Keith Addenbrooke

A YouTube video of this exhibition just happened to pop up in my suggested watch list on TV the other night - the layout was third to be shown (the well-known UK OO Copper Wort was first, which was interesting). Sorry I don’t have a link, but just wanted to acknowledge the layout came across well on film. Well done! Keith.

“I don’t believe it!” - no sooner have I read and showed my appreciation for this helpful blog post last night than today I just happen to see on sale today a model I’ve been after for ages (a structure kit in my case). Trouble is, I’ve been looking for an affordable example for so long that in the meantime I’ve already bought and built a slightly smaller substitute, plus bought another (not yet built) to fill the resulting gap in my plans. So I can’t say I “need” the original I’ve now seen - as the others are certainly good enough. If I only I’d not read this post yesterday… (Admittedly, I am taking Barry’s point in a slightly different direction: in my case the prototype for the substitute structure kit I went for is not quite on the button, whereas the original would have been: hence I’m still using the “good enough” rule)

Some interesting thoughts - well illustrated with some nice locos too. An enjoyable read, thank you, Keith.

A rerailer is the thing - presumably an N gauge one would work. I agree wide, low-slung bodies and small wheels make it more challenging. Keith.

Thank you @JSpencer for the link - as mentioned, some interesting points, particularly around volume. Hattons’ business model did seem to have volume at the core, and it was interesting to hear that wasn’t a new thing for them. I must admit there did seem to be fewer mainstream / volume products on display last time I visited the store just before Christmas, something I remember mentioning when I got home that day as a concern. When comparing price of models past to present, I’d factor in volume again: in the early 1980s I was quite content with three locos on my layout (until I sold one and just had two). By the 2010s my ‘one engine in steam’ unsceniced tabletop branch line apparently needed 20 to keep running, most of which had come from Hattons. I think that’s one thing that changed, previously to Hattons advantage, but perhaps less so now the manufacturing business model has moved to short production runs of high end models, as others have commented. I just hope there aren’t people still with lots of store credit to spend now there’s little left of many products, Keith.

Brings back more memories of Hattons - in 2005 - 2007 when I was living back in the Midlands (actually where I come from) I spent many long hours scrolling through the OO gauge steam loco and coach listings on the ehattons website (as it was then). I was using a dial-up modem to connect to the internet, so the connection wasn’t fast, giving me time to enjoy the pictures displayed on what certainly seemed to me then to be the best website around. Happy times, Keith.

Some Narrow Gauge modellers also use 1:55 or 5.5mm scale to model 3’ gauge lines on standard 16.5mm gauge HO / OO track but that’s as close as I could get, Keith.

They do seem to have vanished, both from the regular listing and the special Bulk Buy opportunities listing included as part of the Closing Down Sale. I can only guess, but it would seem to me someone has bought out the stock en bloc (ie: another retailer or commercial organisation). I did not buy one (nor accidentally buy 200 for us all to share here), sorry. Keith.

Good to know you’ve found a use on the layout for yours. I think mine may be from different tooling. No scale is quoted, although the proportions look OK to me, so I’ve checked them against what I can find in terms of prototype dimensions. If I take the wheelbase length (axle to axle) I believe this is 2.4m (or 7’ 10.5”). In H0 1:87 that would only be 27.6mm, and in OO 1:76 it would be 31.6mm. Mine is 40mm exactly, conveniently giving a scale of 1:60, but confirms it as too big. I’m keeping the Camper van anyway, but not for model railway use. I’ve decided not to keep the cars. If they were a bit undersized it might work, as buildings also tend to be quite compressed (even when door/windows are kept to scale), but not with them being a bit too big. Shame they didn’t all have the scales on the underneath like the red Porsche, Keith.

Hi Simon, agreed. I need to correct an earlier comment I made about my Fleischmann 6-wheelers: I thought the metal weight in the carriages carried the current, but on further inspection there are two metal strips beneath it that do the job instead: I could do with some spare bulbs, and am thinking dolls house bulbs might fit as an option if I can’t get any proper Fleischmann ones (in the middle photo they are clearly of two different styles). Hope that helps, Keith.

Well, I suspect you fooled us all with that one - the giant leap / fall / dive is off the bottom step, not at the top end! (If only the bottom section was turned at 90° it would look a lot less scary when you start adding people)

Why do I keep looking to see how many O Scale Dapol unlined Black Terriers are still in stock? (currently 202). I don’t model in O Scale - and never have - and I wouldn’t trust my painting and lining skills on anything big enough to be visible anyway. But they do look very nice. Guess I’ll miss all this even more than I thought. In the scale I do model in - HO - there are some fantastic Crafstman Building kits from a range of manufacturers still showing. These are priced at £200 - £300+ which I’d say is a fair price for that kind of genuinely rare and sought after limited run item. They’ve not been discounted, and that seems fair to me: they’re the kind of high value, slow moving item that used to reside on the top shelf or in the window of a store waiting for someone to either save up or give in and buy it. Sadly beyond my budget. Not so sure the last two hundred and ninety-three Peco HO Scale Unifrog #6 Long Crossings (Code 83) will shift quickly, but perhaps there’s another story there (Hattons taking on Hornby excess stock has been discussed previously - this looks to be an outlier from Peco though). I hope that staff are bearing up - can’t have been an easy weekend. Thoughts remain with them all, Keith.

Thank you @Claude_Dreyfus and @298 for the feedback - useful to have other input at this stage (I’m not great at matching scales, so it is helpful). To complete the story, I borrowed my wife’s red Porsche after lunch, and while it is a bit bigger than OO or H0 at 1:58, the size difference to the silver / grey 997* shows why it was worth checking: I also dug out Sam’s Van (Gaugemaster H0) to compare with the VW Camper, which again confirms the view that these cars, incidentally all made by a company called Realtoy, are too big - even if with weathering (especially the wheels) I think they could still look quite nice. Thanks again - question answered, Keith. *I’m not an expert on cars - the model numbers/ types are all moulded on the bottom

We’re having a clear out, and among the things being sorted are some toy cars and other vehicles the kids long ago grew out of. These four cars seem a bit smaller than the others, and while I believe they are still over-scale for HO, I’m wondering if it’s not too much to make them useful for a more modern setting? As usual, I’d welcome any thoughts - I don’t have a layout to try them out on, sorry: I also came across this VW camper - again, I think it’s a bit too big for 1:87 based on the dimensions when scaled, but how bad does it look to others with more experience? Just wondered. Hope that’s OK. Thanks, Keith.

The plot thickens…but first of all some information that may be of more general use: I have a couple of Fleischmann HO bogie coaches with lights exactly as Simon ( @SimonHMT ) describes: wiper pick-ups that brush the centre of the axles, (the insulated wheels are on the same side on one bogie, and the opposite side on the other bogie at the far end): I also have some Fleischmann HO 6-wheel coaches, again with lights. The pick-ups are the bearings: The clever thing with these is the metal plate that adds weight across the coach also carries the lighting circuit. Axles are the thicker insulated type. I then have a few Roco coaches. A couple have the thicker axles that are recommended when fitting light units, with the others having the metal axles with an insulated wheel at one side (as below). Pick-up is via the bearings, then there is a thin brass feather / wiper pick-up between the bogie and the coach body (also highlighted): What is strange is that the coach I had problems with yesterday continues to be the odd one out: three of the four coaches I have with this arrangement have insulated wheels one way round on one bogie, and the other way round at the other end. Not that one - that one produces a short unless all four axles are the same way round. I don’t know if it has been internally modified at some point - it is the only one with wires inside the coach, which don’t seem to be standard (according to the instructions the light bars - when fitted - are fed by metal rods from the floor to the ceiling, not wires). For now I’m inclined to leave things as they are - but if I ever want to fit lights that coach may need further investigation. Hope that helps - it appears I have an odd one that caused the issue, Keith.

Thanks @SimonHMT, makes sense - I was thinking the pick up was via the axle point bearings. If it’s wipers on the axles, the insulated wheels need to be the same on each bogie, but opposites at each end of the carriage, just as you say: which would mean it was the other wheel set in my errant bogie I needed to reverse. It’s all packed away now, but next time I get out the coaches I’ll check again. Thanks for the quick reply, Keith.

I ran into a problem with a Roco coach that arrived today, which I’ve fixed but don’t really understand, so thought I’d ask here… Some pre-owned Fleischmann coaches I bought recently came with lights not mentioned in the description. I’ve therefore taken to testing any new coaching stock just in case (the simple way, with a PP3 battery across the rails). I didn’t expect these Roco coaches to have lights but tested them anyway, and noticed the battery was getting hot - suggesting a short circuit somewhere. The coaches come with lighting pick-ups fitted to the bogies, so I just needed to figure out where the problem was. I wired up a controller and set to work. By process of elimination I worked out which coach it was, using one of the Fleischmann coaches to check. Some wires visible inside the coach turned out not to be the problem, which I finally worked out was down to one particular wheel set: But the wheel set in itself was fine: All I had to do was turn it round. Somehow it had ended up with the insulated wheel on the opposite side to those on the other three axles - it had probably popped out at some point after last being used and was quickly replaced the wrong way round in error. But my question is: why? Given all the axles are insulated, why would having one the wrong way round cause a short? Any ideas? The lesson I’ve learned of course is to check each new piece of rolling stock separately before running it in a train: I could easily have spent a lot longer trying to work out if there was a problem with a locomotive if I’d had one to hand this evening. Any thoughts would be most welcome - simply to improve my understanding. Thanks, Keith.

One thing that’s emerged from this thread is it’s more common than I realised to maintain spreadsheet records of purchases. As a former Management Accountant I thought it was just me, but it’s something several have mentioned. Checking my spreadsheet last night shows my transaction volume and spend at Hattons has gone up in recent years, especially in 2022 when, post-pandemic, I tried out several different ideas (all pre-owned based). The number of sales of surplus / pre-owned stock I was making to Hattons also rose - same reason. All transactions were flawless and efficient. There was only one occasion where I can recall making a return, and this was handled very promptly and courteously. My final parcel came yesterday: Items I wanted to buy later in the year, but pulled forwards. No prizes for guessing the long box is a few lengths of Peco Flextrack, but I wanted to show the packaging because of the additional reinforcing strip Hattons have been adding for additional rigidity during shipping, which is appreciated. I’m aware of other suppliers who will only ship complete boxes of 25 lengths of Flextrack, which is fair enough, but more than I need. Ideally I would have called in at the store in person, but am not over that way this week. I emailed the staff I’ve been dealing with at Hattons after the news broke, and it’s a sign of their professionalism that I soon got a gracious reply back, Keith.

Thanks for sharing these - would love to have space to model these: simple scenery, big trains and tall elevators, plus heavy traffic. I think it could make a perfect basement-sized shelf layout (with plenty of staging). Thanks again, Keith.

“Ticket offences fell dramatically after the newly recruited Fahrkartenkontrolleure were revealed.”

Just watched the video of the fiddle yard: a truly amazing piece of design and engineering! I have no idea how many hours thinking it all through must have taken, but I don’t think I’ll ever look at a staging area in quite the same light ever again! Thank you for sharing it in such detail. And if anyone thinks I’ve lost it over a few hidden sidings - please do watch the video in full, Keith.

Like others who’ve already posted, my first memory of shopping at Hattons was in the original Smithdown Road store a quarter of a century ago. Regular visits to the later store, where the friendly, knowledgeable (and patient) staff, along with the wonderful glass display cabinets, made it a real destination to visit. More recently, I’ve mainly dealt with the Pre-Owned team, who have been excellent on every occasion. The Trunk service has been a genuine (award-winning) innovation too, and my last visit in-store to Widnes was only just before Christmas. Gasps of shock from the family when I told them - will leave a big hole in my modelling memories, as well as future. Can only wish the very best to all the staff. Take care, Keith.

Interesting to see an article about the history of Eggerbahn / Minitrains - presumably in HOn30 (9m gauge). Keith.

Thank you to @ian and @AndyB for your helpful suggestions, as always. After a visit to the first 2024 meeting of our local 009 Society Group this afternoon it was time for the first build of the year: kindly bought for me as a Christmas Gift by one of my daughters in the Family Secret Santa: I’ve never actually owned one of these folding workbenches before, though I’ve long wanted one. In terms of other places to model, there are also several active Model Railway Clubs in our Area. While the 009 Society Group doesn’t have a premises of its own, the Clubs do - which reminds me, I promised to visit one when I got the chance, so must set that up (the other one, which I have been shown round, has Club nights when I’m busy). I get.a lot from belonging to the 009 Society, so ought to mention Club membership as relevant to this discussion topic, Keith.

Hi Paul, a company called Pentrex seem to have done one with a blue cover and photos. Any use? Keith.