Robin Brasher

2 minutes ago, Steven B said:

There are plenty of stations that aren't staffed which manage quite well without passengers getting mugged every day. A report on Radio Four said that some of the ticket offices that are closing only see one or two sales a day - surely it makes sense to close these. The same report suggested that current ticket-office staff would simply be redeployed on platforms and concourses to help passengers use the machine - and yet the link to Northern's implementation of the scheme suggests that staff and hours will be cut.

 

A wider problem is it's another step towards a cashless society. Fine for 90% of the population but potentially life changing for the remainder. Do we really want to get to the state only buy a train/bus/parking ticket if you've got the right smart-phone with the right app? Fine for those that can manage the technology but what about the significant proportion who struggle with smart phone or can't use the automatic ticket machines because of dyslexia or similar problems?

 

 

Steven B.

10% of the population is a lot of people.  Even if you can use the internet you cannot always get a ticket.  I tried to get a return from Wareham to East Cowes on the National Rail site and the response was 'Bad Request' yet I had no problem getting the ticket from the ticket office.

I bought a return ticket to St Albans from Wareham from a ticket machine.  The machine took the money but had run out of cards to give me a ticket.  The booking clerk at Wareham said that the problem with machines is that they don't work.

As Hornby TT is not yet available in my local model shops I am still ordering via their website.  I am finding Hornby's marketing rather aggressive. I have just bought two crimson and cream Mk1s to go with my 'Silver King' but Hornby have asked me if I might also want another A4, more Mk1 coaches and a NE goods van.  If I go into a shop the assistant just takes my order and does not suggest I might want some more items. If I wanted another A4 and a NE goods van I would have ordered them.

There is only one prototype Deltic locomotive so I think it is a strange decision to limit the production to 500 models.  If the demand exceeds 500 it means that Hornby cannot produce any more while honouring their advertising.  It also leaves the door open to Bachmann producing another batch of Deltics. It is possible that Hornby originally made less than 500 models and is simply finishing its original production run. 

If Hornby is producing more than 500 Deltics it could discourage collectors from buying other limited runs like the six models of Flying Scotsman and the five models of A4s. 

I would like to see an end to limited runs as it puts unnecessary pressure on customers to order models as soon as they are announced and it stops Hornby from producing more runs without risking a loss of confidence from their customers.

Hornby are going to produce another run of the Hornby Dublo Deltic to satisfy the demand. It was advertised in the Hornby catalogue as 500 models only but if more than 500 people want the model it makes sense to provide some more models for them.

I ran my Hornby 'City of London' and 'Duchess of Atholl' at the Wessex Group of the Hornby Collectors Association meeting at Corfe Mullen last Tuesday.  They both ran very well hauling three Mainline Stanier coaches on an 8' x 4' layout with Peco large radius points, It was nostalgic and reminded me of the train set days in the 1950s when we ran Hornby Dublo maroon Pacific locomotives with three coaches on imaginary journeys on the the West Coast main line.

If you have scatchbuilt or kitbuilt a model locomotive you appreciate how difficult it is to produce an accurate working model.  I have now tested my D1 at the Hornby Railways Collectors Association meeting. The D1 ran very well and I liked the firebox flicker, it reminded me of the firebox glow on my Tri-ang Hornby M7. I like to run my locomotives in but I had a limited amount of time on the club layout. The instructions say that running in is not necessary so after a couple of circuits I tried it with three Mainline Stanier coaches.  The D1 seemed to struggle a bit with these but I will only be running it with a few Bachmann ex SECR coaches so that does not matter. The Tri-ang L1 with magnadhesion could haul over six Mk1s on steel track.

My D1 has arrived care of DPD.  It is a delightful model and I am pleased to see that the cycling lion on the crest is facing the locomotive on both sides of the tender.  The other picture shows a Tri-ang Hornby L1 and how much models have improved over the last fifty years. My only criticism is that the coupling between the locomotive and tender is a bit delicate and fiddly. I hope to give the D1 a test run at our Wessex Group of the Hornby Collectors Association meeting this evening.

5 hours ago, J-Lewis said:

A proper train set, looks like a neat setup.  Will you add more scenery or is this more of a temporary set up and tear down kind of affair?  My ocd is kicking in with the track pieces still having stickers on the underside so I presume the track is not pinned down :)

The track is glued down with Copydex. It is meant to be a bit like a smaller version of a Hornby Dublo train set with a minimum amount of scenery and buildings which is easy to take to village halls and set up. I expect I will ballast the track and add a few buildings like a pub and a church, One of the sidings fell off so I am not sure if Copydex is strong enough to attach the track securely. If one length of track gets damaged it is a lot more expensive to replace by post from Hornby than it would be if it was available locally.

Thank you for the information about the 08.  I took my TT layout to Winterborne Kingston Village Hall last Friday.  The trains ran very well.  My baseboard is 4' 6" x 3' 6" and just fits in my car although it is a bit of a handful taking it up and down stairs. I have added a Gaugemaster backscene which is 4' 6" x 6" and fits in nicely.  

I should have ordered these directly from Hornby as it honours the price at the date of ordering.

The trilogy of Hornby Dublo inspired Duchesses has given me the opportunity to compare the Hornby Dublo and Hornby models.  The Hornby Dublo and Wrenn Princess Coronation models were excellent and have stood the test of time.  Hornby Dublo probably chose to model 'City of London' and 'Duchess of Montrose' because they were the first members of the class to be painted maroon and green respectively. The shortcomings in appearance of the Hornby Dublo and Wrenn models only became apparent to me when the new Hornby models appeared with the main difference being the larger diameter wheels on the Hornby version. The Hornby 'City of London' has the lining in the right places which is a bright yellow as in the prototype. Conversely the lining on the Hornby 'Duchess of Montrose' is more subdued than the lining on the Hornby Dublo model. The gold lettering and lining on the Hornby 'Duchess of Atholl' is better than the Hornby Dublo version which is unlined. The gold was unique to 'Duchess of Atholl' and, being more subdued than the yellow lining and lettering of the British Railways locomotives, looks better to me.

12 hours ago, Steamport Southport said:

 

They weren't the first five Duchesses though.

 

6220 to 6229 were built before them.

 

Weren't even the first to carry the Duchess names as 6225 was Duchess of Gloucester, then it was Norfolk, Devonshire, Rutland and Hamilton.

 

Ignore the idea they were separate classes. That's an enthusiast thing. The LMS thought of them as just 7Ps and didn't distinguish between a Princess or Duchess, even Turbomotive was just another 7P.

 

 

Jason

Thank you. I have amended my post

Five Duchesses (Nos 6230-4) named Buccleuch, Atholl, Montrose, Sutherland and Abercorn were built as conventional engines. In their final years all the Duchesses reverted, more or less, to the classic lines of conventional engines. 

A trilogy of Hornby Duchesses inspired by the Hornby Dublo models. 46245 'City of London' in BR maroon with the late crest, 46232 'Duchess of Montrose' in BR lined green with the cycling lion crest and 6231 ' Duchess of Atholl' in LMS crimson lake.  

I find it interesting how the Duchesses evolved from conventional locomotives in maroon livery with a single chimney, to streamlined locomotives, then back to conventional locomotives in various experimental liveries with smoke deflectors and double chimneys before settling to lined green livery. Finally some reverted to maroon livery. I find the lining and lettering rather bright on 'City of London' compared with the subdued tones of 'Duchess of Atholl'

My Bachmann Bulleid Southern coaches have arrived at the Swanage Station Shop.  I am not sure what to run the set with on my model of the Swanage Railway.  In the 1950s a T9 took charge of a set of three Bulleid coaches for the Salisbury train so perhaps a T9 in Southern livery would be suitable motive power.

Looks like Kernow was right as my BR maroon 'City of London' arrived at the Swanage Station Shop today.  The prototype 'City of London' created a lot of interest when it appeared with 'Duchess of Montrose' at Crewe Station on the front cover of the Hornby Dublo 1959 Book of Trains.  Both locomotives had 'Royal Scot' headboards.  'City of London' was in British Railways lined green livery when the photograph was taken. An artist retinted the locomotive British Railways maroon for the front cover.

My SECR 6 wheel brake van no 2036 in SECR grey has arrived and I am very impressed with the model and the information sheet inside.

I wandered down to the Furzebrook Railway bridge every hour from our Purbeck Model Railway Group meeting today. The picture shows 5021 'Rodney' looking immaculate and tailing a train at 10:15 to the wonderful Frome Viaduct.  Only one other train spotter there and by 12:18 I was the only person taking pictures there.

On 13/05/2023 at 09:59, AY Mod said:

 

With glimpses of trains sitting in the beer garden.

Pleased to see you enjoyed watching the Swanage Railway trains. The beer garden is included in our 1/43 scale 0 gauge model of the Swanage Railway at the barn at Godlingston Manor in Swanage.

A topical scene for King Charles lll's coronation day. Hornby 6220 Coronation crossing Corfe Viaduct with a set of Coronation Scot coaches over Corfe Viaduct on the Swanage Railway.

I wish him a happy retirement. He always seemed very enthusiastic.  I met him when he did a talk for the Wimborne Railway Society. I asked him if he Hornby was going to make a rebuilt West Country class.  He said it was in the bag and lo and behold it appeared a year later. It was a bit like sending a request to Father Christmas.

I ordered mine through my local model shop on a preserved railway and I have not heard anything about it being cancelled. I had my doubts about ordering it in the first place and now the decision has been made for me.  I have still got the original Caledonian 123 and a couple of coaches.

I have now found out it is a Rivarossi 1:87 scale set. Apologies for the confusion.

A few years after the 'Night Ferry' appeared on the front page of its catalogue Hornby has announced its HR 4364, 5-unit 'Orient Express' 140th anniversary pack for £365. This is for period ll 1921 - 1940. The inaugural run was in 1883 but the set did not run in the UK whereas the 'Night Ferry' did. I have fond memories of the train passing Beckenham Grammar School and also seeing it at Victoria Station.