Hornby 2024 range announcements

[Dazzlerofkernow]

it seems like every time a new HST comes out the prices goes a little higher.... i wonder how long it is untill a basic hst train pack is over £600....

[GordonC]

17 minutes ago, Dazzlerofkernow said:

it seems like every time a new HST comes out the prices goes a little higher.... i wonder how long it is untill a basic hst train pack is over £600....

 

..... until someone else brings out a competing HST when it'll suddenly drop

[InterCity80s]

Isn't this year's GNER model actually £3 cheaper than 2023's BR blue/grey one?

Edited January 10 by InterCity80s
Forgot we're now in 2024...

[The Meerkat]

7 hours ago, Pmorgancym said:

The Black TfW 67 is a werid one, especially as the current red/grey TfW 67 and sets are being sold everywhere at fire sale rates!

 

yet got pulled from 2023 range and not in the jan 2024 announcement but coming out in april 2024?

[MarkSG]

5 hours ago, darrel said:

I also don't understand the Beatles wagons and locos. I'm a huge Beatles fan and a railway modeller. And I wouldn't touch them with a barge poll. My wife spotted them in a shop and was going to buy some for my Christmas. I had to stop her. 

But someone must be buying them otherwise they wouldn't be adding them to the range. 

 

They're routinely in the mid to highish sales rankings on Amazon for their category. I don't know what that means in terms of actual sales volume, since Amazon's API only gives a rank rather than absolute values. But, at Amazon at least, they're routinely outselling some of the things that we all froth over here.  In the run up to Christmas, the Christmas train set (not Beatles, I know, but similarly fictitious) was consistently in the top five for toy trains.

 

Obviously, Amazon isn't where most of us buy most of our models from.  But it is where a lot of people who wouldn't describe themselves as railway modellers buy models from. And those are the people that Hornby are targetting with these kind of releases.

[Bryn_Bach_Railway]

40 minutes ago, The Meerkat said:

 

yet got pulled from 2023 range and not in the jan 2024 announcement but coming out in april 2024?

Had a sample of it at Warley too on their DCC layout 

[melmerby]

47 minutes ago, MarkSG said:

But it is where a lot of people who wouldn't describe themselves as railway modellers buy models from. And those are the people that Hornby are targetting with these kind of releases.

Grandad & Grandma or maybe a father who had a  trainset when he was young but didn't continue beyond that.

Especially as an antidote to smartphones. Even very young kids have them, I am expecting to see the first baby in a pram with one anytime soon.

 

[The Stationmaster]

4 hours ago, Tim Dubya said:

A good year for collectors at least.  I can't see many 'Locomotions' lasting long in the wrong hands, although at £170 a pop (which considering the complexity of it seems a fair price), one would hope they'd be well cared for.  If I had the spare wedge I'd be up for one, just for the novelty value 👍

 

Where's my G6 and Ironclads Mr Hornby? 😜

 

No doubt at least 50% of them will never leave the box and many will only leave it to sit in a display case.  But that doesn't matter in the least as far as Hrnbg is concerned bew cause their mission will be to sell as many as possiblr and ideally every one they buy-in from the factory.

 

P wonder how they are deciding how many to rder, i.w hoqw many they will sell?.  I wonder, and hopr, that with this one their factory orders will be based onn what is ordered by the retail trade.  But if they can't shoft 5,000 there'll be something wrong wit their promotional efforts.

[The Meerkat]

56 minutes ago, Bryn_Bach_Railway said:

Had a sample of it at Warley too on their DCC layout 

 

looks very nice,  wonder if coaches and dvt be out in 2024,

[Legend]

10 minutes ago, The Stationmaster said:

No doubt at least 50% of them will never leave the box and many will only leave it to sit in a display case.  But that doesn't matter in the least as far as Hrnbg is concerned bew cause their mission will be to sell as many as possiblr and ideally every one they buy-in from the factory.

 

P wonder how they are deciding how many to rder, i.w hoqw many they will sell?.  I wonder, and hopr, that with this one their factory orders will be based onn what is ordered by the retail trade.  But if they can't shoft 5,000 there'll be something wrong wit their promotional efforts.

I must admit , having got excited over the Rocket and immediately bought one , after one trip round the layout it now sits in my bookcase . So remembering this I was able to resist Locomotion , even though all these working spindles are very alluring . Reality is , I would never run it . 
 

As to the Beatles , I like the Beatles , I like Hornby trains . I get the Eurostar as it was a model of an actual train , but to stick faces of the Beatles on that horrible 0-4-0 ( did it used to be Thomas) and Album covers on the 1976 Kellogg’s van  just seems cheap exploitation to me .  Somebody must like it ……..but I’ve yet to find who 

[ThaneofFife]

Thanks goes to MarksG for his info on Amazon sales   Now it makes sense.

[1andrew1]

Sometimes it's what they don't say that's important. No mention of Playtrains (aimed at 3-6-year-olds) which Simon and Montana talked about last year. Now, confirmation the range has been discontinued. 

I wonder If the old regime may have given the range longer?

 

https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/news/Hornby-announces-the-end-of-playtrains/#:~:text=Hornby announces the end of Playtrains - World Of Railways

Edited January 10 by 1andrew1

[big jim]

4 hours ago, MarkSG said:

Obviously, Amazon isn't where most of us buy most of our models from.  But it is where a lot of people who wouldn't describe themselves as railway modellers buy models from. 

Personally I check out Hornby on Amazon on a daily basis but mainly the ‘used’ items, had a few bargains over the years with supposedly ‘cosmetic damage’ which have been fine, the best bargain of all was a TTS class 60 in DB livery for £105! 
 

I got my order in with my local model shop earlier for this years items, the purple 67 as it fits nicely in with my modelling era and locomotion, just… ‘coz’ 

[Guest]

38 minutes ago, 1andrew1 said:

Sometimes it's what they don't say that's important. No mention of Playtrains (aimed at 3-6-year-olds) which Simon and Montana talked about last year. Now, confirmation the range has been discontinued. 

I wonder If the old regime may have given the range longer?

 

https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/news/Hornby-announces-the-end-of-playtrains/#:~:text=Hornby announces the end of Playtrains - World Of Railways

To be honest, I always found it was a bit naff, even for a 3-6 year old! I had bought some of the sets and packs for my nephew and could never get it to work probably! He turns seven this year so I might, via my sister, try and do and a part exchange with him and buy him something that is a step up from that!  

 

Mind you, it is interesting that they are now choosing to ditch some innovations from the previous regime🤔 

Edited January 10 by Guest

[Ravel]

I have a friend from Liverpool who is a model

enthusiast who has bought all the Beatles stuff since it started appearing, claims his friends also have “for the collection”. So I know of at least one confirmed sale lol

[Halvarras]

A poor-quality photo of 92203 'Black Prince' waiting to depart Oxford for Hereford (for a 6000 'King George V' special according to my notebook) on 19th May 1973. Ex-works Class 47 1752 was on the other end of the train, headcode 1Z80. Discovering it there was coincidental, I knew nothing about it until I arrived from the Didcot direction, got off the train and noticed the crowd at the far end of the platform.......

A reminder that 92203 was main line registered 50 years ago. Not possible these days as Network Rail take a dim view of wheels without flanges!

 

There is nothing in the new announcements of particular interest, however I'd like to assess the Railroad Plus Class 47 D1683 which I see has now slipped back to September - also noted that the DC version is labelled as Era 4 and the newly-announced sound-fitted version as Era 6.........surely they should both be Era 5!

 

Until I perused the update list I was also unaware of two new versions of the R&H 88DS as 'GWR No 1' (Era 3 - R30014) and 'BR D2959' (Era 4 - R30017) - I'm intrigued..........no pics yet but due April (along with a mass of stuff, allegedly - we'll see). This fictitious livery lark is getting out of hand.......although I'm contemplating repainting a spare Sentinel 4wDM in BR Blue as 97021 so I'm in no position to criticize 🤪!

 

Although I regard my Tri-ang 'Nellie' as my first loco in 1966, it was actually preceded by a Hornby Dublo 3-rail A4 'Silver King' (with one coach, 10 wagons and an oval of track with middle return loop, something you could do with 3-rail) - however my nostalgia scale hasn't reached anywhere near £320, and as for the new 'Nellie'..........no, sorry, I don't think so!

 

 

['CHARD]

On 09/01/2024 at 13:51, The Stationmaster said:

 .... a nice consolation prize for me with a triple pack of Coke Hoppers at a very competitive price.

 

Yes, those novelty cola items are usually eye-watering, not to mention teeth-rotting.

 

I never had you down as the typical buyer of the range, you were obviously as impressed by the Lowmac with the bottle aboard as Sam's Trains was!

[gc4946]

I rarely place preorders but ordered a pair of Liverpool & Manchester 2nd class carriages and the Royal Mail coach which will be available separately as a mainstream release for the first time.

 

[Coppercap]

Within the Era 1 range, we know the existing 1st and 3rd class coaches are accurate models of the existing 1930s replicas at the NRM, and both the previously-announced 'Queen Adelaide's Saloon' and Royal Mail Coach seem to be accurate renditions of the real things. But the newly-announced 2nd class coach looks like it is yet another of Hornby's fictitious Era 1 vehicles, just like the 'flatbed wagon', 'coal wagon', horse wagon' and 'sheep wagon' were (though in fairness, the last two did seem to take their inspiration from one of the fairly crude early images of a Liverpool and Manchester Railway goods train).

The only image I can find of anything looking like the Hornby 2nd class coach is this rather fanciful one on a commemorative postage stamp  from 1980 (and which was probably commissioned especially for the stamps):

 

 

which was from this series of stamps:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 10 by Coppercap

[Fair Oak Junction]

Yes, sadly very little in the Hornby "Era 1" range is actually modelled on anything from the 1820-30s. It's 90% 1930s replicas and interpretations of questionable illustrations.

But it's a tough situation given the huge lack of accurate details and images from the time. I would have less of a problem with the range if Hornby made it clear that most of it isn't really accurate, which to their credit they have done with the Locomotion No.1 announcement. We'll just have to ignore the fact it still says "Era 1" in the product description 😄

[NZRedBaron]

2 hours ago, 'CHARD said:

 

Yes, those novelty cola items are usually eye-watering, not to mention teeth-rotting.

 

I never had you down as the typical buyer of the range, you were obviously as impressed by the Lowmac with the bottle aboard as Sam's Trains was!

... He means coke as in the coal derivative, that's used in the steel industry.

[AY Mod]

Whoosh.

[Dunsignalling]

8 hours ago, Fair Oak Junction said:

Yes, sadly very little in the Hornby "Era 1" range is actually modelled on anything from the 1820-30s. It's 90% 1930s replicas and interpretations of questionable illustrations.

But it's a tough situation given the huge lack of accurate details and images from the time. I would have less of a problem with the range if Hornby made it clear that most of it isn't really accurate, which to their credit they have done with the Locomotion No.1 announcement. We'll just have to ignore the fact it still says "Era 1" in the product description 😄

 

TBH, I suspect that for the vast majority of purchasers, "Era 1" will equate to "Rule 1" anyway....

 

[Fair Oak Junction]

52 minutes ago, Dunsignalling said:

 

TBH, I suspect that for the vast majority of purchasers, "Era 1" will equate to "Rule 1" anyway....

 

 

Yup, very true. It was just a let down to the handful of us who actually wanted to, as accurately as possible given the inherent issues with the era, model the birth of the railways.

[JSpencer]

42 minutes ago, Fair Oak Junction said:

 

Yup, very true. It was just a let down to the handful of us who actually wanted to, as accurately as possible given the inherent issues with the era, model the birth of the railways.

 

You would also need track which looks nothing like any of the ready to go track produced these days.

I think it would be honorable to produce an era 1 layout but suspect it would be better for someone to research and scratch build themselves maybe in O gauge leaving grey areas to their own tastes.

 

I'm quite happy getting the 1930s/preserved equivalents and don't think Hornby should enter essentially a grey area trying to get it as it was in 1825 when locomotion was not even yet named locomotion. She was know as Active back then, but did she carry the name? did she carry the number? if so how? It is quite a grey subjective area.

 

Soon we will be able to do a rule 1 preserved scene, Locomotion with Chaldrons, Rocket with a 1st and 3rd, lion with a rake of coaches.... all following each other, one after the other on the layout. That is already quite impressive in RTR.

Edited January 11 by JSpencer