Express Blue

Thanks for all the suggestions. I think I shall look for a second hand 'New ' one and create a diorama around this one on shed.

I wonder if anyone can please help with suggestions. Where can I source a replacement motor for a Bachmann 04. Bachmann themselves cannot help? Many thanks.

I have had the same information from my supplier. The Duchess and support coach also.

Yes it appears to be the same motor and flywheel as my DoG

My 'full fat' P2 arrived today. I am very impressed with everything excepting one small item, which I shall come back to later. It will handle 2nd. radius curves with no problem, is quiet smooth and powerful, just the same as my Hornby Tornado's with the same motor and flywheel and appears properly assembled 'out of the box' and did not need any adjustments it to allow it to run correctly, unlike the last half dozen or so Hornby locos I have purchased. The box label suggests that this model was manufactured by Refined Industries. The quality and finish suggest that this factory is now fully 'on stream'. The one exception I do not like; the non etched, etched nameplates which I think look far worse than the printed items already on the loco, a set of Fox plates beckon!

I can only assume that Paul Cramm, by his posts and his generously spread dislikes, does not want Hornby to survive and for the UK to have a vibrant RTR sector.

Talk about missing the point! I did not buy shareholding "to make a profit" I was a decision of heart over head to support a company I actually believe in rather than for any fiscal gain. Yes there are other sources I can look at and I can assure you none of them make pretty or encouraging reading at present. As it stands Hornby's future is neither in their own hands or the modelling community. Unless it can get back on track, at least having turned the corner and demonstrating some sound control of both supply chain and cash flow,then it is the City and the Banks that will have the final say. I don't believe the institutions will wait anywhere near 18 months to see some signs of recovery. My point is the management team need to restore credibility in the eyes of the model press, their retailers, the end user, their banks and the city. By keep missing delivery targets and having to revise (downwards) cash flow forecasts is not the way for them to once again become a strong, viable company which I am sure is what we all want! P.S. I am aware of the stresses and pressures of running a business. For 15 years I ran a large company, a Private Limited Company, owned by a family and with a significantly greater annual turnover than Hornby, even in it's best years.

There are several reasons why I am getting 'tetchy' regarding the non arrival of the P2. First and foremost my Hornby shares have now nose dived to around 60p each and while there may be various reasons for this it really all stems back to the supply chain issues. I would go so far as to call for an enquiry by city regulators into Frank Martin's actions (or rather lack of) during the latter part of his tenure of office as to see if his negligence was so great (to the Shareholders, bankers and Hornby staff) as to deserve censure or disqualification from holding further posts as a Company Director. Secondly, at the press 'meet the team' function the press were told the model 'might even arrive by the end of July(2014)'. Now if this was to be the case the models would have needed to have been made, packed and, at the very least, on the way to the docks. Therefore someone, once again, a Hornby was telling lies. And frankly lying to the press is never a good idea. In my business career I have always tried to 'under promise and over deliver' not, as Hornby do, reverse this equation. Constantly doing this harms your company reputation as per the Ice Cream analogy above. I am not Hornby bashing, I have always defended Hornby however the new management team have had enough time now to 'settle in' and to start reversing these issues without further delay as their share price does not justify the company's levels of gearing and someone in the world of finance is soon going to 'pull the plug' if some pretty immediate improvements do not happen.

Definitely yes!

I have around 50 in various liveries, several of the same loco in all the liveries they wore, but my sort answer to the question is NEVER ENOUGH!

It is not what is gong on at Margate (or Barwell for that matter) but what is not going on in China that is the problem,

I would suspect that the income raised by filming work for Victorian/Edwardian period pieces could also have something to do with it. I must confess that one of the attractions of the Bluebell for me is these and the locos in Southern livery.