Robin Brasher

The Railway Modeller could do long term reports on the locomotives they use in Pecorama.

Pete Waterman is running Hornby models of diesels which are much more reliable than their steam models because there is less to go wrong. If you cast your mind back to James May's 10 mile track in Devon you will recall that Simon Kohler told him to use one of their diesels but James used a model steam engine and it did not make it. Some of Hornby's steam engines are reliable but it is still Hornby Dublo's Cardiff Castle and a Hornby tender driven Princess that hold the model railway endurance tests in the Guiness Book of Records.

If you have a look at the H class topic you will find that the models were manufactured with too much grease on the gears which was causing the motors to overheat. One problem with magazine reviews is that they don't do long term testing. My H class ran well for about half an hour before it overheated and I had my T9 for a few years before the gears stopped engaging whereas they do still engage on 70 year old Hornby Dublo and Tri-ang locomotives. Incidentally I cannot access the RM Web site on Google as the controls are blocked by huge advertisements and I have had to use Avast.

If you think that is weird you should have seen what we were running on our club's Evercreech Junction layout. A4 Bittern has visited Swanage so I thought the Coronation Coaches would look better than the West Coast Mainline coaches. The coaches also reminded me of a card game of 'Speed' that I played with my family and one of the cards showed the beaver tail observation coach.

The build quality of Hornby models varies. The motors of my H class and air smoothed Bulleid Pacific 'Royal Mail' burnt out shortly after running in and Hornby repaired them under guarantee. The gears of my T9 no longer engage with the driving wheels. These are production faults as evidenced under the topics in RM Web but not in the magazines. Some of the models like the Q class are so delicate that bits fall off when you open the box. On the other hand models like Princess Elizabeth and Bittern have given good service for years. The instructions often say you just need to oil the axles and connecting rods but you need to do more than that if a locomotive develops a fault.

One advantage of the high prices is that most people are careful about what they buy. I have ended up with over 1,000 models that spend most of their time stored in boxes that are too good to take to the tip and almost impossible to sell. If the items had always cost the equivalent of £30 for a wagon, £70 for a coach and £210 for a locomotive I would have been far more selective about what I bought. One disadvantage of the tier system is that you can end up without a must have item even if you can afford it.

Great pictures of the Ukrainian War. Back to topic. I have ordered a Rule 1 rake of LNER coaches, that may be in short supply, for my model of the Swanage Railway from the Swanage Railway shop which is my local shop and is in tier 2. Will you please let me know if I have made the correct decision or should I have ordered directly from Hornby, which I assume is in tier 1 or a tier 1 shop wherever that exists? Whatever you reply I am going to keep my order with my local shop so as not to undermine it and not to upset a gentleman in admin. Last year I ordered a Rule 1 rake of Coronation Scot coaches from the Swanage Railway shop. Hornby delivered some to the shop but told them that they were unable to deliver the others which seems strange as I would have thought people would have ordered the set. I think I ended up buying the rest directly from Hornby although they claimed they had run out of them.

Thank you for the information. It looks like the SECR brake vans were built before World War 1 so they are suitable for running with the Bachmann C Class. The preserved brake van, number 2010, has a grey underframe so I have asked Hattons to let me know when the Rapido model 931002, 2036 with a grey underframe is available.

Hattons originally did not take pre-orders and only advertised what they had in stock. They said that taking pre-orders was an administrative nightmare. I also did not pre-order items until the Hornby Maunsell pull push saga which sold out overnight. One of my other worst experiences was when I pre-ordered 'East Asiatic Company' from Rails. I did not order from my local model railway shop because it had given up stocking Hornby. About three years later Rails cancelled my order because they had stopped stocking Hornby as well so I was at the back of the queue. Then I pre-ordered it from my local model shop, which was now selling Hornby items, and the model locomotive arrived about a year later. It is not always the customer undermining the shop by cancelling pre-orders: it can work both ways. I have not pre-ordered anything else from Rails.

This is one of the wonders of RM Web. You can have a topic about Hornby's tier system and end up with lively discussions about undermining local model railway shops and having chats with your local dealer over a cup of tea. I think it is only Hornby who could come up with a tier system. Peco, Bachmann and Dapol probably just deliver what model shops order.

I wonder if Hornby will produce a SECR dance hall brake van now that Rapido has shown that there is a demand for SECR wagons.

Almost a complete SECR train. Looking forward to receiving a grey SECR diagram 1558 six wheel brake van to complete it.

I would be surprised if a book about wagons covered locomotive liveries as well.

Now that we have established that Rapido is going to produce some SECR diagram 1558 six wheel brake vans does anyone know whether 931001 no 2033 SECR grey with black underframe and 931002 no 2036 SECR grey would both be suitable for running with the Bachmann C class and the other Rapido SECR goods wagons. I don't know anything about SECR liveries as it is not my main interest but I think the Bachmann SECR locomotive is in a pre World War 1 livery whereas the wagons are in a post World War 1 livery.

The only shop that I undermined was Hattons. This was because I found out that Hornby had put Hattons in tier 3 despite its comprehensive stock and excellent service. If Hornby had not produced enough LSWR coaches Hattons would not have received any so the best chance of getting some was either from Hornby or from a tier 1 shop. My local shop was in tier 2 so that is why I reordered with Kernow. I never put an order to my local shop so I have not undermined them by ordering from Kernow. In any event I don't think my local shop will have any difficulty selling LSWR model coaches when it is in LSWR territory and there are some LSWR coach bodies. I am surprised at the criticism I am getting from admin as I have never criticised anyone in this group, I have got an excellent record on this forum with no warnings.

I had hoped to run my 5 and 7 plank SECR open wagons at the Wimborne Railway Society meeting with some Dapol private owner wagons from the area but when I opened my SECR H class box I found I had forgotten to pack the locomotive! A Hornby LBSCR brake van deputised for the Rapido SECR brake van which may or may not appear in the future.

Good things come to those that wait. Rapido announced the brake van today so it will probably be on the web sites in the next few days. It is a bit like London buses: no 00 SECR brake vans for 84 years and then over three appear in a multitude of liveries.

I have not undermined my local shop to be first off the mark. If you go back to when Hornby made the Maunsell Pull Push Set, which is a must have model for the Swanage Railway, you may recall that Hornby only made 1,000 models. I saw one at the Shoreham model railway exhibition but did not buy it so that I could support the shop at Swanage. When I returned to Swanage the shop did not have any and neither did any of the mail order shops. It was over a year before Hornby produced another batch. I am not concerned about being first off the mark but I was worried that Hornby would not make enough LSWR coaches to go round so that I would be unable to obtain them anywhere. It was Kernow that suggested that I should cancel my order for the LSWR coaches with lights and replace them with unlit coaches that had been in stock for several months. The only time that I have cancelled an order with the Swanage Station Shop was when I ordered a rake of Coronation Scot coaches. The shop told me that Hornby was unable to supply some of them and they suggested I bought them somewhere else. I think I bought the rest directly from Hornby.

I got a hug from a lady at a stand at the Brockenhurst model railway exhibition but it is unusual to get a conversation at a model railway shop let alone a hug or a cup of tea. I wonder if Hornby will give model railway shops tier 1, 2 or 3 stickers to put in their shops like the Council gives out circle awards for food hygiene with 1 for the best or 5 for the worst. One of my friend's wives works in a convenience store which had a 5 circle award that they did not display. I told the members of the model railway club that I have just bought some food from the 5 circle shop.

Bachmann, Dapol, Peco and OO Works seem to be able to satisfy demand without introducing a tier system of going bankrupt and Peco and 00 Works have their own factories in England.

Rapido have now announced a SECR diagram 1558 six wheel brake van for £39.95.

All the Hornby items I have pre-ordered are from the Swanage Station shop which is in tier 2 although I know that Hornby may ever deliver them and it may be cheaper to order them from Hornby. I don't know why I should feel guilty about supporting my local shop and a preserved railway even if I don't get a chat with them over a cup of tea. With any luck Hornby may abandon their tier system and just produce as many models as people want. I hope Hornby lets us know when they do abandon the tier system.

If you pre-order from Hornby, Hornby will honour the price at the date of the pre-order. Hornby have said that they may put the price up again later this year so it is probably cheaper to pre-order from Hornby. Also if Hornby regard themselves as tier one retailers so you will probably get the item as soon as it is available. Whether you will get it or get it in one piece depends on the courier. Over the past two days there have been 62 posts on the Swanage Facebook about a well known courier delivering parcels to wrong addresses or throwing them over walls into back gardens. The regular deliverer is on holiday and the courier firm has hired some temporary staff who are not too brilliant.

It is a long way to go for a cup of tea from Swanage. The staff at the Swanage Railway shop and the Swanage Emporium are friendly but they have never offered me a cup of tea.

I recall you mentioning that a shop owner had chatted with you over a cup of tea.