nathan70000

I promised some more photos, and here they are! It's lovely to see I'm not the only one taken with the B&M, some fantastic layouts here. Many years ago I recall seeing a B&M themed layout at the Hull show- does it still exist? An overview of the town/main street area. I will add some more small details like road signs over time! An RS3 brings two SP boxcars off the team track. As has been remarked upon, rolling stock from any road could appear anywhere. A bucolic scene as a 2-6-0 passes a small campsite with a passenger train. The cars are Athearn Roundhouse and they're really too short for a B&M prototype, but they do resemble the antiquated equipment used on remote branch lines even as late as the 1950s. They also don't look silly on small layouts with tight curves!

Fascinating choice of prototype. Definitely a challenge in terms of finding accurate equipment for the era you've chosen, though! I assume you've visited this website? Looking at the photos I think the Spectrum 2-8-0 should be a good stand-in for those used by the IRR in later years. It would have been almost all steam in 1952 apart from a single RS3 demonstrator, the first cream/orange/grey units were not delivered until 1953. Proto 2000 offered a 2-8-8-2 similar to the Interstate examples. They are hard to find and expensive though. You'll discover that a lot of steam-era US models are simply "representations" due to the overwhelming variety of road-specific designs. Particularly if you're not modelling the PRR, UP, SP, or ATSF. Prepare for a lot of kitbashing!

My layout is about 7' by 4' - it had to fit in a very confined space! The Maine narrow gauge lines are fascinating, in On30 there are a few suitable models available including a Forney and various SRRL-alike bits of rolling stock. Nice BAR Geep- Proto 2000? I have a BL2 in the later all over navy blue scheme awaiting new gears.

A few years ago I realised you could buy sound-equipped Bachmann HO models, in this country, for about as much as non-DCC Hornby Railroad model would cost. Unfortunately this is no longer the case since Hattons and Rails seem to have abandoned US HO. My choice of RR to model was primarily driven by two factors. A) does it run through pretty scenery B) can I easily source locos and stock and C) can I fit it in to a small space. UP and ATSF ticked the first two boxes but not the last. They're also too popular, I wanted something a bit more niche. I was originally going to go with the PRR, but then I discovered the Boston and Maine and the quaint colonial towns and villages it served. One GP9 and a 2-6-0 later, the pair for just over £200, I was ready to go... My layout is a roundy-roundy, using Kato Unitrack which I discovered whilst dabbling in N Gauge. Some may sneer at sectional track but I am not good at wiring so Kato's plug 'n' play approach is a godsend! It works 100% reliably with DCC and I very rarely have derailments. The two loops aren't connected, purely because the switch I needed for a crossover was hard to find and very expensive. I kind of regret that and I might add one in at a later date. More photos tomorrow. Over time my modelling interests expanded from the Boston and Maine to encompass neighbouring RRs, particularly the Maine Central, Rutland and the Central Vermont/CN. I would be very curious to know if there are any other UK-based modellers fascinated with this part of the world!

I have collected a number of attractive sound-fitted Bachmann Maine Central steamers. I understand that these are not exact scale replicas of the prototypes, but they are well detailed and run well. I am struggling however to find appropriate rolling stock. The Maine Central had fully dieselised by June 1954, and I believe the harvest gold and green scheme commonly seen on RTR Maine Central equipment didn't appear until a few years later. In particular I cannot find any models of a Maine Central caboose pre-1954. I cannot even find quality photos showing what they looked like. All available models represent the ex-WM "Northeastern" style or steel bodied wide vision cabooses which were not introduced until the 1960s.

"Re-launch" was perhaps the phrase I was looking for! ACE Trains... interesting, but pricy. Exactly the sort of thing I had in mind though, a range catering more to the nostalgia/fun end of the market than the ultra-high detail purist side. I think to make it work over here the prices would have to more comparable to US three-rail O Gauge, those ACE Trains models are lovely but double the price of comparable Lionel products. I'm not sure just launching the US brands over here would work or if there's enough demand. When I first started dabbling in US HO I really wanted to model the New Haven. I did some research and was quite surprised to find far more locos and stock in O than there was in HO at that time. I also came across quite a few O gauge layouts and was struck by how they seemed to take a completely different approach to the typical UK modeller. Rather than all-out prototypical accuracy and plausibility US O Gauge layouts tend to aim at invoking the atmosphere of a particular place or era, and I must say they do it quite successfully. Even though the tight curves and third rail break the illusion somewhat they feel very "alive" with little dioramas, lights, smoke and steam effects, etc. Some might find that a bit gimmicky but I quite like the more unashamedly fun aspects. It's a nice break from rivet counting!

I'd be surprised if the collection was from the US since it wouldn't make sense to bring enough stock to fill a shipping container over the Atlantic only to ship it back again to buyers in North America (surely the shipping cost on anything O Gauge would be enormous?). What would be really interesting is if Hattons actually tried to "launch" coarse scale three rail in the UK. MTH did a few UK items and Lionel did the Hogwarts Express so the bare bones of a future UK range are there, Hattons could in theory monopolise the market the same way Hornby have with TT. And there is/was healthy demand for US outline in general over here too.

Hattons seem to have listed an absolutely enormous haul of American 3-Rail O Gauge locomotives and rolling stock, and every time I check back there seems to be more added. Suffice to say I'm quite surprised since I would have thought there is zero market for it in the UK. The quality seems to be variable- newer MTH locomotives look just as detailed as their HO counterparts but the older Lionel seems very coarse and toy-like. I did wonder it might be useful outdoors, bigger and less likely to be damaged than HO/OO and considerably cheaper than G scale.

I have been quite pleasantly surprised by the number of younger people, including both boys and girls, showing an interest at my last few visits to preserved railways. Whilst there is a lot of doom and gloom I think there is a widespread volunteer base for the future as I detect a very slight resurgence in interest in the railways. Witness the TikTok popularity of Francis Bourgeois, the numerous TV programs broadcast and purely anecdotally more photos and videos being shared on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook. On the other hand I do think there is so much pressure on young people's time that many would find volunteering quite difficult, especially when many railways are in isolated rural areas away from major cities. Railways with good public transport connections close to major cities and towns might have an advantage in this regard; the Great Central, Nene Valley, and the Severn Valley are all fairly easy to get to.

In that case, 61659 must have been repainted in apple green by BR sometime after 1948. There is a photo of East Anglian in green here: https://thetransportlibrary.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=91118

I was thinking purely in steam terms, with the J15, B12, D16 etc. Also BR types that operated in that area like the Brush Type 2 and Britannias. For modern image modellers they've also done the 755. First generation EMUs are a bit of a blind spot for manufacturers in general apart from the 3rd rail Southern types. I can't really see Hornby being interested in doing more since their 2Bil et al. were never great sellers and adding third rail is a lot easier than adding catenary.

61659 was apple green without a parabolic curve on the smoke box. 61670 stayed in wartime black apparently. I'd wait until details are confirmed before ordering as some sources suggested that Hornby wanted to do 61670 in BRITISH RAILWAYS apple green, which would be inaccurate. Having said that I must confess I didn't realise these locos lasted so long and I had assumed they were de-streamlined around the same time the P2s were rebuilt.

I have no doubt it will sell out. Probably quite quickly. If past Dublo runs are anything to go by there will only be 500 or so made. The problem is, what happens next year? They can't re-run DP1 with a different number and a different livery. They can't re-run it as it is because it undermines the whole "limited collector's edition" USP. Hornby's return on investment from this choice of subject is going to be very limited, which is precisely the last thing they need at a time of financial uncertainty. It will probably be a brilliant model and it's a real shame most of them will never leave their boxes.

Definitely unexpected, quite a brave choice but I could well be tempted! GE area modellers have been spoilt by Hornby over the years. These of course were built to run with the dedicated carriage sets built for the East Anglian. I seriously doubt we'll ever see those RTR, but a quick Google reveals a few photos of these two locomotives on secondary services, particularly towards the end of their lives as streamliners. 61659 seems to have lost its parabolic curve when repainted in green after WW2, and 61670 stayed "black" (looks more like a thick coat of grime to me!) until the very end. Plenty of livery pitfalls for the unwary. Did the B17/5s ever make it off the GE and appear on the GC section? What's the furthest north they got?

This is a perplexing and frankly bizarre choice. If this year is indeed a catch-up year for Hornby and money for new tooling is limited, I would have picked something more useful to the modeller with plenty of potential for re-runs and different liveries. DELTIC is iconic, but surely anyone who really wants one has one already, and anyone who hasn't can buy the Bachmann model for far less.

It's become quite a common marketing tactic to deliberately orchestrate "leaks" to build up hype and speculation prior to big announcements. I don't know whether that's the case here, but it wouldn't surprise me if Hornby tried it.

The last two were tongue-in-cheek; the others I do genuinely think will appear (and sell!) in the fullness of time. Unfortunately I think Hornby's announcement is likely to wholly consist of subjects that have appeared before, with maybe one token project entirely new to the Hornby range. Hornby seems to be allergic to the 4-4-0 wheel arrangement, particularly when they occur north of the Thames. I do genuinely think a Hull and Barnsley design would sell, although the Q10 would probably be one of the riskier propositions. Plenty of people run layouts that are just broadly LNER-themed with locomotives from a variety of different areas. H&BR locomotives did make it off home turf post-grouping so having one on a layout wouldn't be too much of a stretch.

Some interesting curve-balls that I think would do well, but are fairly unlikely from Hornby: LNWR Bowen Cooke "Claughton" 4-6-0 Big, named express locomotives that survived (barely) in to the BR era. Plenty of liveries although oddly enough I think the surest seller would be the most plain- 1914 Patriot in unlined black. GWR Churchward "Bulldog" (And Bird, and Flower, etc.) 4-4-0 These were much longer-lived than the Cities and Counties and could conceivably be seen on secondary routes and perhaps the odd branch line. As yet uncharted territory in OO gauge but I bet if Hornby utilised a bit of "design-clever" they could maximise investment by tooling for all the variations. GWR has been very neglected by Hornby for years. NER Class R/LNER D20 4-4-0 Not named, but very elegant and again, very long-lived. There's 40 years worth of livery potential, from NER Saxony Green to mucky BR unlined black. Immensely useful to the NE modeller but the D20 exists in the twilight zone of not having a preserved example and not being particularly well-known. The slightly less useful but equally elegant D17 might be more likely as it at least ticks the former box. NER X1 2-2-4T "Aerolite" Aesthetically charming, unique and seen by thousands of people every day. Plenty of Rule 1 purchase potential which has worked out well for Hornby in the past. Hornby aren't creative enough to go anywhere near this one though I'm afraid. LSWR Drummond 4-2-4T (?) "The Bug" See above, with the exception that there's sadly no preserved example. L&Y Aspinall Class 27 There were loads of 'em, long-lived, hugely useful to the modeller. Hornby's past experience with slow-selling black 0-6-0s will probably put them off doing another one for a while, though. H&BR Stirling Class A/LNER Q10 0-8-0 An absolutely fascinating machine but only I, and maybe about seven other people in the area between Hull and Cudworth, would buy one. Rule 1 potential, anyone? NBR Reid-MacLeod Steam Turbine Taking the recent trend for obscure one-offs to its logical conclusion... an announcement that would be greeted by the sound of RMWebbers furiously Googling to check whether this bizarre steampunk Pennsylvania GG1/Leader/Turbomotive-looking hybrid actually existed.

Lots of discussion about the economics of retooling models already on the market. I don't think this is a bad idea by any means, but it depends on what Hornby chooses to retool. Anything that first appeared in the 70's or 80's and hasn't been touched since- the D49, GWR County, Saint, 2721, J52, J83 and the 57xx- are safe bets. Probably the ex-Airfix 14xx too, especially if paired with an all-new Autocoach. GWR branchlines will always be popular. Maybe the 3F Jinty if it comes with all the bells and whistles, but the Bachmann model is very good and still widely available. The 8F is a decent bet- the tooling is showing its age and it hasn't appeared in the catalogue for a while. Beyond that however I would focus on producing things that have never previously appeared rather than continuously retooling popular types. The suggestion that we're running out of viable steam subjects is utter nonsense. The major players have barely scratched the surface of pre-1923 express designs, especially 4-4-0s. Even ones that survived to nationalisation like the GWR Bulldogs and the ex-NER D20s. If Hornby don't tackle these subjects than competitors will, eventually. I don't think this will be a make-or-break announcement but I would seriously question SK's commercial judgement if yet another Class 37 is announced.

I certainly wasn't suggesting that the Raven A2s aren't a worthy subject for a model- in fact it's one of the few suggestions made so far that could tempt me to pre-order- but I do think they're unlikely to come from Hornby. As for performance vs. the A1s and A3s, information is hard to find but most of the photos I've seen show them on secondary services which suggests that the LNER didn't consider them as capable as the Gresley Pacifics. 2401 was used on goods trips between York and Hull, taking a circular route via Market Weighton and Beverley before returning up the "main line" via Selby. The fact that they didn't survive in to the BR era, even in rebuilt form, counts against them I think. Rapido might be more likely to consider doing them but I also think it would be quite difficult to make any OO model go round typical layout curves. And yes, there were five- I always forget about 2404 City of Ripon!

Received an "Alice" this morning and it is a beautiful, exquisite model. Absolutely stunning to look at... but it runs like an 80's Hornby Smokey Joe. It virtually doesn't move at all at slow speed, it's horrifically jerky even at a reasonable pace. I can't hear any binding. Is it worth trying to repair or should I just send it back to the shop to exchange for a new one?

They've made some big announcements in the last few years, so I'm anticipating an underwhelming year. I don't mind though, I've already got most of what I want! Nevertheless, here are my guesses: Steam - I expect at least one retool of a popular locomotive already in the range. I suspect it'll be the 8F, fully equipped for steam and sound. - One large express locomotive we haven't seen before. I always guess the GWR Saint and it never appears, but with Lady of Legend touring the country I reckon it's a definite possibility this year. The well of big Pacifics has nearly dried up but it would be foolish to rule anything out completely following the W1 and the Turbomotive. Neither The Great Bear nor the four Raven A2s enjoyed a productive working life but if the demand is there Hornby might take the chance. - A small, delicate 0-4-0T or 0-6-0T. Perhaps a 2721 or J52 retool? A 57xx has been promised in TT:120 so it's reasonable to assume one might turn up OO. Diesel and Electric - I anticipate that a modern, state-of-the-art unit will be announced, possibly a 195 or some variety of Electrostar. I expect Hornby will retreat from the OO mainline diesel market entirely now there are so many competitors in this arena. Post-2000 units could be a profitable niche for Hornby to exploit given the lack of interest shown by other manufacturers. Carriages and Wagons - I expect an Autocoach of some description will almost certainly appear; I'd put money on it! I also predict a pre-grouping coach of some description, probably ex-GER to complement Hornby's large selection of Eastern region steam. Wagon-wise I wouldn't be surprised if the Anhydrite hoppers used on the S&C appear alongside a suitably-numbered 9F. I wish Hornby were a little more creative with their choices. They only rarely take risks, even though when they do it often pays off handsomely! There are many pre-grouping locomotives that I think would be strong sellers; but I don't think we'll see much pre-grouping in this announcement. A B16 would tick many boxes but I can't see Hornby ever making one.

Correct- it wasn't advertised as a Dublo! My mistake. You're right, it is a good price, much better value than the <£300 Turbomotive. For the record, I'm not criticising the product and I don't think anyone else is. I'm criticising the way in which it was announced.

It's surprisingly cheap for a Dublo special edition, perhaps an indicator of more realistic pricing going forwards? The massive RRP hikes of the last few years are surely unsustainable in the current climate and judging by the surplus of unsold models sitting on shelves, there is a limit to what people are willing to pay. Apart from that the announcement was a bit embarrassing. Whilst other manufacturers have announced attention-grabbing products that modellers have been crying out for, Hornby is releasing a slightly different variation of a loco that has been in their catalogue for decades. The way it was hyped up as an "experience" suggested something far more significant, from a PR perspective I think it would have been better to keep quiet. Surely they know their audience? People attending Warley are modellers, not collectors.

Oof. Am I tempted? Sort of, since it's easier to fit a decent layout in to a smaller space. But there's absolutely no way I'd even consider trading in my OO collection in favour of TT, and that's where I suspect Hornby might, excuse the pun, "hit the buffers". People who have already spent big in OO (particularly in the present climate) won't want to essentially duplicate their collections in TT. Especially when there's no guarantee it will succeed or not. Hornby need a big range for it to work, but I wonder if they'd actually have more chance of succeeding if they cooperated with other manufacturers so there were simultaneous product launches. I can't help but notice that the tank wagon appears to be the Oxford OO model shrunk down. If they're going down that road, I would suggest the J27 as a good candidate for the "shrink ray", since it can appropriately run alongside the Pacifics and it should be a fairly cheap starter locomotive. I hope they don't abandon OO altogether. This is a huge launch, it's hard to see how they could secure the factory capacity for a standard product announcement in January alongside the upcoming TT products.