ThaneofFife

fact is I cant see many running Ds with Fs as the tumblehome wont match and the newer models will generally not look right next to brand tooled vehicles and thats why I would rather buy a whole new fleet even if that meant my rakes werent exactly prototypical in make up for my era/region.

i had one on order. order now cancelled. think it was going to cost £24 versus £25 from Bachmanns new 2f version

One Bachmann retailer has advised that the coaches referred to will be dcc fitted (which I was rather surprised to hear). the lighting will therefore be controllable in the same way as the Blue Pullman ie; on or off via the function decoder. again to what extent remains to be seen-table lamps, tail lights on BSO vehicles, ?

dont ban k on it unless they only have the choice of the lights being on and taking power direct through insulated axles and pick ups in the bogies like the Mk1 pullman coaches with their table lamps. My gut feeling is that these could feature an on -off function (maybe a simple switch) and/or table lamps for 1st class coaches. its far too soon to start speculating on whether the method of control will be like the BP (doubt it, doubt they will come prefitted with any decoder at all) when we dont even know what functions the coaches will come with yet. if they all simply have ceiling lights then i dare say it will be track power direct with one on off switch hidden underneath. i suspect the DBSO will certainly need a decoder as its bound to have more functions than the basic dcc 2f.

Before pre-ordering Ive taken the precaution of emailing Bachmann to ask about this DCC option. if its dcc track powered with individual features controlled by discretely hidden slide switches then fine no additional expense. if every coach requires its own decoder i will have to cut back on my planned spending as that will turn into almost £100 per pair of 2f's. ill post any reply ASAP so we know whats what (if they know yet!).

oh.....tomat(e)o......tomato.

Hmm, a fat lot of good that will do them though. The same can be said for the Blue Pullman yet lots are still on the shelves in the retailers. Anyone who thinks there is a direct correlation between the apparent lack of any stock in a manufacturers warehouse and the misguided belief that it must be a sales success even if the dealer network is still sat on boxes of them is doing a fine job of fooling themselves (even those with a only rudimentary knowledge of basic business). Lets hope Bachmann dont rely on this line of thought as a logical conclusion as to what has been truly successful not in terms of how empty their warehouse is but how few items remain for sale at the coal face. Surely that defines if it was a winner or not? I could sell Jim and his mates 200 saucepans. They might sell 5 of them but get lumbered with 195. no sale or return so why should I consider bringing in another similar saucepan with a copper bottom if my sellers are reporting poor sales?

I paid a small fortune for my Mk2d's last year. I dare say the new Bachy one will cost me less than what these old Hornby offerings costs me ill just have to take it on the chin.

Ive now had a look at some images and can confirm definitely no destination blinds on these. As you were.....

for the DBSO i reckon in addition to ceiling lights for the seated area, bank on a cab light, head and tail lights and and possibly an illuminated destination blind (if they had these). switches accessed above the cab roof like the 350 desiro. I agree that the RFB could be the ugly duckling of the range and end up in the bargain bin compared to the more widespread open coaches. I dont recall seeing many of these in BR days. you can almost smell the limited runs being eyed up by various retailers now.......anglian, swallow, scotrail, intercityscotrail, FGW, virgin XC and WC, caledonian sleeper, and with Dapols Class 73 coming soon we can be certain some GatEx aircons will eventually follow or be commissioned. makes sense. not sure we need to lay any criticism on anybody wishing to sell their old Mk2s on ebay to make way for the new stuff. whats wrong with that?

I think you might be reading into something that isnt there. The manufacturer might have sold out - but even a cursory look at retailer websites will reveal that the TOPS model is still widely available.

Cor dear me weve got some right old grouches here still complaining about ebayers, picking the bones etc. You can please some of the people some of time.........

Have you guys considered modelling parts of the cut in a drained state exposing the sides, the culverts, lock sluices, dumped shopping trolleys, crashed cars, feeding birds, wellington boots, bicycles and other rubbish, leaving the usual small stream running down the middle? Its not something I have seen done before with canals on layouts and could make for something a little different. Perhaps have it partially drained from the lower lock ? Not sure if this is possible as far as baseboards and cross timbers are concerned. Many a time walking to Saltley depot in Birmingham I remember seeing the Bham and Fazeley canal drained including the locks and that allowed you to see all the detailing thats usually below the water line.

I dont think they ever have stocked them as spares tbh.

Some excellent photos here but with some its hard to tell if what you are seeing is a reflection or not - Ive been looking for some good close up shots of the engine room windows or better still views inside........I will certainly use these pics for reference purposes on other details though.

Swings and roundabouts but i think in this instance its a model thats best avoided. There really isnt a need - can people not just buy a green splitter and renumber it if they must have D326 on their layout to play cops and robbers with?

Nice. That first 1971 shot is another incarnation that could well appear from Bachmann at some point - roof gulleys, air tanks, BR logo, E numbers, full headcode etc.

Must slip this one in too hauling an oddball converted Mk1 coach........the caption suggesting its a courier vehicle. http://www.flickr.com/photos/d9006/6218127388/in/set-72157622160590178

A few more prototype photos here....... http://www.margam-depot.co.uk/images/class85/85035-liverppolls-060289.jpg http://www.margam-depot.co.uk/images/class85/85012-stonebridgep-090987.jpg

Superb videos. Very enjoyable.

Frankly the N gauge ones look rather less than convincing and the lower arms sit at a very odd flat angle with the upper arm giving the impression that its the only section that rises! Hopefully the 00 version will be better. The CAD above certainly appear promising. The BW one looks good and I can see me buying a couple. However the frames on which they sit - well certainly the BW frame looks nothing like the protos. Id also reserve final judgment until Ive seen the frames sitting on their insulators - I dont want another Heljan "pylon" in the sky affair thank you. These sit low on the roof, they dont sit up and beg. With Bachmann not currently offering their Class 85 pantograph as a separate spare part the Dapol Stone Faiveley pan might well do very well in the spares market. If its right.

Would one be so bashful about their hobby if they were say into Rugby, Origami, Flute playing? I cant seen any issue over liking model railways that requires egg shell treading with a "date".

Not a clue but I do recall a number of voices here suggesting that the early versions would sell better than the TOPS version yet it seems to have been quite the reverse if the number of heavily discounted early versions on sale are anything to go by. Were they not shifting at the original prices? Did retailers buy in too much stock of a particular model ? Who knows but models only selling at seriously discounted prices doesnt equate to a strong seller in my book. I suspect we wont see another electric loco until 2016 with a 2014 announcement. This will be 2 years since the 85 landed and maybe then the market will be better felt for another. Was you hoping for any particular Class next?

Managed to do a bit more work on my locos and recently added a small and I admit probably not totally necessary detail to my Class 85s. A brake linkage on the front of all the bogies the absence of which had been niggling me for sometime. Having looked at photos of the 85s in good clear conditions this linkage is fairly visible so using some scrap brass rod I decided to add them as its a nice easy improvement. They need a couple of coats of frame dirt to complete. The mod doesnt interfere with either the NEM or screw link coupling methods. The linkage rod is visible here but in this light is not shown up as much as it would under normal lighting conditions. It just ties the front end in nicely although under normal lighting conditions it can be picked out a lot easier. As I wont be using the NEM pockets I may cut them off but tbh the pockets arent that visible behind the pipework and screw link coupling so the jury is out on that one for now.

As somebody embarking on a new layout and considering Tilligs Elite points, can anybody explain one thing to me..... some of their turnouts have plastic ends to the frog wing rails - some are continuous nickel silver (see Mighty Ducks photo above in post #14 as it clearly shows both types). Now is one version like the Peco insulfrog and the all metal version is Tilligs version of an electrofrog or are they both electro? The 289mm long straight points seem to have the plastic wings yet the preferred longer still 361mm and 389mm long straight turnouts look to have the all metal frogs. Anyone able to clear this up? Maybe its just that those in the photo above feature a mix of old and new Tillig Elite and that maybe all newly stocked Tillig points are now all metal? PS; I dont suppose we have any templates for these turnouts on here anywhere do we?