MattA

10 minutes ago, TomScrut said:

 

The only 9Fs I'd consider are preserved ones. Only reason ES hasn't been ordered yet is just because I am thinking how badly I want it given in real life it will probably never run again, it's one of my favourite steam locos but prototypically doesn't exist on a 2020/1 layout. If it was one currently running I'd have ordered already.

If you want a BR green 9F you're spoiled for choice. Naturally there's Hornby's version. There's also Bachmann's version - the NRM edition is still available from Locomotion Models for £169. Or if you fancy 92214 instead, that's an option from the Bachmann Collectors Club for £190.

10 hours ago, Edge said:

 

Highly curious - Hattons are stil showing it at the higher price. Someone has made a mistake somwhere, although i think Kernow is far more on the money with the value of the set

Hatton's have since adjusted their pricing. Pre-order price is now £162 on their site https://www.hattons.co.uk/stockdetail.aspx?SID=619194

Does anyone know more about the history of 432478 (The BR green one, No. 84)? That'll tell me how much I need to alter the course of history to justify one on my layout!

1 hour ago, Pmorgancym said:

Looking in the Railroad bits, Hornby have short memories about repurposing Thomas moulds out of license.  Do you think Bachmann will react?

I wonder if the terms have changed now that Mattel own the franchise and not HiT or HiT's predecessors.

3 minutes ago, Chuffed 1 said:

Why no Manor, or an all-new Class 47?

And set themselves up in direct competition with Dapol and Heljan (respectively)? Actually Hornby competing with other manufacturers seems to be becoming normal these days...

On 16/12/2020 at 11:56, AY Mod said:

 

Green cylinder covers and lower firebox, now that's a rarity for BR green livery...

If I was desperate to get an Evening Star I think I'd be getting the NRM edition one with the perfectly adequate Bachmann tooling that's £40 cheaper from Locomotion Models...

Hornby do seem to have a habit of coming up with new toolings that clash with another manufacturer's...

Definitely the new tooling that has me most interested this year!

I can dream of Southern Railway Qs and Us, and an LNER K4.

35 minutes ago, Firecracker said:

I’ll admit to a little secret, the only loco that was intentionally bought for the layout was the standard 4 mogul.

Very frugal! As for me, I'm a sucker for GWR locos so I was bound to buy some anyway. I've had some particularly lucky bargains, especially the eBay auction that won me the 38xx for about 60% of the price that most other examples were selling at!

On 31/12/2020 at 14:04, Firecracker said:

You can tell I got bored over Christmas, can't you?  Here's a bit of worldbuilding nonsense, explaining how some of these locos ended up in this corner of NW England.

Loco histories.docx 16.53 kB · 43 downloads

Owain

I love this kind of worldbuilding - a well-thought out loco roster makes a model of a ficticious heritage railway that much more believable. I see a lot of people model their own heritage railways, but then shatter any sense of realism with their megalomaniacal locomotive rosters!

Funnily enough, I also have 7739 and 76080 on the roster of my own budding fictional heritage line. I also picked up 3817 and 4156 - like 76080, they were unfortunate enough to have been scrapped at Barry after 1965.

My own 33/0 landed today and it is a beautiful runner. After I ran it in I gave it a load and it made mincemeat out of the gradient on my layout! Very satisfied.

I model preservation era and Rapido have announced two types of engine that I really like in preserved liveries, so my wallet is going to get very upset in the coming months!

I'm happy to see that Dapol seem to have come out with an excellent product - it bodes well for their future planned 00 gauge GWR locos too.

55 minutes ago, Neil said:

Not just appropriate for industrial use, it looks as though three made it to the GWR (via a couple of the South Wales companies) and then onto BR.

Quite right. And I can think of another non-industrial example as well: the one used on the East Kent Railway.

7 minutes ago, melmerby said:

Not characteristics others that have posted would agree with.

 

It's actually 100g less than the previous Hornby version, I've added extra weight to one of mine to improve it's adhesion.

I guess others have higher standards for a loco's weight compared to me. Admittedly I never owned one of the older tooling models. Regardless, I am yet to observe mine slipping when hauling a train up my own gradients.

My new prairie arrived this morning. I was impressed by how quiet and smooth it was straight out of the box! After running in and subsequent running with a rake of Collets, the lack of vertical play in the wheels hasn't presented any issues yet - fingers crossed! I did observe that, although it's weighty (enough for me, not so much for others apparently) and has great adhesion, it is not very powerful compared to some of my other models (although still plenty powerful enough for the needs of my layout).

Always happy to see an RTR industrial locomotive, especially one of a decent size!

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I never fail to be impressed by your efforts, Owain. It seems that every piece of rolling stock and every inch of permanent way that you touch turns into a work of art!

I wonder if this has anything to do with the grey wheels that were clear to see on the samples seen thus far (something which plauged previous N gauge offerings)?

Here's a Manor with GWR lettering on the tender in 1964! https://www.flickr.com/photos/50256734@N05/5702915274