New Hornby Announcement - Class 56 56303 in DCR Livery

[Derails Models]

Please excuse me if already posted, but I headed to Hornby.com to check an item arrival date and I found this new item had just been announced:

 

DCR, Class 56, Co-Co, 56303 - Era 10

 

R3660 by Derails Models, on Flickr

 

RRP £169.99, but of course are available at a discount from most retailers including your local model shop!

Edited July 20, 2018 by Derails Models

[PM47079]

Nice companion for Hornbys 31452. The real one was a regular on the Wembley - Barrington job until something got shunted in to it while it was stabled in Wembley yard causing the cab to drop. Was still there a couple of weeks back.

[159220]

Sorry, an odd choice. Perhaps as a limited edition, yet as a main catalogue release I do not understand. It would of been successful 5 years ago. DCR does not operate its own locomotives anymore. 

[kernowtim]

The class 31 in this livery presumably didnt sell well as it ended up in the bargain bins!!

[Hilux5972]

Sorry, an odd choice. Perhaps as a limited edition, yet as a main catalogue release I do not understand. It would of been successful 5 years ago. DCR does not operate its own locomotives anymore.

BR doesn't operate any steam locos or BR blue diesels anymore either but they still sell.

[37114]

BR doesn't operate any steam locos or BR blue diesels anymore either but they still sell.

Yes but there were a fair few more locos in BR blue than DCR livery.....

[MGR Hooper!]

Looks like a good model. Hope it will sell better than it's Class 31 counterpart.

[37038]

Sorry, an odd choice. Perhaps as a limited edition, yet as a main catalogue release I do not understand. It would of been successful 5 years ago. DCR does not operate its own locomotives anymore.

DCR still own and operate 56103 and 56091 (although 091 is currently stored awaiting engine work). And until the recent incident in Wembley yard, 56303 was a regular performer for them.

[jjb1970]

I am very familiar with this one at Wembley and like this release as it is nice to see a modern image release.

[SteveC32]

Looks like a good model. Hope it will sell better than it's Class 31 counterpart.

Totally agree, the 31 was on retailers shelves for ages, can’t say this is a popular livery and am surprised Hornby chose this loco/livery over something more popular that they’ve been asked for (like the 60 in DB Red). This 56 could end up on the shelves just like the Drax biomass 60). Strange choice Hornby at a time when you need production runs to sell out!

[Legend]

Totally agree, the 31 was on retailers shelves for ages, can’t say this is a popular livery and am surprised Hornby chose this loco/livery over something more popular that they’ve been asked for (like the 60 in DB Red). This 56 could end up on the shelves just like the Drax biomass 60). Strange choice Hornby at a time when you need production runs to sell out!

Completely agree. Clearly they are struggling again to get product on the shelves . I find it a very odd choice that they’ve come up with this when there are do many other items they could use manufacturing capacity on.

[amwells]

Completely agree. Clearly they are struggling again to get product on the shelves . I find it a very odd choice that they’ve come up with this when there are do many other items they could use manufacturing capacity on.

I also agree about other (more popular) items. What’s interesting about this is that it is clearly a 2019 catalogue item arrived early. So they are getting production slots. Maybe this is a new factory, or an old factory re-engaged?

[Legend]

I also agree about other (more popular) items. What’s interesting about this is that it is clearly a 2019 catalogue item arrived early. So they are getting production slots. Maybe this is a new factory, or an old factory re-engaged?

I’ve lost track but was this not a model from 2016 or 2017 that subsequently got cancelled? I maybe wrong. I think I’m thinking of a Class 87 in a weird livery. .

Edited July 22, 2018 by Legend

[Sails]

Looks like a good model. Hope it will sell better than it's Class 31 counterpart.

 

What was the verdict on the 31 DCR model? I haven't come across much on reviews or talk about it, just found a thread on another forum talking about lighting problems.

 

This was an operator I was not familiar with but the livery looks good, I might be tempted.

[DRS Crewe On A Mission]

I'm slightly delighted and confused at the same time with this one. 

 

Nice model in a nice livery to announce. But DCR have owned 56091, 56103, 56301, 56303, 56311 and 56312 for many years. 

 

Fair enough 091 and 103 have worn the plain grey, but 301 has worn Fastline Freight, 303 DCR Green, 311 Grey and Yellow and the new Grey DC Rail and 312 Grey and Yellow, Railfest 2012 and the new Grey DC Rail livery. I think that the latter four wearing different liveries should have been produced years ago when DCR operated more freight trains. Potentially four Class 56s could have been produced in four different liveries for the same operator.

 

301 Fastline, 303 DCR Green, 311 Grey and Yellow and 312 the new DC Rail Grey. That would also allow people the option to model both 311 and 312 in the same liveries by renumbering if one of each was produced in grey and yellow and just the new DC Rail grey. 

 

I'm not sure if 301 has ever or is owned by DCR but it has worked trains with the other above DCR 56s. 

 

It just appears that Hornby have missed opportunities with the 56s and although DCR 56s might not be the most popular locos or have the most attractive liveries I'm sure they would have sold at the right time or maybe even as Limited Editions. But to offer one now at such a late stage when 303 hasn't even worked any trains for weeks following collision damage to a cab at Wembley seems a little strange. 

 

Personally I might buy this one and run it with some engineers wagons although I'm not sure how many others will buy it. 

 

A nice loco in a nice livery offered by Hornby but not at the most appropriate time. If this had been produced back in 2014/2015 when the loco saw more regular use along with other 56s that may have increased the demand for it. Or they could have announced it when 31452 was announced and produced in DCR Green a few years ago. 

[rob D2]

So a limited appeal livery, on a broken loco, operated by a company that wants out.

 

I’d call that a serious dumbass production idea.

 

See how quickly they can burn through £18m with great ideas like this.

[Guest teacupteacup]

So a limited appeal livery, on a broken loco, operated by a company that wants out.

 

I’d call that a serious dumbass production idea.

 

See how quickly they can burn through £18m with great ideas like this

Well why dont you get a job with them, and tell them what will help them hold onto their £18m.

 

You might not like it, but others do.

 

Production slots are generally agreed months in advance and as per posts above, this loco was a regular performer until a couple of weeks back

[rob D2]

Well why dont you get a job with them, and tell them what will help them hold onto their £18m.

 

You might not like it, but others do.

 

Production slots are generally agreed months in advance and as per posts above, this loco was a regular performer until a couple of weeks back

 

A regular performer on what ? One diagram to a landfill.

 

I don’t have to “ get a job with them “ to have an opinion. I’m just interested in them NOT going bust.

 

I’d love to be proven wrong, but if this isn’t in the bargains category soon I’ll eat my hat

[Guest teacupteacup]

A regular performer on what ? One diagram to a landfill.

 

I don’t have to “ get a job with them “ to have an opinion. I’m just interested in them NOT going bust.

 

I’d love to be proven wrong, but if this isn’t in the bargains category soon I’ll eat my hat

Whether its one diagram or a hundred.  Every model produced is of an individual prototype, no matter what livery it is in, and no matter what diagrams it worked.  Doesnt matter how popular the livery is people will always moan that they should have produced a different running number

 

Hornby are still getting the trade price from the retailers, so if it ends up in the bargain bins so what? At least they are producing modern models for people modelling the current era 

[MGR Hooper!]

Completely agree. Clearly they are struggling again to get product on the shelves . I find it a very odd choice that they’ve come up with this when there are do many other items they could use manufacturing capacity on.

I would've thought that some more BR Blue ones would've been the need for the hour and maybe a few sector and a Colas Rail one.

[John M Upton]

I get that feeling this might have started life as a retailers limited edition order that got canned too late to halt production.

 

Probably wrong but that I what my instinct tells me.

['CHARD]

I get that feeling this might have started life as a retailers limited edition order that got canned too late to halt production.

 

Probably wrong but that I what my instinct tells me.

 

My immediate feeling too.  This is just so niche for a company that struggles with releasing a Class 60 in DB Red.

[Legend]

They may be made by different factories so maybe it’s not as simple as just transferring the production slot from a 56 to a 60 . There may also be components to consider . But there is an untold story here I think . It’s a very odd choice and as MGR says another banger blue version, Colas would have had more widespread use and acceptance than this.

Edited July 23, 2018 by Legend

[Hroth]

Considering that the class 31 in DCR livery was a slow seller, I wonder if this one will perform any better.  I got the 31 version when Hattons were selling them off, mainly for the chassis.

[Classsix T]

301 Fastline, 303 DCR Green, 311 Grey and Yellow and 312 the new DC Rail Grey. That would also allow people the option to model both 311 and 312 in the same liveries by renumbering if one of each was produced in grey and yellow and just the new DC Rail grey.

 

Unless people are going to settle for Palitoy-esque renumbering paint jobs, the tooling simply doesn't exist to do 56301 & 56312 as per prototype.

 

C6T.