Chuffed 1

Packing and handling can only be a concurrent problem if not enough fixative (both mechanical and adhesive) is used. Just received a Hornby SR cattle wagon today - lovely bit of kit but the buffer head fell off as I unpacked it. Like the H class with the dome rattling around in the box, not enough adhesive. You get the impression that there's just enough to get the thing packed and then...?

At the risk of sounding contentious, is it me, or does it look rather....ordinary...?

Looks like a lot of post-it notes in different colours to me!

Update on Model Railway developments. Have now at last spoken to Hubert who has been in hospital after a fall. He thought he'd dealt with my order but wasn't sure. Also, in the recent past he believed that someone had hacked into his website and diverted incoming e-mails to his spam folder. He promised to get back to me. Craig, if all goes well I'll mention your order. (His phone number is now on his website.)

That's what I was worried about. I was legged over by Cooper Craft four years ago, and though it was only £9.60, the principle stuck. To answer the previous comment about this being the wrong thread, the point is that Dart Castings gave a very good service indeed, and this was highlighted to show that whatever the perceived failings of Falcon Brassworks, DC provided the goods. For those wishing to condemn for 'rushing to blame' I would add that my initial post asked whether Hubert Carr was ill or that the business had ceased trading. 'Rushing to blame' would have been 'MRD - What's going On?', which, in the light of the above post, might well be timely. Perhaps a 'Caveat Emptor' thread?

That's the point, you were told. I have had no response from e-mails and not even an acknowledgement of my order, Since April 27th. And all three items were showing 'in stock' last time I looked. Perhaps if people had 'rushed to shame' Cooper Craft less people would have been ....left without the goods they had paid for...?

Anyone know anything about Model Railway Developments? I ordered some buffers in April but heard nothing. (Reminds me a bit of the silence after I ordered a couple of parts from Cooper Craft in 2014). In the same week I ordered buffers from Accurascale and Dart Castings. The Dart Castings arrived almost immediately, and after a month of no buffers had a reply to my Accurascale query with a promise to send them on the following Tuesday (June 5th). That was a week ago! As for Hubert at MRD, zilch. Does anyone know if he is ill or if the company has ceased trading?

Eh?!

"Get me a picture of a SECR wagon! We must have wagons to go with our SECR H class!" (even though they were almost exclusively passenger locos). Hornby have done really well in the recent past with their horseboxes, cattle wagons and toads and now this! Unless, of course, they are privy to historical information we don't know about....

Surely you mean brakes operable from both sides? Most BR Mineral wagons(and PO and Big Four companies before them) only had brakes on one side, but operable from both sides.

Isn't this where Bachmann have been going, and Hornby tentatively following? Certain manufacturers (Dapol, DJ Models, Heljan) seem to understand their market, even if their quality control or design sometimes goes awry. With Hornby I'm of the impression that they are flailing around, sometimes one strategy (hyper-detail accuracy H class and Lord Nelson) sometimes another (reworking older models (standard 4MT for example) that are selling less well with every passing year. Does anyone really know what 'the market' really is? How many of which genre sell and sell well, and which ones don't? We have seen many re-releases over the last ten years - the Schools class is a classic example - where one type is churned out over and over again without so much as a different chimney, that suggests it's 'more of the same'. Hornby seem especially guilty of producing liveries or types that are very time-limited. Just how many people are modelling the late fifties, for heaven's sake? It's the old story; produce what people want, for what people are prepared to pay and to a certain quality and you will sell them. Even the tea lady must have seen the 'Olympics packs' as a non-starter, but not Hornby's senior management. Now we have a forthcoming H class in flat bunker condition and non-motor-fitted, early emblem - that was used on one service and was scrapped in August 1960, when they could have had an early emblem, extended-bunker, non-motor fitted loco scrapped in November 1962 or a flat bunker, motor-fitted, late crest scrapped around the same time. Minor points, but other than a collector, how many are modelling Kensington Olympia - Clapham Junction in the late fifties? And then there's spares. What was the last introduction that carried a comprehensive (or even basic) spares range? Some of the recent H class wheelsets are suspect, but there's no Hornby replacements available and no commercial alternative (M7 wheels have a spoke too many). Leaving aside the wider Hornby empire (Humbrol paints anyone?) and just look at the recent Hornby offerings. Whilst some of the more esoteric offerings, Q6 and S15, have been eagerly awaited by their adherents, both quickly could be had for at least thirty pounds less within six months. Yet Bachmann continues to churn out its N class and Collett 0-6-0 year in, year out, with little discounting and no model improvements. Presumably the 'drip feed' approach works better than the 'big splash'? Maybe Hornby are over-producing in splurges, rather than 500 or so every year? Where Hornby seem to be missing out are items like unrebuilt Bulleids, better spec 8Fs and Black Fives and the class 2 standards? Rather than cute but area-specific types. Much as I was incredulous about the SECR H class, and for under £90 when released, it is a thing of great complexity and fragile construction compared to the almost brutish Bachmann C class. And just how big is the relevant market? Hornby seem to have the same approach as the Labour Party - go for the minority interest and cede the majority by default. It doesn't bode well for profitability.

Beret WW1?

After the general and p/p fitting allocated to Tonbridge (5th October 1960) and worked the AllHallows branch shuttle until 26th May 1961 when reallocated to Three Budgies, staying there until reallocated to Tunbridge Wells West on 24th September 1962 for almost a year, before reverting to Three Budgies until withdrawal in January 1964. During this time and indeed for years previously, 31551 faced south or away from London, unlike most of her classmates which faced the opposite direction. This meant that working with set 602 the loco was always running bunker first.

2 Rail hardly saved the market 'at the end of steam'. 3-Rail was effectively history by 1960 and whilst DCC is important nowadays, it's not as universal as some would think. Technology - already proven - of VR 'modelling' will, I predict, replace physical glue and paint modelling within ten years. The younger generation is more adept at screen technology than actually constructing something physical.

Yes it is! Thanks Jason.

Well it certainly was p/p fitted when I saw it at Gravesend Central in 1961! By this time I think the only non-P/P were the two Kensington Olympia locos.

Just noticed that 31551 doesn't have an air tank beneath the front running plate. Was this because of complaints that 31518 didn't have a front NEM pocket or because 31551 sometimes ran with units usually paired with other locos? (31551 faced the opposite direction to her shedmates who all faced London).

Just to undermine my argument, on getting out my BR H class today, I remembered that the dome was loose when I received it, and inspection showed that the dome didn't seat properly and there was too little glue to hold it! So Rob, you're probably right, certain manufacturers are making things too complicated/flimsy!

Just received my train pack. First of all the visuals. Nothing appeared missing or broken, though on the driving brake the footboards were slightly bent down on the right hand ends on both sides. Was it a fault? Yes. Was I bothered? No. Interestingly, the same fault was there on my two other pull-push driver brakes - clearly a design fault. The loco itself was little different from 31518, though I was very pleased to see that the correct 'stepped' buffers had been fitted as per the original. Unfortunately, the distinctive later pattern chimney had not replaced the early pattern taller, thinner type. Photos of 31551 from early 1961 show that it had this type of chimney for at least its last four years. As this does alter the look of the loco I think I may have to marry the Hornby chimney top with the SE Finecast body. Oh well. Secondly, the operation. As I had bought this from Colletts who emphasise they test every loco before despatch I was not unduly worried. It ran well from the start but had a pronounced twist to starboard that made the loco look like it was trying to 'crab'. On inspection I found a sanding pipe bearing on the front driver, and the 5degree twist was reduced to a more acceptable 2 degrees or so. Personally I think there's far too much play for what is basically a short-wheelbase 0-4-0. Were some washers omitted at some point? In conclusion, it's a lovely little model, only let down by the wrong chimney and excessive side play. As I feel a certain proprietorial affection for this number (my first dateable railway memory) I have to say that Hornby have done a superb job on what is quite a complicated and characterful tank loco. Just a pity that no-one told them that the chimney wasn't the one carried in later BR days when it was lasered!

Oh, and to add more complexity, there were different types of straight-sided 6W tenders - the N type, unfortunately, is not suitable for an N15. The tool boxes are the giveaway.

I can assure you that there's vibration in flight on modern aircraft too. I've flown alongside cargo on J model C130s (about 1,000 hours) and jet C17s (as well as other types) and vibration you wouldn't notice sat in a cramped seat on a passenger deck is quite evident on cargo floors, particularly on sprung loads and where a/c pallets are held on roller tracking. If you were to shake most boxed model locos for a day and a half I'd pretty much expect to see something drop off!

Would be surprising if the postal service was to blame. I've had 50+ locos delivered over the last seven years and I'm struggling to think of one that was caused by transit damage, even when the packaging was obviously damaged. As it would appear that none of these packages has ever involved air freighting, and as Rob McG has had such a high level of returns, it's either flight vibration or a malicious postie. I know where my money is, and it ain't the malicious postie!

FWIW, I bought the Pull-Push set R4534A (set 616) off tinternet, advertised as new, but suspiciously cheap at £52 for a 'buy it now'. I eventually found the fault, the end steps had been stuck on upside down. Maybe, in the past, the major manufacturers identified production faults and 'seconded' them accordingly? I am only speculating but it does seem that poor production seems more prevalent than it was five years ago.

I did mention 805 - withdrawn in November '59 but you're right about 796, making three in total. IIRC 804 was on sale about five years ago but I haven't a clue what the item number was. I do remember that it had an early emblem though.

There were only two in this condition, 804 and 805, with the latter being scrapped in late '59. Hornby have already done a 'Cador of Cornwall', so why do another?