eb1

Got my Rocket today. Its a beautiful model and once run in I reckon it will perform well. One small problem though - the chimney is too tall to go into my Metcalfe tunnel entrance on the main line loop given the reduced clearance caused by the height of the track and the underlay. This presents no problems with any of the more "modern" rolling stock which is why I placed the tunnel directly onto the baseboard without raising it to the level of the underlay. In case anyone also has track laid on underlay, it may be a good idea to lift any Metcalfe tunnel entrances to accommodate Rocket if, like me, you didn't place the tunnel entrance on a raised base in the first place. I'm not going to bother just for this one loco which I am happy just to look at and run occasionally on and end to end basis between two stations avoiding my tunnel.

I would like to see the 2fs come out as Gatwick Express sets, assuming Hornby would do the necessary mods. Given that Hornby have the Railroad Class 73, which included Gatwick Express locos under the Lima brand, a train pack is possible - if they invested in making a GLV. Probably too big an ask and maybe not a big seller, given the regional nature of the train. If they did do it, the limited pulling power of the 73 suggests the GLV should ideally be a motorised model. The most striking thing about the new releases is how many are new editions of existing models. Things are tight for Hornby and this is perhaps unsurprising. In the meantime I shall crack on with finishing my Britannia Pacific GLV and modifying my Dapol Mk2s!

I have the LS Models coaches. They are fantastic models and can be run with a Heljan Class 33 without looking too odd. I have also adapted some Fleischmann fourgons but they are a compromise and are not prototypical. However, there is no chance to run an OO Mk1 composite brake with them as per the prototype in the late 70s. I would love to have proper scale OO coaches and fourgons. I totally agree that if Hornby are making Class 71s and other locos that fit these coaches a Hornby Type F coach pack would be a very welcome addition.

I bought two of these locos but I am sending them back to the seller as they were dreadful runners. One loco kept cutting out - the decoder kept going dead and needed regular re-programming. It also ran erratically as did the other one. I wonder if having to put in the decoder upside down makes a contribution to this. It cant be a good thing. Im not convinced that it offers a good connection. The lights being incapable of switching according to the direction of travel is a pretty basic fault, even if sorted out by changing the CVs. Not something we should accept at @£120 a time. As for the cab interior being permanently lit, its totally odd. Dapol told me when I called them that the head of the project had specified that they should stay on. I cant think why they would. The paintwork is odd when you take a closer look on both the IC and BR Blue versions, the ones I bought. I'm very disappointed. This should be a flagship model. I only hope Dapol can correct these faults and produce a new batch that is worthy of the anticipation created by this model. I would still buy them in future if there was some certainty that they would work well and look right.