Popular Post davidparsons Posted May 5, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted May 5, 2023 (edited) Apologies if this link isn't aloud but I stumbled across this years ago and it's too good not to share, a life of railways! Copyright John Evans. Edited May 5, 2023 by davidparsons 25 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Popular Post big jim Posted May 5, 2023 RMweb Gold Popular Post Share Posted May 5, 2023 39 minutes ago, Dava said: He deserves an award for service to British model railways, a gold loco? most people get a clock 1 1 31 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pint of Adnams Posted May 5, 2023 Share Posted May 5, 2023 A Royal Purple special edition Flying Scotsman might be appropriate at this juncture, Montana need only order just the one... There's no doubt that in more ways than one can think of Simon has made his mark on railway modelling, modellers, enthusiasts and the GBP - after such a lifetime he deserves a rest, but somehow I don't think he will go quietly into that good night. Thank you Simon. 2 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jjb1970 Posted May 5, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 5, 2023 Best wishes to Simon for a long and happy retirement, nobody can deny he made a positive impact and left his mark on the hobby. He was at Hornby through the China production revolution when standards went on an exponential improvement curve and together with Bachmann transformed British OO. And that's something he can be proud of. 2 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widnes Model Centre Posted May 5, 2023 Share Posted May 5, 2023 Simon was a great friend and we will never forget the night before the 2020 Glasgow Exhibition having dinner with him. It was to be the last time we would dine out for a very long time. As a Hornby man through and through his support was unbelievable, nothing was too much bother for him. Email him at 5am, guaranteed reply within twenty minutes. First in and last out of Margate l am told. Problem? No longer once we had spoken with him. As someone said above he was on his feet longer than anyone at Exhibitions and kept on answering questions no matter how many people asked him. We are not going to wish him a Happy Retirement. You really think Simon Kohler will retire? Knowing him he will be working on his next project wherever that may be. We do wish him well and l am absolutely certain we will get to speak to him in the future. We have to, it’s our turn to pay for dinner! Sadly, Hornby’s loss. We do hope that Montana will be given the opportunity to step into his shoes. I am sure she has learnt a lot from SK. 14 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Markwj Posted May 5, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 5, 2023 I too wish Simon a happy retirement always polite on email and at shows I found. A lasting legacy would be a loco named after him- how about it GBRF??? (Would be ironic if they named a 69 after him which are being done by Bachmann)! Also how about a guest column in BRM- bet he has some stories? Mark 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium E100 Posted May 5, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 5, 2023 I wish him a very happy and well earned retirement. Whilst I’ve only been in the hobby properly a couple of years, I’ve had the pleasure to speak with him at Warley and email him about a couple of things. Obviously, I got an excellent reply by a man who has probably done a heck of a lot to keep this hobby going through some difficult years. I dare say some sort of acknowledgement eg MBE would not be at all out of order for services to the model industry as a whole. 3 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Brasher Posted May 5, 2023 Share Posted May 5, 2023 I wish him a happy retirement. He always seemed very enthusiastic. I met him when he did a talk for the Wimborne Railway Society. I asked him if he Hornby was going to make a rebuilt West Country class. He said it was in the bag and lo and behold it appeared a year later. It was a bit like sending a request to Father Christmas. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hastings Thumper Posted May 5, 2023 Share Posted May 5, 2023 My very best wishes for a happy retirement. Thanks for all the fantastic models over the years Simon Sam 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Hilux5972 Posted May 5, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 5, 2023 A great loss for Hornby but he deserves to enjoy his retirement. He definitely has done so much more for this hobby than I think we could ever know. A very kind man. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AyJay Posted May 5, 2023 Share Posted May 5, 2023 Every best wishes to Simon, may he have a happy retirement. I read that he may be doing some gardening? No garden would be complete without an outdoor railway 🤩 2 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnofwessex Posted May 5, 2023 Share Posted May 5, 2023 I only dealt with him once when I sent an email suggesting that Hornby reintroduce the Triang Block Instruments, I got a very detailed reply - sadly the tooling no longer exists but clearly he replied and in some detail. You will be missed 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Covkid Posted May 5, 2023 Share Posted May 5, 2023 Well this is very ironic. Only last night i watched the youtube video which linked Flying Scotsman, the 2023 Model Rail.Scotland event and other stuff. Have a great retirement Simon. Not always totally agreed with your policies but you are leaving the bridge in immaculate condition foe your successor Well done 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going2theDogs Posted May 6, 2023 Share Posted May 6, 2023 Hi All, As many have said above, SK will be sorely missed at Hornby. His enthusiasm & passion for the hobby was truly outstanding. All the best for the future & thank you. 3 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
matchmaker Posted May 6, 2023 Share Posted May 6, 2023 I had the chance to chat with him at Model Rail 2023. Very nice chap. Hope he enjoys retirement ( I do!) 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nova Scotian Posted May 6, 2023 Share Posted May 6, 2023 Here's hoping they have one more announcement before the end of May - would hate for the last Hornby announcement before retirement to be that Coronation 66... he should be sent off with something special. There's no denying his dedication to the hobby and the industry. Wishing him a happy retirement. 4 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold john new Posted May 6, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 6, 2023 (edited) I have met him at events. Nice bloke, hope he has left from a genuine retirement choice. Wishing him well for the future personally and on the Society’s behalf. Edited May 6, 2023 by john new Accidentally hit send before finishing typing. Duh! 4 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold tomparryharry Posted May 7, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 7, 2023 Mr. Kohler is retiring, and we will surely wish him a happy retirement. Good for him, I say; he's earned it. In the last decade we've seen Hornby move up a notch. Apart from the faux-pa with the big Western tanks, other releases are well worthy of note. However.... Madge (she does the fruit & veg at Tescos, Westwood) has heard a rumour that Mr. Kohler has commissioned some 17 different locomotive liveries for yes.... you guessed it:- Flying Scotsman!. You can't have enough of a good thing..... So I'm told.... Best wishes, Mr Kohler. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Dunsignalling Posted May 7, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 7, 2023 (edited) Whilst there have been a few personal highlights spread over SK's current tenure at Hornby, any "crack of the whip" in my direction was heavily weighted to the early years. I can't say there's been much that's induced me to buy more than one of it for about five years now. The company's recent bias towards all things LNER has failed to extract so much as the proverbial brass farthing from my modelling budget. In that, however, Hornby's loss has been my gain, as most of what I would customarily have spent with them since before Covid has been diverted to building up the best and most comprehensive camera outfit I've ever owned. I therefore offer Simon my heartfelt thanks for the models that I didn't want as well as those I did, and wish him a long and happy retirement to pursue his own personal interests. His commitment to the company has been indisputable, to the degree that, if he were a stick of seaside rock, there's absolutely no question that he'd have "Hornby" written all the way through! John Edited May 7, 2023 by Dunsignalling 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Harvey Posted May 8, 2023 Share Posted May 8, 2023 Back in the early days of the short-lived Lyddle End N building range I sent Simon a rather good mock-up of a country fire station. I pointed him to a couple of real ones which were within a few minutes drive of Westwood. Much to my surprise I received an early morning phone call from Simon thanking me and discussing options. In the end Hornby opted for a model of Upton on Severn's old fire station whilst Bachmann went for Studley both of which are close to my home. I wish him a long, happy and productive retirement. 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ighten Posted May 8, 2023 Share Posted May 8, 2023 (edited) Didn't always agree with him or the direction Hornby had lately swung but he did seemed to have pure spark and enthusiasm both in the media and at shows. I suspect he will be missed. It will be interesting to see if the steer of the company changes greatly. Edited May 8, 2023 by Ighten 2 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
osbornsmodels Posted May 8, 2023 Share Posted May 8, 2023 I think it is wrong to assume Simon will be retiring completely. 2 2 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodenhead Posted May 8, 2023 Share Posted May 8, 2023 2 hours ago, osbornsmodels said: I think it is wrong to assume Simon will be retiring completely. He does have shares in the business worth 172,000 Pounds so unless he intends to sell that to enhance his pension pot he still has an interest in how Hornby operates, it's only 0.43% of the total shares but it's enough to be listed. Last time he left/retired he ended up working with the NRM on their collection and I doubt he will disappear into obscurity. Hornby may even retain his services as a consultant, he did set up KohlerComs last time around, perhaps that business still operates in some form. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Evil Bus Driver Posted May 8, 2023 Share Posted May 8, 2023 I wish Simon all the best in his retirement. Somehow I don't think that's the last we'll see of him. Even if it's just through a blog or something like that. Nevertheless, his successor has some massive shoes to fill although they'll likely be someone who works with him so they'll have a good idea how to go about the job. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
didcot Posted May 8, 2023 Share Posted May 8, 2023 I always admired Simon's enthusiasm for railways in general, the models and Hornby. He is a great embasidor for the hobby. Well done and enjoy your retirement. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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