Mike Harvey

@Luke Piewalker I had forgotten about the diagonal disc brakes on the HAA fleet. A high proportion of the 2 and 4 axle PO wagons had the same configuration. I remember doing some extended field trials on a PGA in the Peak District which produced some interesting results namely that having disc brakes all round rather than diagonally extended disc pad life by a factor of 4 which was not so surprising. There was also negligible disc wear. What was surprising was discs all round also extended the miles between tyre turning by a factor of 4, and the wear pattern was such that overall wheel life went up by a factor of six by comparison with a diagonal disc set up. It is hard to imagine the financial benefit across the whole HAA fleet if they all had disc brakes on every wheel. Installing from new must have been an option rejected in favour of lower initial outlay, but running costs over 40 years might have been much lower.

@njee20 Looks like a convincing print of a wagon type I have a soft spot for. These were originally hired to Rugby Cement (15 wagons) and Blue Circle Cement (52 wagons). At the time of the Railfreight Exhibition in 1989 we had one spare which was put into an all white livery and carried red CAIB logos on the tank sides and ends. All of our vehicles for the exhibition were white with red lettering. Keeping them looking clean in a still sooty Cricklewood atmosphere was a major overnight undertaking and needed to be done after the dew had settled. So if you have a problem with finding the right grey, one in white would be authentic.

HBA and HEA were 952mm diameter = 37.5inches

Oxford Rail is showing 45 items in stock, excluding 2 bundles and 9 Oxford Diecast items. The rest are sold out or for future release. No indication of quantities but they alone are not going to account for the end 2022 stock bulge at Hornby because they were almost all already in stock at that stage. https://www.oxforddiecast.co.uk/collections/oxford-rail?pf_t_availability=In+Stock And the future unreleased models:- https://www.oxforddiecast.co.uk/collections/oxford-rail?pf_t_availability=Future

Previously reported on 28 July 2023 on the other National thread on here.

The wheels were 1092mm diameter so 3ft 7in, not 4ft 0in. 3ft 6in wheels would be a good approximation in N for a worn wheelset.

Oxford Diecast has posted on the Facebook Oxford Diecast Collectors Group that it is planning a live broadcast in September for its next round of new model announcements.

When I was involved in the catering provision on a group of loco-hauled InterCity services, we used to diagram Mk 1 catering vehicles by coach number such was the variation inside the cars even when they were nominally identical. This dictated what they could produce. Catering needs varied considerably by route.

Yes this bus is just a dumb terminal. Motor, battery, on/off power switch and reed switch. You will need to slide the bus stop switch to the GO position to restart it. When I get the inclination I might look at how to automate the restart with an Arduino timed circuit and servo, but not high on my priority list. I have plenty of the smarter chassis for my needs. I thought I had replied to your question on Youtube as well.

Those are tare weight figures not running numbers.

A topic on the Forum du N includes equally scarce photos of a road vehicle delivery of milk in churns to a creamery. https://cdn-s-www.lejsl.com/images/4882F8D4-1137-4823-8759-4FAFC95784C0/JSL_v1_02/1-a-l-epoque-(ici-en-1940)-la-beurrerie-etait-approvisionnee-par-des-camionnettes-qui-allaient-recuperer-les-bidons-de-lait-chez-les-producteurs-2-le-pdg-thierry-molle-explique-l-arbre-genealogique-de-la-bressane-photos-dr-et-g-b-1462194157.jpg http://

Interesting that of the four major brands, Corgi does not feature in the “capsule” development. Perhaps that is another signal that a bundling of Corgi and Oxford Diecast into a disposable unit is on the cards.

Thank you for quoting my reference to NMRA wheel profiles..... and then ignoring it. You obviously have a bee in your bonnet about N gauge standards and maybe, just maybe, restating your displeasure at intervals in the Hornby TT:120 thread is not going to give it the airing you desire. After 50 years modelling in N, but only the past 15 or so years modelling British N, I am surprised that I do not have the operational issues you seem to. All of my previous layouts have used Fleischmann Profi track (with lots of flexible track) and only in the past year have I switched to Kato Unitrack for a post-bereavement project where I was seeking quicker progress. And just to be clear I use a standard back-to-back of 7.45mm whether using Fleischmann or Kato track. I will resist responding the next time you bring up the N standards in this TT:120 thread.

Whilst I accept that some of the N scale standards are coarser than TT:120, I am surprised that you question the consistency of standards in N gauge. I accept there is no worldwide N standard but for users with less eclectic tastes than mine, the local standards for any given market are just that - standard. For about the past 15 years almost all the makers of UK rolling stock have switched wheels to NMRA profile. Almost all the continental manufacturers have continued with the coarser NEM profiles, although several are now offering their latest production with NMRA wheel profiles. As to running standards, I am using N powered and non-powered rolling stock from Arnold, Fleischmann, Minitrix, REE, Roco, Kato, Bachmann Farish, Peco, Revolution Trains, Rapido, NME, N Gauge Society, AFAN, Lemke, Artrain, Hobbytrain and several smaller producers. Running these several times a day on Kato Unitrack (horribly Code 80!) with 19 turnouts and a minimum curve radius of 282mm, I haven't experienced the bumping and lurching you mention, and I really cannot remember the last time I had a derailment or unintended uncoupling. Shunting uses the Dapol Easishunts (using permanent magnets under the track) and N Gauge Society, Bachmann Farish and Arnold shunting locomotives. I do understand that some people struggle with making N work, as they may well struggle with making TT, 00 gauge or 0 gauge work, but even with my shaky 75 year old hands and dodgy eyesight, I seem to have managed very well with the layout built over the past 12 months. I wonder what I am doing wrong. I really do not expect to have a problem with a TT:120 shunting plank when Hornby produce some modern freight rolling stock.

Just echoing what Robert Shrives has written. The main factor was adhesion on the steeper gradients. A Co-Co diesel had better adhesion than a single Bo-Bo electric - 12 wheels gripping the track against 8 wheels. Two Bo-Bo electrics had better adhesion than one Co-Co diesel - 16 wheels against 12 wheels. Adhesion translated into running speed. So to achieve a workable path for the train, two Bo-Bo electrics could produce a path slightly faster than a single diesel, and at the time at much lower energy costs. Two electrics had significantly more power potential on tap than a single diesel but that needed to translate into real tractive effort on a rising gradient and with a damp rail. Too much power and wheelslip soon fails to allow the locomotive to maintain momentum. Two electrics were certainly more reliable than a single Class 47. The BR policy was not to run diesels for long distances under the wires if it was avoidable.

I was involved in the original train planning for the Ravenscraig - Shotton HRC services. As well as 2 x Class 86 traction we did look at a single diesel throughout which although running slower gave a better end to end time by avoiding the traction changeover from electric. In the end we followed the policy of not planning for diesels under the wires. Class 87s were not included in the picture as they were preferred for passenger services, Freightliner and the Class 4 Speedlink trains in that order.

I am obviously on Hornby’s list of market targets. I just received an email from Saga Travel “in association with Hornby TT:120 “. I am in the upper half of Saga’s normal target age range. I suppose I will be buying for the great-grandchildren.

They are saving an even bigger WCML announcement for TINGS. :-)

Bit surprised by this comment as it seems to me that Revolution have been meticulous in quoting the source of photos and referencing the author's name and the permission. Been back through this topic and cannot find any in it at all.

This what it looks like in action, although not in a model railway context. https://youtu.be/sMzj6du4gX8

It is almost certainly a Paris-Bruxelles (Amsterdam) working, These incorporated SNCB Eurofimas in orange C1 livery, and a selection of SNCF Eurofima and Corail Vu and Vtu coaches also in C1 Livery. I have a photo somewhere taken in Amsterdam when I saw the Vu/Vtu stock in orange for the first time, and in a wholly orange set. The SNCF Eurofima A9 fleet contained the first 8 coaches out of 100 in orange livery (900-907), and the following Corail Vu/Vtu coaches also in C1:- 10 A4B6u Vu75 composite compartments (063-072); 11 B6Dd2 Vu75 Second class compartment baggage (not air-conditioned) (269-279), 35 B10tu Vtu75 second class open (291-325). Usually the trains were hauled by SNCF CC40100. The SNCB Class 18 was generally diagrammed for the Paris-Köln and Oostende-Köln services. The Köln services from Paris generally did not contain orange coaches and in the late 1980s one of the Parsifal sets was wholly SNCF stock in Corail grey livery. Details sourced from the Le Train Corail archive Tome 2.

That may be a factor in the historical stock, but would not account for the intake of new stock during Q3 when the diecast model supply was at a low level and what was delivered was selling through quickly.

By way of explanation, I have been away for the past 10 days and read the topic from the start. So my comment was made in reaction to Andy's post in the middle of last week! Although we do not have sector analysis for the Corgi and Oxford businesses, Oxford have been clearing old stock and sometimes very old stock in "mystery bundles" since the middle of 2022, and is still doing it 12 months on. If anything I would say that both the diecast businesses were starved of new stock in Hornby's Q3 and unlikely to be the source of the inventory increase. If anything the inventory value would have been higher and the cash inflow lower without Oxford's "mystery bundles" sales. They currently have numerous bundles on offer but are clearly getting to the bottom of the barrel as the newest versions contain "imperfect, and display" models, and surplus part-work models, rather than only factory fresh own brand items. Oxford Bundles

I could see a bundled Oxford Diecast and Corgi being an attractive proposition at the right price, and free of headquarter's overhead burden. I wonder who might spend their nest egg on that?

I have put off pre-ordering these because I wanted to see whether Revolution would be able to get the bodies closer to rail level than the motorised EFE 00 gauge model. From the models shown at York it looks like the N gauge versions will indeed be tube trains.