J-Lewis

The SW1200 is up for ordering on the Zeuke site now. You will need to be quick, Rob is collecting the locos from the trade show today.

I didn’t attend Stafford. Did they have any samples of the wagons at the show?

The new Peco plank wagons should be out within the next couple of weeks so that should fix the problem with wheelbase? :) I will develop a version of the 16t Mineral to fit the Peco chassis when I have it.

Mine arrived today. It’s turning into a pretty decent read. Just needs some more locos to talk about (this issue is mostly about the Class 08s and the A4s etc. I note another mention of the need for branch line locos and tank engines in the letters page. Also they actually confirm that another tank engine will be announced next quarter (presumably as part of the October 10th anniversary?) So if the planned release schedule is met there will be three 0-6-0T engines in the range over the next two years. Perfect for those of us planning shunting plank layouts.

What were the issues/backstory? Sounds intriguing :)

Well Peco customer service said it would be this month so…

The SW1200 is a great little loco. Definitely worth picking up.

My bet would be HST set at Christmas and mainline express set with Class 50 & MK2s either at Christmas or early in the new year. I may be overly optimistic though, considering neither are available for preorder yet. :)

Aren’t we just finished phase one? I thought the HST are the first part of phase 2? Then phase 3 would be roughly this time next year?

Thanks for the link Peter. That’s perfect. I’ve ordered a copy.

I noticed the latest Hornby TT Train Terminal update has some details I’d not seen before. It’s a bit of a press release rather than the more conversational article the previous updates featured, but some new info? Freight class 60 confirmed? Also Gresley coaches? A Roundup of our First Year in a Small World Welcome to a special edition of Train Terminal, where we review our first year of Hornby TT:120. Let's delve into the history of our version of the internationally recognised ‘TT’ scale as we roll down the track towards our first anniversary. On 10 October 2022, we launched our version of a tabletop (‘TT’) gauge using the international scale of 1:120 and a new range of products to match. Nothing like this had happened at Hornby for over 50 years. The new range announcement took place at midday following a series of hints that something ‘big’ was happening. The news broke with an impressive launch video and the first TT Talk podcast featuring Simon Kohler (Introducing Hornby TT:120! - YouTube). In this video, he explained the rationale for the new Hornby TT:120 scale and gave a flavour of what was to come. The 'TT' roll out There were four phases to the launch of the Hornby TT:120 range. Phases one and two included The Scotsman and The Easterner train sets. There were individual steam locomotives like the Class A4 ‘Flying Scotsman’ and a Class 08 diesel shunter. And a selection of rolling stock, including BR Mk1 coaches, Pullman cars, and seven plank wagons. Phases three and four included individual steam locomotives such as the Class 9F ‘Evening Star’ and Castle Class ‘Tintagel Castle’ and diesel-electric locomotives such as the Class 60 ‘Boar of Badenoch’. The rolling stock selection featured LNER Gresley, GWR and BR Collet coaches, and a BR VGA Van. But first, let’s rewind to the beginning of the development process. It all started with Simon Kohler, our former marketing and product development director, and a gap in the UK model railway market for a ‘TT’ scale that would suit smaller homes. We welcomed a new CEO in 2017 who understood Simon's vision, and development began. Hornby TT:120 was launched five years later to much excitement. Understandably, there was a lot of buzz around the new range. Model railway enthusiasts wanted to get their hands on the products as soon as possible. The Easterner Train Set and The Scotsman Train Sets were the first releases in 2022 and arrived just in time for a fun-filled Christmas. Both sets contained a starter oval of track and a siding and could be expanded with track extension packs. A special feature of The Scotsman Train Set was working lights in the rake of coaches for a realistic effect. These train sets were an excellent introduction to the tabletop world and allowed beginners to experiment with their layouts. Next, we released track packs and the extremely popular Class 08 models. To our delight, people started to send us images of their layouts and dioramas. We created Hornby TT:120 bundles to provide enthusiasts with everything they'd need to get started or for those unable to reserve temporarily out-of-stock sets. For example, The ‘Silver King’ Bundle BUNDLEH21 TT:120 Layout Project 1 (Hornby.com) is comprised of the Class A4 ‘Silver King’ locomotive model, a Pullman kitchen coach, two Mk1 coaches, an oval of track and a siding. Our next releases were the sound-fitted (TXS) models of the Class A1 and Class A3 locomotives, including the ‘Flying Scotsman’, ‘Night Hawk’ and ‘Trigo’. We pre-fitted each model with an HM7000 decoder to streamline control, enhance operation, and offer a bank of realistic sounds and effects controlled via an app using Bluetooth® technology. This gave customers more control over layouts, and we added new features to match. A moment for reflection As we approach our first anniversary, it is time to reflect on an eventful year. Our venture into detailed models in a ‘TT’ format has been a success. Enthusiasts have clamoured for a ‘TT’ scale ever since the Tri-ang Railways ‘TT’ range ceased production. We met this demand with a sizeable selection of locomotives, rolling stock, tracks, buildings, and accessories, and we've got a lot more to come. We believe Hornby TT:120 will become a mainstream UK-based gauge and continue to provide joy as model railway fans create miniature worlds and dioramas on their layouts. Our Brand Manager, Sarah Goodman, explains the success of our range: “Being part of the launch of Hornby TT:120 has been a huge privilege. Simon and the Development Team had been working in secret on Hornby TT:120, and to be involved in the launch and announcement of the range was exciting. "Following the launch, the feedback we received from reviews, letters, emails, and forums was very positive. As you can imagine, it took a lot of time, effort, and resources to bring a new range to the public, so receiving praise from people expressing sheer joy at having a layout that can fit into smaller spaces and be easily stored, is very much appreciated by all the team. "The future of Hornby TT:120 is bright, and demand for the range is huge. Here’s to the next year!”

I’ve been trying to find this article, I don’t suppose you recall which issues(s) it was in?

Hopefully these wagons will have a separate chassis anyway. They are supposed to be kits?

Apparently the first liveries for these wagons will be released later this month.

I’ve got a new version in the works which will be scaled to fit the new Peco kit wagons, I believe they will have the correct wheelbase so should give a better result. The new version will also include the unwelded top flap.

Hi Robert, there are a few options on ebay, if you search ‘3D printing’ you should find a few. I used one called Ruins of Ashlia, very good service.

Proportions seem a bit off on the Tomix Thomas range? If you wanted to use them for conversion into a freelance or prototype loco would it be worth the effort of trying? Might be easier to try 3D printed bodies instead?

Only a matter of time until a TT scale Thomas layout perhaps? Once those tank engines are released in phase 3/4 😁

One thing that’s interesting is I’m seeing these wagons listed both as kits and as ready to run? It been a long time since I bought a Peco wagon, is the RTR designation because they come pre-decorated?

Definitely looking forward to getting hold of these kits. I’m curious to see if they will work better than the Hornby chassis for my 16T mineral bodies. These wagons are a different wheelbase to Hornby?

Do we know when Hornby usually announce their release dates? If those six new locos in phase 3&4 are due 2025 I assume they would be formally announced and added to the online store early in the new year? Or maybe on the anniversary of the original announcement of TT?

Is there some potential crossover between North America and SA? I’m thinking there might have been some Alco’s exported to SA back in the 1970s? Maybe MTB or Zeuke TT might be a good bet for potential models?

It’s hard to tell from the photos, it might just be the light box they are using as a background causing the windows to look clear, or possibly these are still prototype/test shots moulded in a test material. The Hornby OO versions have smoked glass so it would be reasonable to expect the final production TT versions will have it too. I suspect this is another ‘Class 08’ ladders issue which was nothing more than a test model. There are still posters here wrongly claiming the 08 has ladders and ‘20+ inaccuracies’ so I assume there will be posters six months from now complaining about clear windows on the Mk2s even though they will undoubtedly be smoked glass. :)

My set arrived at the weekend. Marked as #39/440 so if that's the number or Easterner sound sets in the shipment it's a healthy amount of sales.

For me the attraction of TT is partly that it’s in scale, so much like HO the models look ‘right’ on the track, unlike OO where they always look a bit narrow gauge. Then the second reason is that it’s smaller than OO so I can get more layout into the same space, but bigger than N which is a bit too tiny for my scratch building skills, and eyesight! Thirdly it’s a new scale for the UK and a bit of an underdog, so I’m more interested in it for modelling. OO for me has become a collectors scale rather than a modellers scale, there is literally every prototype catered for, all manner of obscure locos available RTR so much so that OO has really become boring to me. I miss the days of being wowed by a detailed super detailed or kitbashed model or scene. Seems li’e nowadays all the OO layouts look great regardless of the skill of their owner. 😜