wombatofludham

I always thought the Danish IC3 "Gumminase" unit would have been perfect (scaled down to UK loading gauge) for the Regional Railways express services, adding and taking off portions with just a swinging out or in of the driving desk after a quick auto couple, and given the Danes routinely run diesel IC3 units in formation with electric IR4 units would have been a useful way to replace the South Western fleet, keeping the Southern tradition alive of mixed traction trains.  Won't happen as it requires forethought and common coupling standards whereas SWR like to spend money refurbishing trains then scrap them.

That looks nice, there's a photo of it on Flickr from about 1968 at Crewe depot so I could probably justify one on "Wednesford" for the '68 timetable!

Personally I will stop and look at all the displays, as having had a very brief period of exhibiting anyone who is prepared to put themselves out to spend a tiring day showing off their creativity, having to deal with the public AND the more sniffy, anally retentive "enthusiasts" who, if it hasn't got their pet kettle or had rails made using a 4mm finescale working blast furnace and rolling mill, don't consider it modelling, deserve the respect of paying them attention and, if possible, engaging with them about their layout.  I make no bones about my dislike of the GWR, despite having been involved with the "Dolgellau" layout for the past few years but I will still spend time with the proverbial GWR branch line despite it not accurately depicting the deep rural poverty and decline of the 1930s and having a train service to embarrass London Underground in frequency.  Whatever the standard, however clean the locos and scenery are, and wherever in the world the model is set, I can't think of a single layout I've seen at numerous shows over the years where I haven't come away without some sort of inspiration.  I loved @TEAMYAKIMA's Chinese layout despite having a near zero knowledge of Chinese motive power or operations.  It didn't matter to me, the bold decision to exhibit something so outside the typical model interest made it a winner for me.

I'm a bit of a contrarian and I reject outright following the herd and get a tad irritated when "The Herd" decides the latest cool thing is something I'm interested in.  Hence my indifference to the GWR.  But, I feel I should respect all exhibitors and pay them the compliment of my attention, and I just wish some of the snottier modellers would invest in a large ring spanner to loosen the massive wing nut causing their anal retention, they might just find something unexpected that could ignite a whole new interest for them.

On 30/01/2024 at 07:12, Chris M said:

  There is an article about called "Death of the model railway?" in The Critic magazine by Richard Bratby which makes for a good read. I hope it is ok to quote one line of his article here - "It’s as if, for the last three decades, the Eurovision Song Contest had been organised by the Danebury Metal Detecting Club". 

 

As both a Eurovision fan and railway modeller, I fully endorse this.  How Warley managed to organise an annual spectacular on an industrial scale will forever be a source of wonder.  (PS, going off piste, Bachmann will you get off your backsides and get a licence from the EBU/BBC/UA:PBC to produce 350104 in it's Liverpool Eurovision livery?  I'm sure I'm not the only occupant of the intersection in the Venn Diagram of Eurovision fans and fans of Desiros)

Also well done to Warners for taking on the mantle of organising Son of Warley.  Assuming the weather plays ball (November has a good chance of seeing the roads and railway line from Wales to the Midlands being washed downstream to the Severn estuary) I might be able to get over to see the new show.

There was a small batch of SO (2+1seating but 8 bay) Mk2 vacuum brake coaches built for the West Coast electrification scheme.  They were to be used with Mk1 kitchen cars for second class dining facilities where Pullmans didn't go, services like the Midland Executive which replaced the Birmingham Blue Pullman.  Eventually they ended up on the Eastern region out of Liverpool Street where the restaurant service was very popular, especially with theatricals on an awayday to Anglia TV (or 19th Century Fox as David Niven called it).  I remember travelling in one on a Norwich to Birmingham stagger towards the end of their days, I think they might have remained vacuum brake throughout their lives.

Presumably the wider aisles allowed the food service to avoid anyone passing, plus the extra elbow room at the table would have avoided you copping an eyeful of your neighbour's Dover Sole.

12 minutes ago, Colin_McLeod said:

The 80 class are based on mk2b bodies so are a natural candidate for another batch of mk2b coaches. They ran in a number of liveries.

 

Also a re-run of the mk2b FO, TSO, driving trailer and dining car in the original NIR blue/maroon 1970 livery would give a rake of coaches for the Hunslet hauled Belfast-Dublin train for our MIR Hunslets to haul.

 

The TSO ex FO ran for a number of years in the NIR blue/grey livery as side corridor second class (is that SK?) before reconfigured as open coaches.  Does IRM plan to produce this version?  It would be a change of internal arrangement only.

 

A maroon Hunslet, and 80 class and Enterprise set in Caribbean Blue and Morocco Red would get me to part with some money.  Although some probably regard it as dull, I always thought the livery was both unusual and classy.

C'mon IRM, cash waiting!

7 hours ago, The Evil Bus Driver said:

An 80 class would definitely be logical. There's one at the East Lancs Railway which I'm sure they'd allow access to for 3D scanning. I think there are only 2 driving trailers left though and (I'm fairly certain) no centre cars so they'd have to cone from drawings. Do you model Irish gauge too? In 4mm that's 21mm iirc

I'm afraid I'm strictly narrow gauge as the layout I'm planning for the Irish stock will also be designed to represent a North Wales LMS branch terminus.  I did some train travel in Ireland back in the early 1990s and was struck by just how some stations still retained the atmosphere of the steam era so with a bit of Rule 1 together with sticking to 16.5mm I should manage to create a dual purpose station.

I'm more an impressionist than a Dutch Master

"Powered models"

So you ARE producing a working BR sausage on a stick fluorescent platform lamp!  I'm in...

I've probably mentioned this before (along with the NIR 80 class) but I do think there is room in the market for an Accurascale FGA-FFA original Freightliner flat especially now Bachmann seem to have put their models to bed.  Given they ran mainly in fixed 5 car rakes (although some were later shortened) and the way Accurascale offer bulk packs I could see a five car boxed set of bare container flats (given the availability of loose containers on the market) being affordable and popular.  A five car pack would be fine for smaller layouts whilst those with larger set ups could run 10-20 at a time.  Even if Bachmann do remember they have the models in their range, I would expect Accurascale to be more competitively priced and if sold in 5 packs at least you'll have a complete rake rather than the Bachmann situation where you can still get the FGA pairs but FFAs are rarer than hen's dentures in a pile of rocking horse dung.

Having missed out on the pre-order I was able to take advantage of the spares made available to snap purchase a six car NIR "bumblebee" rake which arrived today.

Astounding models.

The detailing is off the scale and prism free flush glazing is genuinely prism free.  Printing and colour rendition is spot on and when you turn them over and see the bogies are set up for Irish gauge it does rather hammer home that those of us sticking with 16.5mm track (in my case a necessity because my Irish stock will run on my 1927-34 LMS seaside branch layout.  Don't ask...) really are running on narrow gauge.  Sadly we don't have an IRM Hunslet to run with them (I'm sure you could do one on the back of a BR Class 20...) nor an 80 class to park next to them, but on this basis my incoming order for a Mk2b/c BR rake will make everything else look toy like.

Genuinely impressive.  Now, about the 80 class...and Hunslet...and Dutch Van (for the IR Mk2 rake...)

6 hours ago, AY Mod said:

 

Rails have acquired the tooling rights for these; Accurascale are not doing them.

Great news.  Although they would look daft doing 70 behind an 86 on "Wednesford" they wouldn't look out of place on the second layout.  They are a nice model and provide an opportunity for impressionistic pre-grouping layouts for the non-anal rivet counters.

Oh dear, the steam modellers are having a fit because there's no steam outline stuff in this announcement.  Well, welcome to the world of those post-steam modellers every time Hornby do their grand announcements.  Perhaps Bachmann have also heard from their retailers that post steam modelling is a growth area, as a competitor let slip in these forums.  Whilst my planned secondary layout will be a dual purpose LMS and Irish Rail end to end, I firmly am in the camp of wanting to recreate the trains I grew up with from when I started primary school which looked over the newly electrified Trent Valley line in 1968 to when I had my last all line railrover in 1994.  A period when steam was a funfair ride.  Bachmann must have invested well north of a couple of million notes in non-steam models over the past few years which given they are a business does rather scream out that they see their future in that sector.  If steam was a cash cow some seem to think they would have spent that sum on steam and had a recent programme of releases more like that of Hornby.

Anyhoo, I'm apparently one of a handful of people not upset by today's announcements.  The 31's livery releases will complement nicely the three Accurascale versions I have on pre-order, especially the two Redstripe examples, so no duplication for me there, and as for the Mk1s, fantastic, especially the ICX liveried examples.  Hopefully next time round they will announce electrically fitted bogies on the restaurant cars so I can serve food to passengers on the incoming Accurascale Mk2b-c set after dark.

My only disappointments were no FFAs, Mk2f blue/grey or Reggie Rail 117s but we've another three announcements to come.  Overall though, could be worse.

I wonder if Rails will acquire the toolings as well?  The announcement seems to suggest Rails will take on the processing of the second batch (including my order for a Midland rake) but I'm sure given Rails have been doing some pre-grouping locos taking on the production could make some sense.

I'm quite looking forward to tomorrow, having let the cat escape the sack on the Ped does make me wonder if they have another headline grabber lined up and decided to pre-release the 31 to clear the decks for something even bigger. 

Unless it is a bluff and they did the pre announcement to get us to tune in for a raft of new paint schemes.

 

1 hour ago, AY Mod said:

 

Ever listened to an Accurascale 92? The noisy ones are brill.

Not in the metal, but if it is anything like the Accurascale 37 I took to run on the last day of the Dolgellau exhibition, which even impressed the ordinaries, I expect it will be a corker especially as the 92s have a roarer-like quality in real life.

6 minutes ago, Hilux5972 said:

Why? Just why? Accurascales is already in production. What a waste of tooling. Why not do the 40? KR has an atrocious  record of listening to customers and putting out sub par models, (anyone say fell?), a totally new 40 would have been an absolute killer for Bachmann. 

I expect, given the length of time these models take to develop and the costs involved, because Accurascale and Bachmann were both working on new models at the same time, having both identified that Hornby's obsession with big green tea urns had left a lot of much wanted liveries untouched and saw it as a potential good model to take up, especially as Bachmann have said they want to bring a number of N scale models into their OO range.  Given they have expended several year's work and money on the model, why on Earth should Bachmann write off several hundred thousand pounds because Accurascale have announced a high spec 31?  

I do wonder if we will see an OO scale 87 especially as the 90 chassis would be a good starting point for one.  At least if they do we won't need to dismantle our model and circuit board to put in DCC noise.

I assume the auto uncoupler will need some sort of electrically fed DCC linked socket in order to be able to uncouple, which must rule it out as a retrofit to other locos or coaches without them.  

Unexpected announcement in the frothing area...

I must be one of the very few who don't mind duplication.  It gives choice and when it is a long lived and numerous class should mean the companies will each get something back.  I've got three Accurascale models of their 31 on order and if Bachmann cover locos not on the Accurascale list I'll probably go for additional Bachmann examples as well.  They were literally everywhere in the Midlands in the 1980s and 90s as they replaced 25s, and even before then were a regular sight in the 60s and 70s (there's even a fantastic photo of one in the newly built Coventry station pre electrification on the daily Birmingham to Harwich boat train which used to run via Coventry, Rugby and what is now the A14 to Peterborough} and I've always had a soft spot for them, having endured numerous Midlands-East Anglia crawls across the Fens behind them.

I wonder if they released this video the day before so that all the "Why another one?" gumflapping could be out of the way before they make the main announcement?

Given there is a slight mis-match on the above cab roof dome I suspect the front might not be quite seated correctly and will no doubt cause the issue with the light clusters.  It's a livery sample so probably won't have the final fit and finish yet.

Having looked at the photos on Rails I'd better get my other house sold pdq as I count 7 that I could usefully use, all with noise. North of two grands worth.  I'd definitely expect coffee and cakes with the new King Fred at the Amelienborg for my personal commitment to the Danish economy if I do buy that lot.

I wonder how straightforward it will be to "de-domino" 47137 as I would ideally like it with headcodes behind the glazing for the 1975 summer season? Perhaps @61661 could advise.

Take cover, wishlist froth incoming.

Personally I would be very happy just with a new batch of FFA liner intermediates and blue grey Mk2fs, but having given up on an RTR version ever coming to pass and having got a Class 310 built for me by Britannia Pacific models, I would be less than surprised if the finest AC electric multiple unit gets announced by Bachmann, although it is possibly not the point in the calendar for a major new tooling announcement.

19 minutes ago, TravisM said:

 

Unfortunately that’s buyers for you.  I tend now to leave feedback only when the buyer leaves theirs.  I also put that in the item description, which usually motivates people as they want to been seen as a good buyer.

I must admit I can sometimes forget to leave feedback and then end up with multiple essays to write.  Doesn't help that eBay messages to remind me get lost in all the other crap they put out which means I don't read the messages.

The power of RMWeb...

Having updated my address with Trains4U a while back I realised I hadn't updated the new phone number which meant they had been ringing the now disconnected old number still on my order.  Thanks to the earlier posts saying payment was being taken I was able to give them a call to settle up.  Thanks for the heads up everyone!

I just need to rebuild the layout now.

On 11/01/2024 at 19:15, GONK43 said:

Well considering Bachmann already have released the class 44`s in BR Blue, 44 004, 005, 006, 008, I am surprised that no others have been released, i.e 44 001, 002 etc. This is a fairly easy thing to do, re numbering only. Probably the market too small to warrant doing this, so we do it ourselves.

Have converted a 21 pin to 44 008, so now has lighting functions. bought a grimy times 21 pin converted to 44 002.

Can't be that small otherwise Heljan wouldn't be tooling up a new 44!

I suspect Hornby had no interest in DMUs whilst a certain person found "steam more charismatic" as they haven't tried to compete on any DMU models in their range which have been picked off by other companies with higher spec models (Bachmann's Class 101, Realtrack Class 156 and planned 142) although they do seem to sell their more basic models.  As for Bachmann, it is too soon to expect them to develop any further models on their 64' chassis given they have been bringing the 47 and 37 through to launch, in fact they haven't even expanded their 117 options to include other liveries of which there are a number crying out for attention - blue, green with a yellow bib, Regional Railways to name three.  As I said earlier, they still have to launch the revamped 170 and then there is no doubt a desire to upgrade the Voyager models, and given the 120 has been up the top of the wishlist poll for all we know they might be working on one.

Which is why I do think Accurascale have an open goal in front of them.  However, you are right, body toolings are probably the most expensive part of a model development based on what others have said.  That said I'd expect time saved in the design of the mechanicals and underframe freeing up designer time to focus on body tooling would be a worthwhile saving I imagine.