ruggedpeak

Quicker to do a Sam's Trains and crank up the voltage - that'll soon find any issues in the loco and your domestic wiring 🤣 Just need one of these bad boys

For anyone how hasn't contacted Accura, they have a proper system that logs and tracks customer service 'events'. This is why Accura were immediately able to address the issue I raised within minutes, and why when others post 'incomplete' explanations of their experiences Accura are able to provide the missing detail. It does work, I experienced a slight glitch mostly due to a 3rd party and which Accura responded to immediately.

I didn't realise the ORR offered CDL fitting services 🤣

Seems sensible, the coaches don't seem to fit their business model and required expensive alterations, plus there was a willing buyer. No business invests in equipment it no longer needs or for which the investment is not economic for them.

Why not send Hornby a friendly email asking if you can get double points as a loyal customer? I'm holding out until next week and triple points!!

Hornby had a Black Friday sale on their website. To buy something with Hornby you have to register on their website. I think it fair to assume that the 50% comes from Hornby counting the number of orders during the period and then counting those who ordered and had registered during that period, or those who had a web account but had not purchased before Black Friday.

Riveria's website says that it is "the leading provider of high quality special trains in the UK". http://www.riviera-trains.co.uk/ I would argue Mk1's are not that part of that business proposition, and I would guess given the age, lack of crash worthiness, lack of "quality" etc of Mk1's they did not fit their business model, and that the use of Mk1's on the mainline is likely over time to become more problematic as passenger safety is tightened. I guess (again) that using Mk1's even with CDL will only have a limited lifespan before they are non-compliant for use on the NR network. WCR may have hastened that process given the issues under discussion and the High Court Judgement that has made the situation crystal clear for all involved.

Not if you stand in the narrow corridor in the power car bit its not!! At Ipswich the two times I have travelled on one when it transitioned from electric to diesel to go to Cambridge they had to literally reboot the train. We were kept away from it on the platform whilst they literally turned it off and on again, indeed on one occasion the staff told us that was what they were doing so we didn't get on as they weren't sure it would turn on again and we'd be locked inside...... Is that in the sound files? 🤣

With so much stock and debt, and associated costs they need stuff out of the door. The cost of holding that Sentinel and the associated interest payments will likely exceed any margin, even at RRP. Reducing stock and debt is key given, if the margin is nil or even a bit negative that does not mean it is wrong for the business. It continuing to sit in the warehouse will erode any future higher margin, if it has not already become a liability. Critically the discount enticed you (and me!) to register and spend with them, and expand their direct customer base. Assuming you have not opted out of all their marketing comms or deleted your account you are now on their system and if their CRM works they will entice you back. I buy in a similar same way as you I think, and if their CRM is up to speed they will segment the regular full price buyers from the bargain hunters etc and message us accordingly i.e. for me focus on sending stuff about sales and discounts. Telling me about new full price stuff will generate little or no sales, those things I generally buy from retailers at the standard discount. Telling me I can buy discounted product with points, free postage and a free gift, I'm in!!!!😊

Irritating yes but not sure it is fair to complain that you have to choose between a points based discount scheme or free shipping? What would it cost net to buy from a UK retailer and get it shipped to Malta, with no points etc? Unfortunately you just happen to be buying around the thresholds of the scheme. Hornby's schemes are very generous as a rule and unusually they allow multiple discounts etc on the same order. You can spend points, earn points, get free gifts etc all on one order if you meet the criteria, as I did before Xmas. Through in online cashback and cashback credit cards and you are quids in. I don't know anyone else who allows multiple offers/benefits on the same order. Overseas is a pain, I live in Switzerland and with duties, VAT and de facto mandatory postal inspection fees it makes buying from the UK non-viable unless the order exceeds about £450 or so.

They've just put double points on the NY sale items, is that a sign of desperation or that Points work? Given that you can now buy a Rail Adventure HST set for £217 and get £43 worth of points back it is an attractive proposition. It certainly seems Points are popular with some on RMWeb. And it is an integral part of Hornby's CRM operation to develop direct sales, refered to in their latest trading update, which overall is working based on the update. Right now I am tempted by the RA HST's. Buy those, hope the sale rumbles on until the points 'go live' and then get a TfW 67 for about £70. If the sale ends before that then the points will be used for a FLIRT. We don't have any data but no signs that the Points scheme is failing yet.

Yes, James's work is of the highest standard and inspiring, as are his blog and books. Here I am looking at a slightly different concept along the lines of a combo of modular and standalone micro layouts using the Mosslanda with play/use interest and storage flexibility and robustness rather than high quality modelling. The thinking behind it is that where space for baseboards is limited but there may be storage, a robust modular layout system that can be 'lobbed' in a cupboard or under a bed might provide another route to enjoying trains and providing a means to have longer runs than a standalone micro. That robustness however does preclude a lot of the scenic detail and means things like signals will have to be excluded. At this point the design of the Mosslanda plus my own limited practical skills and limited DIY stuff available in Switzerland means that joining them together in a way that is sufficiently robust and accurate for running and regular assembly and disassembly is proving more complex than hoped. As a solus baseboard they are very good however and James has shown the potential of them.

Whilst I don't understand the electronics (not my strong point!) that does seem a very neat solution and an imaginative application of the 7000 concept. Extrapolating it and with provisos, if I've understood it(?) effectively you can run a layout, particularly a small or micro layout, with one 7000 decoder that allows allow existing DCC and DC stock to operate with sound?

I bought a N gauge Grafar O3 and a couple of wagons in the pre-xmas sales and once I get some track the plan is to start a small layout, possibly an inglenook on the short 55cm Mosslanda which I also bought.

It shows that, geopolitics aside, a high capacity rail freight route from China to Europe would be the answer to many of these problems. Some background that might be of interest: https://www.politico.eu/article/ukraine-china-silk-road-railway/

Was just typing the same in a more long winded manner! Goodness me the positivity leaps off the page! 🤣 It's a quarterly update but debt is down, inventory is down, sales are up more than the retail market, direct sales up 30% so that investment seems to be paying off, margins up, new customers will presumably be registrations on their website so new to buying direct from Hornby. Been a while to see so many things moving in the right directions together. True, they won't overtake Apple as the world's biggest company for another couple of months yet but it is still going the right way. Converting existing purchasers of Hornby product (bought at retail) into direct customers will be included within that, and since it increases Hornby's margins then for them it is a good thing. As they say, this feeds into their CRM, but it will be a tough test of their sales & marketing ability to turn those new customers into long term customers.

Thanks for the rapid action Fran. Partick has been in touch 👍 Kind regards Tony

Great, but not my experience unfortunately.

Hornby Plc ("Hornby" or "the Group") Trading Update Hornby Plc, the international models and collectibles Group, is today updating shareholders on trading for the period from 1 October 2023 to 31 December 2023. Business Performance Group sales for the third quarter covering the third quarter to 31 December 2023 were 5% ahead of the same period last year. For context and comparison, the British Retail Consortium reported UK non-food sales decreased by 1.5% on a Total basis over the three months to December. Cumulative group sales for the financial year to date are ahead of last year by 6%. A strong programme of activity around Black Friday contributed to 10% revenue growth vs last year for the month of November. More than 50% of all Black Friday transactions came from first time purchasers, demonstrating acquisition of new customers to our brands in this key promotional period. Acquiring new customers in these naturally buoyant trading periods is critical for feeding our new CRM programme that drives further purchases over time and we have already seen positive impact since launch in September. Our direct to consumer sales continue to increase and are 30% ahead of the same period last year. Our margins for the quarter were 46%, up from 43.8% at the half year, reflecting the increase in direct to consumer activities and the additional full-price sales driven as a consequence of the uplift in web traffic. Financial Position Net debt at the end of December 2023 was £13.5 million compared to net debt £14.6 million at the end of September 2023. The Group retains a strong funding position with significant liquidity headroom available against its existing facilities. Inventory is £22 million, down from £24 million at the end of September 2023 as a consequence of our ongoing focus on reducing aged stock in tandem with driving sales of newer product. Outlook Our current forecast to year end March 2024 remains on track for year on year growth, and we continue to work on responsibly reducing the excessive, historical, inventory position through the remainder of the year. Olly Raeburn, CEO, commented: "As outlined in our Interim results to end of September, this is a year of significant strategic, structural and operational change, requiring investment in many areas. We continue to make good progress on our key strategic initiatives and look forward to a return to profitable growth in the next financial year" Hornby will announce its preliminary results for the year ended 31 March 2024 in June. https://polaris.brighterir.com/public/Hornby/news/rns/story/xe1qvnw

I had to do the same, had to run some time and film it on my phone. Fortunately after filming for a long time with sporadic slowing, it then had a 'fit' and was obvious! They responded quickly regarding the return process. The biggest problem is getting it back.

Hi Gents Tried that, hasn't worked. To be fair, sending the 37 back was fine. Getting it repaired and returned to me or a refund issued (as requested) is proving a lot more difficult. I would ask that someone in charge contacts me via PM ASAP since the existing 'direct' routes are not working. Thanks Tony

I agree that their IT system was very good, excellent levels of information as well functionality. It was ideal for a well ordered and functioning market and supply chain, but model railways is no longer that for all sorts of reasons, which are not unique to the hobby. Even supermarkets can't guarantee everything all the time. So Hattons had a gold standard system designed to feed in info on new products and line up pre-orders, trunk orders etc in a market where info and product from suppliers (in aggregate) seems pretty random. The causes range from local to global conflicts. I fear Hattons were almost too good for the random chaos of modern specialist retailing! The randomness and responding to the endless changes, delays, cancellations etc precludes bringing efficiency or detailed planning into process. My perception is also that retail is perceived as a bit of a dumping ground by some manufacturers. Whilst direct manufacturer pre-order is very popular many new items including locos from newer companies have been discounted through retail over the last few months. That is in addition to the usual suspects offloading surplus warehouse stock, which has got to a point where it seems quick sticky. More importantly for me, the poor service and unreliability of some of the upstart companies has meant I am disappointed after buying direct from them and will go via retailers I know provide good customer service given some of these manufacturers are struggling with some basics like reliable running. It is also noticeable that some apparently highly popular items that sold out on pre-order are available in large numbers on Ebay and have been for some time. Whether the 'scalpers' getting burnt with stuck stock impacts on direct first sales we shall see. However the customer service that Hattons et al provide is invalauable. Planning ahead to make large scale and expensive strategy changes must be really tough at the moment. The hobby isn't dying but it sure ain't easy to be selling in. The value of Hattons system is huge as many on here appreciate. The one annoying thing was a few years ago when you clicked on the pictures of the items in their extensive library they had the secondhand value of OOS items in the image title which was very handy when putting stuff on Ebay to know what the market price was. Someone at Hattons twigged eventually and removed them!

Sadly it appears they were in Japan only and are sold out 😪 but if you find some let me know!

The Judge's response to WCR's allegation that ORR were behaving irrationally is worth repeating since it goes to the heart of the allegations of ORR being "heavy handed" or "getting its own back": By reason of the factual analysis set out above addressing the proportionality of the ORR’s decision the Court is not persuaded that the ORR’s decision can be said to be, in any way, irrational. There is a legislative prohibition on hinged doors operating without central door locking. The specialist safety regulator was not satisfied that the Claimant had demonstrated its method of operations provided an equivalent level of safety. There is an evidential basis for the ORR’s concerns, not least because there have been several safety incidents on the Claimant’s trains. That last sentence seems quite important. As to cost issue here's a flavour: 76. "The Claimant [WCR] initially estimated the costs of retrofitting central door locking at £3 million, which was based on an approximate cost of £30,000 per carriage to fit central door locking. As the parties accepted, the latter figure is broadly in line with the ORR’s assessment of a maximum cost per carriage of £26,250. The Claimant’s cost estimate later rose to £7 million, which was said to be direct costs and lost revenue. No supporting evidence was provided...............“Since the burden of proof is usually on the person who asserts a fact to be true, if that burden is not discharged, the court will proceed on the basis that the fact has not been proved” (R (Talpada) v SSHD [2018] EWCA Civ 84, Hallett LJ at §2). Accordingly, the Court proceeds on the basis the £7 million estimate has not been proved." 79. "The ORR did not take into account the ability of the Applicant to afford fitment of central door locking, as this is “not a legitimate factor in the assessment of costs” to mitigate risk. The Court agrees with the ORR that safety requirements obviously cannot vary according to the ability of an operator to pay for them." [Worth reading the rest of this section] 80. "Further, the Claimant [WCR] is the largest heritage train operator in the UK and the Court was told that almost all other heritage train operators have accepted the requirement to fit central door locking and have done so, or will do so..............The Claimant has been able to operate at a lower cost base putting it at a significant competitive advantage." 84. "The cost of retrofitting central door locking on the train services run daily by the Claimant falls comfortably below the notional economic value of preventing a fatality." CDL is a legislative requirement, the only leeway for competent operators who meet the standards required by the ORR is the timing as to when it must be installed.

I can think of a few wronger ones!!! 😲 A cheaper version of Saturday Night Takeaway is "you've won, you've got a seat on the train!" I will stop now...