numbers. If there were 850-odd in the first batch and mine was 167 in the second, we get a thousand sales that I can be confident of.. Four of a thousand is actually 0.4%, still very low. I should have calculated rather than guessed. Les A quick check of the website and using a cheat to get past the menu seems to indicate the Scotsman set has been deleted from the site- this looks as if all the sets (2000?) have now sold. It might still reappear but.. Edited January 8, 2023 by Les1952 typos... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craneman Posted January 9, 2023 Share Posted January 9, 2023 On 17/12/2022 at 09:08, PaulRhB said: The cylinders appear to be crooked (as well as the buffer beam and handrails). After all the hype it looks very disappointing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris M Posted January 9, 2023 Share Posted January 9, 2023 On 07/01/2023 at 18:58, Les1952 said: Blink Bonny returned yesterday morning after 7 days (including a weekend in the post outbound). In the mean time I realised that I have a 60051 Blink Bonny in final condition that ran on Croft Spa and before that Hawthorn Dene. I also have a 60051 in well weathered Gateshead 1959-60 condition that is used on the Club layout Wilford Road (making its exhibition debut at South Notts Show this April). So, here it is Blink Bonny standing next to Blink Bonny and Blink Bonny. The one in the foreground will be sold before that long, so I won't be that sad person who has the same loco in three scales for very long. As for 2550 it runs smoothly but slips too easily, especially on bends. It also shorted on right hand curves. I've taken the front bogie off and adjusted the angle of the securing bar to allow it a little more freedom. There is a small piece of insulting tape applied under the front footplate. It turned out to be too small allowing the wheels to wear the paint away on a right-hand bend and eventually short. I've replaced the insulating tape with a larger piece that actually covers the place where the wheels were making contact. Hopefully altering the bogie tension will prevent it being worn away. If it does start shorting on sharp turns I at least know the cause and the fix is easy. Altering the bogie has now also improved the haulage. Les To me this photo shows the difference between British N and TT:120 is quite small. I must confess I didn't even realise the front two locos were different scales at first glance. Unless you feel the need to mix British and European stock and have them to the same scale I can't see what TT:120 brings to British model railways. N is well established and has a far bigger range of stock than TT:120 will have in ten years time. I get fed up waiting for new things to come out in N, I would be extremely fed up waiting for the locos I needed to come out in TT:120. Yes it is early days and TT:120 may turn out to be a huge hit but I just can't see what it does better than N (except for having a correct track to scale relationship of course). 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted January 9, 2023 Share Posted January 9, 2023 1 hour ago, Chris M said: To me this photo shows the difference between British N and TT:120 is quite small. I must confess I didn't even realise the front two locos were different scales at first glance. Unless you feel the need to mix British and European stock and have them to the same scale I can't see what TT:120 brings to British model railways. N is well established and has a far bigger range of stock than TT:120 will have in ten years time. I get fed up waiting for new things to come out in N, I would be extremely fed up waiting for the locos I needed to come out in TT:120. Yes it is early days and TT:120 may turn out to be a huge hit but I just can't see what it does better than N (except for having a correct track to scale relationship of course). Perhaps these two will show it better. This time with St Frusquin (another of my 17 Dapol A3s) placed behind Blink Bonny, closer than the locos were seperated before... Les 4 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grovenor Posted January 9, 2023 Share Posted January 9, 2023 14 hours ago, Les1952 said: This is going on box numbers. If there were 850-odd in the first batch and mine was 167 in the second, we get a thousand sales that I can be confident of.. Four of a thousand is actually 0.4%, still very low. I should have calculated rather than guessed. But doesn't really answer my question. How do you know that only 4 have been sent back? 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted January 9, 2023 Share Posted January 9, 2023 (edited) 5 hours ago, Grovenor said: But doesn't really answer my question. How do you know that only 4 have been sent back? I didn't say I know that only 4 have been sent back. I said I only know of..... There is a difference. The number I know of is now seven. Les Edited January 9, 2023 by Les1952 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted January 9, 2023 Share Posted January 9, 2023 (edited) A head to head that shows TT:120 against N, with Blink Bonny on the right and N-gauge A3 Papyrus by Dapol on the left. Les Edited January 9, 2023 by Les1952 2 1 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Smith Posted January 9, 2023 Share Posted January 9, 2023 I think this last picture illustrates the difference well, including the track. 1 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter749 Posted January 22, 2023 Share Posted January 22, 2023 I watched the "Hornby A Model World" tv program and I was less than impressed to see the loco sliding along the track with the wheels locked and the tender drive pushing Peter 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold D9020 Nimbus Posted January 22, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 22, 2023 As has been said several times higher up the thread, the loco concerned was Simon's gold-plated tender drive OO one, not the TT:120 model. The gold plating is pretty obvious, though it wasn't stated which one this was in the commentary. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter749 Posted January 22, 2023 Share Posted January 22, 2023 23 minutes ago, D9020 Nimbus said: As has been said several times higher up the thread, the loco concerned was Simon's gold-plated tender drive OO one, not the TT:120 model. The gold plating is pretty obvious, though it wasn't stated which one this was in the commentary. I had not spotted the comment in this thread Strange it went around the layout like that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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