ruggedpeak

A petition has been started here in Switzerland for a direct Geneva to London service if anyone wants to sign. I have, although how rail will compete with the £30 air fares I pay at this time of year for the same trip I am not sure! https://chng.it/b7vQvkR65n

A petition has been started for a direct London to Geneva train service, I've signed as it would be good idea, even if flights from Geneva are quick and cheap! https://chng.it/b7vQvkR65n

I know this has been done to death elsewhere, but note that Heljan have produced their Class 25 ETHEL's without a motor. They are the same price as the motorised Class 25's. I haven't seen anything kicking off over this solution even with the unchanged price, indeed the 'kicking off' was over Heljan and SLW models being powered in the first place. My suggestion/thought is that at the design stage, making it relatively easy for multiple unit models that regularly ran in multiples (like 320/321's) to be 'de-motored' so that they have the potential to become trailed units. This assumes suitable pulling power in a single unit, but might assist sales since it becomes a lot easier to run an 8 or 12 car set on the layout. Less faff, no need for DCC consisting etc, maybe more tempting for the average modeller to buy an extra set or two. Given the availability of suitable locos to drag them to storage or the scrap yard for the contemporary scene, this is a futher benefit. Just a thought, no response required.

So in theory Hornby have bought the business (without stock) for £200k, for which they get 6000 subscribers (£33.33 per subscriber) and an additional £2m of turnover with a margin of £300k a year. £2m of turnover pa is £333.33 for each of the subscribers, which is basically every subscriber paying their full 12 months of £24,99 and the £3,99 postage per month (£336 pa). Throw in efficiencies from not selling the product to CMC for them to handle and ship etc, the margins should be improved. The Club says it is now shipping to Europe, which suggests significant growth potential. So for less than 1 year's CMC operating margin Hornby have got 4% uplift in total company revenues. Given Hornby's overal margin is -12%, the 15% from CMC is a positive! On the face of it a sensible deal.

Diesel sets in the announcement? Probably. It is clear that TT120 has been far more planned and developed than many people think, especially those blinded by their need to criticise Hornby. Whilst most consumer product launches fail, TT is going from strength to strength. I will wager that April will see even more coherence brought to the range. All the signs are there that they've got their act together on this.

There are IMHO a number of issues in play. If a company is offering super detailed models it can operate a pre-order system with or without retailers as that segment of the market is happy to use that method. For the trainset and occasional buyer you need actual stock available in virtual or real stores. There is clearly a market for budget models with less detail. My take is that the current design and production processes for a new model are based on ever more detail. This precludes producing new budget models as the process is too slow and expensive. If the volume/margins are there, there may be a logic to setting up a streamlined design and production process to produce new tool budget models. I think this is sort of what Dapol have been doing. If a budget loco has limited parts, little need for assembly etc then it can be made perhaps outside of China. Whether anyone takes a punt on that remains to be seen. At some point the super detail sector may run out of steam(!). The danger with Fraser's is then doing this to take the Hornby brand awareness and use it to front a toy company producing generic products, much as they have done with brands like Karrimor.

I noticed there is a thread started on this in the Rails section, that might be the place to continue discussing what is good news for the hobby in terms of the RoS developments.

Rails have just emailed to say they are taking over the Hattons brand: We are pleased to announce that we have now brought “Hattons Model Railways” into the Rails family! It was a shock to the modelling world earlier this year, when stalwart of the industry, Hattons, announced that it was to close. At Rails, we could not allow the legacy of this esteemed brand to disappear and we have sought a way to keep the spirit of Hattons alive. Many customers reached out to us, dismayed, that the valuable resources on the Hattons website such as the product database and expansive “Directory” system may be lost forever. Rails will soon relaunch these services and will continue to update them with new information. While the original Hattons store and business will remain closed, this iconic brand will live on. Stay tuned to RAILSOFSHEFFIELD.COM & HATTONS.CO.UK for more information!

So I'm guessing that the naysayers and doom merchants are going to be disappointed on the 2nd April! 🤣 If they do a Stadler FLIRT in TT then I'm in....😁

Bachmann 32-124 Class 08 785 in Freightliner Orange £79.95 https://railsofsheffield.com/products/class-08-08785-freightliner-g-w-diesel-shunter-locomotive

How times have changed, you wouldn't dare post a selfie like that any more!!!!

Going far off piste with some actual models now 😲, myself and my daughter took the opportunity to visit one of Geneva's model railway clubs this morning. CEDEG are based in Petit Lancy and have coffee and croissant mornings, so we popped over. A friendly club, the Club Secretary provided a tour and information on the club in English due to my less than satisfactory French. They have a large layout that has HO analogue and DCC, HOm and Marklin circuits. The current layout is being retired and a brand new layout is being custom built and installed later in the year, funded by the proceeds of a bequest of a deceased member. The club room is in a basement and has the layout, a bar, library and numerous exhibits. They also do train trips in Switzerland and Europe and site visits, with a private depot visit planned for later in the year. Their new website is being upgraded but can be found at http://www.cefeg.ch/, and they are on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CeFeGCH Coffee and croissant mornings on a Saturday are regular throughout the year and they meet on a Wednesday evening as well https://www.cefeg.ch/evenements/. I am seriously considering joining, work permitting. If anyone is around or visiting Geneva I'd definitely recommend a visit, drop them an email first as finding the club room is not easy and you will need the door code! Open house on 21st April 2024:

Can't resist a graffiti'd wagon, assume this is a cripple, sat in a siding at Nyon today. Nice work on the vegetation!!

Half term was a couple of weeks ago, and the Coop supermarket here periodically do a special offer on SBB Day Passes, CHF49 for a day pass with unlimited use of SBB services and buses, plus reductions on non-SBB services, cable cars etc. If you already have a SwissPass/Half Pass then you need to be careful to get your money's worth and travel a long way to make it worthwhile. We planned a 2 day trip at the end of half term week. Whilst my preference for a 20 hour day of train rides was not shared by the others (!) we agreed to go to Montreux and get the Golden Pass all the way to Lucerne. What is not advertised IIRC by Coop but included with the day pass is an offer to upgrade to First Class for CHF20. That makes it a bargain, especially as the 2nd class Panorama car was booked out on the Golden Pass, thus making the upgrade to First Class a no-brainer! Trip to Montreux was the usual Lake Leman trip up the mainline. Once the MOB left Montreux it was an incredibly steep and winding climb up the mountainside. So almost immediately stunning veiws of Lake Leman and the Rhone valley: Not bad for a start! First leg was to Zweisimmen, pausing at Montbovon. Note the stacking of rails by the track: At Montbovon: Rear DVT In the vicinity of Gstaad, lots of well dressed rich types but not much snow! Most pistes were only operating due to snow cannon. Passing the opposing service at Chateau D-Oex: In true Swiss rail efficiency style, we had 4 minutes to change trains at Zweisimmen for the next service to Spiez, so hardly any time for photos. This is on the run into Zweisimmen, note the Beilhack style snowplough: Taken through the coach window as I was getting off the train, spot the well camouflaged loco...... The GP route has plenty of variety in locos and rolling stock, this was on the other side: More time at Speiz, the view from the front of the station: Some tasty motive power sitting around at Speiz: Then onto Interlaken. I'd recommend getting off at Interlaken West and walking to Interlaken Ost if you have time and the weather is good. Just by the river at West is a lovely bakery where you can sit outside under blankets for lunch, then follow the river to Ost. You have a choice then of following the railway line, the river, or walking into the centre of Interlaken. Here's a service departing West for Ost. In the foreground is a group having fondue on an inflatable raft...... Immediately to the left the river path meets the railway and is a good photo stop. This is the rear of the same train with Re 460 010 pushing in its 'Swisstainable' livery https://company.sbb.ch/en/the-company/responsibility-society-environment/sustainability/swisstainable.html Focus is a bit off as I was playing with the settings on the camera due to the low winter sun and juggling lenses! Go left and follow the railway here or carry straight under the railway to follow the river. Golden Pass Express DVT (don't know what the Swiss call them..) approaches Ost from West, pushed by BLS 460 012 Then it was onto Lucerne, which is stunning. Weather turned a bit after leaving Interlaken but still a great trip: The train goes past lots of interesting scenery and the famous Meiringen airbase, where F18's live in caverns inside the mountain, and the runway has public roads across it that they have to close for takeoff and landing. At Meiringen the train reverses to take the line to Lucerne, which is partially rack and pinion so a rack and pinion equipped EMU was attached to the front, and there is a very steep climb as soon as we left Meiringen. ZB HGe 4/4 101 966 at Meiringen. Lucerne has a huge station, a huge transport museum and much more. At one of the small hydro plants on the river there is a short railway.... We spent the following day exploring Lucerne and the Transport Museum then a direct train back to Geneva.

Hi Mol I wish I could answer your questions, I still have a lot to learn about how Swiss trains operate and so far it appears finding information is not as easy as the UK. My trips are sporadic and fitted around work, family and other commitments so a bit ad hoc. I think it is safe to say that at Morges the MBC is pretty busy. However whether it is every day I can't say, but the sheer number of rollbocken sets at Morges suggest it is regular. I am piecing together movements, so the MBC train above with 11387 and the green hoppers (note Jouet Bollet in Geneva have a double pack of them in HO in their window if anyone wants some!) appears to originate in the factory sidings at Gland and then I assume gets taken up the MBC. Hope to get to Gland to find out more. Responses on FB suggest military trains still operate but I would assume they are rare for moving large amounts of armoured vehicles etc. As an aside whilst wandering through Rolle I saw several learner drivers in 6 wheel APC's which I think were MOWAG Piranhas - they had special glass boxes on the top of the turret for the instructor to keep an eye on things. When you are at a zebra crossing outside the supermarket and one of those coming down the hill from the station with L plates on, it gives crossing the road an extra degree of excitement!! So far my conclusion is that I need to spend a day somewhere on the mainline between Geneva and Morges and observe as there is loads going on. I am going to a local model railway club tomorrow so I will see if I can find out more on how to get more info. Best. Tony

A recent discussion on the Fraser business model: https://www.cityam.com/frasers-group-what-mike-ashleys-retail-empires-endgame-could-be-after-boohoo-asos-currys-ao-and-n-brown-investments/ Noting that Frasers bough Matchesfashion a few months ago and it is now in administration: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/mar/08/luxury-clothing-brand-matchesfashion-to-enter-administration

I have noticed interesting loco hauled passenger service consists with the Re 460's, not sure if this is normal. There appear to be some services originating at Geneva airport which have 2 loco hauled sets (with loco) joined together, to presume split further up the line. However I grabbed some shots of this combo with the 460 and double decker set also have a single decker DVT passenger control car on the front at Cornavin 05/03/2024. Back at Rolle on 28/02/2024 Re 420 387 heads north with a short freight:

It occurred to me that many of my photos and excursions around Swiss railways are the more mundane, day to day aspects, whereas popular perception is probably of the mountains and snow and stunning scenery. I recently travelled the Golden Pass route from Montreux to Lucerne, which was stunning if very short of snow, and will post pics once I have resovled the rotating picture issue! [now done - see below] I recently discovered a footpath right next to the Geneva-Lausanne mainline just south of Rolle, probably a bit too close for good photography especially with low sun but it is right by the track. Yesterday (07/03/2024) 234 435 Bautracktor was running backwards moving a Kirow crane, running towards Geneva. Shortly after Re 420 283 hauls a mixed and heavily graffitied freight service towards Rolle from Geneva. A real mixed bag of wagons, including ballast cleaners (?), track panel carriers, skip wagons and the usual covered wagons: Meanwhile at Nyon there is an array of PW equipment and shunters and freight locos that have been operating for several weeks there. Here Re 460 081 departs Nyon northbound as a sister loco arrives pushing a Geneva airport service:

Those who can do, those who can't blather on social media. To save anyone watching this video his conclusion is Hornby should have done N gauge because the product would fly off the shelves. I think this guy would benefit from a business course.

John Dutfield in Chelmsford has just released some Colas 56's that were not collected of anyone is looking, and the double pack. Give them a call. https://www.facebook.com/share/UxhUcQqw5XUALe69/

Great news. Greater Anglia and Renatus for me, spent several decades commuting on them,

The unlimited chocolate continues at Maison Cailler, the Chocolate Express is a multiple unit now.

Just seen this on the Swiss Railways FB group, historic train running last Saturday. https://www.facebook.com/groups/894282347331350/permalink/7377291042363749/

Trains & BBQ? I'm in 👍

Old news but an interesting article on the business side of TT on the Continent, Roco making a strategic move into TT by acquiring Kuhn Modell & Digital last autumn https://www.roco.cc/ren/roco-news/a-perfect-pair-khn-modell--digital-hands-over-tt-to-roco.html