RJS1977

1964 - passenger trains on the branch would have ceased, but the goods yard at Wallingford was still open, which presumably is why the two vans have been shunted over to the bay.

18 hours ago, MarkSG said:

 

"Capsule range" is a marketing term for a selected set of products that are marketed together but are representative of the products as a whole. It's a term which originated in fashion, but has since become more widely used.

 

An example from the fashion industry, where the term is common, would be a range of children's clothing branded with Toy Story characters. The products cross the entire range of clothing, including shirts, trousers, pyjamas, dresses, underwear, etc, but are linked with the common theme. 

 

Hornby already has some ranges that could be described as capsule ranges. For example, the Harry Potter range covers locomotives, rolling stock and buildings. That is, different types of products linked by a theme. I'm not sure there's a huge amount of scope for more capsule ranges within the model railway products, but, of course, Hornby is far more than just a model railway company. I suspect that they're looking at the marketing of some of their other brands.

Perhaps in this sense, "capsule range" could mean working together across different brands, rather than the "silo" mentality.

So, for HP, you've mentioned loco, rolling stock and buildings. But the Ford Anglia and the Knight Bus could be added as part of the Hornby range, or even a MicroScalextric Anglia to race against the Hogwarts Express (yes, I know the scale isn't correct), maybe with a working "whomping willow" as an accessory, along the lines of the old Minic "Mad Motorist Reversing Hazard".

10 hours ago, john new said:

What is the capsule range?

A scarlet Tube train with a DCC sound chip that says "Minador"....

5 hours ago, Nick Gough said:

I have never seen inside this room. Is the fireplace blocked off like in the waiting rooms? I don't suppose there is anything of interest left in the room?

 

It's interesting that it had a fireplace though it is marked on the architects plan as 'Stores'. 

In practice I believe that it was, at least for a few years, used as the station master's office.

The fireplace is blocked, but unlike the waiting rooms there is (or was, last time I was in there - pre-pandemic!) still a fireplace surround and mantelpiece.  Other than that, nothing really of interest - there was a cupboard to the right of the door as you enter (that we kept tickets and things in), a couple of tables, two chairs (all decidedly non-heritage), a fridge, and a microwave.  Incidentally, the fridge had previously been in the (old) cafe at our station in Wallingford (at that time in the Cambrian coach) and was moved to Cholsey by train as taking it by road would have involved carrying it up the stairs (and the train was going anyway!). There was also a telephone directly connected to Reading Panel for us to use in the event that one of our trains derailed and fouled the Up Relief.

We did have plans to fit the room out properly as a heritage-style ticket office (the volunteer who painted the door had managed to source a ticket window for us to use) but we had to wait for NR/GWR to fix a leak in the roof first, then the room needed to be redecorated, which we're still waiting for before we can reopen it, let alone "heritage" it. 

For some reason, I'm seeing that digger on the train and thinking "Skyfall"...

Incidentally, the right hand (western) chimney only goes down as far as platform level, and the fireplace (in the C&WR ticket office) is on the diagonal across the corner of the room.

On 18/07/2023 at 19:05, The Stationmaster said:

Nick don't forget that the stop block has been moved back away from the station building and the fence is a modern addition.

I was going to say that that AIUI track in the bay was lifted when the connection from the branch was removed in 1981, and was relaid by C&WR (with the run-round loop being installed later), so there is no guarantee that the buffer stop is in the same place as originally. 

I guess a question is whether the design and development staff, if they leave, leave of their own volition or are laid off. One factor there will be how transferable or otherwise their skills are.

On 18/07/2023 at 09:36, Nick Gough said:

Anybody got a spare can of paint or three?

I believe it is on the "to do" list - both Mark Hopwood and Peter Hendy changed trains at Cholsey when they came to open the canopy at Wallingford station two years ago and were both horrified to see the condition of Cholsey station.

(Unfortunately the C&WR ticket office door was repainted by GWR contractors a few years ago when it shouldn't have been! One of our volunteers - a GWR employee - got permission to paint the door in heritage GWR colours. A few months later, GWR's contractors came along and repainted all the doors in GWR green - including ours!)

We are currently (and have been since the pandemic!) waiting for Network Rail to finish redecorating the inside of our ticket office so we can reopen it.

On 12/07/2023 at 10:44, sjrixon said:

And how exactly are you proposing to get that on there? 

 

Getting it on is easy enough - use the scoop to build an earth ramp, then drive up it!

If the branch runs along the edge of the baseboard - where is it going to finish up? Or is it just going to be a "long siding"?

Personally, I'd lower the black "semicircular" part of the baseboard in the first photo down to the level that the branch finishes up, as none of the branch is in a cutting, and instead use trees to disguise the sharp curve.

13 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

 

Perhaps it is the ideal layout for full automation? It could become quite hypnotic.

If operated as originally intended, with a station pilot shunting stock from one platform to another to release locos, a lot of coupling and uncoupling would be involved, which could be quite tricky to automate.

However, if operated with multiple units, the MERG auto shuttle (which is more than just a simple shuttle as it allows a number of different trains and destinations in the sequence) could probably be used.

8 hours ago, HExpressD said:

I don't get the hate towards Playtrains if I'm honest. Okay, it's not high fidelity modelling but it's a bit of fun, the models are actually pretty good but most importantly it is the only range to my knowledge actively trying to encourage new blood into the Hobby which Hornby should be entirely applauded for. 

Unfortunately there is a somewhat snobbish and quite vocal element in the hobby who think that Hornby should only build what *they* want (i.e. very-high end models, £250+ locos and £100+ coaches), and stuff anyone who doesn't want to purchase those.

8 minutes ago, PeterStiles said:

All they needed was some prominent "coach #1/2/3 of set XXX" markings on the box ends...

 

For want of 20 characters of text (including spaces)....

But clearly there were purchasers who wanted a nice long rake of Southern coaches (and perhaps weren't too bothered about prototypical formations). 

Marketing as 1 of a set of 3 might have deterred people who bought the extra CKs, without actually increasing the number of BKs.

8 hours ago, Legend said:

 

Not  forgetting there were substantial price hikes in the period too , which means unit sales must be down . That’s not entirely a surprise as I remember pointing out if you added up all the new announcements on the 2023 range , limited editions etc , the volume of product actually wasn’t that great . I do think Hornby still struggle with their suppliers . On the other hand what is in the mountain of inventory? 

Of course the fall in unit sales could be due to the price increases....

On 12/07/2023 at 10:57, The Stationmaster said:

That decision will rest with whoever it happens to rest with,  If the new CEO thinks that it's useful to teh company's business and the tv production suggest doing it there may well be another series.  If neither or both of them see no value in doing a new series there's unlikely to be one unless another produvction company steps in and their proposal is accepted by Hornby.

 

Don''t forget that SK was basically a public face of Hornby while Montana wasn't the only brand manager who appeared in the most recent series.   The company is still there but things are changing hence a tv series might not be seen in the same light by the new CEO.

Or indeed by the TV company - as has been noted, Simon and Montana were two personable individuals who worked well on screen. Their replacements may not work as well.

59 minutes ago, Phatbob said:

As I've already stated in another thread, so apologies to those who've read this before, the reason for the surplus of Bulleid brake coaches is down to a failure or Hornby to properly market or package them, or both.  Unitil the mid sixties (1965 IIRC) these coaches always ran in a fixed rake of three, BSK-CK-BSK with their own unique set number.  The techie folk at Hornby obviously recognised this and they were produced at a ratio of 2 BSKs to every CK with the correct numbers to make up authentic sets.  However, the marketing folk didn't sell them in packs of three and sold them loose.  To make things worse, they made no effort to educate their customers and retailers as to nature of their use solely in sets of three.  Consequently, many a punter, unaware of their use in sets of three, seeing them for sale as lose coaches, purchased them as such.  Net result, the BSKs didn't sell in the ratio of 2:1 against the CKs as punters made up long rakes of CKs and Hornby are stuffed with a warehouse full of unsold BSKs.  This could have so easilly have been avoided, but it wasn't!

On the other hand, they may well have sold more CKs than they would have done had they marketed them that way....

The question is - were there potential customers who decided not to buy the BSKs because there were no CKs to go with them?

2 hours ago, Satan's Goldfish said:

I did say i'd have a play about with it following my last post, so here goes;

 

 

 

Centre road between platforms 1 and 2, (the loco release isn't necessary) can be used for carriage storage outside peak services. accessed by a single slip in the departure direction only so it doesn't have direct access to loco facilities for added operational interest.

 

 

And discuss!

I have mixed feelings about the phrase "for added operational interest". Railway companies didn't make their trackplans awkward to operate for the sake of it - extra movements took time and used extra coal and water, and also got in the way of passenger movements, though against that there is a need to balance the cost of installing and maintaining more track and signalling equipment to reduce operational awkwardness.

Personally I'd replace the point just above the signal box with a double slip connected to the centre road, and put the milk platform on its own short siding. 

That way, not only can locos coming off the centre road access the loco facilities without having to jiggle around on the main line, but coaches can be shunted from the centre road to the lower two platforms without impeding on the upper (Down?) line.

Incidentally Aberystwyth station had an interesting move that can be replicated on this plan. The York parcels (passenger train with a parcels van at each end) would arrive in Platform 3. The station pilot would shunt the rear parcels van into the short siding at the end of the centre road, shunt the passenger coaches to a different platform, then shunt the other parcels van to join its partner. The train engine would then run to the loco shed and a different loco would take the coaches out on their next working. Later in the day of course, the whole process would be reversed.

22 hours ago, Pacific231G said:

The Greenford Branch bay (between the Central Line platforms) at Greenford has platform faces on both sides but only one is used. The trouble is there is no sign to indicate which side! 

Similarly the Met side of Uxbridge has platform faces both sides but doors only open on the north side (i.e. the side furthest from the Piccadilly line platform) so you can't go on to the platform between the two lines and wait to see which is first. 

It also makes it more difficult to change between the Picc and Met at Uxbridge, but there won't be many people wanting to do that, except for Tube Challenge nutters like me!

By contrast, doors open on both sides in some of the platforms at Morden and it is possible to change from one platform to another by going through a train! 

5 hours ago, BenL said:

 

I also wonder if there's a possibility of providing cranes without the base, which looks a little thick to seat in an existing platform (tho great if one is in the process of constructing a platform and can work the base in)? 

Maybe provide them with an extension tube that can go down through a pre-drilled hole in the platform/baseboard and clip on to the spindle of an SG90 servo....

Are you sure 9017 was the first ever preserved steam locomotive?  ;-)

Maybe the first steam locomotive to be preserved by the Bluebell Railway....

15 hours ago, DCB said:

There is an old April  Railway Modeller with an article about a long straight model railway laid on a beach to replicate the line across the Nullabor Plain in Australia.  April.   Still it might provide inspiration if you could fins a copy.  the track cleaning vacuum cleaner idescribed is just like Dapol produced 30 years later.. 

I cannot over emphasise that it was the April issue....

Modelu should scan him! 

Are you thinking of something that gets put out in the morning of a nice day, and put away later in the day (effectively an indoor layout set up outdoors?), or something a little more weatherproof that can be left out for days or even weeks at a time but isn't a permanent fixture?

Just watched this video about Tower Gateway station, which almost had a more familiar name instead....