Brighton Belle

[Matabiau]

The brown and cream Belle has arrived! I have just been informed by Hattons that my credit card has been relieved of £37 for a trailer 3rd. Hopefully the rest will follow as they have a chance to unpack them.

[brushman47544]

The brown and cream Belle has arrived! I have just been informed by Hattons that my credit card has been relieved of £37 for a trailer 3rd. Hopefully the rest will follow as they have a chance to unpack them.

 

Possibly not (in the same shipment that is) unless you pre-ordered them separately... Hattons are pretty good at checking whether multiple items in a single pre-order are available before shipping a single item, even if you marked the order as ship items when available.

[Matabiau]

Hattons has split my order into three, one for each of the trailer coaches. The trailer 3rd is on its way so I suppose Hattons haven't received the trailer firsts yet or they have already run out.

I have ordered the DCC fitted motor thirds from Rails (it was the better price at the time!) and those are in stock so I should be receiving those soon, unless my order has been lost since I placed it over a year ago.

[amdaley]

Just wondering if anyone has got one of these with the Hornby decoder already fitted ? Whats the quality of the decoder like & have there been any problems ?

I'm asking just because of Hornby's record in fitted decoders.

[BECMAYE]

Hi Tony, I have the blue and grey one with the factory fitted decoder and it works fine with a Dynamis controller without having to alter any cv's. I wasn't sure what to expect if I'm honest but this unit works beautifully and the lights also function properly.

[Ian Hargrave]

Anyone have a verdict yet on the non-DCC brown & cream version ? There seems to be an air of cautious optimism amongst our brethren. Would be grateful for any opinion/verdict/judgement as & when it runs on your track gents.

[amdaley]

Some very strange pricing of the DCC fitted set.

Rails have it at £159.50 but Hattons are asking £199.00. I mailed Hattons thinking it was a mistake but they said No, that's the price ?

Very strange. £40 the difference between the two companies for the same product.

[45568]

The Rails "bundles" look even better value!! My ghast is flabbered !!!

Cheers, Peter C.

[Gwiwer]

To coin a phrase "You pays yer money and takes yer choice".

 

Hattons isn't always the cheapest

[neal]

To coin a phrase "You pays yer money and takes yer choice".

 

Hattons isn't always the cheapest

 

The flip side is that they still only want £106 for the Bachmann 350/2. Most others are asking £145+

 

But no-one is knocking the Hornby 4F down yet - strange!!

 

Pays to shop around.

 

N

[CHAZ D]

The flip side is that they still only want £106 for the Bachmann 350/2. Most others are asking £145+

 

But no-one is knocking the Hornby 4F down yet - strange!!

 

Pays to shop around.

 

N

 

Yes they are:-

http://www.modelrailwaysdirect.co.uk/Locomotives-Steam-4F-Class/

 

£85 from £106

[dibber25]

Anyone have a verdict yet on the non-DCC brown & cream version ? There seems to be an air of cautious optimism amongst our brethren. Would be grateful for any opinion/verdict/judgement as & when it runs on your track gents.

I'm reviewing it in the next issue of Model Rail.

CHRIS LEIGH

[phil gollin]

Chris,

 

Please will you pay especial attention to the bogies which supposedly changed in 1958,

 

Thanks.

[Gwiwer]

I would be interested to hear from those who have a unit (particularly those with a complete 5Bel) as to how well it runs and holds the road. My question arises because I have a respectable number of Hornby's loco-hauled Pullman cars many of which are a little reluctant to stay on the track when formed in trains of more than around 4 - 5 cars. I believe that is due to a combination of the bogie fixings, couplers and the drag of these heavy cars.

 

The Belle is fitted with different couplers and should also be capable of being run around a layout with the powered car at the rear without disaster. But it would still weigh about as much as 5 l/h Pullman cars.

 

What is your operating experience please?

[The Stationmaster]

I would be interested to hear from those who have a unit (particularly those with a complete 5Bel) as to how well it runs and holds the road. My question arises because I have a respectable number of Hornby's loco-hauled Pullman cars many of which are a little reluctant to stay on the track when formed in trains of more than around 4 - 5 cars. I believe that is due to a combination of the bogie fixings, couplers and the drag of these heavy cars.

 

The Belle is fitted with different couplers and should also be capable of being run around a layout with the powered car at the rear without disaster. But it would still weigh about as much as 5 l/h Pullman cars.

 

What is your operating experience please?

 

Not directly my experience Rick but Simon Kohler was talking to the chap in front of me in the queue at Ally Pally on Saturday and said he'd had one running round the layout at Margate quite cheerfully for 50 odd hours (continuous) and when he stopped it to check all was well he realised it had the 'power car' at the back. Presumably that would have been on Hornby track so quite tight radius no doubt. I don't know which way round thh one performing on the Hornby stand at Ally Pally was marshalled but it was running very nicely I thought.

[dibber25]

I would be interested to hear from those who have a unit (particularly those with a complete 5Bel) as to how well it runs and holds the road. My question arises because I have a respectable number of Hornby's loco-hauled Pullman cars many of which are a little reluctant to stay on the track when formed in trains of more than around 4 - 5 cars. I believe that is due to a combination of the bogie fixings, couplers and the drag of these heavy cars.

 

The Belle is fitted with different couplers and should also be capable of being run around a layout with the powered car at the rear without disaster. But it would still weigh about as much as 5 l/h Pullman cars.

 

What is your operating experience please?

 

See the Model Rail review (April issue). Belle cars do not have pick-ups dragging on wheelsets and do have rigid bar coupling, so very different from loco-hauled Pullmans. Ours both run faultlessly whether pulling or propelling.

CHRIS LEIGH

[dibber25]

Chris,

 

Please will you pay especial attention to the bogies which supposedly changed in 1958,

 

Thanks.

 

They are different from the blue/grey version.

[Ian Hargrave]

Not directly my experience Rick but Simon Kohler was talking to the chap in front of me in the queue at Ally Pally on Saturday and said he'd had one running round the layout at Margate quite cheerfully for 50 odd hours (continuous) and when he stopped it to check all was well he realised it had the 'power car' at the back. Presumably that would have been on Hornby track so quite tight radius no doubt. I don't know which way round thh one performing on the Hornby stand at Ally Pally was marshalled but it was running very nicely I thought.

Going off on a tangent here but on the same thread,I have a new GNER 125 10-car rake adapted to custom-fitted Kadee couplers,which runs blissfully in either direction .I'm assuming the Belle is equipped with a similar power train/unit,so I can see no reason why its track holding capabilities should present problems. I do,however take the point that the conventional loco-hauled Pullman stock can--and frequently does have track-holding issues.

[metadyneman]

I would be interested to hear from those who have a unit (particularly those with a complete 5Bel) as to how well it runs and holds the road. My question arises because I have a respectable number of Hornby's loco-hauled Pullman cars many of which are a little reluctant to stay on the track when formed in trains of more than around 4 - 5 cars. I believe that is due to a combination of the bogie fixings, couplers and the drag of these heavy cars.

 

The Belle is fitted with different couplers and should also be capable of being run around a layout with the powered car at the rear without disaster. But it would still weigh about as much as 5 l/h Pullman cars.

 

What is your operating experience please?

 

I have a complete 5-BEL unit (Blue/grey one) and it will haul all 5 coaches happily round my garden line for hours!In fact it has done several hundred scale miles already i reckon. It doesn't like reverse much as the leading bogie of the dummy motor coach derails at a certain point on my layout but I think that is due to the age and condition of the point itself rather than the train.

[Matabiau]

I have just taken delivery of my first Brighton Belle trailer car from Hattons, remarkably quick for postage to France! The train name roof boards are supplied in a separate packet to be fitted by the customer and come in two parts; "Brighton Belle" and "Victoria Brighton". Does anyone know what order these should be arranged in (Hornby show "Brighton Belle Victoria Brighton") and should it be the same on all coaches and on both sides of each coach?

[Gwiwer]

Roof boards should be fitted to both sides of every coach (assuming there are sufficient to do this) and with "Brighton Belle" to the left of "Victoria Brighton" as you look at the car side on so that it reads "Brighton Belle Victoria Brighton"

[Matabiau]

Thank you for the advice. There are two of each supplied with each coach so enough for both sides.

Did the train ever run without roof boards? Normally Hornby fit the boards themselves on named trains so I was wondering this is a cost cutting exercise on their behalf or a positive decision to give freedom of choice to the customer.

[Gwiwer]

My Hornby loco-hauled Pullman cars came supplied with separately-packed roof boards (where supplied in a set) or with none. They were not factory-fitted. This does give the purchaser the option to fit or not fit the boards as they might not be relevant for the operation; mine for example are not so the cars run without them.

 

The Brighton Belle ran with roof boards while in umber and cream but not in blue / grey so far as I can recall. The boards were normally fitted until the final overhaul and repaint but there may have been occasions when one or more were missing possibly due to loss or damage. The roof boards were, so far as I am aware, removed and replaced with "Regency Belle" boards on the occasions when the electric stock operated that service.

[Godfrey Glyn]

Just had a call from Bob at Alton Model Centre to say that the DCC-ready umber and cream 1934 version is in!

Godfrey

 

[Matabiau]

My Hornby loco-hauled Pullman cars came supplied with separately-packed roof boards (where supplied in a set) or with none. They were not factory-fitted. This does give the purchaser the option to fit or not fit the boards as they might not be relevant for the operation; mine for example are not so the cars run without them.

 

The Brighton Belle ran with roof boards while in umber and cream but not in blue / grey so far as I can recall. The boards were normally fitted until the final overhaul and repaint but there may have been occasions when one or more were missing possibly due to loss or damage. The roof boards were, so far as I am aware, removed and replaced with "Regency Belle" boards on the occasions when the electric stock operated that service.

I have the Queen of Scots train pack where the boards are fitted as with the Imperial Airways Exrpess train pack. The Northumbrian train pack also has roof boards fitted to its Gresleys. Perhaps Hornby are just inconsistent? As you say, it at least supplying them separately gives the customer the choice of fitting them or not.