miles73128

23 hours ago, nswgr1855 said:

This model shares many poor mechanical and electrical design features Hornby has used on other models. It does this to save tooling costs or assembly costs. Not using pinpoint bearings on the dummy power car is one, and using wipers on the backs of wheels is the worst solution for increased rolling resistance. The end result is a  7 car APT-P that cannot go up grades typically used on model railways. It just makes it up my 1 in 70 grade on a 914mm radius curve. Another poor design is the excessive axle endplay on the 4 wheel bogies. All it does is increase the chance of derailments and stops the tilt mechanism working consistently on cusensible curves. I also note Hornby uses one of the worst flange profiles on the market, and has no coning on the APT wheels. These last issues cost no extra to get right. It's about time Hornby started to use magnetic couplers for fixed train sets, the couplers supplied on the APT are terrible to put together and pull apart and can easily be damaged.

If you look at the service sheet for the APT on the Hornby website, it shows the ‘22 announced versions will have magnetic couplings. I’ve fitted Hunt’s to mine-which has transformed it. 

According to this months Hornby Magazine, GT3 to be available in BR lined black, BR lined green and LMS black-let the frothing commence! 

1 hour ago, brushman47544 said:

Other than the BR design 2-EPBs with the compartments indicated by a red stripe, the unrefurbished 4-EPBs were also reformed to create a batch with two compartment trailers with red stripe, renumbered into the 55xx series to distinguish them for diagramming purposes. I’ve never heard of the 4-COM designation either and I commuted on them. All the red stripe units were supposed to be confined to peak hour workings only, when safety was less of an issue because of the number of passengers. Since you couldn’t easily police Ladies Only compartments, after the murder women were encouraged to travel in the open saloons not the compartments and I seem to recall a campaign telling women to go to the front or rear coach of their trains where the open saloons (the DTSOs DMBSOs) were.

 

Excellent page on the Southern email group gives the COM details. 
https://sremg.org.uk/emu/class415-mob.shtml

1 hour ago, eldomtom2 said:

The difference to my eyes is that the APT-Es and W1s are at least semi-plausible what ifs. This is not.

To my eyes, I think it's a great idea (Ive ordered) and super memento of a special celebration. Pays homage to the LNER. Now where is my 171 Turbostar in Southern livery............ 

1 hour ago, Roy Langridge said:

 

Until there were some reintroduced on the EPB stock in the 1980s? I am sure that happened, but it could have only been a proposal.

Roy

I think you mean the 4 COM, that was a 4 EPB reformed with two compartment trailers. Only to be used in the peak and had a red cantrail stripe to denote (dangerous) compartment stock. This was in response to an violent incident .  

1 hour ago, phil gollin said:

.

 

It's almost as if "Hornby" think OO started with Tri-Ang and that Hornby Dublo wasn't earlier.

 

.

Well, yes, you have a point. But if one thinks about the volume of OO models made I guess it would be 95% + (?) with some form of Tension Lock. So whilst not strictly accurate, the general thrust point is not unreasonable. Depends on the relevance of 1950s history to TES readership....... 

1 hour ago, Ouroborus said:

Hattons did the Loadhaul Class 14

 

I’ve ordered 4 x Jubilee MK3SD to run behind my Jubilee West Country! (Hides)  

6 hours ago, AY Mod said:

 

Sadly people believe what they want to believe these days. It's always been the case but, in the social age, they get to tell more people. The beliefs often stem from their political or geopolitical perspectives and are receptive to echo-chamber noises. What gets given as facts in contradiction of their view is simply disregarded or viewed as an incorrect opinion. 

 

The only thing for sure is that the facts will remain disregarded when they next offer their view in the resolute belief they are right and everyone should take note.

Completely 100% agree with this. The lack of critical analysis and evidenced based evaluation skills is a 21st Century problem. Adding in emotional subjective opinions creates a toxic mix, resulting in erroneous judgments.   

1 hour ago, boxbrownie said:

Would they swing clear if the hunt coupling was mounted the other way up?

 

I bought some for normal carriages and noticed the centre part was slightly higher one way than they other (hope that makes sense).

They are certainly tight. I’ve got away with it on 4th, but agreed very limited articulation. Note you can’t invert one coupling, has to be a pair in the same Orientation as the magnets polarity will be wrong. (I’ve fitted about 700 of these couplings so far now on my stock. TOTALY transformational.)   

7 minutes ago, miles73128 said:

My Hunt couplings are fine on 4th. Have you got the right ones in order? Took me a while to work it out; MDM had the medium, TBF the long and the U the tiny small ones. Hope it works for you. 

Oh and I’ve tested up to 16 cars in formation. No issues-though I’ve got twin MDMs as I found about 9 cars is the limit for a single MDM. And that’s on level track. 
opps NDM. But I’m sure you get the drift! 

15 hours ago, scumcat said:

That’s a shame I had mine flying around my layout with 10 coaches. Managed to stop the wheel screech by simply oiling the axle boxes. The motor is a bit grumbly and loud at top speed but it certainly has power. I am really pleased. Yes it has cost but it’s been 40 years in the making. I couldn’t get the hunts couplings to work they don’t seem to be long enough. I have no where near train set curves but the coaches still fouled each other on the bends.

My Hunt couplings are fine on 4th. Have you got the right ones in order? Took me a while to work it out; MDM had the medium, TBF the long and the U the tiny small ones. Hope it works for you. 

7 hours ago, E100 said:

Overall I'm very pleased with the set. The paint is generally perfect for me. The data panel on the power car is v/. impressive. Looks the part. Most of the capacitors have been placed somewhat sensibly so won't require moving just maybe camouflaging a bit on the coaches I've got (no intermediate pure seating trailers). It's great they are allowing you to build full sets with all the different coaches. The APT-U coach is probably the best detailed one but the capacitor really frustrates me on that one and I think that will be the one I do look to change. That being said the price does mean this had to be the flagship Hornby product and I don't think it is.

 

Improvements for me

• I will be taking this on and off the track a bit and therefore the propitiatory couplings are not ideal. I wish they had at least put NEM pockets on and through wiring would have obviously have been preferable.
• The etched grills whilst nice are not fitted as well as I'd like with a varying gap around some.
• Cab lighting and 1 DCC chip. It's 2022 guys come on.
• The pantograph isn't great all round really. 
• Pickup improvement.

In short I've banged on about it previously but now having it has confirmed that the through wiring of this would have been a substantial improvement. It may be that longer term I look to do this.

Mine arrived today! I think these are fair points. The couplings are really annoying. Can’t wait for the Hunt magnetic ones to arrive! But overall I’m very pleased. And especially pleased I got a extra powered MDM. Really needs it over 9 cars! 

9 hours ago, PaulRhB said:

No easier, these are flat from the pivot so don’t bend like those. All it takes is gently aligning the two

Note they are identical but one is upside down,

 

slide one over the other until they are interlocked like this. 

 

Then grasp the bogies sideframes firmly and push together.

 

Do the same to pull apart.  

Or use the new Hunt couplings magnetic APT sets. Then easy and robust! 

Reviewing the 2022 Hornby catalogue, shows the Midland Pullman HST and MK3s to be the new tooling! 

On 10/01/2022 at 10:55, Chrisr40 said:

Also what happened to the class 73 chip as seen on TV? 

Absolutely, I has hoping for these too! I would guess the global semi conductor shortage has put paid to TTS for another 12 months....

5 minutes ago, thattroikidd said:

The train that will never arrive.

 

Hornby have just secretly done a price increase on the Azuma from £434.95 to £477.99 without notifying anyone. 

 

This locomotive was released at a RRP of £395.99 when announced 

 

This was meant to be with us in October 2020, but was delayed until December. Then again delayed, to then be hit with another price increase. £170 increase in less than two years is a joke. 

£82 

9 minutes ago, Mr_Tilt said:

 

That's exactly what happened with the Rapido APT-Es. The day after we handed out the initial batch of models at the York Show, one of them appeared on eBay with a 30% increased price tag!

 

OK, the APT-E was a limited edition effectively, but selling one that fast surprised me somewhat.

 

Greed Rules OK it seems. 

No, its was market value. Rapido under priced, it should have been more expensive to maximise yield - as the second runs is......

1 hour ago, wombatofludham said:

The discussion on the future direction/interests of the hobby always degenerates into a subjective, personal observations debate, and yes, I can be as guilty as anyone of this.  I could say my niece, whose first train set was steam and who loves the Fairbourne and Talyllyn railways when she comes to visit, means she is more likely to want to model them in the future (she does seem keen on modelling and craft stuff even at age 9).  You do see loads of families on heritage railways and the kids are always excited.  But I'd be wrong to make a conclusion from that.  My niece is just as interested in my layout and will no doubt be wanting to have a go next time she comes over, assuming I'm not rebuilding it again.  Wednesford will NOT have any steam on it.  The attraction of heritage railways to children is just that - they are a railway theme park and kids love days out.  Heritage railways go to great lengths to put on "added value" events, extras and the like specifically to entertain, engage and hopefully relive the family of some money.  Does that mean the child who is excited by the loco is excited because they are a budding enthusiast, or excited because the train looks like something in one of the "Thomas" videos?  I could also point out that I know several - about 8 or so - active modellers, and I'm the only one planning a pre-nationalisation layout (the next project after "Wednesford") and the rest are all firmly diesel or transition era with steam as a support cast.  And before anyone screams "self selecting cohort" I can assure you I do not pick my friends on the basis of whether they are a Kettleista or not, or hand knit their own Walschaert's valve gear.  However, that observation is just as meaningless as any other.  

I prefer to look at trends, something town planners have to be good at (more so as policy wonks than development controllers) and look for signs that, at least circumstantially, suggest a movement one way or another.  Firstly, it's interesting to note that the majority of new startups, who have in many cases taken far bigger financial risks with their own personal finances, have started with non-steam projects.  Some have moved onto steam models, but only after a few years of releasing non-steam outline.  If you are risking your home and family livelihood on a new business venture, would you invest in non-steam if as some believe steam is a golden egg that will keep on hatching new golden egg layers?

Secondly, we have Hornby's biggest competitor, Bachmann.  A few years back, they were also in a sticky financial position and were effectively on final warning from their owner to start making money or else - which was widely reported at the time and led to the price rises which have become the stuff of debate.  Despite that, Bachmann continued to invest in non-steam, including such sales death as third rail EMUs and Electric locos.  This year they launched a showcase project Class 47, which has had £1million spent on it, and has been five years in the development - taking us right back to when they were on the ropes financially.  Whilst they continue to invest in steam models, if steam was the golden modelling genre some have been suggesting I think that Kader would have questioned spending £1m on a model which already has competing models out there, and told them to match Hornby in the pretty green tea urn market.

Thirdly, we have Heljan.  Their first forays into the UK OO scale market were subject to some criticism, and being mainly non-steam, would have justifiably have made them think twice about continuing in OO non-steam, and move onto steam outline, and O gauge where they were carving out a new market.  Yet they've come back to the OO scale non-steam market in a big way, going toe to toe with Bachmann and also re-igniting the electric loco market with Class 86 v2.0.  To come back into a market where you have had a bruising response within the past few years suggests again that there must be a trend towards greater sales opportunities in non-steam than some would think.

Yet Hornby seem to be very lacklustre in the non steam market, and could be regarded as an outlier.

Interest in steam will never die off, of course not, and we continue to see new markets emerging, like RTR 009 and early Victorian railways, and it could be that Hornby have developed the reputation as the "pro-Steam model company" in a way that means their competitors don't feel the need to go there.  But.  When you see new companies betting their houses on being able to sell non-steam without incurring the wrath of Hornby, and other competitors having a more balanced, or even majority non-steam investment programme, you can't help but think this is significant, that hard nosed business has spotted a market segment that will sustain them longer term.

Time will tell.

Wow, it's great you have access to all the financials and business development meetings. Especially the investment ROI KPIs, margins, sales volumes, marketing costs, fixed costs, CapEx and write downs.  Oh and Forex variables.......

1 hour ago, curlypaws said:

I had a similar 'unable to gain access to your property' email from the Royal Mail, despite the postman having delivered letters and small parcels that same day. This was on a 'Special Delivery' item. I got the 'fob off' reply that the parcel would be delivered the next day (which, to be fair, it was). I can understand that they are, like most businesses, having to contend with difficult circumstances. But they would be better just telling you that than inventing strange excuses!

Please be VERY careful with ANY emails purporting to be from Royal Mail or couriers. I systematically ignore ALL emails - I ONLY track items on their own courier App for delivery. There is an even bigger phishing risk with SMS - absolutely DO NOT respond to any. The way I look at is, my liability is ONLY once the item has been delivered. The suppliers logistics are not my responsibility. Responding to any emails/SMS will confirm your details and could lead to scamming attempts. 

More TTS modern, Class73, EMU, DMU etc 

44 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

To my mind it should be that all dealers get their promised allocation in order to satisfy pre-orders; if there are any left over then Hornby can sell those direct.

Of course Hornby make more profit by cutting out the middle man....

 

 

Not any more - showing a zero stock

 

 

After reading this thread I feel really fortunate that my 10000 seems undamaged - I've still to put power on though.  And thanks to TMC for packing it well.

Mines just arrived, haven’t tested it yet, but all perfect visually. 

1 hour ago, G-BOAF said:

Hoping its the new tooled version. a 'cheap' way of getting an extra power car model (albeit unpowered)....!

It would be stupid coupled to otherwise cam-coupling vehicles if it retains the stupid bar arrangement. Then again technically it should be used with the new Mk4s as the Class 43 DVT specifically pre-dates the Mk4/DVT sets....

 

My only disappointment of the clips of the new tooled version is that they seem to be continuing with the plastic chassis in the Dummy car. I was really hoping it would end up as a fully weighted and unpowered (no motor/gears) offering so that, if one wants, it would be possible to have two powered power cars, without having to purchase two power/dummy sets.

This is a really good clue. 

"It would be stupid coupled to otherwise cam-coupling vehicles if it retains the stupid bar arrangement."

Not much point putting a cam coupling on the power cars to bogie mounted MK3s........

I think (hope) a new cam coupler MK3 slam door range is on the way! Going to be interesting to market all the current announced (2021) range, e.g. Blue Pullmans, if a new 2022 cam range is announced in Jan - unless they are migrated to the new design? _ 

14 hours ago, 96701 said:

It strikes me that all the stuff that I ordered when I was working will all turn up at once now that I am retired, and I will have an awful lot of explaining to do.

Ha! I have exactly the same issue! 

20 hours ago, APT-P said:

 

Hornby website is now showing "Last Few" on the R3948 BR, Class 370 Advanced Passenger Train Non-Driving Motor (NDM), 49004.

 

https://uk.Hornby.com/products/br-class-370-advanced-passenger-train-non-driving-motor-ndm-49004-era-7-r3948

 

Now showing "out of stock" (sold out)? Maybe more coming with the 5/7 packs

I wonder….

New edition of Hornby The Collector, page 49 an article about catalogues by SK.   
“but here is a tip, if you look carefully you might even spot clues as to what may appear in future years”

7 illustrated with 2018 at the top. LN with……