Hobby

That's interesting, they seem to be showing the same prices as the Hornby website (€164/£145 before discount), unlike that wholesaler in Australia who seems to be loading his prices... Even with their 5% discount it might still be cheaper for EU modellers to buy direct from Hornby if they can get the free post and Club discount.

I doubt the facts will ever come out as it seems very difficult to catch them. But based on what we can see, running a red light/level crossing barrier in a totally reckless way, no helmet for the pillion passenger so total disregard for the safety of his (or her!) passenger our guesses are probably close to the bone, if not correct! Though as you say we can add "stupidity" to that list as well! 😉

and stolen! ;)

Sounds per normal for them, I got the BR56 from the same seller!

I was watching a DVD of the Preston area in '67 and '68 last night, it was surprising just how many trains had Stanier carriages in them, it also surprised me how many trains had blue/grey Mk1s. I think I'll get a few Staniers and also blue/grey Mk1s when they become available. I suppose back then, when I was 10/11 I only really took notice of the locos rather than the rolling stock!

Ah, back to Peco, then.

Rats, I'm on holiday! Good luck, Rich, I see you've got Axel there, he used to organise a TT event himself at one point.

Are you using an Omega loop? I found that some of my H0e/009 ones did the same if I didn't use one as it compensates for the extra throw of the GEM lever. I gave up using the GEM levers and just bent the end of the wire into a loop so I could throw them OK, as Peco points have the spring system that works just fine. Looking at the Peco points they do look more delicate than the other scales.

Yes it was on FB!

They are indeed nice kits, I used two of them with Bemo bogies and the top section of the hopper cut off as ballast wagons for my Czech H0e layouts, they look fine in the larger scale:

This may have been mentioned before, but wasn't one alternative version of the original plan had the station building above the platforms at "road" level so no need to shorten any lines?

When I got the set I had a look at them and other than the dead frog, which I can live with, they looked fine. As I hadn't bought the Peco ones at that point I instead bought more of the Hornby ones, saving me a lot of money in the process as they are half the price. Whether that was a good idea or not only time will tell. As for the radius, they are 631mm, which is actually close to their radius 6 curves (642mm I think) so they are most definitely NOT the normal sharp radius we normally see with train sets. It would certainly explain why they look better when the coaches go through them. Why Hornby have done this I'm not sure, but as you say visually they do look far better and give Peco a run for their money. I believe that sharper radius points are on the cards, perhaps with a goods set using the 08, but that's just hearsay at the moment.

Assuming the bedding track uses the same rail as the other Tillig TT track then the only thing you'd have to do to couple ordinary Tillig or Hornby track to it would be some sort of gradual packing using card to bring the height of the ordinary track up to the level of the bedding track. Or use cork underlay of the correct thickness under the ordinary track?

That's for 3ft 6ins (Cape Gauge) isn't it?

I'm not sure whether this has been covered, it may have been but lost amongst the many pages of other threads, so thought it worth having a thread of it's own. I only have Hornby and Peco so will cover them, I'm sure some with Tilling will be along soon! Use of metal rail joiners, Hornby TT to Peco TT (code 55): 1. Hornby joiners will couple to Peco track OK, 2. Tillig joiners are also fine to couple them together. 3. Peco N/009/TT joiners will not couple to Hornby track without a lot of filing of the foot of the Hornby rail. Insulated (plastic) rail joiners: 1. I don't think Hornby do any so far, so: 2. The Tillig ones I had won't fit the Peco code 55, despite plenty of messing around with a file and small screwdriver to open them up! 3. Peco 009/N/TT will fit onto the Hornby rail but you need to chamfer and smooth out the end of the rail and it's not a very good fit without a lot of work. 4. By a stroke of luck I also had a Peco 00 insulated rail joiner in stock and found that fits both Peco and Hornby rails very well but will need shortening! Verdict (so far!) use Hornby or Tilling metal rail joiners and Peco 00 insulated ones!

A few of us have started layouts and have opened threads in the TT:120 section. There's even more online but much of that is more along the trainset type layout, though still railway modelling... Plenty of buildings are appearing as well, some very nicely finished... As for weathering, I like WW as he is, as mine's a preserved loco it suits it well, not too perfect and shiny but just right. I suppose it's what people prefer, I look at many layouts with weathered diesels and electrics (as an example) and feel they just don't look right, so sometimes it's best to leave things alone... This thread seems more dicsussion rather than modelling, though!

The Peco one is ok for shorter locos but no good for the Pacifics. Yes there is a Continental one, Roco, but it's not cheap. The thread on the Hornby TT forum would seem to suggest that most people were looking at extending the Peco one or lengthening one of the larger N ones. There's also the old Triang one!

Point taken, I did indeed misinterprete your comments. In these days of dcc and stay alive, is it?

OK, you're the "expert", please tell us how you'd have done a completely new scale launch, maximise sales and profits and open it up beyond the existing model railway fraternity, and what your expertise is to validate your ideas? Before you do it might be worth you watching that latest SK interview in which he explains their current strategy, half way down page 198.

Another interview with SK, TT120 comes in at around 12/13mins. https://youtu.be/jedfednNy9g

Well it's time to make a start! I've got a load of Hornby points, some R2s to add to the R3s that came with the set and 10 yards of Peco flexi track. The proposed layout is extremely loosely based on Garstang Town station, making an assumption that the line survived long enough to be jointly run by a preservation group and still with a BR pickup goods train. I've got the 08 on order and the Brit and 9f when they come along, also I hope a Black 5. For the pick up goods I plan to use the 25 that's been promised by another manufacturer. A few more Mk 1s and some Staniers will sort out the preservation's passenger coach requirements. The picture shows the rough layout of the plan. The boards are Grainge and Hodder, three 900x500 and three 900x250 for the fiddle yard. They were destined for an H0e layout that never got built.

In view of (Triang-)Hornby's heritage in 00 and TT3 I feel that I should mention that I'm sure I've seen photos of Jintys doing this job on the old LMS!

They've already said that they are aiming at non-modellers (though the advertising they were going to do seems to have been put on hold, i suspect that they've been caught out by the demand even without it) and I'd have thought that non-modellers could be of any age with disposable income, 20s, yes, but also middle aged married with no kids and the retired. Once they start advertising for real we'll have a better idea of their aims.

Or because they feel it's the best option for launching the scale and maximising income - just a thought!