'CHARD

Enough. Stop now.

LHS as-built, RHS bent!

The definitive Class 37.

Is it to much too hope for the definnitive English Erectic Class 37 and the Class 66 made by EWS - PRITTY PLEEZE!!

Mind you put that gear in the sharps bin!

Without wishing to sound unkind, there's something of the beggars can't be choosers in the world of EMU restoration.

There has also been talk of a 507 or 508 entering preservation on the Wirral once those fleets are retired. Again, though, talk is possibly the extent of it.

...sounds like a very niche reason for preserving something! TBH I would be surprised if a PEP unit of some description hadn't been earmarked for the National Collection, but the inevitable hoary old questions of where and at whose risk raise their heads. Electric units have a notorious history of disinterest (and ultimately failure) where preservation schemes are concerned.

Genesee and Wyoming, I think you intended, Paul.

Hornby Flying Scotsman

Yours is very much an unusual perspective! 😏

Ordered a couple last Friday, the oldest liveries; neither was especially easy to find, so I'm guessing that demand has proved healthy and buoyant. I'm actually a bit bewildered by all this chunnering about 'price' and 'value,' when it's a four-wheeler, granted, but more akin to a railbus than a vent van in terms of scope! They arrived today, £39.00 apiece, which I think is pretty good, and the quality appears excellent. My first foray into Rapido's products!

This morning I received an email regarding this new range of coaches, and I hope that the following unfortunate incident won't delay their arrival with retailers too badly. All being well the AS lads can check the batch without it having to be returned to the manufacturer. "A couple of weeks ago we dropped our initial batch of 10 Mark 2c coaches in iconic blue and grey BR livery."

Not sure either if this has been tackled elsewhere but, it's my belief that the flying crate was superseded by the all-conquering Double Arrow that was unveiled in 1964 with the XP64 trial, and rolled-out from late 1966 under the Corporate Image project (?). With the usual alacrity applied to wagon repaints, even these international ambassadors of style and taste, I reckon the crate would still be airborne into the subsequent decade one way or another; I'm extremely comfortable with it for a 1968 setting.

Stiff in the sense that it doesn't rotate/ swivel adequately?

Not one to usually react to the 'How much?!!?' dog-whistle, I confess that £210 here for a basic bagpipe Birmingham Bo-Bo has rocked me backwards. Maybe I'm in a fortunate minority, but I don't believe I ever need (according to basic layout-planning logic and without fantasizing) to acquire any new locos now or in the future, unless I were to change interests or scale, or suffer wholesale theft or loss. This includes 'upgrading' to latest retools and reissues. £210! Wow!

Every day's a school-day - someone very observant selected the reverse number that was carried in the diesel's headcode box during 1976 - Fabulous!!!

What I was pointing out though, is that the major player(s) in the hobby today are no longer fulfilling the roles they used to when train sets were the norm and, crucially perhaps, the availability of such cheap toys from the likes of Amazon was unheard of. The majors can't compete in a race to the bottom, this is evident. So it's through cheap toys that interest could be kindled, and when it's time and if the interest is sustained, the youngsters can graduate to Hornby. My contention is that it's not the responsibility of Hornby or others to sell stuff at pocket-money prices; that's not the market-place they're in, and in reality, it possibly never really was.

The search took seconds, to demonstrate that the market segment you refer to is already well-served. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Train-Set-Tracks-Battery-Operated/dp/B009P540O8/ref=asc_df_B009P540O8/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309819440071&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13666292274507883020&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045502&hvtargid=pla-562193575390&psc=1

That's almost certain. Russ 'Sacko' Saxton's excellent book 'BR: From Green To Blue' states 'D5649 remained the only (blue) example until D5857 opened the flood in 1967.' I believe the conversion programme began in 1965 and full yellow ends on green weren't really a thing until 1968, so logic suggests that there would have been a good many running in GSYP with new power units in the years 1965-69.

I wasn't chuckling at that, Roy, rather the tired cliche of large company = bad, plucky little guy = untouchable. I note that elsewhere on the forum, the idea of IP perjury has been discounted, so I think that's probably for the birds. There's a trusty cohort who decry everything announced by the 'majors' when, yet again, 66048 in falling down an embankment livery (see also 'Dog's Ar5e With A Hat On' livery) isn't in the new release schedule, but something genuinely looking to expand access to products actually is. For the record, I can state with certainty that I'm neither in the market for the gamboling 66048 or any post-1968 Pacer devices.

Ruddy Bachmann trying to regress the sector. 😆 Anyone would think these people are in it for the purposes of charity.

If it's not a Kader-tooled product, then EFE is the natural place for it, surely?

Agreed; I was looking at it with interest too, but in my case I've decided it would make a good water tower for a remote military camp.

They're probably cheaper because they have half the number of wheels and axles.