Binky

On 29/08/2020 at 12:54, Metr0Land said:

 

 

Northampton

I love this. The rather motley collection of wagons behind twin class 20s. :)

13 minutes ago, cypherman said:

Hi Binky,

Modern wheel sets probably will not fit as far as i know we use pinpoint axles. They have stub end that sits in a hanger. There are some plastic ones for sale that should fit this wagon on Ebay at the moment  for about a tenner for 8. To change the wheels you will need to take the body off and then release the tab on one side of the chassis by bending it upright. This is holding the hanger in place. it should then drop out of the chassis and the wheel should just come out. The reverse to put the new wheels in. Put one stub in the fixed hanger and the other in the loose one. Then feed the loose hanger back into the chassis and fold back the tab back into place.

Thanks Cypherman.  I've found some suitable wheelsets on ebay but they work out at £15 for 12 when I only want 2. Considering I'd also need replacement buffers I'm wondering if sticking an entire Parkside chassis under it would be a cheaper option, although as this van has some memories to it I'd like to keep as much of it as possible.

It reminds me of a song I picked up somewhere:

They come in little plastic packs

in groups of five or ten

we haven't sold them singley since I can't remember when

'Cause in the little plastic packs

they're easier for us to sell

and they'll cost you twice the original price

and they won't work half as well!

2 hours ago, cypherman said:

Hi all,

After checking several more H/D wagons to compare the flange sizes those flanges still look far deeper than any I have on the wagons I have checked. The flanges still look more like the depth that was run on Triang Super 4 track. There are plenty of replacement wheels for sale on that well know auction site. I know as I have just bought some......

Thanks for the advice. I certainly think it could do with a wheel upgrade. I wasn't sure if finding wheelsets to fit those H/D axleboxes was an issue or if modern replacements should fit straight in.

Apologies for the newbie question, I have some Dapol blue spot fish vans that I'd like to repaint as parcels SPVs, just like the prototype. I have some Humbrol acrylic BR blue that I plan on brush painting on and I plan on going for a well weathered look if that makes a difference.

Will I be ok without a primer as I'll be painting onto existing paint with a dark colour?

Thanks

On 18/07/2020 at 13:26, Alex TM said:

Hi folks,

 

There is at least one thread on the forum dealing with 'old-fashioned' 0-gauge; despite searching I haven't been able to find anything similar in respect of 00.

 

Is it something that anybody models in or with?  I don't mean collections of three rail stock, or the wonderful Tri-ang collectors' layouts that I sometimes see at shows; rather, I am thinking about those who choose to model with items that were available before the early 1980s.

 

For example, would anyone choose to model British Rail of the late 1970s using only the stock available at the time (e.g. Tri-ang Met-Camm dmu, Hornby classes 25/37/47/HST)?

 

It's something that has appealed to me, so I am curious if it has appealed to anyone else.

 

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

 

Regards,

 

Alex.

This is something I've considered doing, well maybe picking up a few locos etc for old times sake. My earlierst memories of railway modelling were my dad's 70s and 80s stuff and looking at BR blue in 1980s Hornby catalogues so I'd be doing the whole "buying the things I had/wanted as a kid" thing that people do with old computers and Raleigh Choppers.

I'd take a guess that under non covid circumstances their largest market is craft materials for school projects.

A search on Hobbycraft's site brings up woodland scenics materials but the only Hornby railway item is a single hogwarts express set.

I seem to remember last time I visited a store the woodland scenics range was on display next to the wargames stuff so maybe that's who the bigger market is now.

I'd like to revive this Hornby Dublo van which was my father's, to use on a layout I'm planning using Peco code 100 track. It has a broken buffer and the chassis with the metal brake shoes, I'm not sure if the wheels are original. The couplings will be getting replaced but I could do with some advice on more realistic wheels and suitable buffers.

Can anyone please recommend some suitable replacement wheels and buffers for this van? Thanks.

45 minutes ago, 009 micro modeller said:

Agreed - I think some people are getting carried away with the idea that younger people only want to model modern prototypes. Mostly, I don’t - since I model industrial NG there wouldn’t be that much for me to model if I focused on the modern scene.

 

 I think the range of subjects for railway modelling has become more diverse anyway. I remember reading an article written by someone who started in the 1950s and was asked, on his first visit to a local model railway club, whether he was an LNER or LMS modeller (the BR successor regions of these companies made up the local railways in the area where he grew up). I seem to remember the writer of the article went on to be a narrow gauge modeller.

 

Now there are overseas prototypes, multiple scales and gauges and a wider range of eras modelled, so such a question would be even more out of place. However, such diversity does not easily lend itself to a widely available and cheap beginners’ range.

Yes. Thanks to the internet it's easier than ever to be inspired by much more than the current trains we see at our local station. Information and inspiration from all areas and eras is only a click away (personally I have various railway interests from US railroading to narrow gauge and industrial minimum gauge) so it would be hard for one manufacturer to cover all of these bases with a beginner's range. I wonder how many newcomers start off with an interest in overseas/narrow gauge etc though, or do people tend to discover some form of their country's standard gauge first (historical or present day) then develop an interest in other prototypes as they delve deeper into their hobby?

On 28/08/2020 at 09:02, Rockalaucher101 said:

I just thought of something.

There is a service where you can design your own lego sets. What if, Hornby, made a rendition of this service where you can use a browser based track builder, using Hornby set-track, where once you have designed it you can hit order and it will put it into a set. 

You could have options at different price ranges like a typical train set (oval, couple straights, a point, loco and coaches) at around the £160 range depending on the loco and rolling stock quality, a shunters puzzle (enough track to fill a 4x1 or something, 08 shunter, some wagons), box file diorama (a point and a few straights, peckett maybe, a few wagons), each of which have a piece of plywood in the box to build it on along with track pins although maybe not for the 4x6 table.

Could be like the Hornby family started pack but with a bit more variety.

Great idea, allow people to choose the type of layout they want, the style of rolling stock that interests them, (different eras, passenger or freight etc) and some relevant flat packed scenery. Make a standard sized, fold in half baseboard that doubles as the box (a bit like some board games), include a paper template to lay on it and mark where track/electrics go. Give people the oppurtunity to get everything they need in one kit.

4 hours ago, Legend said:

So I think there needs to be a budget range for everyone , not just youngsters , and maybe some targetted trainsets for older or returning enthusiasts (maybe like the Rich Uncle sets of old ) because they will have more disposable income, probably and need something a bit more involved  to keep that enthusiasm going . Smokey Joe with two wagons just wont do it.

Perhaps a "starter set" which contains enough track and various diagrams of options to build a small shelf layout (station, shunting puzzle etc) would encourage newcomers to get started. Maybe include low relief card buildings in the kit too so that everything is there to allow someone to build a good looking starter layout.

3 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Is that a shunter's pole or one of his bill hooks?

Some great info here. Thanks everyone.

So far I've got myself 3x SPVs, a Vanfit and an ex-SR CCT. Can anyone suggest other small parcels stock that wouldn't look out of place on a blue era layout?

I've found 3 publications with various photographs of the mill buildings over the years. If anyone wants to see scans please let me know and I can e-mail them.

Great to see this fantastic range of kits returning. I look forward to seeing the O-16.5 range become available.

I went in to my local pet shop to buy a spider, they wanted £100.

I like to support local businesses but £100 for a spider is a bit much!

I'll see if I can find one on the web.

23 hours ago, 009 micro modeller said:

On a slightly related note, I’m not even sure that railway modelling needs to be a mainstream hobby to survive in some form and be enjoyable for people who are actually interested in it. Lots of hobbies and interests are even more niche but survive thanks to the determination and genuine interest of a small group of people and usually some form of small-scale commercial support. Whenever threads like this come up on RMWeb I always wonder if some people, in thinking about the future of the hobby as a whole, have placed a bit too much emphasis on the importance of (mostly 00) mainstream RTR manufacturers continuing to be viable in their current form. The whole hobby does not depend on this, although obviously there has to be something initially to help beginners get involved while they are still developing skills. But in future the way that beginners get into railway modelling may not look like the RTR train sets seen currently or in the past.

 

22 hours ago, Firecracker said:

Personally, I think the hobbies in a better position than it’s been for years, due to the support that’s available, both information and materials.  From this forum to premade baseboard kits, YouTube tutorials, materials available to order

 

Agreed. Thanks to the wonders of the internet I can't see railway modelling dying out, even if the OO starter set market shrinks. There are plenty of "non mainstream" hobbies that are doing quite well despite never appearing in an Argos catalogue or high street stores. We have websites, forums, videos etc sharing information, 3D print designers and small scale manufacturers who can advertise and sell all over the world. I can think of a few hobbies that have very healthy communities now thanks to social media and a few one person operations dotted around the world sourcing and supplying the items that the community needs from which the hobby grows. We can discover an interest, get advice online and order things we need, even if it's from one person on the other side of the world, all in one evening without leaving our computer.

Railway modelling doesn't need crowds of spotters on the end of each platform and everyone getting a train set for christmas to survive, as long as those who have an interest can connect with the community that's out there and be pointed towards the resources they need to participate.

6 minutes ago, 009 micro modeller said:

 

I am under 25 and no quite a few people in my own age group who are not particularly interested in electronic games but are interested in craft activities. The same applies to the school-age kids that I have worked with as part of the volunteering that I do.

 

That said, there are plenty of others who are into these sorts of games, and I don’t know how this will change in the next few years. I tend to think that while my generation learnt about computers from a relatively young age and are thus seen as very ‘computer literate,’ kids growing up now often have so much contact with them that they will almost instinctively know how to use them.

 

I think the main point is that in aligning railway modelling with ‘craft’ rather than ‘tech’ hobbies,* you increase its appeal to a group who are less likely to be interested in competing electronic games. I’m not sure whether this shift of focus and inclusion of more creative aspects would help to overcome railways not being seen as ‘cool’ though.

 

 

*Possibly there is a slightly better way of phrasing or categorising this.

 

 

It all sounds really interesting, although I’m not sure a competitive aspect (which I think is probably a big part of the appeal) could really be incorporated in railway modelling in quite the same way.

I can probably reply to both these comments by saying that the vast majority of RC modellers I encountered did it because they were replicating something they were already interested in (a certain motorsport formula or type of car). Although it's slightly off subject I think most people will be attracted to railway modelling because they actually have an interest in railways, those who just like building things may buy the odd train kit or two among the other kits they buy but won't necessarily become full on railway modellers.

25 minutes ago, 009 micro modeller said:

 

Apologies, it wasn’t meant as a criticism, I was just thinking about how it could work for older kids or if their parents weren’t able/willing to take them.

 

As a further alternative angle on this, how much scope would you say there is within radio controlled car racing to make or do stuff at home in between meets? I only ask as I’d thought earlier about whether you could have a form of model railway exhibition/meeting/gathering specifically where those who don’t have a layout at home bring their stock to run on a large layout set up for the day. Obviously this is hardly a new concept, but it might become more popular within some of the ideas posted here (including mine), that would seem to allow or encourage people to create their own locos and stock before getting to the stage of building a layout.

Don't worry, I didn't take it as a criticism, just thinking that if the interest was there, transport would probably not be a problem for a significant number of the participants, however making the modules easily transportable as a case would make a module system like this accessible to even more people.

Depending on the formula of RC racing time between meets was usually passed with preparing/repairing cars (it was quite common to cut out and paint a new vacuum formed body shell if the old one got damaged, and most chassies had many different designs of shell that would fit, sound familiar?) or for some parts of the hobby like 4x4 Land Rovers, Hiluxes etc they could be taken for a solitary drive when not being used at a miniature 4x4 competition.

I'm not a member of a model railway club so I'm sure someone who is will tell me if this is the case or not, but can people not join a club then run their models on a club layout? I can certainly see the appeal of building/buying trains then being able to to take them somewhere to run them or watch them go by, take photos etc.

25 minutes ago, DK123GWR said:

I'm imagining a wooden case around 1000x200x100 (perhaps slightly shorter, wider, and deeper) which you could fit a BLT or shunting puzzle into. This would have two 'mouths' in each end where rolling stock could enter or exit (you only have to use one of course). The manufacturer could then pre-fit alignment dowels into each case so that they can be easily aligned with each other (as long as the track is laid square at the edge of the board of course). They could also sell fiddle yard boards separately, which could be used not only as fiddle yards, but to connect layouts using only one mouth to those using both. A simpler, but more limiting, alternative would be to stick with a single mouth at each end of the box.

This is the sort of system I was imagining too, perhaps a baseboard/case that folds in half to the size of your average train set/scalextric box and acting as part of the trainset box itself, carryable like a suitcase, with one common "mainline" running across the front edge already, to which purchasers can add the rest of their track and customise as they like. Like all module systems as long as the in/out of the main line stays the same and all the interfaces are compatible there is plenty of scope for modellers to modify and customise the rest of their layout (and even allowing people to build their own compatible baseboard).

15 minutes ago, 009 micro modeller said:

 

And this would also allow it to be a ‘social’ hobby, which was mentioned earlier. The main issue for younger modellers in this particular suggestion is the requirement for independent transport though. Perhaps it could fold to fit into a case that would go on public transport.

When I raced radio controlled cars (another "social" hobby that can be set up in a vilage hall and packed away again) the majority of young participants came by car with a parent but there's nothing to say modules couldn't be designed to be folded in on themselves for easy transport if the builder used removable buildings or low profile senery.

8 minutes ago, 009 micro modeller said:

 

An excellent idea - nobody would be able to argue about the module standards if a manufacturer had already designed and built them in...

Imagine if Hornby produed a standard size baseboard that could fit in the back of the average car, perhaps sold in pieces to make the packaging smaller (the way board game boards are twice the size of the box) or to allow more than one to be added together. They already have a forum and community so meets could be arranged (post covid, fingers crossed), either at exhibitions or as seperate modular meetings. Though it would depend on critical mass being achieved for it to take off.

19 minutes ago, Phil Parker said:

 Price would be an issue as an inglenook style puzzle will need 8 wagons, a loco, track and controller.

Make it a micro inglenook with 5 wagons and a loco.

50 minutes ago, 009 micro modeller said:

On a related subject I wonder whether track to make a shunting puzzle could be supplied in sets instead of the normal oval - I can see that appealing to groups who wouldn’t otherwise be interested (who like ‘puzzles,’ games etc.) as well, but maybe we should leave that for another time...

Going by the popularity of inglenook and shelf style layouts I think this might be a good idea. When people think of train sets they think of needing enough room for an oval and there can be a concern about space. If there was a diagram showing the different track patterns that could be made with the set (like Scalextric) potential buyers could see what spaces they really could fit a model railway into, and could build a shunting puzzle, goods yard, small station etc for different operating and prototype following oppurtunities.

On a similar note I'd been wondering that if a UK standard module system was adopted (and train sets produced that allowed them to be built) would there be an interest for small layouts that could be used on their own at home but joined together at a local club to allow participants to run their longer trains in a way they don't have the space to at home? I'm thinking something like a micro inglenook with an extra through track that would connect to others, and built on a small baseboard or box like the Ikea box module idea that was disussed in the Gn15 community a few years back.

19 minutes ago, RJS1977 said:

 

As I've often said before, one trick I think Hornby miss is that they don't slip a mini-catalogue with details of the Railroad range and some of the cheaper accessories into the box of the Argos/Lewis/Aldi sets, to encourage parents to keep buying beyond the train set,

I see Hornby have a website with a forum, collectors club, kids section, blog etc. Do they slip a leaflet in advising people to check out their online community at least?