adb968008

Lets not get dragged into rights and wrongs of people changing their mind, 66731 has a place in history, and only buying the model now (not 2nd hand in the future) makes it poignant to the current event.. and your own sense of feeling... your able to proudly say ”Look I contributed, I took part”. The focus is on the collective achievement. Theres a big sum of cash being raised here for the NHS now. 2500 models in 24 hours shows the strength of feeling in the hobby towards wanting to do contribute something, and in a unique way that Hornby has enabled us to. And if you want a further sense, look on twitter at the scenes at various depots and signing on points yesterday where staff were flashing lights / sounding horns enmasse in Capt Toms honour.. 73202 was a bit of a disco with a headboard on SL depot with fireworks going off behind ! People in the industry and the hobby care, they want to show it.

your not buying a model, your making a donation to the NHS and getting a locomotive for your gratitude. I doubt Hornby is making anything on this... remember there’s 20% VAT off the £75, and £40 is to the NHS, plus p&p to you.. Maybe another manufacturer might offer a detailed model on commercial terms, but I think it not appropriate to undercut or compete on this model until after the charity benefits have been realised. This isn’t about model railway competition or superdetailed models, its about having an oppourtunity to say you’ve contributed to seeing an end result on something much bigger than our hobby, and on this basis Hornby is the channel we can use to take part. if Tom Jones made a cover of You’ll never walk alone, you wouldn’t refund Captain Toms cover version.. same applies here. We donated £100 to Captain Toms appeal, Ive also bought this model, it’ll be my only Hornby 66, Ive no other interest in Hornby 66’s. and if another model was made next year by someone else I’d maybe consider it too. But this model gives me chance to say I’ve contributed, in a way that relates to my hobby, it’ll join other “significant memory” locomotives in my collection, which my daughter gets to hear a story about, and may be her children someday, and of course, its a token to show your contribution... value/quality/price/detail/future value are irrelevant.. it’s giving you chance to take part, in a manner that defines your character as a railway enthusiast, in something much bigger than any of us...

very impressive, what a great story. i’m really thrilled to see the hobby move in this way, it shows people want to play their part. My little ones been super excited tonight by the news of the real loco, and now of the model, as well as being glued to the TV at 8am this morning. Such a story of hope.

Still showing available on my screen... my order has successfully completed.

Well it took my credit card details, and gave me this in response... maybe they've gone looking for it in the back room ? Keep trying, I do hope they sell out tonight, it would be a great headline for Hornby, for Toms birthday and of course the NHS. Maybe though Hornby should hold on to Number 1,100 and 500.. then auction them to highest charity bidder.

Maybe its designed like Captain Toms walk, you have to try 100 times ?

Same here.

Given the timeliness of events, and the long lead times out of china, a better route maybe a specialist commission of resprays, and maybe consider to auction them with funds above a baseline offered to charity.

Are you new to the forum ?

Not many locomotives today that are duplicated carrying names on the network at the same time.. theres 800035 and 66731, any other instances post 1948 ?

Too late my 11th order just went in.. I needed buffers and bufferstops. its actually my 15th order, as I missed the DRS pfa and got them from Rails, and the Castle PCAs which I had to get last minute from TMC, then theres the NRM HUOs and the Green PFAs... I still say i’m vendor agnostic and non-biased in my purchases. ;-)

all good ! Thats my 10th order with you guys.. You guys should offer direct pay roll deductions, garnish a % each month.

Did it arrive via Liverpool ? (just it seems to be missing its wheels ?) :-) when you get this kit, do you get a parts diagram, or do you have to figure it out ? cant wait to see the first assembled version ?

is this offer still good ? i’m at the last screen, but it doesnt seem to show ? I’m using an ipad, if that makes any difference ?

It could have been worse.. had there been a tunnel we’d be talking about light and trains...

oh thanks... my plan to make a class 357 may now come off...

Looking at the points above, I think they could go either way.... I know its really bad... I’ll get my coat...

Heres a few others, Ive actually precious few pictures at Stafford, I tended to focus on getting out of town before taking pictures... 47821 Royal Worcester, an Old Oak Royal Train reserve 47, at Wilmslow, probably on a Paddington, via Reading to Manchester...always in good condition... Stafford: An 87 on mk2’s... probably why I bothered to take this picture, as 87’s usually were on mk3’s... this was probably one of the “scots” from the south. sometimes things went bump... I recall my journey was planned to not be New Street, but when this showed up pulling a failed 85 at Stafford, my plans instantly changed and I headed to Brum for a ride a more common substitute for an 86 on Birmingham - northbound services... an rfd 90... an 85 on NSE stock... rubbish picture, but evidence it did happen. another intercity 47 heading south at Stockport..

Thats done it, you peaked my interest to the point of action, I didnt record the trains, but I recall a bundle of papers in my office, I have a whole bunch of these, however a quick sift through Ive found these which are specifically Stafford trains or probably passed theough, which as a student I have ridden on.... Note the Manchester Pullman was hardly an “express”.. ive added Royal Scot .. just because really.

dont forget the Manchester and Liverpool Pullman services, Intercity Mk3’s, where the FO’s were named, and used the Mk3 Brake coaches 17173-5. Manchester -Birminghams were mk2’s, usually an 86/2... second rate service, lower fares, stopped every 2nd lampost (Only the 304’s stopped at every lampost). There was a number of long haul turns that were via Manchester that used 47’s too... Not sure their source or destination, but i’d take them as preference, I recall exotic locos like 47541, 47461, 47637 turning up on these, always a Saturday morning (i would be returning home from uni, so c1993)... heres one example, where I jumped off at Stockport..

Only during their withdrawal period, to say i’d been there and done it. I think they were chalk and cheese though, some were refurb, others less so. After Horwich stopped overhauling them.., who overhauled them ?

as 50’s retreated from Oxfords, and 159’s took over Waterloo, displaced NSE mk2’s moved up to Manchester for Holyhead, Southport, Blackpool and Barrow workings, initially to cover for 156’s which were reclaimed to cover for 155 failures, later conversions... and that the followed by 158 introduction issues. Additionally pacers required door mods and gearbox issues. Initially some had the NSE red band replaced with blue, later some were repainted to Regional Railways (and the Scotrail Regional Railways equivalent) as the temporary six week summer season turned into 4-5 years continuous operation... it was possible to see 3 liveries on a 4 coach train often. The service started out with non-eth 31’s (Railfreight 31/1’s), and a varied mix of 47’s, that turned to Mainline Tinsley 37/4’s, inc 37408 in large logo blue. (above) 31144 arrived from the coast, you can see the rear of 31248’s train (below) on the other platform. After winter Dutch 31’s started to appear, they turned to 31/5’s but made no difference. As the winter drew in again 31/4’s appeared, and in early 1992 31410/21/439 made an appearance with Regional Railways stock. 31415 Other regular 31’s included 31400/5/8/413/423/465/8 They lasted a couple of years but were knackered, so bad at one point 4 coach trains ran with two 31’s on.. and they’d return to Manchester with a different pair, often dragged back by a Springs Branch 60. They had a nickname of Toilets (Thirty One, Inside Loco, Expect Trouble) as invariably it was the inner one that blew up, making a return journey more difficult as it was wrong way around. Following that Tinsley 37/4’s returned to do the job properly, and several ended up in Regional Railways livery, with the now Regional Railways stock. Manchester regulars included 37415/7/8/9/21/22 and by far the most prolific regular was 37430 Cwmbran... which was an almost guaranteed daily sighting. if only BR knew what was going to happen, they could have sent the class 50’s with those mk2’s... NSE stock also ended up at Inverness for Wick / Kyle services with 37/4’s, some repainted Green/Cream and named after a clan. I remember taking an 8am Blackpool to Manchester with 37430 and NSE mk2’s, taking a tram to Bury to then ride behind 50008/15 also on a rake of NSE mk2’s at The ELR... it was hard to tell the difference between preservation and reality in Lancashire in 1992/3, as it occasionally felt like the speed limits were similar too in them days.

I’m not sure which were in worse condition, the class 503’s were rotten... I mean lean against the body side you’d leave a dent, and you could scratch a hole through the window frames with your fingers. Whilst riding you’d be bounced about, but with hard landings. Manky seating, rotten wooden interior, windows ready to fall out. not my picture (flickr) I think the 1938 stock today, after 3 decades on the IOW, rough as it is, is today still in much better condition than the 503’s were 4 decades ago when withdrawn. I assume the outcome of this report, was after an official visited Liverpool from Ryde, laughed, returned home, complained and then filed for a refund of the report ?

I’m somewhat au-fait with it too, in 1992 I was working with RES at Ryedale House in Euston, above Platform 1, translating rail delays, their reasoning, and fault & resolution as RES was one of the earlier business sectors to have to pay for delays, in this case to Royal Mail for delayed trains. Overall the biggest causation was vandalism related. One brick through a loco window, could delay a dozen mail / parcels trains nationwide in a night, and not only require a rescue loco, but multiple relief locos, sometimes for a week, as consequence of being out of place/time and extra movements to recover... locos which the sectors didnt have enough of... the sharing of once pooled BR fleets using mixed usage diagrams meant dedicated sectors no longer had enough locos to reliably operate their fleets with contingency. I recall in my report one such example, where a delay to a parcels train near Bristol lead to an extra train the next day in Scotland.

if you notice their it’s collector shoe bars have been removed, presumably for gauging for this specific journey. Whilst taking gauging precautions, they neglected one aspect...I wonder if it managed to return from the shire’s with its builders plates still attached when it got back to London ?