Hornby Merchant Navy announced (formerly Facebook leak)

[Spannerman]

Just to stir the pot, maybe Hornby got wind that Bachmann were going to announce a model of 'Exeter' that is not limited to 290 models!

 

Lol

 

Nik

[Thom]

I've wanted Royal Mail in BR Express Blue ever since I saw an old Wrenn model.

[Robin Brasher]

I wonder what suitable rolling stock Hornby will suggest for the Merchant Navy in their next catalogue. At present Hornby is only making a Midland region BR crimson and cream BR Mk1Second Open Coach as R4620/A in the main range and R4628 in the Railroad range. I think only Loraine of the K type Pullman cars represented by R4663 ran on the Southern. Most of the SR 4 wheel coaches would have been scrapped or painted Malachite green by the time the Merchant Navies came out. We are left with R4312 and R4313 Pullman Parlour cars in the Railroad range which can be given suitable names.

 

There are no Southern locomotives in the Railroad range so a Railroad Merchant Navy  would be an ideal candidate with no outside valve gear and simple lining if Hornby produced it in addition to the ones in the main range. It would undercut the price of any Merchant Navies likely to be produced by other firms. 

Edited March 1, 2015 by Robin Brasher

[JSpencer]

They could bring back out their Maunsell coaches in crimson cream only this timed as a low window set.

 

To be honest I have plenty of SR stuff waiting to be pulled by them.

[gc4946]

I welcome Hornby's announcement of modelling the original version Merchant Navies - I'm sure there will be plenty of takers, both modellers and collectors.

 

As with the King and the Warley announcements, we'll now have to be prepared for more surprise launches besides the well-known annual media briefings and catalogues if Hornby catches wind of competitors rumoured or actually bringing out products which Hornby might consider they belong within their "territory".

 

In my opinion, now the supply issues are well on the way to being sorted out, Hornby are much better prepared to revise its development programmes in the wake of competition.

 

The MN's announcement will mean that people will want appropriate matching stock, however, Hornby might now be in a better position to pencil in announcements this December that more Maunsell carriages, especially the long-absent high-windowed types, are on the way, now that tools for these types are no longer at Sanda Kan.

 

Alternatively they could tool up for the 59' multi-door Bulleid corridor composite and brake 3rds.

 

[toboldlygo]

I wonder what suitable rolling stock Hornby will suggest for the Merchant Navy in their next catalogue. At present Hornby is only making a Midland region BR crimson and cream BR Mk1Second Open Coach as R4620/A in the main range and R4628 in the Railroad range. I think only Loraine of the K type Pullman cars represented by R4663 ran on the Southern. Most of the SR 4 wheel coaches would have been scrapped or painted Malachite green by the time the Merchant Navies came out. We are left with R4312 and R4313 Pullman Parlour cars in the Railroad range which can be given suitable names.

 

There are no Southern locomotives in the Railroad range so a Railroad Merchant Navy  would be an ideal candidate with no outside valve gear and simple lining if Hornby produced it in addition to the ones in the main range. It would undercut the price of any Merchant Navies likely to be produced by other firms. 

 

I would hope Hornby are planning a set appropriate of coaches to go with both the MN & Class 71 in their Golden Arrow guise..

 

I could well see the current Rebuilt (Modified) MN ending up in the Railroad range before to long.

[david12345]

After all the hype has died down it may be a good thing if we get 2 competing models. At the moment we have to wait years between model issues, if we are getting 2 rival models we may be able to get a constant supply year on year.

[Budgie]

If Hornby are going to do Bulleid coaches, I would hope they do non-gangwayed ones.

[Dunsignalling]

I wonder what suitable rolling stock Hornby will suggest for the Merchant Navy in their next catalogue. At present Hornby is only making a Midland region BR crimson and cream BR Mk1Second Open Coach as R4620/A in the main range and R4628 in the Railroad range. I think only Loraine of the K type Pullman cars represented by R4663 ran on the Southern. Most of the SR 4 wheel coaches would have been scrapped or painted Malachite green by the time the Merchant Navies came out. We are left with R4312 and R4313 Pullman Parlour cars in the Railroad range which can be given suitable names.

 

There are no Southern locomotives in the Railroad range so a Railroad Merchant Navy  would be an ideal candidate with no outside valve gear and simple lining if Hornby produced it in addition to the ones in the main range. It would undercut the price of any Merchant Navies likely to be produced by other firms. 

If (and it seems to be so) they are doing 21C1 before she received a standard smoke hood, that will limit the era of operation to 1941 - 1943.

 

Pullmans were stored for the duration of the war so the only correct coaches that have been produced r-t-r (though none are currently listed) are the Maunsells.

 

I suspect most of these locos will end up in cabinets anyway, but Hornby's freelance four-wheeled coaches are purely toys and don't belong with any scale model loco!

 

There is a SR loco in the Railroad range - the old Schools which now has its motor in the loco; I've bought one for a conversion project I have in mind.

 

I sincerely hope that Hornby have abandoned the half-baked approach they took with the Duke of Gloucester and P2 which, IMHO, failed to fulfil their "main range" pretensions.

 

From the look of the chassis, I trust that the MN will not only be full fat but Gold-top!

 

John   

[Robin Brasher]

The Railroad Schools class is not in the 2015 catalogue.

[coachmann]

From tomorrow my sympathy just might lie with two companies each facing only half the market share after investing twice as much money in duplicate models, which in turn reduces funding for reinvestment. One 'insider' has told us Hornby's model has been under development for some time, so maybe this time it is a genuine case of 'tough luck' for Hornby and Bachmann. I cannot help feeling that Bachmann hands competitors an advantage on a plate by announcing new models in March instead of December.

Edited March 1, 2015 by coachmann

[ed 66 plant]

I can confirm that Hornby have been working on this model for some time, and are well underway, with some assistance from myself already. My understanding is that it was held back from the 2015 announcement for a number of valid reasons. I am sure the timing is very much to do with the Bachmann announcements taking place on Monday.

 

I have now posted about this announcement here http://grahammuz.com/2015/02/28/Hornby-make-surprise-announcement-of-original-air-smooth-merchant-navy-pacific/

 

As stated above there are I am sure enough variations within this class to prevent any initial duplication should such a situation arise...

Graham-----thankyou for the most interesting news.Do you know if the first series engines will be available in later modified form--e.g. cab/ later smoke deflectors etc so that they would fit into the 1950,s scene?

Thankyou--hope to see you and your Fisherton Sarum at the Alexandra Palace 28-3--I think I will find it most interesting.

[Dunsignalling]

The Railroad Schools class is not in the 2015 catalogue.

But there are plenty still in the shops, and it'll probably be back next year.

 

The old practice of everything being in the catalogue every year was only sustainable when the total range was much smaller and Hornby made the models themselves. 

 

Batch production under contract in factories thousands of miles away, makes it impossible. 

 

John

Edited March 1, 2015 by Dunsignalling

[Graham_Muz]

If Hornby are going to do Bulleid coaches, I would hope they do non-gangwayed ones.

I am not sure what coaches you are referring to here as Bulleid, or Maunsell for that matter, produced non gangwayed loco hauled coaching stock.

[Graham_Muz]

Graham-----thankyou for the most interesting news.Do you know if the first series engines will be available in later modified form--e.g. cab/ later smoke deflectors etc so that they would fit into the 1950,s scene?

Thankyou--hope to see you and your Fisherton Sarum at the Alexandra Palace 28-3--I think I will find it most interesting.

As the announcement stated details of the variations to be produced are still to be confirmed but regardless of the form of the very first release I am confident that the tooling will allow for a number of variations to be produced in due course.

 

Make sure you say hello at Alexandra Palace, will be good to meet you.

Edited March 1, 2015 by Graham_Muz

[Graham_Muz]

But there are plenty still in the shops, and it'll probably be back next year.

 

The old practice of everything being in the catalogue every year was only sustainable when the total range was much smaller and Hornby made the models themselves. 

 

Batch production under contract in factories thousands of miles away, makes it impossible. 

 

John

I agree with John here, in an ideal world correct rolling stock would be available to match each locomotive in each catalogue, along with he production issues now experienced and mentioned, this also assumes that every purchaser of a locomotive has not already collected suitable rolling stock over time. If you take the idea to the nth degree it would mean that no manufacturer should produce any loco that that do not also produce rolling stock for ( even though it might be produced already by another)!

[Legend]

I would hope Hornby are planning a set appropriate of coaches to go with both the MN & Class 71 in their Golden Arrow guise..

 

I could well see the current Rebuilt (Modified) MN ending up in the Railroad range before to long.

Wish I shared your confidence. Remember this is the company that releases HST power cars without intermediate trailers and vice versa. Aren't the Hornby Maunsells suitable rolling stock? They may not be in this years catalogue but I'm sure you can still get them. The market was flooded with them not so long ago. I'm sure they could make a reappearance in the 2016 catalogue

[alfsboy]

It would be nice if Bachmann sorted out the split drive pulleys on  my two 2-10-0 decapods ,one Frisco and one Western Maryland,one brand new in a sealed box ,before making anything else new .All communication with Bachmann USA has drawn a nix .

[Oldddudders]

Wish I shared your confidence. Remember this is the company that releases HST power cars without intermediate trailers and vice versa. Aren't the Hornby Maunsells suitable rolling stock? They may not be in this years catalogue but I'm sure you can still get them. The market was flooded with them not so long ago. I'm sure they could make a reappearance in the 2016 catalogue

The Maunsells - I am a leading owner - are very fine vehicles, and the full range is by no means exhausted yet, with all sorts of permutations of body-style and livery still unmade. Sadly I fear Hornby has said goodbye to the tooling in the change of Chinese manufacturer. Perhaps if they choose to start again they will do some bodystyles - especially the final versions - which have not been seen so far.

 

I suspect that any new versions would lose the separate door and commode handles that distinguish the original batches, simply due to cost. OTOH the BILs and HALs have the moulded detail and are certainly "good enough", to my mind.

 

Ebay is full of Maunsells for those who care to look, although olive livery is a bit hard to find now.

[Oldddudders]

It would be nice if Bachmann sorted out the split drive pulleys on  my two 2-10-0 decapods ,one Frisco and one Western Maryland,one brand new in a sealed box ,before making anything else new .All communication with Bachmann USA has drawn a nix .

That range has nothing to do with Barwell, though.

[Multiple identity account]

 

 

I sincerely hope that Hornby have abandoned the half-baked approach they took with the Duke of Gloucester and P2 which, IMHO, failed to fulfil their "main range" pretensions.

 

 

 

John   

Why hoping for something when "Design-Clever" has been publicly stated to be scrapped by Hornby? And moreover why even have such a negative doubt when you see models like the K1, J15 and Class 700 look absolutely stunning and all of which are from the post "Design-Clever" era?

 

Jeff.

[Dunsignalling]

I agree with John here, in an ideal world correct rolling stock would be available to match each locomotive in each catalogue, along with he production issues now experienced and mentioned, this also assumes that every purchaser of a locomotive has not already collected suitable rolling stock over time. If you take the idea to the nth degree it would mean that no manufacturer should produce any loco that that do not also produce rolling stock for ( even though it might be produced already by another)!

The only way to be certain of getting a matching loco and coaches at the same time is if they are marketed in a train pack. 

 

If I purchase a 21C1, it will spend most of its time behind glass and only run under Rule 1. Other versions that fit my main interests better will do the work.

 

I am definitely one of those cited by Graham who already owns suitable coaches to go with any loco I am likely to buy; probably far more of them than I need!

 

John

[coachmann]

When the Merchant Navy's were introduced, Maunsell stock was the norm although the later designs were markedly different to those with wooden window bolections that Hornby produces. 

[Dunsignalling]

Why hoping for something when "Design-Clever" has been publicly stated to be scrapped by Hornby? And moreover why even have such a negative doubt when you see models like the K1, J15 and Class 700 look absolutely stunning and all of which are from the post "Design-Clever" era?

 

Jeff.

I must admit to not having seen a formal declaration to that effect. Glad to hear it and I stand corrected. 

 

John

[JSpencer]

I welcome Hornby's announcement of modelling the original version Merchant Navies - I'm sure there will be plenty of takers, both modellers and collectors.

 

As with the King and the Warley announcements, we'll now have to be prepared for more surprise launches besides the well-known annual media briefings and catalogues if Hornby catches wind of competitors rumoured or actually bringing out products which Hornby might consider they belong within their "territory".

 

want appropriate matching stock, however, Hornby might now be in a better position to pencil in announcements this December that more Maunsell carriages, especially the long-absent high-windowed types, are on the way, now that tools for these types are no longer at Sanda Kan.

 

Alternatively they could tool up for the 59' multi-door Bulleid corridor composite and brake 3rds.

The last few months have been quite dramatic, we could rename the forum "Game of Trains" complete with opening credits that has a map switching between places like Barwell, Margate, Toronto etc...

 

I think we are a long way away from the end of this drama.

 

Hornby are clearly doing the first batch of Merchant Navies, but what about the second and third batch? Bachmann may announce the last batch only and if Hornby's plans cater for all batches then some duplication will arise. Likewise, could they use the tender chassis from the rebuilds? Albeit modified to use their 4 pin connecting plug.