Winter123

Agreed. Preferably without it falling apart.....

Wanted to share my experience today in relation to recent posts. I have two locos, 66218 (Euro Cargo Rail) and 66789. 66218 is perfect and I haven't had any significant wobble or axle box problems with either. However 66789 has been stuttering at random places around loops resulting in occasional detachment of wagons. This morning the loco derailed in a tunnel(my fault as it wasn't correctly positioned on the track) , which is not very accessible. Nightmare. So I had to push it out with a stick when it fell onto one side and I winced at the prospect of considerable damage. Eventually I managed to pull it out of the tunnel entrance dragging around the track with no detail issues to my eyesight and no paintwork chipped showing it to be very robust. And the big news is the stutter has disappeared!! I don't recommend shaking the loco violently or bashing it against the floor but there is definitely some form of misalignment of the chassis or internal working imbalances in some models as Marcus discovered. I have four further 66's on order with some trepidation but have decided to keep the order mainly because of Hatton's excellent support & service. I have been quite lucky with these two but what are the chances that all 4 of those on order will work properly?

Dramatic slow down of cases in China, South Korea and Italy. Fingers crossed gang........

Shocked about this. I've used AMS for many years and always had perfect service and communications.

Rails have got them all in stock....unless you want sound?

Agreed Alex, but I find the Hornby strategy absolutely baffling. Announcing the Power car with no DVT/Dummy Car to match and then playing hide and seek with the MK4s. The initial reaction was that whoever got to market first would have the upper hand but maybe that won't be the case here. We shall see what happens but if Cavalex can move forward quickly they could well clean up.

It's getting to the point where Manufacturers should maybe consider not predicting delivery times until the product is literally in their warehouses or entering the English Channel, as they seem to have little control on the development, manufacturing and shipping timetable. For those who don't get riled by delays will be unaffected.... For those who get irritated by delays, the expectation will be more realistic. Suppose it doesn't help budgeting plans though. The Hatton's 66 was originally estimated for March 2019. However some manufacturers are literally years out with their predicted delivery promises.

I am very saddened to hear about the loss of Rod. Thanks for the information Tony. He became my Model Railway father figure, initially when I was a youngster and he was at DC Evans and TAGS (near the station). He used to give my Dad advice on expanding the first layout I had. When I returned to this crazy world about 11 years ago, we rekindled our friendship and his advice and knowledge helped me to build the layout I have today. He must have spent many an hour wiring up points, soldering stuff together and repairing loco's for me....not forgetting assembling the Hornby Pylon set on a spare afternoon! Always offered me a staff discount, parking spot at the front of the shop on Nether Hall Road plus a cup of tea when we were having a laugh with the staff at TAGs. Once, Rod tried to talk me into going for a sales rep job and put me in touch with the also much missed legend and former Bachmann Rep Steve Chantry. Thankfully Steve and I talked more about cricket than modelling so it never went any further. I can only imagine the amount of abuse i would have got from some people on here if that had progressed! But they were always able to share information which educated me immeasurably in how the industry was progressing and roughly when models were on their way! I believe Rod was heavily involved in the layout that graced the Beaulieu Motor Museum for many years, had links to Perth and also taught Pete Waterman a trick or two (He gave me a signed copy of his book). I will try my utmost to attend Rose Hill on the 30th to pay my respects. God bless you Rod and condolences to your nearest and dearest.

Spoke to an ITK a few months ago, who explained that it would be highly unlikely Bachmann would do another run of (possibly) the best two modern wagons they have delivered: The Polybulks and JJA Autoballesters. Just not economically viable now. Shame if true, as there are plenty of liveries that could have been looked into.

If Cavalex are in position to continue the Class 91 project they hopefully wouldn't be too badly impacted IF they can get theirs to market first. Due to the impatience of some to deliver quicker after announcement. Only had a quick look but most of the Hornby running numbers are different and they don't appear to be offering the complementing DVT or Mk 4s, which isn't great joined up thinking if that is the case.

They would remove it from the box and test it on the layout in the shop.

If you only live 3 miles away, why didn't you go in and inspect the actual model itself?

Completely agree with James. Jenny Kirk and the Sams trains guy openly admit that they have limited knowledge of the modern scene.

Isn't January 6th the date of Hornby 2020 announcements?

What was the purpose of the HAA coal hopper being parked in the middle of the hall? Who put it there and was it a 'subtle' hint that a manufacturer will be developing/upgrading the model version?

Agreed. I guess Bachmann will do the Malcolm 90 in the main range. It's an open goal...

Disappointing news on the delay, but bringing a product to market is an incredibly complex process and speed bumps are inevitable & understandable. Wish you guys well and best to get things as close to perfect as possible. Just a quick question on 92043. On your website, the Europorte 2 logo is illustrated next to the cab door, whereas on here the SNCF logo is visible . Personally I prefer the SNCF version but can't find any pictures to show when it existed. Please can you clarify which version you will be producing? Appreciate you are all preparing for Warley at the moment. Cheers

The UK Model Shop Directory is kept up to date and is an excellent reference.

Hi Andy, I run my Hornby VEP on DC only but have similar issues. In the main it runs OK, but jerks occasionally particularly over points. As it has traction tyres I was wondering if this can hamper performance or could it be something to do with the weight distribution as the power car is in the middle. I tried to clean the track but it has to be thoroughly dry otherwise it tends to stall. Not sure if this will be the same reason for poor performance as on DCC but I would also be interested if anyone has a solution or advice.

Unfortunately since the halcyon days of DC Evans in the Seventies/Eighties and TAG Models (prior to the Modelzone debacle) the town has deteriorated badly. And I don't just mean the lack of model shops. There is still the Toy Fair at the Racecourse every quarter and the BRM of course in February but I'm afraid its Rails or Olivia's all the way for now....

Just looking for some quick advice. I've got 73109 NSE running on DC. It runs fine and the headlight works in both directions. As it was run in further, the headcode blind lights came on both the front and rear which was a nice surprise. However these have now gone off again. The instructions are a bit ambiguous but generally point to switches on the PCB but I am reluctant to take the body shell off to negate warranty if I break something (which is quite possible). I will discuss with my model shop to see if they can shed any light on why the lights came on and then went back off (maybe the heat?) but wondered if this has happened to anyone else and if so what their advice/solution would be. Thanks

Couplings work perfectly well on the MJAs . There was an issue with the Freightliner versions because the lamp irons were fitted on the wrong end. This was corrected on the GB versions. I wasn't that bothered about this tbh.

According to the information in the box, the NSE rear headcode box was never lit so in fact the model is as per prototype. Incidentally no instructions included on how to add the detail parts.

Pick up performance definitely improved in comparison with earlier releases. Although still need rigorous running in (like the 121s) and struggles initially unless track has been cleaned thoroughly before use. No cab lights at all but still no red tail light. I am summarising the NSE version on DC. Paintwork & detail superb.

I will leave you with this thought which may complicate your ideas further. If you want to create an Intermodal train have you considered the Dapol IDAs? The coupling on those is a bar which fits into the NEM pocket between pairs. Works really well. In DRS livery so will probably be something right up your street judging by your user name! A bit more limited with containers as they hold 45ft Dapol , Oxford Diecast or Bachmann ones only eg Stobart/Tesco Less CO2 but go well with the Megafrets (if you can stop them leaving the track). Obviously not relevant for your Freightliner locos but maybe an alternative plan to the MRAs. Rails still had a few left when I was in the other day and £32.50 for a pair so considerably cheaper. Of course you may already have some of these or were aware of them in which case ignore this. Good luck with your decision.