County of Yorkshire

Just got mine - I think it's quite nice and, dare I say it, a 'cute' piece of rolling stock, especially when posed next to its bigger AA15 cousin from Hornby. Will take a cocktail stick and t-cut to mine and rebrand to small post-1936 GW decals. Might change the allocation of Swindon, but might not. Take the points up-thread about inaccuracies but I will admit to being a little bit uncaring with wagon details - it looks the part! 7.5/10 CoY

I'll throw my twopennorth in re: the GWR mogul and Manor. Personally, the mogul would be the more useful model: a bigger class, went through a number of mods, varioations and liveries, were maids of all work, and found all over the GWR system: from Cornwall to Birkenhead, from London to Fishguard, and all types of train: express parcels, perishable goods, secondary main line all-stoppers etc. My dream 1947 GWR layout would require three or four of the beasts. The Manors meanwhile, are handsome locos, are namers, are popular in preservation, and were very much the flagships of the Cambrian Coast Express. But, they were geographically pretty restricted throughout their lives; confined mostly to North Wales and the West Midlands in both GWR and BR days; you'd be hard pushed to find one anywhere between London and Penzance, or in South Wales. I'd probably need one, at a push two for my dream layout, but no more. I want both, but really you are comparing an LMS Crab type loco versus a Jubilee type loco; or a Southern N or U class mogul versus a Schools Class. There's room for both but they are very different locos. I wouldn't mind this debate over which ought to come first but they share the same drivring wheels and tender anyway! CoY

Thanks Rob. However, the CPL transfers are the regular Yellow/Red/Black decals, i'm wanting Yellow/Red only. See the difference between the two in these images. I am not that certain that the Yellow/Red/Black transfers will suit a black loco, even if the black will be invisible against the black loco, as Fox Transfers claim. See what you think - recent re-liveries using the respective Fox Transfers: CoY

I think not. He allegedly physically denied bailiffs entry into his premises. If he is incompetent, it would seem that he sure knows when to turn it on and off. If he's an incompetent with no ulterior motive to hide then why not a) have let the bailiffs in and/or b) hold his hands up and refund everyone he's failed to supply ordered goods to since this bailiffs paid him a visit in October? Based on these developments, he can't exactly plead ignorance can he?

Had a reply from Fox Transfers advising that these have indeed been discontinued from the range after they sold out earlier this year. They advised that the regular G-W-R transfers in Yellow, red and black would do the same job as 'you wouldn't see the black shading on a black loco anyway'. Hmm. Bit of sod, that. HMRS don't do these and I don't think CCT, Railtech or CPL do either. Ho hum. CoY

I have been told today by Fox Transfers that the GWR decals for black locos - yellow upon red shading - have been discontinued from the range. The product number was FRH 4107/2. I currently need two pairs of G-W-R transfers, but would be interested in buying as many sets as possible now that they have been discontinued. Thanks, CoY

Just picking this thread up as it's the most relevant one for my question - does anyone know if Fox Transfers have discontinued their G-W-R loco transfers in yellow with red shading (no black shading) as applied to wartime black locos? These had the product number FRH4107/02. I ask because I was to re-livery my BR black Oxford Rail Dean Goods in wartime black with G-W-R, but am down to my last line of G-W-R transfers (you get 8 lines of GWR on the sheet but I buggered up a transfer application about a year ago and now have only one left). I have emailed Fox to ask the question, but it be one of the 'law of sod' instances if they have discontinued these. For that matter, could any benevolent GWR modeller out there with a spare line of G-W-R in yellow with red shading help me out by sending me a line? I'd be happy to pay the going rate. Cheers, CoY

Outrageous. And the authorities cannot do anything against such blatant fraud? What a fetid society this is sometimes. CoY

Make that 2 years & 8 months and very much counting! CoY

Not the case i'm afraid Coach, see a thread discussing this very topic here and images on Steam Museum's images database here, here, here and here. A gratuitous image of my own handywork - a Hall in wartime black using Hornby's maroon monstrosity Olton Hall as a starting point - to illustrate: Cheers, CoY

I do feel that increasingly, the price rise lever on their 'turnover driver machine' is becoming increasingly too hot to touch. I honestly feel that the most critical task facing Hornby at the moment is comprehensive market profiling, and slip-streaming their product ranges and product lines to suit - in a logical, coherent and complimentary fashion. What is becoming apparent is that there is no true introductory range of products, that would allow penetration of new markets. That is, beginners with no prior railway/modeling knowledge or experience (could include a teenager looking for a new hobby, a father and son, or perhaps a late entrant looking for something to spend his coin on in early retirement), or 'cross-over' purchasers who may model other mediums: war gaming, military dioramas, car race tracks etc and want an inexpensive token railway presence adding to their set-up, which could of course in time give them the railway modelling bug. To illustrate the point further - I was in my local model shop yesterday; a Saturday in the run-up to Christmas, and in walked in a young couple looking to buy 'the Hogwarts Express' for their nine year old daughter. Upon being asked if he had any in, the proprietor wryly chuckled, advised that it was no longer in production, that if it were it would "hit shop shelves six months late", and that therefore the best bet was to scour eBay. A Thomas set was offered, but as the girl in question is nine years old, this was felt a little too immature, and so no sale was made to the young couple with perhaps £100 burning a hole in their Christmas shopping kitty. This told me three things: - Hornby don't make things that a currently untapped market are wishing to buy. - Even if they did, it would not be guaranteed that the product would be available at all times, or even at key seasonal times to fully capitalise on demand (e.g, the pre-Christmas sales season, or to coincide with special events or anniversaries - see The Great Gathering farce). - That the humble local model shop is now no longer the place to induct newcomers to the Hobby, as there is nothing to offer them at a reasonable price (a Hornby Railroad Olton Hall in maroon livery was offered to the young couple, but as A) it was't branded as Hogwart's Castle and fitted with the Hogwart's Express nameboard and B) it was £78 for the loco alone - thus track, controller and stock would be extra, and the latter would need to be sourced from elsewhere, there was unsurprisingly no sale. Hornby are in the singularly unique position of being to be tackle all three of the above points, almost at a stroke. They have the iconic household brand name that still resonates to the man in the street, they have the tool bank for hundreds of locos and stock, with the amortised tooling ripe for use to produce entry level products at reasonable prices: see the recent Railroad 14xx which, running difficulties apart, came in at a very reasonable RRP of £44.99, or around £37 retail, and they could - with the right whizz-kid staff - emulate LEGO in a lucrative and eye-catching use of licencing agreements, much as they did with Harry Potter. What a chance for a 'Paddington 2' set featuring a Railroad Tornado, two coaches and an oval of track with a Paddington Bear miniature, or a box set of the famed Top Gear Race to The North featuring a Hornby Tornado, a Corgi XK120 and Vincent Black Shadow bike, and miniatures of Clarkson, Hammond and May - imagine the demand for this as a present for Dad, Boyfriend or Hubby at Christmas, birthdays or Father's day. They will also have, if it materialises in the fashion expected, access to a factory of their own, what with the purchase of a stake in LCD Ltd, and thus access to their 'own' factory in China, which should, in theory, speed up lead times and be more responsive to market demand. I'm not for a moment saying that the suggestions above would be a panacea, but Hornby need to grow and enter new markets, rather that pricing up, and up, the product ranges sold to the modeller - pips can only be squeezed so much, particularly during an age of wage stagnation and price inflation. The benefits of doing so would be twofold - A) it would generate revenue through entry to new markets (this in itself is a de-risking move) and B) it would induct new entrants into the hobby, which I feel we would all agree is an essential activity, should the current RTR marker disappear with the current boomer generation, which many feel it will. Well, a bit of a spiel - Mods please feel free to redeploy to a more suitable thread if felt necessary! CoY

I am 95% certain that Bachmann have not, at any stage, announced a retool for their GWR Mogul, much as we disciples of Swindon would welcome one with open arms! In terms of the steam crane, I mentally broke down the constituent parts as follows- in the theoretical eventuality whereby they were available for purchase separately: The two larger match trucks - @ £35 each. Hattons warflats were £33 and these have more detail and will no doubt emerge two year later, with the inflationary effect that that brings! The small match truck @ £20. Going rate for a new-tool small four wheel truck these days The crane itself @ £85. More difficult to find a direct comparator out there in the market, but arguably this has more separately added detail than some locos, and the jib and cab will both be expected to be movable. The only reason I haven't pegged this to the price of a new tool tank engine at £100 - £130 is that there obviously won't be a motor and drive train fitted. Think that's reasonable to assume. CoY

Anyone want a pot-shot at the eventual RRP for the steam crane? I'll have a go - £175.

Could you also please turn the grill up to medium heat when asking about progress on the 94xx?

Ha! This is my first experience of the widespread phenomenon that is buying/starting a kit, only to have one of the RTR boys announce said item not two weeks later! I bought a Parkside GWR gunpowder van kit at the Hull show and now this has been dropped on me from a great height... In all seriousness though, this is a good move, and a promising sign on more things to come? The image can be seen on Facebook here, for those of you not in receipt of the Rapido newsletter. You may have to play a bit of Where's Wally - as I did - but if you can't be bothered for that sort of thing, then take a look to the bottom left of the right-hand perspex display cabinet.... They look like 3d printed stereo samples to me, and would love some additional images if any RMwebber in attendance would be so kind. Cheers, CoY

The steam crane... it lives! And very nice it looks too, even for an EP sample. CoY

For those interested, a livery sample of Bachmann's forthcoming Dumbleton Hall is on display at Warley, and can be seen, courtesy of adb968008, here. Looks like Rob's petitioning worked - it's unlined both above and below the footplate! Cheers, CoY

Colletts Models have added quite a bit to their clearance pages since I last looked. Blood and Custard Colletts for £27.99, LMS Coke hoppers and both GWR & BR version of the new Hornby Toad at £16.50 each amongst a few other things. Worth a look.

As prices rise, QC has to - has to - get better. I perceive a slight deterioration of Hornby's QC over the last 6 months or so; a time when prices continue to rise almost inexorably. It's not good enough really. If Hornby want's to grow its sales to the non-modellers market - e.g father and son who might just want to build up from a track-mat style layout but who are not well-versed technically - then they are going to have dramatically improve their QC as this father and son are not going to take a loco apart to diagnose and fix a fault, and nor should they have to. Imagine buying similarly priced goods in other hobbies - a new lense for your DSLR at, say, £150, or a new, wheeled, leather golf bag at say, £175. You simply would not expect nor put up with poor quality and defects on these items, and neither should buyers of RTR 4mm stock. CoY

I've had to shelve my plans for a GWR Toplight-themed party.... CoY

Had a very enjoyable visit to the HMRS Show last Sunday; a good range of layouts and good trade support - I spent far too much on Cambrian and Parkside kits from Caistor Loco and picked up numerous detailing bits and pieces from Wizard too! The only negative comment for me would be the slight cheek of having a completely unfinished 'layout' on display - there was an O Gauge BR Blue Diesels setup at the far end of the hall with nothing but track on bare baseboards and a half finished train shed for a station at the far end. If a layout is not going to be in a decent state of completion then surely the respectable thing to do would be to withdraw from the show and pledge to come back next year? It just looked like an opportunity to rig up a 15ft run of track for in the commodious environment of a sports hall and play trains with RTR O-Gauge diesels and coaches... Anyway, some images: Axmouth Ladycross Black Lion Crossing Gratuitous shot of Geoff Kent's scratch-build stock in the fiddle yard. A Gresley artic pair: Graded coal! A LNER open third built to an NER design: Humber Dock Street Rumbling Bridge Looking forward to next year, but will miss Costello - it's a 10 minute walk from my house! Cheers, CoY

Perhaps it was simply a case that they were next up for manufacture, someone's crunched the numbers, seen other GWR liveried editions out there on dusty shelves for sub-£100, and realised that they'd struggle to shift them at £195 RRP and they've been pulled in exchange for something else in the manufacturing slot? Strangely, despite being a 1947 GWR modeller myself, this doesn't really bother me, because I was baulking at the gradually increasing price from when it was first announced to present anyway (first announced, iirc at around £160 rrp, and as of yesterday was showing at £195 rrp!). What have I done instead? Well, I've now got three of the Shirtbuttoned Kings, all for well under £100 each (the loco-only release for around £80 mint off Ebay, and two from the Bristolian train packs, which at £140 a throw and say £30 each for the three Collett coaches, made the Kings £50 a piece!). Throw in a little bit of modelling time with t-cut, cocktail sticks, Fox transfers and some Testors Dullcote, and I will have three G-Crest-W Kings. The only real fly in this ointment is what Rob alludes to - will this kibosh any prospect of Hawkworth-liveried Collett coaches anytime soon? I do hope not because that livery is a sod to apply, personally speaking! Whoops! (Read before you speak...) CoY

I've just checked my boxed 6877 and the factory reference label is nowhere to be seen (e.g, the REF & TAL badged releases since Hornby's kick-out from Sanda-Kan in... 2012??). However, was Hornby not thoroughly ensconced in Sanda Kan in 2006 when this Grange was released? Interestingly Hornby have got a GWR Grange slated for release in its 2017/2018 range. CoY

I can confirm that I have done nothing to the photos. I operate DC and so I must say that the light's brightness increases as the speed does. Even so, even at top speed on my rolling road, the lights do not appear garish. For reference; my pictures were taken with the railcar at around 3/4 speed, which I'd estimate to be a scale 40/50 mph. Also wanted to comment on the weight - given the amout of internal open space, this thing is very heavy and gives it a quality feeling when in the hand (which makes the interior finish even more galling). In fact it's so heavy it could probably pull the Cornish Riveria Express in an emergency! CoY

Just got home from a bit of late night spotting on the Birmingham Snow Hill to Worcester Line, and saw what I think was Railcar No. 8 on both the outbound and return leg of her journey... Or, it could have been Dapol's latest effort on a rolling road somewhere in the North of England! My hot take? Exterior Detailing and Finish: 9/10 Interior Detailing and Finish: 3/10 Features (Interior and Directional Lighting): 8/10 Performance on my rolling road so far: 7/10 Total Score: 27/40 Verdict: The curate's egg; but no regrets with my purchase. Cheers, CoY