PenrithBeacon

I'm ever so glad that I'm providing much needed amusement on RMweb and perhaps the word 'substantially' was a bit OTT but the fact remains that this model costs £200+ and it's inaccurate. Now elsewhere on RMweb people are complaining about inaccurate models which Bachmann and Hornby produce and cost, notwithstanding the price rises, a great deal less than this one. Has it occurred to those frothing about this model that they are giving Bachmann, Hornby and others free range to put the prices of their products up to match? I dare say not, but I'll bet that the senior managers of those companies are absolutely delighted at the shear gullibility of their British RTR customers. £200+ a pop! And for an inaccurate model! Utterly crackers!

I have decided that I'm not going to buy this model. I have also decided, on looking at a few Hasegawa and Tamiya aircraft kits which I still have in stock, that my previous post concerning the limitations of injection moulding and the effect this might have had on the side grills is probably wrong too. I have received an email which conveys the information that a straightforward DC model in P4 will cost over £200, substantially over £200. And yet for a all its virtues the side grills are wrong, dead wrong, and it's an error which is always going to be very visible. This mistake turns what could have been a superb model, well worth the price, into yet another mediocre effort not worth anything much. I'm going to pass on this one. Regards

Did the USA tank ever get to the North-East? Regards

I think the use of the word 'pause' is a political spin. Any project manager would stop a project that is out of control to allow his line managers (and in this case the government also) to decide whether or nor the project should go ahead but with a different project plan and budget. If you like the project would be 'paused' during this period but might be chopped altogether. Bearing in mind the political situation with the election just out of the way and the government open to accusations that it had lied during the election campaign about railway electrification the use of 'paused' makes sense. I can take the point made earlier that successive governments ought to have continued electrification but I think it also has to be borne on mind that the denationalised railway companies looked askance at electrification, they didn't like it at all, much preferring diesels. In fact they didn't like anything that BR did much and retired as many BR employees as possible as quickly as possible. It was only after Hatfield that they started to understand that running a railway requires a different mindset to running a bus company or an airline and in retiring so many men with the experience they had made a serious error.

I've had a very polite response to my email saying that the model will be on sale to the hoi polloi in the middle of December. No mention of price though. Regards

But not in blackberry black! But not in blackberry black!

The discussion on the grills is an interesting one. There are limitations to injection moulding and this matter of the grills seems to have hit one. There is every reason, though, to suppose that etched brass would be able to do this easily, but at what cost? It wouldn't surprise me at all to find that a highly detailed model like this one, at the price at which it is retailing, is approaching the point where etchings are not only required to achieve the aims of the designer and the requirements of the purchaser but can be provided economically within the retail price. It's all a matter of playing off costs and benefits, but I'd bet that that nice Mr Shawplan isn't looking at a post sale opportunity here! Regards

I really don't understand ! This address is the same as the one given above which gives the warning! Anyway enough of this. I've sent an email inquiring about status price availability etc. I'll post when I know.

Thank you for that, I did try it and it would seem that it has Security Certificate issues. Never mind, I ignored the alert and I have to say I like the website. On the subject of the grills, I'm getting the impression that they vary in appearance depending upon the quality of the light. The more contrasty the light, the more prominent they become. Not a subject for 'film noir'? Notwithstanding the price tag I'll have a DC one please, green without the SYP in P4. Having said that I'm by no means exactly certain of the price tag other than it's equal to or more than £160. Regards

There's no mention of the Cl24 on that website or have I missed it. The side grills don't look right to me. Regards

How are the rivets?

Oh dear! Looks ever so clunky.

It's odd that the Sentinel shunter is included as it's already available RTR. I have the Austin 7 in stock somewhere, unmade because of dimensional issues. Regards

I can understand this, but I'd far rather that the industrialising nations used more modern technology! There's an awful lot more of them than us, and while on the one hand I really wouldn't want the BRICs to stay as they are neither do I want them to deliberately repeat the methods of the past to get where we are today. If we continue as we're doing the planet will be a mess in 100yrs time and it won't be able to support the human population we have today, never mind the projected increase. I see an awful lot of suffering and death if this problem isn't cracked, but globally we don't have the institutions to do it. I fear for my grandchildren and their children. Regards

I had the impression that the Ship Canal was at sea level throughout its length. Clearly that impression is wrong, thanks for the correction. The map doesn't work on my computer. The general thrust of my post that rising sea levels will be an issue in the UK too is still valid. We, or rather our grandchildren, will not be immune to its effect. Regards Regards

It would be best to remember that rising sea levels will not just impact in far away places. Most British cities have a river flowing through them and the water level of rivers is by definition at sea level. The centre of Manchester, for example, is almost all pretty well at sea level and much of Lancashire would end up under water. Here at Harrow I'm a comfortable 300' above sea level, but I tremble at the thought of all those bedraggled gorillas in suits from Canary Wharf migrating. Regards

The castings look just fine too me. But then they would be the least of my problems if I attempted to reproduce that tender! Regards

2025 gives plenty of time for alternatives to be brought on line and coal is truly nasty stuff. We should be going for nuclear and renewables. I know that nuclear brings with it it's very own issues, but there are a lot more manageable than the consequences of global warming. Regards

I certainly don't think the loco is ugly, form is following function very nicely. I see that the photo was taken in the original York Railway Museum; does the building still exist? I was in York last August and parked up in a car park not far from the station that was clearly made up of NER buildings dating from the mid 1800s, but I think they are later than the original Y&NMR building the museum was in.

Oh dear!

Thanks for that, Jol. IIRC there is an example of one of these at Pickering on the NYMR and I have often wondered what it was used for. Now I know, thanks. Presumably they were used for the larger items that wouldn't fit into the passenger brake or were too heavy for the passenger brake but needed the enhanced protection that a van afforded. Regards

It would be nice if one of the 'Northern Model Shops' did a Kernow and sponsored some RTR of the LNW (and MR, NER, GCR) prototypes. Doubt if it will happen though. Regards

http://www.rail-online.co.uk/p359108933/hEDCA55F#h17473df http://www.rail-online.co.uk/p259291432 No photos of the BR period unfortunately Regards

So you watched two rugby matches and worked on the loco in between Don't know what to make of this I think I'd be making an appointment with my GP! The engine looks wonderful Regards

With respect, I didn't say they were profiteering, but that they were inefficient. The reason they're inefficient of course is that there isn't a functioning market in RTR. This is because of the 'pre-announcement' concept. The different manufacturers make an announcement that it is their intention to produce a model and this has the effect of scaring everybody else off. They can then stand back and wait for a response from the enthusiast community before getting to work or not on the model. Some announced models have never been produced, not at all. This is exacerbated by a lack of industrial capacity in China to actually produce the goods in sufficient quantity. The factory owners (basically the Chinese State, nothing ever happens in China without the State giving its approval. This not an open and free society) find themselves in the delightful situation of demand exceeding supply; so the price goes up. Prices will continue to go up unless and until the RTR manufacturers start to use and exploit different sources of supply either in Asia or elsewhere. Bachmann aren't going to do this, they are owned in China and appear to be vertically integrated with the factories. The other RTR manufacturers might though. Just might ... Regards