CUCKOO LINE

Great service from Derails again, didn't quite know what I needed so emailed Dan who then advised me what I needed but not listed on line but they had it in the shop, he then added it to the online listing so I could order. Moral of the story is they are happy to give advice and even if not listed online they may be able to help, they may already sell it in the shop or if available from suppliers order in, if not I guess they will tell you so !

I wonder how many will appear on ebay now ?

According to Rails Facebook, now gone into production and delivery before end of year

10 hours ago, leavesontheline said:

 

I must admit that I think the 'presence' of manufacturers at shows, is not much more than that. Rapido had a stand at this show and whilst it was interesting to see some EP's of upcoming models, they didn't seem to have anything for sale (maybe you could place pre-orders, I didn't enquire) and so I didn't spend much more than a minute or two glancing at the cabinets. Had other manufacturers been there too I'm sure it would have been the same story. Would I want to see layout exhibitor places reduced in favour of manufacturers? No. Would I want to see fewer trade stands in favour of manufacturer 'showpieces'? Probably no to that too. So I agree it would have been 'nice' to see more manufacturer stands, but I wouldn't want it at the expense of exhibitors.

 

As for 'box shifters', I actually thought there was a really good mix of sellers offering new and second hand models AND bits a pieces. On some stalls it was, as is so often the case, quite hard to tell the new and second hand apart. Also, these days, even the stuff in the rummage bins seems quite pricey! 

 

In other/past shows it has been frustrating when there has only say one trader selling new models, but several selling second hand. I think having a few sellers selling the same things (whether new or second hand) can only be good for competitive prices though?

 

It must be hard for organisers to get the 'mix' right but I thought they got it right, for me anyway, at this show.

But there were a lot of people selling Rapido stuff  including the one next to them  which came from St Leonards, just down the road from Rapido !

9 hours ago, NHY 581 said:

 

Just to pick through some of your points here......

 

Yes, Hall 4 was, in my opinion, a bit of an after thought and frankly, there seemed space to tuck what was there into the other halls ( possibly freed up by exhibits being unable to attend ? ) But I agree, Hall 4 was a tad superfluous. 

 

Layouts. Yep, some big one's there but there were a few narrow gauge, a bit of continental and overall,  a good selection of layouts of all sizes. My preference is for the smaller cameo type layouts and those that were there were well done. As to the overall standard of the layouts, I thought it was pretty representative of our hobby and all were worthy of their place at the show. 

 

Demographic. As Phil @Phil Parker says, what can you expect on a Friday afternoon ? Children are in school and younger adults are in work. I was there all day, until 6 ish and there were families walking around later in the day, obviously after school. I'm at the younger end of the older chap department and I go on a Friday as it's generally less crowded and easier to move around and see things. No drama seeing the layouts or browsing at the traders. 

 

I can't comment on the catering as I took my own but I certainly sat up in the gallery overlooking the hall catching up with chums and as @Gilbert demonstrated, had that view. You clearly missed that. What was evident and enjoyable was how light, airy and spacious it all was.

 

And finally, to return to your comment about the affordability of the hobby for children, I work in a model railway retailer. We have no shortage of young customers. It irks me when people go to a show and on seeing few youngsters there on a particular day, assume it's a problem with the hobby. 

 

It isn't. The hobby is fine and the sooner we start believing that the better it will be. Sure, other things occupy children these days but there are those who do partake and shows like Bristol, which demonstrate a broad spectrum of layouts are accessible and appealing to them. 

 

I don't do big shows. Annual trips to Warley finally put me off. Not my bag. Bristol is now an exception. Warners involvement with the Bristol show is the best thing that could have happened. Pre-Covid, it was dying on it's feet and I had stopped going. I returned last year for the first time in many years, only because of Warners involvement and clearly it is this that has invigorated a rather tired show. 

 

So rather than taking a glass half empty view of the show, regard it as a glass half full. 

 

Rob. 

 

 

 

 

Agree but there were a few quite keen under 5s on Friday before end of school time, mainly with grandad! although a few with parents too. First time I,ve been on a Friday and amazed how busy it was.

2 hours ago, Graham_Muz said:

 

As already stated the EFE Rail YOB is nothing to do with the Hattons abandoned project. 

Ah all becomes clear now 35011 @ Swindon and Cricklade , YOB at Swindon and Cricklade !

We're there not some LBSCR push pull sets that survived well into BR days ? As used on Cuckoo line ?

Just had another prompt delivery from Derails, asked to delay sending for a day which they did.  Economy normally sent RM 48hr tracked which from them to me seems to work well. Anyone using it first time Derails don't give you the tracking number but you get emails from RM once they,ve got it and also an email on the day of delivery. If you have the RM tracker app it also seems tomwutomatically appear in it.

 Mostly good prices and so far reliable on preorders.

Any queries normally find a quick reply. 

On 15/03/2024 at 11:03, Wickham Green too said:

Well, my vans don't seem to have reached the Forest of Dean yet - so you're doing well ! 

 

Yes, I think the matter of safety loops has been raised before ...... there weren't any !  :  the crossbeams ( which should be an elongated lozenge shape ) had a safety chain at each end connected to somewhere behind the solebar.

Now seem to have reached the Forest of Dean, hooray !

Website suggests now only closed Sundays and Bank Holidays so a lot better hours now. 

If they constantly refer to Peters Spares then they should put spares there every time they bring out something new

All I can remember was that late 1960s early 70s it was run by a guy who seemed to continually find bargains, the story ai heard was that he spent a large amount of time scouring for redundant stock etc. It used to be packed floor to ceiling with kits and railway stuff. When I lived near Hailsham it was always on the agenda when Eastbourne was visited. He always seemed to be a bit of a Del boy but always friendly. Could have been Ken , not sure but I believe he got ill and sadly passed on. There must be modellers in Eastbourne who know more, whenever I visited there seemed to be some regulars chatting to him.

Nice to see it back open , will have to visit on our annual sussex holiday, looks like the opening hours are more flexible for visiting too

On 16/03/2024 at 20:44, 1andrew1 said:

Rumours always float around and can be circular in nature and shared in good faith. 
 

In this instance, the facts don't seem to bear out the rumour. Hattons' total costs in y/e June 2013 were £8.5m. It ended the year with stocks of just under £2.6m and started the year with stocks of just over £2.6m. (Similar figures apply to y/e June 2012 and y/e June 2014).

 

Hattons announced its closure in January 2024 and Tiering ended in November 2023. Plenty of time to decide not to close the business at that stage. After all, Hattons didn't seem to have any plans for who would purchase its moulds or brand name in January when it announced its closure.

 

I doubt few think Hornby can do no harm commercially. I think many are aware it's a hard business to make money in, as the history of European and US brands and most recently Hattons bears testimony to.

Based on subsequent events and speed at which they happenned I suspect Hattons did have some ideas on what was going to happen to some of the moulds. I would have thought commercial negotiations would have prevented them giving any clues at the announcement date.

7 minutes ago, JohnR said:

 

Their new employers have announced it on their social media. I've seen Rails announce a new member of staff as ex-Hattons too. 

Picked it up from TMC and Rapido facebook pages

Good to see some of the ex Hattons people appearing elsewhere, so far seen a couple on TMC and Rapido now just picked one up.

13 minutes ago, AY Mod said:

 

Fair play on your bit in there Barry!

 

From the link...

 

"Waterman has organised his own model railway event, to be held in April." Either rubbish reporting or someone has been misinformed.

 

 

Probably listening to the bits they wanted to and then making 2 + 2 = 8 , not uncommon for the so called popular press. I thought he said elsewhere he was not pleased with Warley giving up and he would have been prepared to help. Re the April show thought he was comitted to that before Warley announcement anyway with his extended layout.

See 2 or 3 posts back

Did the ship dock ?

4 hours ago, AY Mod said:

 

It's a costly venue so there has to be a certain amount of trade to make it viable. Saying it looks like a swapmeet is harsh and I'm sure would upset some of the trade; should we only admit trade which spend a lot on their stand such as TMC?

Seems to me it us pretty standard practice for most shows to have a balance of traders and layouts and advertise as such. For me these days with it not being easy just to pop into a well stocked local model shop, although I can get a lot on line it is still nice to browse and 3xam8ne real hardware etc rather than pictures and often get some inspiration for odd things that I wouldn,t have otherwise thought about, plus those things that adding postage makes less economical sense. So to me a good show needs a good balance of quality layouts and a good variety of traders. For example I can't see that the good mix for me at Bristol has changed much since Warners took over.

I think they quoted that they can only maintain these prices by going direct for these batches

1 hour ago, Chiltern Junction said:

 

Agree, it is great that the Hattons models aren't lost to history and may still see another run. I'm trying to rack my brains as to what else they produced that Accurascale might have picked up.

 

In addition to the FEAs and the RHTT, there was a Beilhack snowplough in OO. I don't think the breakdown crane was ever made sadly. All of those would fit nicely in the Accurascale range.

 

In O gauge there was an A3, A4 and some Teak coaches which may also have been picked up given Accurascale are now dipping their toe in the O market. I don't recall Hattons releasing anything in N gauge but I could be wrong.

 

Obviously the future of the Class 66 and Genesis coaches are already known. What else did I miss?

Weren't the 0 gauge A3 and A4 etc done in conjunction with Heljan though ? so a bit more complicated story and history I believe

57 minutes ago, JSpencer said:

 

It is a quality product from the word go. I guess Accurascale could enhance it over time, but given they are due in Q4, it is safe to say there won't be any changes other than the boxes.

And the Accurascale warranty

All now sold out on preorder

All Hattons originals now sold out on preorder

3 hours ago, Hobby said:

 

 

?

 

Or does it just mean that their assets exceeded their debts...

Or the profits are declining each year and we've reach the point to stop and get out before we enter the loss making cycle,