phil-b259

With that missive you would think a big manufacturer had announced it was shutting up shop. I repeat we are talking about a RETAILER here! Yes that retailer also did design / manufacture several very good models but designing / manufacturing models is NOT the CORE of Hattons activities. Yes there are indeed significant issues facing UK consumers at present, and yes the retail environment is incredibly hostile at present - yet Rapido, Acurascale and Dapol to name but 3 manufacturers are still continuing to announce and deliver high quality / expensive models - and I doubt they do this simply so they can lose their owners money! As such can you ditch all this "the hobby is doomed nonsense" worthy of a dads army episode and get things in proportion!

If anything model railways these days are what might be termed a slow burn. Very few folk start getting into model railways in childhood and continue to keep that interest unbroken right through their teens and into adulthood - the fascination with this method that many older moddlers seem to have for recruitment into the hobby hasn't been relevant for over 50 years! Instead, what many (including myself) find is that because you are introduced to trains and models as a child - you return to them once 'life' has sorted itself out! That is precisely why most recent entrants as well as established manufacturers are targeting what I might call the 30+ adult market, there is good money to be made from that point on as people will usually have dealt with all the other factors* which get in the way sufficiently to permit them to partake of the hobby. *peer pressure, having a good time with your mates, college / university, going traveling, getting your career going, getting on the property ladder, meeting a significant other, starting a family, etc So in terms of your grandson I would say press on, but be aware that at some point he is likely to lose interest. That should not be seen as a negative or as a failure - there is every chance you have planted the seed that will, two decades later, suddenly spout and generate another railway modeller.

I suspect its not numbers (as in sales) which is the decider - more likely its how much has already been paid out to the factory and how much (if any) can be recovered by pulling the plug.

Please remember this is NOT a bankruptcy / insolvency! As such Hattons can continue to exist as a fully solvent company even after the physical shop and online store shut for as long as it wishes to do so. This contrasts with insolvency proceedings when the timetable is determined by the receivers and not the owners - (and yes in such cases a prompt winding up of affairs is the norm) Consequently I see no reason why Hattons cannot remain in existence to take delivery of the genesis coaches - even if they have to get another retailer to do the actual distribution of the coaches to customers.

Can you change the record please… People keep bleating on about high prices ‘killing the hobby’ yet all the manufacturers who have chosen to enter the hobby over the past few years have chosen to go for a ‘high detail, high retail price approach and none of them have gone bust! You need to remember that first and for most Hatton’s was a model SHOP not a manufacturer… Whilist it’s close is regretted, if you want to be brutal about it the only thing the hobby has ‘lost’ in terms of product are the genesis coaches, the P tanks, the 48xx and a couple of industrials - all of which could easily te-emerge under new ownership like the class 66 did.

Yes and no! We are told that batch 2 of the Genesis coaches will be produced (presumably because the factory has already been paid for in some manor), the P-tank re-run might or might not happen but re-runs of the industrials are cancelled. My take would be that where monies have been invested and cannot be reclaimed from the factory then production will continue so as to get something for the cash. In situation where either monies have not been handed over yet or the contractoral relationships permit monies to be refunded to Hattons then production will not take place. Given the lighting units were designed to be made in conjunction with the genesis coaches I suspect they may well come to market.

But equally kicking up a fuss / speculating on here won't help either! The quality of the product speaks for itself and not only would the business owners (Hattons) want to maximise the returns they can get from the orderly disposal of the companys assets I'm sure there are people in the employ of other manufactures who appreciate the quality of the Genesis coaches too who could be interested in obtaining them…. OK so people may miss out on getting the liveries they have been salivating over for batch 3 etc but there is a fair chance that when the dust has settled they will pop up in another manufacturers range. However for the moment our thoughts should be with the people behind / who work at Hattons (plus their families and friends).....

Yes - of course we are... As sudden, sad, shocking and distressing as this news is (and not wishing to downplay its significant consequences on the Hattons staff their friends and familes etc) we are not talking about the demise of a large manufacturer here....

Would much rather they still remained a Hattons product though.... Hattons development of them was a real bonus to the hobby and as such morally speaking it feels that they should be the ones to reap the rewards for many years to come.

In case it has escaped your attention - please remember that Network Rails budget has been slashed by the Government. Given NR have openly said (in their response to the ORRs financial settlement) that this WILL translate into a progressive decline in infrastructure assets as renewals are deferred, temporary fixes become semi-permeant ones, speed limits are imposed for longer, load limits applied etc then restoring a footbridge (which is apparently not even a NR asset) is not something any sane NR manager would do unless the work was being funded by a third party. You also need to remember the reopening of the Okehampton railway to passengers only came about because it was awarded specific Government funding to upgrade it - NR did NOT have to fund it out of their own budgets (though obviously they assumed responsibility to maintain from their own coffers going forward). NR as a body is effectively there to maintain the status quo - expansion or provision of significant new infrastructure is driven by outside parties (i.e. What the DfT tell it to do). Yes I know that's depressing - but if you worked in the industry an saw what was going on underneath all the PR bull**** bingo being pedalled by NR / the DfT you would understand the future is nowhere near as rosy as they want you believe it is. You should also take note that local authorities (including the one which we are told owns the footbridge) are also facing incredibly budget pleasure with many not that far away from effective bankruptcy and as such they too are similarly looking to conserve every penny and not shell out on things that are not essential. On the flip side there are of course organisations like the Railway Heritage Committee which may be able to pull in funding from several partners to undertake a restoration - but given the times we live in there are going to be a lot of projects hoping to get funding going forward and you cannot escape the fact that in ranking terms this particular footbridge seems an unlikely to be considered the most worthy candidate. Which is I suspect the answer to getting the roof put back on. If pitched and run rightly, such a fundraising drive may even be able to discover ways of getting cash out of local authorities / NR from their 'charitable giving / good causes' budgets....

Probably not (why would NR put something back that serves no useful purpose for fare paying passengers and which is not integral to providing access to platforms 1 / 2). Although I believe the station is listed I don’t think the law compels owners to reinstate things which have been damaged by ‘force mejure’ type events as opposed to deliberate acts of damage (be it deliberately undertaken by the owners or vandalism)

Sadly an awful lot of ordinary folk (and not just youngsters) now call railways ‘train lioness’ in everyday speech. Attempts to suppress words that enter common usage are futile….

Two things to consider, firstly it’s all very well having lots of power but if that power is only being delivered through 4 axles and not 6 then the propensity for wheelslip is going to be grater. IIRC that’s why Eurotunnel went for a Bo-Bo- Bo configuration - in an ideal world they wanted a Co-Co design but the sharp curve which makes up the return loop at Cheriton precluded this option. Secondly, the Channel tunnel safety regs require pretty much every single piece of equipment to be duplicated on the locos - this is to avoid a failure leaving the train stranded in the tunnel (there is no way a single loco has enough oomph to get a fully loaded shuttle out of the tunnel on its own) and as such that’s going to require some serious re-work on the insides if an ‘off the shelf’ design is selected.

The UK Government is Crystal clear that Eurostar is an open access and a strictly 100% private sector operation with NONE OF ITS FACILITIES being regulated by UK rules as regards passenger provision*. Just as airlines are free to drop airports whenever they wish (even if that leaves the airport with no passenger services) Eurostar have a completely free hand as to which locations they chose to serve. Also its important to note that just as airlines do not own airports, the facilities used by Eurostar in the UK are owned by a completely separate company and Eurostar (which I repeat is a 100% private open access operator) is not going to pay for facilities it doesn’t want. (* IIUC The same would be true if Lumo opened a station which was only served by them - it’s only when franchised TOCs come into play do things become regulated)

The official answer (back up by the UK governments policy) is that international travel is a luxury purchase and not a life essential. As such travellers ( be it on Eurostar, international ferries or airlines) are told they should ALLWAYS get travel insurance which provides adequate cover for all eventualities. Failing to do that and getting stranded without money for food / accomadation would be regarded as a self inflicted problem and not the responsibility of the travel operator. In the case of the water ingress issue that is quite clearly an infrastructure problem (not ‘Force Majure’) so any additional expenses incurred by travellers should be recoverable via their travel insurance. This contrasts with domestic travel where travel insurance is regarded as ‘optional’ by Government and as such there is a grater onus on passenger care - not least an obligation on the part of train operators to get you to your destination come hell or high water.

With respect while you may have just ‘walked up and picked any seat’ you are ignoring the fact that before departure You HAD a seat! IIRC it’s not important which seat you occupy on the train, what matters is you have one. Admittedly this is not so much about passenger safety - but it’s about controlling train numbers so Eurotunnel know EXACTLY how many people will be on each international train in case of emergencies plus make it easier for border forces to prevent anyone evading security procedures. Thats no different to certain airlines operate where you don’t get to pick your seat in advance and have to fight to be first in line to board to secure the one you want. In all cases the train won’t leave or the plane won’t leave the stand unless the crew are 100% sure all persons on board have a seat because the rules make it crystal clear standing passengers are not permitted during take off / landing (for planes) or for transit through the Channel tunnel (trains)

And just how exactly do you intend to achieve that without using a ‘hand of god’? The erstwhile ‘Waterloo connection’ leaves HS1 BEFORE trains from Ashford get to Ebsfleet - and moreover it’s been secured out of use for about 5 years now as SE decided it wasn’t worth keeping driver knowledge up for something which wasn’t really necessary as there is always the option of using services on the classic network via Tonbridge / Maidstone / Swanley / Dartford if HS1 services were suspended.

Standing on international passenger services through the channel tunnel is expressly forbidden by the various safety and immigration laws! Any attempts by Eurostar to allow standing would lave them liable of committing a criminal act. You need to get out of the Eurostar is a train mindset - the rules governing it (or any competitor) are more akin to airlines with changes to many of them requiring the passing of fresh legislation in UK and French Parliaments

[ Assuming you are talking about the Hattons product ] No - for two reasons (1) They are a Hattons exclusive product so were only intended to be sold by them (meaning not only do Hattons retain all the profits but theoretically the price can lower than compared to a situation where multiple parties are wanting a slice of them). (2) Many sold out on pre -order so in some cases there wasn’t any stock to ‘sit on shelves’ in the first place! Therefore the unusual situation where a previously ‘exclusive’ item ends up being fed out to the trade more widely to offload it / bring it to a wider audience is not required. If you do spot any for sale anywhere other than Hattons then they will be 2nd hand ones which people have sold on in some form with retailers who offer “sell us your model railway items” schemes being the obvious way to acquire examples.

Exteriors or interiors? I ask because contrary to what some may think carriage washing machines have got significantly more advanced these days and its quite possible that the depot modifications to make them suit the new rolling stock might also make them incompatible with the old! That means the only way of cleaning the outside is via a labour intensive manual process (assuming you have the spare staff) with a hosepipe and brush (not the easiest thing to arrange if your yard is full of 3rd rail either)

You can have the most luxurious seats going but if the trains are constantly cancelled delayed or too short then people are not going to get to use them in the first place. As with anything in life there are 'essentials' and 'nice to haves' - in the context of a train service actually providing a reliable service in the first place is far, far more important and is the 'essentials' bit. The quality of the seating (the 'nice to have') only becomes relevant once the essentials are in place. For what its worth I agree that seat comfort on trains is abysmal (and has been for a decade at least) - but in the situation the railways find themselves in today that is the least of its problems and if there is any spare cash it needs to be ploughed into getting the service running reliably in the first place.

Yup At the end of the day 99% of rail users couldn't care less what type of train they are using! (particularly as most seem to spend their time engrossed in electronic devices when they get a seat. What said rail users want from a TOC / the railway is:- (1) A guarantee that their train will depart the times stated in the timetable, stop at the places its supposed to stop at and arrive at its destination on time. (2) The train have enough seats so they don't have to stand. (3) A timetable which provides a frequent and regular interval service (not one or two trains a day) (3) If undertaking anything more than a short trip, working and clean toilets Whether the train is powered by underfloor engines, has a loco on the front and even whether the seats are comfortable enough simply don't feature in peoples mindsets and that reality needs to be appreciated by folk on here regardless of their personal preference.

Strange definition of "the north"..... https://www.ft.com/content/697d4a19-38fd-4daf-ac7f-3548506260e3 https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/dec/20/disbelief-at-plan-to-fix-london-potholes-as-part-of-network-north-project https://news.sky.com/story/government-sparks-anger-and-ridicule-with-multi-million-network-north-road-project-for-london-13034791?dcmp=snt-sf-twitter https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/newsmanchester/network-north-government-says-cash-from-cancelled-hs2-leg-will-go-to-london/ar-AA1lNLyC?ocid=entnewsntp&cvid=799e91e7dd8d474f99adf8c883fcb5ab&ei=18

Ever heard of the phrase 'its not what you say - its how you say it that matters' In difficult times you want to motivate people - well let me tell you that right now right across the industry the current lot inhabiting Whitehall / Westminster are doing exactly the opposite! A change in personnel to restore trust is sometimes all you need make all the difference....

I doubt it! Please remember that ASLEF are in the middle of a very bitter pay dispute with the TOCs so they are hardly likely to start talks about anything else until that is settled*. Another reason why changing the operator won't help.... Now changing the Government on the other hand.... * Which is not something the TOCs have the power to do seeing as they ALL have clauses in their contracts which requires the Secretary of State to sign off ANY pay proposals