Farang

Bangkok to Mahachai in December 2012. I have been to the level crossing on the Sukhumvit Road many times at night and have video of oil and container trains. People live along the tracks towards Makkasan in little houses they built for themselves. The land belongs to the SRT. I saw a woman food vendor with a home made trolley on the rails carrying her food cart. There are a lot of very poor people in Thailand and the minimum daily wage is about £8.00 and the current exchange rate.

These carriages were sets of three - and that's how Hornby should have sold them. That would simplify production and orders from retailers. In later years they did get split up as you can see in photos of trains. I would have bought a set but didn't like the windows as they looked thick when viewed at an angle. Has anyone already commented on that? And as much as I'd like to have the Bachmann Bulleids at £75 each I'll give them a miss.

Here's something completely different - Taiwan. I was going to the zoo so got into the rear car and sat looking out of the back window. Then I thought where is the driver going to sit when the train reverses. Then it dawned on me - the train was driverless!

Yes it runs from Sentral Station. The maintenance depot is a little way from Central. I have a video leaving Sentral taken from behind the cab but the file is too big I think to upload here.

They have some 4-car trains but I don't know how many.

Thought I'd add this - monorail in Kuala Lumpur. from 2015. Small two-coach trains dangerously overcrowded.

My understanding is that only 23 kits are being produced and the announcement was made originally only to members of the South Western Circle.

A second run would be good news but PLEASE include the chains for the buyer to attach to the model as they are a problem.

Is it my eyesight but the number, or the other printing, is not horizontal?

Here is Nimbus on 13/7/63 at York without roof-mounted horns.

Some might see this as a desperate move to shift stock to maintain cash flow. Not the sort of thing to endear them to their retailers. Watch the major retailers for bargains in the coming weeks?

Borrowing money is all well and good but eventually that money has to be repaid and interest has to be paid. Hornby needs shipments of new products but the supply situation is not going to improve much over the next 12/18 months. So to increase income will it be tempted to start reducing prices of existing stock?

Posted 14 hours ago 18 hours ago, Farang said: How was this headboard made? Looks like it could be a glass fibre moulding? Etched in brass it looks very flat. Expand Cracking picture Glad you liked it. Here's the train arriving in April 1965. I just wish I had a better camera - and the sun shone more!

As already said - wait for the annual report. The next two years will, I think, be critical for the company. It needs a regular input of new products for cash flow. Ultimately I think the company will fail. If Hornby railways disappeared it would be sad but there are a growing number of manufacturers to supply the enthusiast market. As for the "train set" market it's anybody's guess.

How was this headboard made? Looks like it could be a glass fibre moulding? Etched in brass it looks very flat.

Newspaper report said his father did work on the railway as a ticket collector.

Utterly hideous. But if it exists for real then I suppose you can have a model of it. Perhaps Hornby should revive the Duke of Gloucester model but as number 71001 Duke of Edinburgh? Some people like fantasy stuff. Years ago a friend had a GWR King - 6030 King Creole.

I phoned Kernow about this and they said the model was one taken from stock for photography. If the photographer was a modeller I'm surprised he didn't notice the missing parts. The models are part of Kernow's original shipment last year so not recently received from Hornby. I never saw a Clan but am thinking about buying one as it seems a nice model. A photo I found on the internet appears to show the running plate as black I'm not too sure about the green though, it seems a bit light. AFAIK BR green was Brunswick green. How did BR buy paint? Was it ready mixed from a manufacturer or did they buy the base colours and mix them in the works? But I would have thought Hornby would have researched this and found the nearest Pantone colour and specified it for all locos from whichever vendor they were buying?

Looking at this on Kernow's website the top lamp iron on the smokebox door is missing and also it seems the left hand frame above the buffer beam. So is this why they are so "cheap"? Has Hornby decided to clear out models that have parts missing? Is that how they were offered to Kernow? The reduction is from the RRP £217.99. But on introduction the RRP was somewhat less. Hornby did announce last year that the price of new models would increase because of the increased costs of shipping. Fair enough but it seems they have decided to increase prices of all models already in stock. Of course they can do whatever they want but is this the way to treat their consumers?

I bought this model at the weekend and was told it was 2/3 years old. It appears to be the latest version of this loco (from 2017?) but looking at the Hornby service sheet HSS 438B (April 2018) it does not have that design of bogie. The accessory pack was open and appeared to have some parts missing (no flanged pony wheel) and I am not sure it is correct for this model. I have ordered pack X8007. Is that correct? So can anyone kindly tell me when this model was produced? If it was one of the first revised models I note that in the catalogues for 2019/20 (I do not have catalogues before 2019) Montrose and Gloucester have the latest bogies and more detailed front frames.

There is now just a handful of railroads in the USA where once there were many Class 1 Railroads. Over the years these have been absorbed by the large corporations: UP/NS/CSX/BNSF/CN. They own the logos of those "fallen flags" as they are called and are their copyright. Years ago this may not have been a problem, indeed the railroads may have actively assisted manufacturers by providing details of painting and lettering. Then some "suit" at UP, inevitably a lawyer (and remember that the USA reputedly has 25% of all the lawyers in the world) decided to demand royalties on models. One manufacturer refused and the affair generated a huge amount of adverse publicity for UP with stories in the media along the lines of "huge railroad wants to tax children's toys". It got so bad that the UP had to put a stop to it which was what the Chairman did at the annual meeting. By contrast the BNSF was asking just one dollar a year for the use of its trademarks which is probably still the case with the railroads today. Which brings me to the National Railway Museum. It seems they too like to tax children's toys by demanding payment for models of equipment they own i.e. Flying Scotsman and Mallard. This copyright is held by SCMG Enterprises Ltd. In connection with these models the Hornby catalogue states that "every purchase supports the museum". How does this work? Does Hornby pay a one-off fee when they produce a model or do they have to make a payment for every model they sell? Do we now have the NRM taxing children's toys? The NRM is part of the Science Museum Group, a government department therefore owned by the public and funded by us, the taxpayers. They also have a company - Locomotion - to produce models of their collection. So, Mr Kohler, would you like to enlighten us on this subject and perhaps tell us how much this adds to the cost of your models? I am a newcomer to this group so my apologies if this topic has been covered before.

For many years I was interested in American models and subscribed to Model Railroader magazine. That interest waned but I may still flip through MR if I see it in WHS. So I was surprised to see a two-page advert from Hattons in the January issue offering to buy used models, just as in the UK. Advertising in MR is not cheap. After Hattons has paid for shipping (not cheap) and customs clearance I can't see them making much of a profit on any used models they import.

Key is offering the Hornby 2022 Catalogue to subscribers at £6.99 inc. postage. The February issue was in W H Smith in Kingston on Tuesday but I have not yet received my copy. My local WHS did not have the magazine today but it did have the Hornby catalogue.

I always thought the Coronation train would be a good choice given that Hornby has a nice A4. Hornby should have had the confidence to offer it as a complete train. The advantage to the retailer is that they have to stock only one product and for Hornby they produce just the one item, avoiding the possibility of under/over supply if offering the coaches in separate packs.

I'm surprised no one has commented on some of the prices. The country is entering a period of high inflation which is going to affect peoples disposable income, especially the older generation (who buy steam models) who are on fixed incomes. Even at 10% off prices for some items are still high.