The Engine Shed

[69843]

The thing I find is companies like Rapido/Rapido UK, RevolutioN and Accurascale are built from people that not only love their trains and models, but are exactly our kind of people in that they are multi-interest geeks, and they know it. Jason is an unashamed full on Whovian for starters, having shown off his figurine collection more than once. They are not marketing people, but people with a passion and interest that runs deep. The marketing comes as a by-product of research, love for the hobby and fun. You only have to look at the Accurascale April Fools joke to understand that these are people who know the hobby inside out, and exactly what will be humour that us as railway modellers will just get.

Hornby, by being a massive brand far removed from where it was and encompassing more than just trains, has to be a bit more clean-cut due to its size and nature. They need to have a more family oriented image to suit all of their clientele and interested persons, which whilst still contains subtle humour and nods is very toned down to things like Rapido videos which I feel would be shut off the second they tried. They also have people in the company who aren't train geeks-they are marketing people or sales people who may have had an interest but not necessarily the deep passion, or have been moved from another department such as Scalextric or Corgi. However I feel this fails them as shown by some of the latest blogs.

The current blog was written by a Jemma Farrow. With a quick bit of reverse searching we come up with the following from Linkedin:
"Skills: Branding, campaign management, organisation, customer service. I currently run a small side business selling personalised digital artwork." All commendable skills, and by no means am I trying to put her down for being in this position or the skills she posesses, but her work doesn't exactly seem to say "railway enthusiast". Admittedly this is all based on guesswork and by no means reflects the reality-she may well be.

What I feel would be a step in the right direction is to get people who have been involved in the research to check over these blog sections for a bit more accuracy. To a non-railway person who is just buying models and looking at the blog for interest, they won't note too much of a change between current examples and a revised and refined post. I'm amazed that no-one here seems to have picked up that the blog states "In the below image, you can see the start of the valve gear work, note the large protrusion on the front of the cylinder, which is a feature of Lenz Rotary Valve Gear and not seen on the cylinders of locomotives fitted with Walscherts Valve Gear. The Rotary cam that gives the valve gear its name is missing from this sample however, again, this is an early engineering sample.", yet we're looking at Earl Marischal in the image.

Just little refinements and checks making sure facts, names etc. are correct would lift things back up a bit. Is it a perfect solution? No. It will never make everyone happy, especially with other areas of Hornby's business of late. However, it is a start and something minor that can be corrected with a small effort but a better outcome.
 

[woodenhead]

I am sure Simon Kohler's knowledge of railways does not run deep, or if it does then he cynically manipulates dates in order to drive more sales.  He was interviewed by TES once on the Bulleid Shorties - he did not know their history and widened their usage into the 1930s (under Maunsell!!).  Either he did not know or cynically chose to skirt around the truth that only the Maunsell frames existed to encourage more sales.

 

Hornby seem to be becoming a faceless corporate entity detached from their retailers and customers, a far cry from where the other manufacturers are going, even Bachmann is stepping up it's connection with modellers and they used to be the quietest bunch.

 

[The Stationmaster]

Without wishing to quote all of '69843's post above I think there are one or two points that need to be developed,  Firstly while Hornby is the home to many brands most of them - certainly the main ones in the UK - have Brand Managers and that is exactly the place i would expect to find a passion for the product,  and a knowledge of the subject and a strong understanding of the market, including the many different levels of market the company is intending to sell into - particularly when it comes to model railways 

 

Equally I would expect the Brand Managers to have control over any sort of promotional items  in respect of the brand they manage and i would expect professionalism and product knowledge to shine through in that area.  Not every customer will be a nerd, or a detail fanatic, or whatever, but the sort of naive errors two of us drew attention to on the previous page of this thread are hardly in super nerd category and one of them was just plain stupidity and nothing to do with lack of research or knowledge.   I don't know if Hornby have dropped their 'Signal Box' video presentation, which was clearly aimed at a different market area from TES, and that might have impacted TES?  But it will always come back to knowing your market(s) and pitching accordingly.  And if I were to employ a professional maker of promotional videos of any sort I would expect them to do a professional job, including any commentary.

 

Yes - a good idea to involve the researchers and developers - because they were precisely the people who devised the original TES format and made such a success of it.  Their only crime seems to have been that they expressed a better understanding of the part of Hornby's model railway market that TES was originally aimed at than have the marketeer(s) who took the role away from them.

[Legend]

The Engine Shed used to be exciting because it came from the developers and researchers ........who maybe left a development model in the background , and they obviously knew their subject . Now its become yet another bit of bland marketing . 

[SteamingWales]

I will say I have gone off TES too. I don't know whether it is like others have mentioned with it going very bland or that I don't want anything from Hornby anymore? I used to look so forward to reading the blog each month as they were genuinely interesting once over.

 

An aside, I know it was mentioned about the 88DS with ready for manufacturing a bit earlier in the topic, it is the same case with the 2MT with livery samples shown ages ago and then delivery goodness knows when now.

[1andrew1]

On 04/04/2022 at 13:14, Ruston said:

I'm not a regular reader of this thread, or of Hornby's Engine Shed and the last time I looked at this thread was when the quoted post was new. In that particular Engine Shed, with regard to the Ruston 88DS they said:

"As these near production ready samples demonstrate the 88DS is nearing the end of its development with only a few minor changes being reported back to the manufacturer. The detail of the mouldings, the excellent livery application, and the weight and solidity felt when holding the locomotive combine to create the impression of a model exuding the quality that has come to be expected from all of Hornby’s growing range of stunning small locomotives."

 

A year and two months on and these things have not appeared in the shops but models that weren't even announced at the time have appeared out of nowhere and have been and are in the shops since January last year, so what is going on with the 88DS?

Being generous, it might be because Hornby is using a different manufacturer for the Ruston 88DS than for the models which have leapfrogged it. Covid lockdowns are still happening in China so it could be that the manufacturer for the Ruston 88DS is having a tough time of things.

[brushman47544]

April Edition now out: 🚂 Your Next Stop, Hornby

 

Focusses on new Mk3s and the Jubilee West Country.

 

Also, the Hornby Club Malcolm liveried Class 90 will now appear in the new version of the Malcolm livery.

[Hilux5972]

Bit of a waste of time really. History of the Mk3, no closeup looks at the new models though, more about the Jubilee model, marketing guff. 

[Johan DC]

1 hour ago, Hilux5972 said:

Bit of a waste of time really. History of the Mk3, no closeup looks at the new models though, more about the Jubilee model, marketing guff. 

I agree! I used to look forward to TES, but it really lost it's apeal. 

[Hroth]

The Engine Shed is now The Signal Box without videos.

 

Not a pretty thought.

 

[aaron3820]

whinge whinge whinge

[Black 5 Bear]

1 hour ago, aaron3820 said:

whinge whinge whinge

Or how about respecting the fact that others have the right to a different opinion than yourself?

I'm of the view that RMweb members have posted genuine and constructive criticism in relation to the current format of the Engine Shed blog.

The fact is, it really isn't as good as when Islesey produced it !

Edited April 30, 2022 by Black 5 Bear

[TomScrut]

3 hours ago, Black 5 Bear said:

Or how about respecting the fact that others have the right to a different opinion than yourself?

I'm of the view that RMweb members have posted genuine and constructive criticism in relation to the current format of the Engine Shed blog.

The fact is, it really isn't as good as when Islesey produced it !

 

And the fact (as you say) that the people with those opinions are in general putting forward constructive criticism or interesting opinions forwards as to why they don't like how it is, wheras "whinge whinge whinge" is neither constructive nor interesting IMO.

[AY Mod]

5 hours ago, aaron3820 said:

whinge whinge whinge

 

Please don't do that again. If you do I'll remove access to the site.

[autocoach]

I must say it was rather disappointing in relation to previous Engine Sheds. The evil mavens of marketing are watering down what was meant for the serious hobbyist. 

[GWR-fan]

The limited release purple locomotive to commemorate the 96th birthday of Her Majesty,  increasing the initial 1500 production run to 2500 units reminds me of British Leyland in Australia back in 1978 with the 1275S limited run Mini.  Released in two batches with 750 units each in either silver or gold.  So popular was the model that the company released a further two batches.  Being a Mini afficiando and having driven and owned all sorts of Minis from the 850 to the Mk1 Cooper "S",  I decided that the new limited run Mini in silver with the supposedly "limited" run of 750 units only was a must have and possibly an investment. 

 

Alas,  the further release of the model doubling the production run left a sour taste in my mouth and after only four months of ownership,  I disposed of the vehicle, a decision aided by the then infamous poor quality control that BL was known for.  As well as the poor build quality the motor was fitted with an airpump to dilute carbon monoxide in the exhaust and other pollution gear that caused the model to overheat all the time.  Driving in the hot Australian summer with the heater on full to keep the temperature down was not a comfortable experience. 

 

Little did I know back then as in today's market the model has actually become a collectable and is attracting over four times the price when new back in 1978.  Perhaps there is hope for the purple beast.

Edited April 30, 2022 by GWR-fan
Spelling

[Nimbus]

15 hours ago, autocoach said:

I must say it was rather disappointing in relation to previous Engine Sheds. The evil mavens of marketing are watering down what was meant for the serious hobbyist. 

Are we sure it's 'the evil mavens'? Could it be instead that Hornby have lost significant

capacity for research in depth?

 

The Nim.

[Phil Parker]

15 hours ago, autocoach said:

I must say it was rather disappointing in relation to previous Engine Sheds. The evil mavens of marketing are watering down what was meant for the serious hobbyist. 

 

Who said it was "for the serious hobbyist"? This is a marketing tool and needs to be aimed at the largest market. It's possible that the older version wasn't doing the job or offering sufficient ROI and so has changed to perform better for the company. Hornby's job is to sell trains, not entertain gricers. 

[Dunsignalling]

3 hours ago, Phil Parker said:

 

Who said it was "for the serious hobbyist"? This is a marketing tool and needs to be aimed at the largest market. It's possible that the older version wasn't doing the job or offering sufficient ROI and so has changed to perform better for the company. Hornby's job is to sell trains, not entertain gricers. 

I don't think the truly "serious hobbyist" is likely to be lurking anywhere within a barge-pole's length of a Hornby blog in the first place.🥸

 

However, it is also true nobody ever achieves long-term success by assuming that anything involving words of more than one syllable (or the visual equivalent) is beyond the comprehension of their entire audience.

 

Why replicate the approach followed by The Signal Box if you already have The Signal Box?

 

The Engine Shed was good at sneaking in occasional subtle tit-bits aimed at more perceptive viewers (who Hornby also need to satisfy if they want to maximise sales) and which aren't going to offend anyone. They will just sail unnoticed over the heads of those who don't "get it".

 

Ignoring the more "informed" end of the audience will only serve to propel "us" ever more strongly into the arms of competitors who don't "dumb down" their media output to the lowest-common-denominator. 

 

John

[Phil Parker]

2 hours ago, Dunsignalling said:

However, it is also true nobody ever achieves long-term success by assuming that anything involving words of more than one syllable (or the visual equivalent) is beyond the comprehension of their entire audience.

 

You've never heard of newspapers then. The tabloids that do excactly that outsell the broadsheets.

 

2 hours ago, Dunsignalling said:

Ignoring the more "informed" end of the audience will only serve to propel "us" ever more strongly into the arms of competitors who don't "dumb down" their media output to the lowest-common-denominator. 

 

Unless you are the sort of enthusiast who just buys any shiny box, it doesn't really matter what the media is, you'll pick your manufacturer based on the models they produce as there isn't enough duplication to allow you to be fussy. The Engine Shed could be written in crayon if your layout needs a particaular loco that only Hornby make.

[TomScrut]

22 minutes ago, Phil Parker said:

Unless you are the sort of enthusiast who just buys any shiny box, it doesn't really matter what the media is, you'll pick your manufacturer based on the models they produce as there isn't enough duplication to allow you to be fussy. The Engine Shed could be written in crayon if your layout needs a particaular loco that only Hornby make.

 

I completely agree here from a personal perspective, I have plenty of Hornby stuff that I feel could/would be better done by others but they make them and I feel they are essential to the layout so I buy 'em.

 

However I do think, depending on what era/region one is interested in, that Hornby could in fact be avoided if the customer so wanted to. How many people are doing that because of the engine shed probably amounts to near zero. Other reasons, probably quite a lot more than zero but also probably insignificant for now.

 

For example, I expect Hornby to be completely avoidable for post 2000 assuming you don't need a 60 or high speed mainline passenger trains.

[Dunsignalling]

11 hours ago, TomScrut said:

 

I completely agree here from a personal perspective, I have plenty of Hornby stuff that I feel could/would be better done by others but they make them and I feel they are essential to the layout so I buy 'em.

 

However I do think, depending on what era/region one is interested in, that Hornby could in fact be avoided if the customer so wanted to. How many people are doing that because of the engine shed probably amounts to near zero. Other reasons, probably quite a lot more than zero but also probably insignificant for now.

 

For example, I expect Hornby to be completely avoidable for post 2000 assuming you don't need a 60 or high speed mainline passenger trains.

Not just post-2000 if one sticks to a defined modelling/collecting theme. My four pre-ordered BR-era Maunsells are on their way. Of what we currently know about, I only have one Hornby loco on order and one solitary coach required to complete my fleet of Maunsells.

 

After those, there's a distinct possibility of me buying nothing more in red boxes for quite a while. Not breaking the habit of a liife-time, but certainly one that's stood for over a quarter of a century.

 

For 2023, Hornby has to come up with something all-new to tempt me, or real variations on items I have previously bought in quantity but have ceased to because "only the name is changed".

 

Of course, if I modelled the ECML in the same era as I do my bit of the the Southern Region, I'd be exhausting my resources devouring the cornucopia on offer. Others are presumably doing just that, so Hornby is unlikely to notice my absence....

 

As for The Engine Shed, I've decided to stop bothering with it until/unless others point out something of interest.

 

John

[Dunsignalling]

12 hours ago, Phil Parker said:

 

You've never heard of newspapers then. The tabloids that do excactly that outsell the broadsheets.

 

 

Unless you are the sort of enthusiast who just buys any shiny box, it doesn't really matter what the media is, you'll pick your manufacturer based on the models they produce as there isn't enough duplication to allow you to be fussy. The Engine Shed could be written in crayon if your layout needs a particaular loco that only Hornby make.

Absolutely agree with your first comment, which is why I haven't bought a paper regularly for more than 20 years. I don't need "news" that's been subjected to editorial axe-grinding at the behest of the billionaire would-be dictators that own the titles.

 

On the second, I am in the (perhaps fortunate) position that I could envisage getting by without buying any (more) shiny boxes. I can assemble pretty much any train I'm likely to want, with most real gaps being in what goes behind the tender rather than in front. Those are plausibly filled with Maunsell and BR Mk1 substitutes for now, but Bachmann are working on that...

 

Need, is therefore not an issue, though desire would be an altogether different matter. There are locomotives I would eagerly snap up, e.g. SR U and Q, plus several Bulleid Pacific variants that Hornby could easily make but haven't. However, I already own other types that shared their duties, so I'm not desperate. I know others who have likewise accumulated China-made "SABLE" in stupid quantities, for whom the same would apply. 

 

I find that other hobbies have been getting the lion's share of my spending for a couple of years now, simply because I haven't been attracted to all that much that's been on offer in the way of new models. That's beginning to change, but Hornby is not (at least for me) the driver of that change.

 

John

[The Stationmaster]

I'm definitely looking to order some stuff in red boxes now that various 'remaindered' items are available from several retail outlets with significant price reductions on the original RRP.  These are things which will be ideal to add a little touch of prototype variety in the way that happened in the real world but were beyond 'core' at their original price and were therefore ignored.

 

These items are - obviously - not being promoted on TES but clearly Hornby has made some much needed cash by clearing them out of its crowded warehouse space thus adding both to sales and reducing warehousing charges at a time when new stuff is being delayed.  And the items are even available via at least one Tier 3 retailer.

 

As for TES it has simple descended from a place of interest to me into a rather bland marketing tool which again occasionally highlights some of Hornby's ('detail, detail, detail') shortcomings when it comes to mention of the prototype of various of its models.  And which has lost that element of titillation and froth generation which it once had and which regularly sustained and revived the interest of  a significant section of their market.  The decision to change it is of course entirely up to Hornby but compared with what it once was it has - as far as I'm concerned - lost most of the past attraction of its original approach. 

[Hilux5972]

Latest edition online now. Interesting new coupling developments. https://uk.Hornby.com/community/blog-and-news/engine-shed/power-of-attraction?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Engine+Shed+-+It+s+a+Jubilee+Takeover+extravaganza!&utm_campaign=Hornby+-+Jubilee+Engine+shed+-+week+10+2022%2F23