JR_P

My first thought when I saw these was ‘nice, that’s a pleasant and unexpected surprise’…. my immediate second thought was ‘but why in God’s name did they have to select factory weathering’…. But actually, I think it is more nuanced than this…. as @Steadfast describes it; it was only the yellow bodyside panel that was freshly painted, over a rusty patina of the previous paintwork…. so I think perhaps these might be better referred to as being “non-pristine”, but based on what i see on Flickr they do nicely capture how the real things first appeared once the yellow panel was applied. As I say, very welcome, but quite a brave move….! I don’t believe that RoS would have single-handedly bank-rolled the necessary MOQ for a full production run - they might have been able to negotiate as few as a couple hundred of each of genny, round-top, flat-top in the selected livery, but I would also strongly suspect that there will be more (in some livery or another) announced with the next Bachmann quarterly announcement…. I always quite liked the Carillion branding - I wonder if we see those from Bachmann themselves, or more likely a re-run of the Railtrack livery. As an aside, I seem to recall that this was one of the models that Bachmann said would always be too expensive to produce again in the future…. apparently not true, although £60 a wagon is a lot - makes me wince, but I think I’ll have to bite - I already have x2 five-wagon sets, but always wanted more…. and in the more recent livery…. I guess wife and baby won’t be getting much for Christmas this year 🤣 !!!

I reckon so too…. previously unannounced liveries piggy-backing off advertised production run seems to be the new modus operandi for the Farish range…. …. at least, I’m hoping this holds true for the forthcoming 90s and there will be at least one more livery (preferably EWS or DB!). As for the 158, I’d quite like one in SWR…. speaking of SWR - do we know if Bachmann have accommodated for the 159….? Cos I think I’d rather have a 159 in SWR than a 158….

I think it’s time I sold some of my surplus mk1 and mk2 coaches 🤪 !!!

Excellent illustration there 🙂 ! Thanks for providing the comparisons. I think that probably settles it for me; over-weighted and rubbing wheels is pretty much gonna make the ‘jumbo’ train impossible to pull if I add any Dapol JHAs…. I’ll spend the money on a few more Revolution JNAs in Touax livery instead 🙃 ! PS: also meant to say before that the train formation guide in the review was also really useful which I believe was the handiwork of @Steadfast - very nice 🙂

@TomE I read your review - thanks for the info 🙂 …. you mention they are very heavy - how heavy would you say compared to the Revolution HOA? I’m trying to model one of those ‘jumbo’ trains and I have all the HOAs and JNAs I need, but I wasn’t banking on these being so heavy…. Dapol have no prior history of over-weighting that I recall…. To be honest, I’d really just like the knuckle coupler link-bar and I’d settle for Dapol selling that as a spares/accessory…. 🤣

By chance I happened across this announcement several days ago - can’t even recall how, because I would never normally even look at the Hornby threads as I am an N gauge modeller…. This is an interesting development and having thought over the matter for several days now, here are my thoughts…. I can imagine this venture might be modestly successful in due course, but clearly represents serious amounts of money invested in the here-and-now…. However, I think there are several flaws to the approach adopted, as outlined by SK…. I’ll explain why…. 1) SK says you can run a full length HST in TT - so what - we’ve been doing that for years in N gauge 2) SK says you could even use a window cill for a point-to-point layout - so what - you could already do that better in N gauge …. in short, various ‘plus points’ for TT that SK espouses are simply null advantages over existing N. 3) this is really where I think they’ve screwed-up; SK says he wants to get families involved (in model trains)…. fine, that is good for the hobby at large and good for Hornby itself…. but I think his strategy here is wrong; here’s why - I believe the conventionally held wisdom (and I do believe this myself) is that one tends to model what trains were about during one’s childhood/adolescence…. so if SK wants to get families involved, forget about A3s and A4s…. I’m mid-40s and I’ve never seen a steam loco on the main line, ever…. do I give a **** about steam locos; no! Frankly, I don’t even remember [from my childhood] loco-hauled services!!! Having grown up [in East Anglia] in the 80s and 90s surrounded by second generation EMUs, I love stuff like 312s, 313s, 317s, 365s and also class91+mk4s (do we count that as loco-hauled?!)…. so accordingly that’s what I want to model. So back to the here and now; I go to catch a train with my daughter this weekend [albeit she is only a baby!] what is she going to see - 455s, Desiros, Electrostars, 700s - maybe an 80x or Pendo if we head north to visit the grandparents…. that is what the kids today are seeing - if you want to get them involved, you have to give them something they can relate to…. …. to round off this point, picture this; father and son/daughter waiting at [eg.] Glasgow Central station - train [320] pulls in from Lanark - child turns to dad and says “daddy, I want one of those [320] trains” - dad replies, “ha, there’s a 320 available in N gauge”…. then a Pendo pulls in from London - child turns to dad and says “daddy, I want one of those [Pendos] too!” - dad replies, “ah, that’s also available in N gauge”…. finally, a 314 [yes, I know they are now scrapped!] pulls in with a Cathcart Circle service - child turns to dad and says “daddy, I really want one of those [314] trains” - dad replies, “ah ha, there’s a 314 coming very soon in N gauge”…. dad realises that what the child is interested in is, or soon will be, available in N gauge…. it remains to be seen whether such ‘modern’ items show up in the TT range, personally I think SK should have set-up stall with modern stuff at the outset. To conclude, my interpretation of Hornby’s own launch video is that I should be precisely the demographic SK is targeting - bad news SK, I am not going to buy a steam loco - neither me nor my child has ever seen a steam loco [on the mainline]…. so the range at the outset doesn’t attract me…. “I’m out” as they say! …. so what is Hornby left with then; trying to attract existing hobbyists away from their existing scales - I can envisage a draw-away from OO on the basis that TT has space requirement advantages…. but that is just cannibalising Hornby’s own and existing market share. I cannot see large numbers defecting from N gauge - the detail I saw of the 08 didn’t look much better than that of the current Farish 08 - so equivalent level of detail but more space required and a far less diverse portfolio of models, even compared to N gauge. They aren’t even doing a Hogwarts Express - talk about missed opportunity…. although I believe Gen Z consider Harry Potter somewhat passé…. so perhaps not quite the missed opportunity - who knows! Anyway, good luck to Hornby - I don’t have any dealings with them or their products and that doesn’t look likely to change!

Haha, yeah, I too was scratching my head trying to figure out how the TfW was actually bi-mode….! One thing I have noticed with mine, is that one of the driving vehicles has a third-rail shoe beam on the cab-end bogie - I find no evidence for this online from photos or videos…. is this perhaps where the missing Thameslink third-rail bogies got to…. 🤣 ?! It would be good to know if others have the same…. I don’t believe it to be correct…. I am minded to ask Bachmann for a replacement…. in the same manner that they are correcting the Thameslink one….

Great to see the Midland Pullman HST being done, but two observations; 1) it appears disproportionately expensive; any other 2+9 Dapol HST rake comes in at £431 or £433, depending upon whether it is a power car twin-pack plus coaches, or standard bookset plus coaches…. so what’s the extra £60+ for….?! Sure they’ve tooled the cab-top headlight, which is a nice touch, but with the current financial pinch, I think I’d rather have payed £60 less for a nearly accurate model…. 🤪 Unless they’ve also tooled for correct catering vehicles, in which case the argument for it being more expensive starts to make more sense. 2) I’m not sure everybody wants an 11 vehicle set - sure, some of us have space, but lots of people might not be able to accommodate nine coaches…. so all those people are now paying a premium for a load of extra coaches they don’t want/need…. so I presume this has been done so that Dapol and retailers are not left with random spare coaches in hand…. but if that is the business rationale, it seems odd that in the same release HST release cycle we’re seeing standard booksets but also power car twin-packs…. certainly some of those seem to be so that these can mop-up the surplus GC and XC coaches that appear plentiful and still kicking about…. I can never second guess Dapol’s decision making….!

Fantastic news 😃 !!! Only the G&Y for me with this batch, but I suppose I’ll probably get two, but that is still a pounding on the wallet…. 😬 So many liveries to choose from; as others say, I might’ve been inclined to omit RES in favour of (eg.) EWS, DB or Freightliner instead…. no matter, a very welcome announcement and really closes a big gap for [modern standards] N gauge!

I notice that the GWR variant has two holes beneath each cab window where the cab face grab handles would otherwise be…. At first I thought this was a mistake, but looking at photos on Flickr of the appropriate unit in question, it does seem the handles were absent in GWR green…. I just don’t know how I feel about having four very conspicuous holes in the cab front…. it might have been nice if they had come up with some manner to fill them; even by using a plug from the inside for example…. Anyway, it might be a moot point, because when I test ran several examples (five I think!) of the new batch earlier this week at my local model shop, they all ran like a bag of old spanners. Bit of a shame, but I guess that’s £106 I can save…. I don’t expect much [by way of quality in N gauge] from Dapol these days, so I’m less easily disappointed when my expectations are low to begin with…. sad but true…. and it is a shame because we know they they can produce moments of real quality [68].

Hi all - if anyone (like me!) was waiting for the DCC89 decoder pack, these appear to have arrived today…. Been quite a lengthy wait, but try finding all manner of DCC decoders and many are completely out of stock with no ETA….! Anyway, good news these have now arrived 🙂 !

Thanks @TomE and @Mike Harvey for the description 🙂 …. my eyesight just isn’t what it used to be and I’d never have been able to see those little latches without being told they were there. Seems odd to have the latches if the pantograph is posable rather than sprung…. anyway, issue now resolved - thanks again 😎 !

Hi all, having unboxed my 319 this morning, I have discovered that I cannot raise the pantograph…. not so useful for an AC electric! I don’t think I’m missing a trick and I’m applying as much pressure as I’m comfortable doing…. So really my question is; should I be able to raise the pantograph easily?…. cos if that is the case, then mine is defective…. an otherwise commendably fine model, but will have to go back for a replacement I think, especially when it is £300…. it really does need to be perfect in every aspect. I must confess, I’ve not had much luck with Farish products recently…. the class 150 I bought the month before had marker lights on simultaneously on both vehicles, ie. also the rearward facing red light end…. showing that all manufacturers suffer niggly QC issues. Anyway, any insight into the pantograph would be gratefully received 🙂

Yes, I concur the error on the basis of a video I’ve seen on YouTube (not sure if I’m allowed to link, but just do a search on the running number). You can determine which side of the TSO is facing the camera and there is indeed a toilet where Farish have a passenger window for 319382. Does seem like an odd error to make because they had to go specially out of their way to make it!…. and specially tool for it…. and if you notice, the header tank refill nozzle is present on both sides of the model, which I would doubt would be the case if there was genuinely a passenger window on one of the sides! That said, the 319s underwent a lot of butchery, especially in the vicinity of the toilet end of the TSO…. The most practical resolution to this, is just run it so that the toilet window of the TSO is the side facing you.

Indeed…. and that side-on view also highlights that the cab door window has the wrong aspect ratio - too narrow…. should be about half the width of the nearest passenger window….. That aside, it does look like a very high quality model, from what I’ve seen (based on the nice photography by yourself and Kernow). I am looking forward to getting hold of one of these for myself….

More than a rumour - the Bachmann website shows as “arrived” for the 319s and 769…. looking forward to getting hold of one of these, although my preferred retailer seems to be suggesting it is sold out on pre-order…. somewhat surprised by that - perhaps just their allocation and not generally…. ….. unless there is pent-up demand for SouthEast-centric models from the last 30-40yrs…. after all, until Revolution delivered the 321, there was almost nothing truly representing the last 40yrs of London commuter belt and the SouthEast…. granted there has been stuff like 101 in NSE, 159 in SWT, 168 in Chiltern and 171 in Southern done by Farish, but these are hardly representative of the huge fleets of 312, 313, 315, 317, 319, 321, 365, 165, 166, 455, 465, electrostars that were/are the workhorses of SouthEast passenger services…. The Farish 319 (& Revolution’s 321 and forthcoming 313) are nice additions that fill a significant gap. No apologies for the unashamedly SouthEast-centric post 😋 …. some of us have to live here (and want to model it)…. 😀

Is this TT stuff all a bit of a distraction…. ?! A bit like all these ‘what if’ liveries that have suddenly started appearing…. 🤨 Personally I’d much rather Peco concentrated on getting more of their N gauge points and crossings converted to unifrog…. at least the TT points they are proposing are unifrog, which in itself is a good move. My fear would be that with diminishing discretionary spending (thanks to rising inflation and ‘cost of living crisis’), what small pot of money is spent on railway modelling is getting spilt yet one more direction…. the N gauge market is small enough as it is, it doesn’t need to have to compete with another ‘similar’ scale…. 😟 [sigh]

Thanks @AY Mod 🙂 ! Hopefully listing here will allow me to target a more specific audience!

@AY Mod - are there some basic rules about selling here? I just signed-up for RMweb Premium, so now have access to this facility…. I have some highly sought after items that I wish to sell and I know others will be interested in (based on what I’ve read on RMweb), but oddly never received any offers when listed on eBay, even with ‘best offer’ enabled….! How do you recommend payment for example; seller sends invoice from PayPal….? I’m guessing there might be other recently-upgraded members who might also find some guidelines helpful. Thanks in advance for the advice - cheers, JR_P

Er, what…..?! I was definitely led to believe that both were powered - no confusion in my mind. Also, in years gone by, when Dapol stopped doing dummy locos, they claimed it was because the cost of a dummy is only about £5 less, as it is literally just the cost of the motor…. I’ve had other manufacturers make the same assertion to me too, so I’m willing to believe that…. …. so on that basis, why in God’s name aren’t they just charging me a fiver more for the second loco to be powered; I’d much rather pay £255 for two powered instead of £250 for powered+dummy…. plus a function-only decoder is basically the same cost as a standard decoder, so it wouldn’t add much more in that regards either. Feel a little bit let down by this - I would bet this has come about due to poor communication from the Dapol side…. look at all the special commissions Kernow arrange - they are not unfamiliar with commissioning and I find it hard to believe this mistake would have happened on ‘their side of the fence’…. Dapol on the other hand have a steady track record of screw-ups, especially in N gauge….

Just spotted this update - thanks @arran - these look great - order duly placed just now. Looking forward to your new wagons to put these on 😉 !…. let us know how you’re getting on with those🙃 !!!

Very pleased with the B4 bogies - although a little on the expensive side at £13 a pair - would love to ‘modernise’ my mk1 charter rake, but it is 18 coaches long…. so as the Americans would say, “you do the math”…. well, I’ve done it for you and it is £234 😬 !!! Might have to settle on eliminating B1s and accepting a mix of commonwealth and B4. Otherwise I’m not sure about this announcement…. 🤨

RMweb is back - woohoo 🤗 !!! Anyway, whilst RMweb was offline I took my first foray into DCC sound by purchasing a new sound fitted cl 150 (in revised ATW livery)…. Out of the box the sound was offensively loud, so I wanted to reduce the sound - F27 as per the included instructions didn’t work…. a 10min phone call to Bachmann technical dept yielded the advice “F27 twice in rapid succession”…. a) the instructions don’t make this clear [if this is indeed the case], but b) it also didn’t work…. So off I went to read the Zimo manual for the factory fitted sound decoder - after studying the manual and tinkering with CV values for an hour or so, I managed to obtain a nice mix of quieter engine noise, but other sounds close to the original sound level (they aren’t constantly on, so not nearly as offensive!). For those who are interested, the CV values to adjust are; engine noise CV=376 with value of 80…. and all other sounds overall CV=266 with value of 30. Those values I found satisfactory, but other people may prefer slightly different values - read the manual for valid value range: http://www.zimo.at/web2010/documents/MX-small-decoders_EN.pdf pg43. I hope the above info is helpful to others…. I did initially wish to seek advice on here, but as RMweb was down, I had to do the hard work myself 😂 !!! At least others should now benefit from my evening of tinkering! …. however, in conclusion - am I sold on sound - well, I’m not sure - since my preferred DCC decoders were out of stock, I figured £85 more for a fully chipped MU (decoders x2) meant the sound aspect was really only costing me £45 more…. and I now notice that said decoders have gone up in price (surprise!), which means the sound alone really only added £37….

Excellent news - well done @arran ! Just gonna start wish-listing right now - I’d take lots of 20s in ‘Evergreen’ !…. but in the mean time I’ll take some ONE and P&O !

Now that there are images of the actual N gauge version of the Northern 150/2, it looks like Bachmann have updated their tooling for the Farish 150/2 to reflect the blanked-out toilet window where the larger accessible-compliant toilet is…. that being the case, that is a nice touch and shows they are prepared to invest in updating models in their Farish range - that is an encouraging sign (despite the continuing sluggish throughput). Also, I notice that RoS are charging full price for the new DCC ready 08s…. at first I thought it was an oversight, but it is consistent across the range of liveries, so it must be intentional - does that mean they don’t feel there is enough margin in a 15% discounted 08….? Other retailers seem to still be offering the usual 15% discount. The DCC sound did have the usual discount offered…. not sure what to make of this…. I like to buy locos from RoS cos of their favourable returns policy…. but being circa £20 more expensive than other retailers, I can afford to pay return postage (even SD1pm) twice over and still not be out of pocket compared to paying the full price at RoS - interesting move from RoS…. guess I’ll be getting my new 08 from elsewhere….