GWR-fan

Released over twenty years ago I regard this as one of Bachmann's best releases and most likely one of its most underrated presentation models. Only 1000 units were apparently sold so rarely do I see them online at my favourite store. The major auction sites seem to sporadically list them for sale. I always believed in the past that one of these sets would never cross my door as the pack weighs around 6kg, but for the excellent pricing by DHL Express through Hattons I have now secured an additional pack. Last year in a discount sale I picked up a "rough" set missing the book. The locomotives and coaches were mint, however, the presentation box had seen better days. The price was so good that I overlloked the box condition as it was the models that I wanted. The Manor class and 43XX locomotives ran superbly and it seemed neither the locomotives nor coaches had actually seen any track time. I was particularly interested in the Autobuffet coach apparently only released in this train pack. Roll onto this morning and a second pack arrived, courtesy of Hattons and DHL Express excellent service. This pack is a museum piece complete with book, limited certificate, loco instructions, loco brakerods and coach nameboards. It looked like none of the models had ever been removed from the foam packaging and even the wrapping protective tissue was intact. I had to test run the two locomotives for my peace of mind and both ran beautifully with no hesitation. These had most likely spent their lives cocooned in the presentation pack and did not fail their possible first test run. I will now spend the next hour or so reading the "Cambrian Coast Express" book before once again condemning the pack to a life of solitude as I have the previously purchased pack to use. The pack actually represents good value for money as forgetting the possible "collector value" (if any), the pack includes two locomotives each of which Hattons would list for at least GBP50.00 each and six Mk1 coaches which would list for at least GBP 25.00 each in their pre-owned listings. What the Mk1 Autobuffet car would sell for is potentially a lot more as the coach was only released in the 1000 presentation packs sold?

Realistically, KR could not possibly afford the investment required to match the quality of Bachmann's latest releases. One million pounds to research and tool just one loco is a level too far for the company. Any major tooling would require the financial input of one of the major model railway shops, but would they really be interested as Bachmann may already have the class 40 in its sights for a retool. Say a theoretical profit of GBP50.00 per loco sold and a basement level investment of say GBP300,000.00, the company would need to sell 6000 units just to break even. Given the money that Bachmann is willing to invest on new releases to get the "quality" they believe we all want, even the low amount of investment that I mentioned is most likely unrealistically low for KR Models. Is the market actually there for say 10,000 units given that the class 40 has been released previously by Bachmann, Lima, Hornby and Joueff? Seems more pie in the sky to me. Perhaps KR Models sees a potential market for future livery releases, including the now popular fantasy models. Bachmann's massive investment for the class 37 and 47 will see the tooling life into the distant future with perhaps only minor tooling alteration to conform with prototype changes. Does the KR Models company have the potential lifespan to keep releasing new liveries into the future to recoup costs before the market is totally saturated?

I always look at the free shipping threshold and decide whether to spend the required additional money to meet the threshold on railway items or spend it on the shipping cost.

My Lima railcar arrived and when compared to a Dapol streamlined railcar the bogies would be definitely under nourished and the bogie centre is too short to be of any use. The Lima railcar actually surprised me. After cleaning the non-powered bogie pickups the model ran quite well and was relatively quiet. With the stock motor it required around '45' units on the Gaugemaster D controller to move from rest, with a sustainable slow pace at '50' units. The unit is more robust than I had given it credit for. While testing on a kitchen bench I was distracted by one of the cats and the model powered itself off the bench, crashing nearly one metre to a tiled floor, sustaining not even a scratch. I believe that I dodged a bullet.

While awaiting delivery of the Lima parcels express railcar I have found some dimensions which are not promising. The earlier railcar had a bogie centre of 40' as opposed to the 43' 6" of the later variant. Thus approximately 12 mm difference when scaled. Overall length, the later variant is 2' longer over buffers (8 mm). Bogie wheelbase is 7' on the early version and 8' 6" on the later (I could live with that). Apart from possibly lengthening the Dapol chassis it would seem that this brain wave is going nowhere.

Steve, many thanks, but until Peters Spares reviews their shipping policy then I will refuse to deal with them. GBP39.99 shipping on an item weighing barely a few grams is ridiculous. Pre-covid I used Peters spares regularly and was the only source that I used for many, many Hornby spares, but no more. He upped the shipping cost during Covid on eBay sales due receiving a handful of negative feedback for delayed delivery times (for which he had no control over). I would rather put the GBP39.99 to the Dapol model. Even Rails only charges around GBP14.00 to ship a Dapol "Flying Banana". Hattons will ship a large box weighing around 5kg for GBP39.50 using DHL Express to Australia. How Peters Spares justifies GBP39.99 shipping on all worldwide orders astounds me. From their website: " OVERSEAS DELIVERIES Europe £0.00 up to £50.00 £18.20 By Royal Mail tracked Airmail service. Orders Between £50.00 - £500.00 by Tracked & Insured Airmail £18.20 Worldwide £0.00 up to £50.00 £39.99 By Royal Mail tracked Airmail service. Orders between £50.00 - £500.00 by tracked Airmail £39.99

Yes, I agree that the CD motor swap would be more economical, particularly as I have several "Susu" motor conversion kits released some years ago from a seller in one of the Nordic countries. The downfall is always power pickup (and the traction tyres). I have previously modified both powered and unpowered bogies in an attempt at improving power pickup but it seems that either the traction tyres play up or the wheel treads "corrode" to an insulating surface. I onsold all my Lima models several years ago as I had given up trying to get them to run reliably. One day they would be perfect and then a couple of days later they would be needed to be coaxed back into life. I actually found that the older the model the better they seemed to run (perhaps better quality than the later released models).

I agree that it would be a shame to dismantle the Dapol model just for the chassis, however the last price that I saw on a Heljan razor edge railcar was more than twice the price of the Rails bargain (GBP75.00 after VAT removal) plus the pittance paid for the Lima model. To put a later Hornby chassis under the Lima model would cost me nearly as much as the discounted price on the Dapol model. If I need to then I will revert to my original plan with the CD drive motor and additional pickups.

Nothing at all wrong with the Dapol streamlined body, it was a reduced price bargain that would give me a decent chassis that was the attraction. I believe the later Swindon razor-edged bodies were a few feet longer at 65' 8" over the bufffers, but then the earlier units did not have buffers so body length may still be close enough. The wheelbase of the Swindon units is 43' 6" beteen bogie centres. There would be several compromises required. I will need to await the arrival of the Lima model and compare to an existing Dapol streamlined model that I have onhand.

I purchased a very inexpensive Lima express parcels railcar (inconsistent runner) with the intention of replacing the ringfield motor with a CD drive motor and adding pickups to the non-powered bogie. I had one of these years ago and could never get it to run reliably so the grey matter has been ticking over. With Rails selling the Dapol GWR/BR "Flying Banana" railcar at a reduced price, could the Lima body be fitted to the Dapol chassis with minimal work required? I really do not wish to modify the Dapol chassis. I assume that the wheelbase is similar as is perhaps overall length. There will be some obstacles such as bogies and the differing valence shape between the bogies which I am prepared to ignore. I am not concerned about lighting, only a reliably running vehicle. If unable to fit the chassis then at least I will still have a functional streamlined railcar and a not so reliable Lima model. Edit: if not possible then I could swap the chassis from a later Hornby model. I hope that Hornby did not retool the Lima body too drastically and assume that it should be a direct swap.

I have never detected a smell of mould, however, some items (very few) from the store reek of tobacco smell.

You have the older three-pole ringfield. The later five-pole ringfield (has grey gears, not black) has a lower starting current and better low down speed. It also has four-wheel pickups but has a traction tyre.

By the look of the wheels the model has seen minimal use in its lifetime. Then again, the plastic wheel connectors can fail just sitting in the box. Most of my other 43XX came fitted with the replacement Bachmann chassis without any indication in the item description that the chassis had been "upgraded". An old Manor also purchased inexpensively just for the tender wheels actually runs so well that I left the metal wheels on it rather than stripping it

Many thanks

Several years ago I recall that Peters spares sold plastic screws intended for this application.

No downward pressure, just lateral movement. Seems to work as the loco runs straight with no wandering like several of my other 43XX models.

At a guess, some of the cars shown Image 1. Austin A30/40 van, Zephyr 6, Austin Cambridge Image 2. Humber Super Snipe?, Morris Oxford Image 3. Zephyr 6, Morris Oxford Image 4. Ford Anglia Image 5. Ford cortina Mk2? Image 6. Austin A30/35 Seems to be a few regular car arrivals at the station Edit: posted at the same time as previous reply

Many thanks

Many thanks

This morning I received an apparently unused Hornby eLink trainset, "Western Master", purchased purely for the loco, rolling stock and track in the set I was aware that the software was not included (the set was very inexpensive), but did receive the eLink controller, power supply and cables. I have no interest in the eLink controller and power supply so these are surplus to my needs. I am aware that once used, the software cannot be transferred to another computer, however, is the controller itself restricted from being used with another Railmaster CD? I do not know if the previous owner has powered up the controller to use with the software or simply purchased the set just for the software CD. The set looks like it has not been used. I thought of onselling the controller and power supply for a minimal amount but am concerned that possibly the controller might be "registered" with the original CD software from the set and thus a potential purchaser of the controller may not be able to use it with another CD.

This morning I received a pre-owned Mainline 43XX purchased purely as a source of tender wheels for a "Lord of the Isles" loco from a recently released Hornby nostalgia trainset. I have not test run as yet as in reality the mechanical condition of the model is secondary as I was really just after the tender wheels, however, I was surprised, firsly, at the perfect cosmetic condition of the loco and more interestingly, in the spring wire attached to the pilot truck. I am aware that the 43XX has a tendency to wobble or crab walk down the track so possibly this modification is intended to cure that. Several months ago I purchased a pre-owned Mainline Manor class also as a source of tender wheels for a Hornby Dean single, but as the Mainline loco ran so well I decided to leave the wheels on the tender.

I have been using eBay as both a seller (mostly) and buyer for around twenty years and it was only with my recent experience that I became aware that there are some categories of items that are not covered by the eBay buyer protection policy. In my case it was UK/Australia power adaptors. I was also not aware that if eBay refuses or is unwilling to intervene in a dispute then PayPal wipes its hands as well leaving the buyer at the mercy of the seller.

For the first time in a very long time I find myself with an item not received. Purchased from a UK registered eBay seller who states that the items are located in Melbourne, Victoria, but from his feedback the items are actually outside Australia and apparently dropshipped, so delivery times, if the items are to arrive, are way longer than the eBay estimate. The received tracking number does not track as it is invalid. Some feedback quote that months later the items purchased have not arrived. Nearly three weeks have passed and no sign the items have been posted and an invalid tracking number. I prefer the old eBay where they actually cared about their customers. EBay says that the seller is a highly respected reputable seller and yet of his 385 feedbacks this last 12 months, 54 are negative and 13 neutral. Most of the negatives are that the item never arrived. I sought help through eBay for a refund (eBay buyer protection guarantee) but it seems the items purchased (UK/Australia power adaptors) are not covered under the guarantee. I went to lodge a PayPal claim however, PayPal states that the purchase was made through eBay and thus my claim will be with the seller to issue a refund. Thus neither eBay nor PayPal are interested. With most of the seller's negative feedbacks being items not received then little chance of a refund. What of all the hype about how eBay and PayPal offer assurances that your purchases are safe with both offering buyer protection. Perhaps the seller has found a range of goods to sell not covered under the buyer protection guarantee policy.

Perhaps prototypically there was a variation in the livery so I really have no option as the train pack was purchased a long time ago and alas, either I did not inspect when received or simply did not notice the variation as all three coaches were the same tone. The "real" colour is obvious when placed beside a typical Pullman coach with no fading or colour variation.

John, if it was just one side of the coaches that had faded then I would naturally assume UV damage, but both sides of all three coaches are impacted with the same damage. Edit: The other day I received a Railroad range Hornby GWR Collett in shirtbutton livery and due the current store policy of only showing a boxed item still in its packaging, I was disappointed to find that the coach had the cream banding faded on one side only but for just half the length of the side of the coach.