ruggedpeak

The digital version has now been available for a week or two and was going to sig up but seems little point at present if none of the models are available (not the ones I am after anyhoo) and presumably no sign of mags?

Curious about exclusive info etc with launch of Engine Shed blog.

Have any existing members had any mags etc since January?

Which one will I buy now, will it be the DJ or the Hornby version. Decisions, decisions ?????

 

Just wait for the magazine reviews. Oh wait.....

Because they think people will buy it at £159.99 if they didn't it would be priced ve found out the Hornby model is priced to come in £10 less than Hattons. Surprise surprise. No doubt it's costed to the penny. What cynical.......moi Isn't the Hattons one around that price?

Is that a ladder propped against the wire, with the train running past?

And the four aspect on the nearest line is amber - is it still running?

It's OK, they got hi viz on so it's all fine

Couple of pics including 92 and Greenenergy wagons on the banner at the top of this webpage on GBRf website - wait for it to scroll.

http://www.gbrailfreight.com/services/petrochemicals/

What determines that maximum length?

Jason

I'd agree with GW. I can only surmise, but consider the following observations (as a commuter) on the Great Eastern line towards Liverpool Street:

Container trains run to/from Harwich/Felixstowe towards the North London line, through Stratford, even at rush hour. This route requires them to approach Stratford on the Fast Down line, so they normally pass through plaforms 10 or 10a (bi directional)(platform 9 is the Fast Up). They have to wait for a path across the mainline to the NLL, a traverse that passenger services don't make. Passenger services pass the freights on the other platform. This limits the length of the train to the length of those loops, as the blocking of the busy main line out of Liverpool Street would not be acceptable. Platform 10a's loop runs from the western end of the platform (immediately before a junction) up to where the 10 and 10a lines merge in Maryland Station to the east. No idea what the length is, but the freight must fit within it to allow the Norwich fast trains (Class 90 and DVT) and other GE services mainline through.

Passenger services take priority, and the freight must not interfere as passenger delays lead to rail companies paying compensation, which will be clawed back from NR.

In addition there are other loops. It is common for a London bound 66 and containers to be sat in platform 1 at Witham station awaiting a path in the early evening. Witham has pasing loops on both up and down of specific lengths. I surmise that the freights cannot exceed these in case of a problem, as again compensation is payable were a freight to fail and block the line if it was too long to fit in a loop. If margins are thin no operator wants a bill for thousands of grumpy commuters! And the GE is not the most reliable line.......

Our rail system operates close to capacity, so long trains that block junctions etc would have a disproportionate adverse impact on network operations.

 are there any copyright issues in posting the actual images on here?

No, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:From_station,_Dawlish,_England-LCCN2002696649.jpg,

scroll down for licencing

Great post, thanks. Have a non-TTS Railroad 40 in a box that was bought cheap for upgrading, so this is all useful stuff.

TTS is a great concept. Got a TTS 37 which will be upgraded and repainted as a Europhoenix 37 when I have time to order or get commissioned the transfers.

Perfect model for this sort of thing. Hornby have a great concept in TTS

Hello Rugged Peak,

 

Thanks for your note.

 

N is our primary focus, and we don't know that much about the OO market, so we don't want to get sidetracked for the time being. Once the N model is underway then we will look seriously at OO.

 

Mike and I are both wary of over stretching ourselves and we feel that limiting it to the TEA in N for now is good way of testing our concept in a manageable way.

 

Cheers

 

Ben A.

No problem, look forward to seeing the N gauge version. 

And then the OO gauge version!

Hello all,

 

Once we have got the N Gauge one underway we are seriously looking at offering the model in OO too; since we have done the research and we made a point of getting permission for both scales from VTG, Greenergy et al.

 

The difficulty is that Mike and I are not familiar with 4mm, so we would need a bit of guidance as to what the demand might be and what the balance is between detail/feature expectations and cost.  Having said that, Rapido have personnel who do know the OO market very well indeed.

 

cheers

 

Ben A.

Gents, I would guess the 4mm demand will be considerably greater than the 2mm, but it is a guess.

Why not add an OO gauge expression of interest page too, even if it explains that N is the initial priority? I'd have thought a nice 3 pack matched to relevant loco liveries would be a seller?

37264

20+ years ago I got a Frizinghall Model Railways respray of this one as I loved the Scottish large logo 37's. Can still remember the postie arriving with it. Back then a respray was something exotic! Still have the model and remains pride of my fleet. 

Didn't see the real thing until last October when we visited the NYMR!

I've just joined this club, and recirved absolutely nothing at all... Not even an email.

 

 

Then I contacted them, to ask if that's right... And heard nothing.

 

Then I logged into my account to find it had been locked out...

 

Anyone else had this ?, my credit card got charged though.

Well it would appear something has gone wrong as they paid for back cover advertising for the Club on at least one magazine for 2 consecutive months.

At the risk of being negative I'd be asking my credit card company for a chargeback. No point speculating what has happened (have a few good guesses though!) but this is poor.

My renewal date came and went and not a peep. Which is a shame. This is where Mr Southworth or someone needs to put their head above the parapet and provide some sort of update. Perhaps they've just decided to focus on shifting product as there are some good new models coming through? If so please communicate.

Has Bachmann ever mentioned doing a MN in 00? 

No.

Got 8 pages out of it so far though, with references to cigarettes, North Korea and the Godfather!

As the OP on this thread I am pleased to report I now have one

My local model shop had sold out, so came from TMS.

Very impressed, great product for the price. Good work Hornby.

Note to Hornby - customer waiting to renew with the Digital club membership. Any timescale please?

Also looking to order at least one of the club loco's.

Do Virign own the trademark etc for the Traindeer scheme, a special livery would be nice, rather than standard VT verions......

They will definitely have the copyright to it, I'd buy a 5 car Traindeer set if it were available (at the Kickstarter price, obviously!)

I think that would sell well in retail too as it has the "ooo" factor and taps into pester power with the kids. Perfect for Dad to show kids, who can then do the hard work on Mum....

Maybe Rapido are saving that for themselves?

Their main wriggle is, of course the fact that as they hadn't taken your money, a valid contract to purchase didn't exist.

"Your order is an offer to Amazon to buy the product(s) in your order. When you place an order to purchase a product from Amazon, we will send you an e-mail confirming receipt of your order and containing the details of your order (the "Order Confirmation E-mail"). The Order Confirmation E-mail is acknowledgement that we have received your order, and does not confirm acceptance of your offer to buy the product(s) ordered. We only accept your offer, and conclude the contract of sale for a product ordered by you, when we dispatch the product to you and send e-mail confirmation to you that we've dispatched the product to you (the "Dispatch Confirmation E-mail")."

Wow, just wow. Well done Ben & Mike.

Although we are sold out of our original stock, the Hornby Trade site is showing we have more due to arrive this month. Should be the same for other retailers.

Thanks - shame you don't do mail order yet.

And glad you are getting stock that sells through quickly!

Agree Claude, too much typing and not enough thinking.

The point of the project was to deliver a full length model of a Pendolino in N Gauge. Technically until that appears in my grubby mitts it has not succeeded. At this point it is getting the funding to a level where it can move into actually producing the model. Which is fairly important, and has been achieved. Does it matter who's layout a Pendo ends up on and how much they paid? Not that I can see.

Plan B may impact a bit on that, but until the KS finished we won't know. No doubt commercial decisions will be made as a result and we will see.

But the simple fact is Ben and Mike are about to achieve a critical milestone in a project where others in the past have failed. And, their comms has been excellent, so although we are wondering about a few details we know that we will know the full monte in a matter of hours. Something others would do well to note. And this has to continue during the design and production phase, and I'm sure it will.

It is all part of the next few years in UK railway modelling that is going to be very exciting. Game on!

Personally Im a bit disappointed that Rapido are to step in to ensure it works. It harms all future crowdfunding projects in that it will dissuade people from pledging as 'sure the manufacturer will step in at the end so I dont need to pledge'

 

As someone who is seriously looking into creating a project for a very niche market (Neither N scale or British outline) this is not good. Im aware that despite Rapidos enthusiasm for a lot of things, they did not take this step out of the goodness of their hearts either. Its a serious business decision at the end of the day

I'm afraid that is nothing more than speculation - is there any real evidence it harms future projects? None that I can see. If there is then the other thread would be a good place to provide it.

Of course it's a business decision, Rapido are a business and it suits them. And Ben and Mike have done an exceptional job of:

1) getting a model made that would not have otherwise got done

2) raised money for charity

3) generated considerable interest in modern N gauge

4) provided a huge amount of learning for those who want to understand the dynamics of the N guage market, the wider model rail market and the role of crowdsourcing etc.

This is a hugely positive project that helps drives the hobby forward and pushes the boundaries. I am staggered people are griping about it. And I have no vested interest, as stated earlier in this thread I am a OO modeller who is keen to support great new initiatives and loves a bargain - 9 car model for £255, what's not to like! On the flip side, plan B removes the certainty of making a few quid from the models that the Kickstarter provided. But it was fairly obvious to me at least there would be a plan B, and the plan B proposed is a good one. Orders may get adjusted as a result but they know that. I'd prefer a lockout period where Rapido can't sell for a while but that probably doesn't work for them. The price differential between Kickstarter and not will be important. Kickstarters will need to feel they are getting a good deal. But I will be buying some anyway.

As for Rapido, it isn't rocket science, they are looking to move into the UK market and are doing things that make a big statement. This and the APT-E are exactly that. So what, why not? That's how we get innovation and a better modelling experience. And, from my perspective it pretty much guarantees a top drawer model delivered on time. In the current climate if Rapdio fail to deliver on a high profile crowd sourced project they will be undoubtedly and rightly crucified! So a huge win for Rapdio (and Ben & Mike and us) if they deliver, a huge fail if they don't, and their UK foray may struggle to gain traction. The risk and pressure is on Rapido, especially as they snuck the deal from DJM. Nothing like a bit of pressure to get results!

I read on another thread that Bob was the Bob from Eames of Reading. Just wanted to wish him well, as a kid I used to get a DMU on the Redhill to Reading line most Saturdays up to Reading, walk down the hill to Eames, spend a while perusing the shop, buy something and then either go spotting at Reading Station or shopping in the town.

If I remember correctly Bob also regularly attended a massive GWR 4mm layout in Crowthorne, Berks, run by an ex-GWR chap. Myself and a friend ran the starting fiddle yard one evening a week for a while. I think we were the only teenagers there! This was a pukka layout with full timetable, speeded up clock, signal bells, interlocked signals and points etc. Bob would also attend and we'd get a discount on anything from Eames. It appears another member of the team is on RMW http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/78357-large-garage-layout/I am pretty certain Pendennis was the layout.

If it is the same Bob, then I wish him well in his retirement.

Was considering this model as a first foray into DCC and sound, from the videos I am very impressed.

I think this is a good call from Hornby to get TTS out there in the D&E fraternity - I have a load of Hornby 37's so the bodies can be swapped.

Now all I need to do is get one. Everywhere is showing pre-order still. Will look Monday.

Just throwing this out there.

 

A few months ago, 2 car blue/ grey class 108 DMU showed as a bargain for 59 quid with more than ten in stock. Then (just as I'm about to order one!), it disappeared from the website as no longer available.

 

It has reappeared today as a "bargain" for 108 pounds...

 

"Back in stock"?

Every store you go into does exactly the same thing all the time, the only difference is that it is a bit more obvious with Hattons, presumably due to the limited range of stuff they have relative to say Tesco or Debenhams or whoever, and as a hobby you will tend to look at the same things regularly and with more interest than baked beans or marg, so we spot them.

If it is cheap and you want it and can afford it, then buy it. The price can change at any time. Hornby do it on their website, as do Amazon (who change the price by your location, what else you've looked at and all sorts of things by the hour apparently). And £59 is a bargain isn't it? My guess is if you keep watching it will come down again at some point if they don't shift. Before going back up. It drives interest and variety as well as selling stuff.

I would say as a bargain hunter who trawls the bargain aisles, quite a few of Hattons "bargains" are just a few quid off. More a price reduction than a bargain! Just ordered a "bargain" that I think had gone up in price in the 2 days it took me to get around to ordering - it was the last one though. I have no complaints, my own fault for being tardy. What I would say is personally I'd like more discount on their 4 or 8 units of things (e.g. OTA's etc) as buying 8 gets minimal additional discount. But that's me. Again a personal view not a complaint.

Having just ordered for the first time, I was stunned to get an email telling me the name of the lady picking my order, and a link to the staff page so I can see her. How good is that? Impressed.   I guess Amazon decided not too as the stressed out hamster expressions of their slave driven stock pickers wasn't a good look!

There are a couple of other retailers who do offer some stonking bargains, but you have to trawl the small print of their ads to find them.

Just increased my pledge significantly.

Hopefully everyone who's pledged can think about buying one more set.....

or two.........

Fingers crossed

The discount now says:

"10% discount* at Hornby.com for the duration of your membership"

*discount applies to full price items

Which is a change from what was stated previously, which was that it was brand specific.

The fact you can't use it on Black Friday or on sale items is a bit annoying, as it came in handy at the end of 2014! But is an improvement on 1 brand only - maybe someone was listening?

I like the war Jinty, it is the sort of lowish priced, small and unusual model that I personally would go for. I like the Scotsman but it is too much money.

I may now go for the online membership. I have found that online BRM is better than the mags, with more pics and video than the print mag, so hopefuly Hornby will be the same.