BWsTrains

Edwardian, Now that is a fine thought when elsewhere we read of the issues confronting Hornby, struggling to find a way forward in the "OO" World with diverse changes all around. What is the state of the 4mm modelling market? How many ways can it be logically divided these days? Sounds like a fine topic for debate but this is not the spot. Do you start it? wouldn't want to steal your thunder, Colin

Has anyone looked recently? all their web pages with kits appear to be empty!

Firstly, if Trailrage's father bought 2309 he got a good deal as that was the 2 flywheel version with no reported major running issues, otherwise read on, all below relates to the later 1 flywheel releases. Just as one swallow does not a summer make, read my post (#1841) regarding a tale of a kangaroo masquerading as a RTR locomotive. These reports of totally faulty models being supplied to various retailers and then sold are not phantom but backed by observations, you can't enjoy your hobby if what you buy is a £160 pile of inoperable rubbish. To dismiss this as the aptly named Dick Turpin has done shows a rather polarised and unconstructive POV For your information, I have it on very good authority from the first supplier that several models were unboxed, tested and dismissed as unacceptable before they selected one for me. Now I'm looking to other retailers and guess what, they're also struggling to find a good 2475 with Sound for me among the many they have available in stock. I'm still waiting 2+ weeks later. Note: this is not me being picky but the sellers finding many poor runners supplied to them, I'm glad TR's Dad got a good one but as Melmerby so succinctly put it (#1812) "Reading all that has gone before, it seems that Oxford have again snatched defeat from the jaws of victory"

Kevin, I've been very happy with my results since moving to your modular design. One thought I've had was that once completed, I may need only very occasional access to single modules so I plan to put a flexible (= able to be cut later) join between modules when a perfect fit or being hidden is not possible. The plan is to squirt a very thin run of acrylic filler of the "No More Gaps" type between the modules, either paint while still setting or sprinkle suitable flock, dirt etc to merge with surroundings. In your case the light grey shade I have would work perfectly, another shade is a reasonable proxy for reddish brown soil. The trick I've developed that makes application easy is to collar those used disposable children's medicine syringes, then use the big caulking gun to fill the syringe. Now insert plunger, wrap in wet paper towel and store in small zip-lok bag, they keep for ages stored that way. The small applicator is far better than inaccurately wielding a huge caulking gun 30cm away from the target. I've already used this technique to very good effect when "light-proofing" buildings, minute gaps in the structure show up when internal LEDs are installed but a tiny squirt of acrylic filler is all that's needed. Colin

Yes I agree, "admit" rather than "know" would have been much better wording for me to use. It is often a difficult path between knowing a painful truth and admitting it. As a wit in our Company once observed, "knowledge shared is a credibility lost", who's going to admit that bad decisions made on their watch could have been avoided based on what was known? Have been thru all the same myself. There it took a near death crisis, CEO sacking and a new "head-kicker" to break us out of our own death spiral.

lots of good ideas here about what Hornby could or should do but surely if it were as simple as just deciding to stick to their strengths and make xxx units of Class YYYY and charge GBP ZZ.zz for each of those, Hornby would have zoomed in and done that, financial troubles resolved. I suspect they've pulled those strings already, based on their flagship toolings and existing designs and the results have been nowhere enough. Now they wonder "what else can we do with all the problems / risks involved in bringing more innovative products to market?". My suspicion is they may not have a handle on what are the genuinely profitable parts of their business when properly and fully accounted for on a unit cost basis. When this situation exists, unprofitable segments continue to be a drain on the overall organization, and yet there can be powerful internal forces arguing for preservation of such market segments, e.g. we can only sell product X because it includes or we also supply items Y. Never mind if Items Y are major consumers of resources and cash negative. Walking away from such business can be very hard indeed and we have not yet seen Hornby walking away from any significant sectors apart from letting some wither in an apparent slow death e.g Humbrol.(corrections to my subjective assertions appreciated) My reason for asserting the above is that if you do know where cash is and isn't being generated, it's negligent and against shareholders interests not to take decisive remedial action, especially when you are looking to raise more equity and then debt. Lack of business clarity on the other hand provides management with the cover of "credible deniability" As someone here has said, maybe only a near insolvency event will bring the required hard focus and decision-making to bear.

modelu print of Danny di Vito in blue perhaps?

see here for versions released. https://www.modelraildatabase.com/ search by locomotives by Class, select Great Western Railway, then Class 6400 (on p2 of 2) all the Bachmann releases are listed there, none meeting your specs it seems

Mike, My remarks might well be odd, that's either me or the fact I'm trying to look at the info and the debate as one might look at a business study. (no: I don't have an MBA but was a Corporate Strategist for my sins) Hornby's pallet load discounting sounds more like cash flow / debt management under duress than the Strategy of someone with the upper hand here. The need for a third cash infusion line in as many years supports that thesis. Both major players are copping flak for product delays and poor innovation while various new entrants are romping around putting out all sorts of new offers that generate lots of excitement here, if that's any measure. The fact the new product stream is strengthening further supports that the power is shifting but as you rightly point out, Hornby have pushed back successfully (Kings), they just need much much more of the same and promptly. Have they got it in them is the Million $ question??? Finally, what you and John Tomlinson both point out about getting their basic businesses in order viz "in fact some of it comes straight from the Ladybird Book of Business," (Post #82) is spot on. After so long thrashing around burning through cash, they need to get their proverbial finger out, they probably have less time and lender patience left than they think.

A few observations having read all these interesting posts. Industry Structure is highly segmented whichever way you slice it. There is virtually no low cost generic sector (that I can think of) where a combination of high volumes and low production costs produce the cash to cover core fixed costs for a large diversified player. Essentially the industry is a large conglomeration of specialised market sectors. Hornby UK has 43 different product sectors listed at a big retailer’s site and that’s with Steam Locos and diesel each lumped into 1 single category before breaking them down by Region / Era / Low end or more detailed quality etc. Individual Sectors are small and specialised enough that if you did the job well that has been an effective barrier to entry by other players. One could argue the established players grew lazy with this advantage. However, that barrier has been breaking down in recent years with fleet-footed new entrants finding new ways to market such that they can cherry pick the promising market areas. Consequences the growing number of new entrants and diversity of models suggests it’s a viable strategy and a good game to be in – Score New Entrants 1 – Hornby 0 Pounds spent elsewhere don’t go to Hornby further pressuring its cash flows. Cost cutting can only do so much, you can’t save yourself to growth. Newer players have totally different cost structures + may also be prepared to take some short-term pain to establish their names. Score New Entrants another 1 – Hornby 0 Channels to Market are changing Surviving Retailers, apart from some true specialists, are moving on-line however unpalatable that is to some. In many ways the vast and diverse product offerings of the Model Railway world are ideal for this route and terrible from a stock management POV for a retailer with a “physical” presence. Consequences This has caused a shift in industry power with the Big Online players being in a stronger position than suppliers, further weakening the latter’s financial and operating situations. Score On line Retailers 1 – Hornby 0 Overall, not a pretty picture from the big manufacturers POV and not restricted to this industry by any means. When Industry dynamics change, the effects tend to be seismic, Film to Digital, CDs / DVDs -> downloaded etc. Hornby is not at all well positioned for the change that is already right on top of them.

Sounds like that'd go nicely with stir fried veges, washed down with a glass of sauvignon blanc sorry grandchildren, grandpa's getting a bit deaf.

According to www.modelraildatabase.com Bachman released no. 3203; model no 31-925 in 1997; the database goes back further for other models so presumably this was their first Colin

Scenic's to front embankment over Lever Frame. June 2018 Running Session.June 2018 Rear of Depot.July 2018 Running Session July 2018. Ballast rear of Depot.Aug 2018 Running Session Sept 2018 etc etc........ Running Session Running Session. Scenic's around storage siding by Platform. June 2019 Running Session. Detail around Pub / Canal. Running Session Remove Meadow next to Level Crossing and make into Pig Yard. Running Session Running Session. Running Session. Running Session. Running Session. Running Session Finish and detail Platforms. June 2020 Running Session Running Session Running Session Road over Platforms and Station forecourt. June 2021 Running Session Industrial Estate behind Platform. Running Session Running Session. Running Session. Rip it up or flog it. June 2022 ish

I'm no expert but a friend advised me to wire in a pair of diodes (one for each voltage polarity) to drop the input voltage about 0.7V for a can motor (7V rating) I was using to replace a clapped out Ringfield in a IC 125. It is on a DCC layout. Worked a treat, in my case I needed 2 in each direction to drop the input by `1.5V for best results. Maybe Donw can follow on from his #976 post above and add more technical insight but I can confirm that for any given controller setting, the running speed was reduced quite noticeably with one diode pair installed. With 2 diode pairs the loco speed profile was comparable with the original motor Old diodes can be pulled out of lots of devices like voltage regulators I believe. Voltage drop is fairly standard. Colin

After some thought I went ahead and bought the newly released sound version of Dean Goods 2475 in the hope that Oxford might have had time to improve quality issues since the last batch and trusting in my retailer to back that up with a test I specified to be done before shipment. Well that purchase was a triumph of hope over experience if anything ever was. The loco arrived yesterday, but it has both the known faults, jerky running, especially when coming to a stop, buzzing noises of varying intensities, again most pronounced on coming to a stop and then to my utter amazement, the sound doesn't work at all!!!!! This is not shooting yourself in the foot, Oxford, something more appropriate would be this, as I'll never ever buy your products again Late edit to add an amended view, see Hornby 14xx post if interested! By comparison my little Hornby 48xx just glided around the same track with not a glitch, slip or stutter. To compare it's problems with the Oxford Dean is IMO a travesty, one cost me under 40GBP and works to my needs after minor tweaks, the Oxford Dean in question at 160GBP is just a lump of very expensive metal. Colin

Thanks Mike, A quick search turned up this gem that I'd never seen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmciuKsBOi0 and then if you have grandchildren this is even better for them, I'll show my visitors today Colin

Having a soft spot for all the Bachmann steam locos I own, I was disappointed to read of their woes given all their years of success and experience. Seems like they've taken a serious wrong turn somewhere with their development pipeline when elsewhere I read about a large diverse new model project due next year, whose scope is remarkable (if comments there are anything to judge by) http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/133954-class-66-in-oo-gauge-new-announcement/?p=3156477 accepting the point made earlier that Hatton's have advantages they can leverage, all the same it sounds like a game-changer and serious wake up call to the likes B and Hornby. In times of change, established players can get left for dead by nimble new entrants, one of the first things you get taught in Business Strategy. Established players have systems designed for stability and hence tend to be inflexible to challenges and changes. IMO change is here, a headlight with B and H caught standing frozen in front.

Hi Keith, You've had your share of woes with this but at end of the day are you happy with what you finally ended up with once the problems were addressed? I'm still torn between a keen desire to have this model and concerns over the issues reported here. Colin

Hi, Very true. My solution was very much a compromise between functionality and price as well as meeting my concerns about support for a high tech purchase unless I bought it here in Aus, (which in turn doubles the cost). Any return to UK under warranty would be prohibitive. What did I get? Hornby eLink (cue: jeers and ribald laughter from all sides) But I am a very happy customer. I bought it as part of a Hornby box set which I then broke up, on-selling many bits. This left me an excellent Hall loco for effectively 60 quid net and the eLink as a no-risk left over. I then bought a 2nd software license for 5 quid from the big retailer H Interface is GUI on a PC or iPad which sounds good but it is 'retro' to be kind. May even support touch screen on iPads? Changing any CV is easy. It is of course Hornby-centric with lots of data pre-loaded for all Hornby Group locos but I have no problems adding my various Baccy locos. I've no experience with controlling peripherals. It works without fail, it's relatively tame, and all my grandchildren down to 4yrs old have no trouble operating locos, sounds etc. like real pros. What more can I say? Colin PS added as edit. I have found the Hornby Select was not recognising newer DCC chips and having a conniption. Probably needs a firmware update and that presumably could apply to the Elite as it is not linked by internet. So might be worth checking your Elite firmware version and getting updated if not current (something else I can't do out here). eLink checks for updates every time you open it.

Just so you know, all the photos have become "no longer available" which kills the whole Blog

Hilux, You've obviously not been stuck in Melbourne traffic at lights for minutes at a time. We've one junction where it takes us 3-5 cycles to get thru. When over in NZ we arrived from the N. Island.into Picton, headed via Hanmer Springs for the West Coast then all the way down and met our very first trafffic light in Queenstown which Google maps tells me is 1004km by our route. By chance we sailed thru it! I kid you not. So as with many things it depends on your particular viewpoint. It works for me and getting back on topic I guess this is a good metaphor for opinions regarding DC v DCC. Colin

Ha, Bradshaw's guide has very few kind things to say about W-s-M (FWIW; my birthplace) and I suspect would have even fewer for an offal plant east of Doncaster if it was there back then. I'd have been asking for a refund as you surely got a raw deal (sorry for the pun!) Colin

I always used to like the bit where Graham Chapman came on stage (MPFC) in uniform and ordered, "STOP this sketch, it's getting altogether too silly!". Seems like one of those occasions and that's what's needed here.

Am I mistaken or is that dome still a bright shiny brass in 1938? Look at the reflection on it. The later GWR Oxford Dean has a painted one. Colin

Kevin, I can see what you mean about the printed stone. Who's paper was that you used? I've been very happy with the Scalescenes "Coursed rubble" as a printed paper. Unlike your photo which looks very flat, there's quite some variability between colours etc and that helps to give the illusion of texture. Also I had it done on a quality professional printer which perhaps helps. As I understand it, you're happy with printed paper for brickwork? Colin