7013

Heljan would be my bet to do a Leader if anyone, they have done one offs (Lion,Kestrel & Falcon). So it would not be beyond the realms of possibility that one may be commisioned one day. We as modellers would have been saying that one off models and Garrats were beyond our wildest dreams a few years ago, but now anything seems possible so a Leader could never be ruled out.

What is interesting about this topic, aside from being about such an iconic loco, is the question as to whether Heljan will be tempted to make further forays into British steam? They have shown by their willingness to build the likes of Lion,Kestrel and Falcon that they are not afraid to take risks with single locos, therefore if the Garratt is a success, and it is looking like that judging by the positive vibes on this topic Heljan may well be tempted to collaborate for other iconic british steam locos. It is an interesting thought and almost worthy of a froth fest er.. I mean topic in its own right

I have it on good authority (me) that a Garratt started off in Johm o' Groats the north of Scotland with a huge long train which weighed several thousand tonnes, by Inverness it had reached nearly 100mph, however the driver had to brake hard and the train swereved voilently, it went back and forth across Scotland dipped down into the NE of England where it took a voilent turn to the north of England covering all all the industrial areas, the train then pitched over to East Anglia only to be thrown back across the Midlands into Wales where it snaked around the Valleys. The driver threw the loco into reverse the resulting jolt took it over to London and the SE, the driver and fireman fought these violent manouveres and began to get som semblance of control as the train sped across the south towards Bath, Bristol and Gloucester, just when they thought they had brought the mighty beast under control there was one last vicious swerve that straightened up the train and shot it towards the south west, the valiant crew stopped the train at Penzance......What? it's true I swear it.

I find the postings about where and when Garratts were seen, especialy south of Gloucester and the S&D intriguing, with some posters its almost as if they have to have documentary proof of one being in the place to justify buying one. I can understand this when ones layout is of a specific time/place, however is it not cutting ones nose of etc. by refusing to by one of these magnificent locos because it was never seen in those particular climes. I am fortunate in that I have covered most bases with my layout being a fictitious junction where Western meets Southern and Midland and occasional Eastern, this happened in the Banbury/Oxford area so it is not so far fetched, and to be honest from my perspective the heavy coal trains in that area will be pulled by Beyer Garratts. Go on take the plunge and order one, you will only regret it if they alll sell out. If I were one who had a specific time/place layout I would build another just to accomodate Garratts....now theres a thought... a shed scene where Garratts were commonplace.

My wife collects faeries and at present I am building a wooden 'glen' for them

I wonder if there will be articulation in each driving section to help it negotiate smaller curves? I presume the prototypes were not articulated though

To quote Hornby Magazine. 'Hattons is also exploring fitting working lights which will work in the direction of travel.' which is not a misread or anything to do with weathering.

Hmmm, just re-read the HM article which decribes the model as having two motors and AN 8pin decoder socket in the body. This reads like it is only one decoder socket unless they mean in each motor space (body) i.e. the water tank and the coal bunker. Some sort of clarification would be useful.

Thanks Bertiedog I had thought that double heading set up may be the way to go with two decoders, as commented before they will have to be pretty good decoders given Heljans current draw. And well said about enjoying this loco for what it is, I feel it is going to fly off the shelves. Release date is given as December 2012 so they have the best part of 16 months to work on it,of course we do not know when the project was commenced so it is possible a lot of groundwork has been done.

I wonder if anyone can explain how you would synchronise two motors with one decoder? I am sure it will be possible for the Garratt but I just wondered how they will do it. Apparently Hattons are looking at directional lighting as well. Price for Model post release (December 2012) will be £219, but pre orders are gauranteed £199.

Revolving bunker should not be too difficult, could also be part of a DCC function. About sound? Go into the Eureka site they used to do a taster of their factory fitted sound decoder on the AD60 it certainly was one of the best steam sounds I have heard. I hope the flood gates open to many other steam commissions especially as the D/E prototype/one off etc. is rapidly drying up (couple of notable exceptions 18000,GT1), but if the Garratt is successful and I suspect the order books are rapidly filling it will open the door for others. Quality iconic locos will do well whatever the price, look at City of Truro, quite expensive but it sold well, at about 50 quid more the Garratt is a steal.

Lets face it one does not need a justification to have one of these mighty beasts on their layout, I see no common sense at all in depriving oneself of such a potentially wonderful model just because it does not fit in with what one is modelling at the time. As others have said before they were everywhere!! What is interesting is that this is the first commission of a large steam loco AFAIK. Given that the Garratt is an evocative loco and will probably sell by the bucket load it might just bode well for the three GW locos that are popular (42XX,72XX and 47XX) and a miriad of LNER locos not to mention SR and other LMS types. Hattons are to be congratulated for their boldness, now we wait to see who will jump in with others.

Just tried to pre-order but Hattons say they are not accepting pre orders at present despite it being on the site available to pre-order? Be interested to hear from anyone who has managed to succesfully pre-order. What a brave and welcome move from Heljan, one cannot help but be impressed by these huge beasts. It will be intersting to see what motor(s) go in because that will dictate the decoder that one uses, one thing for sure it will not be a wishy washy weak thing, it or they will have to be quite robust. EDIT Just tried again and successfully placed my order. With so much good stuff on the horizon I can feel my card crying out 'No more, no more, Oh go on then just one more loco.'

Superb repair S.A.C. credit to you, what a superb loco she is

Yes' Ince' carried her lubricating gear behind the down pipe in her later guise with double chimney not in front as in the Hornby model. The Hornby moulding is very nice and I wonder how easy it would be to remove it and reposition it if one wanted a correct 'Ince'.

Loking good Nidge I must get round to weathering my Castles a bit, I dont like to do too much as when in their prime they were kept pretty clean.

Rugd 1022 If you look at post #316 you can just make out the name plate I affixed to 7034, I made and fitted the Metcalfe & Davis lubricator reservoir that some of the Castles carried, as did 7013.

I converted ny 'ince' to' Bristol Castle' Like you Rugd 1022 I chickened out after apply what seemed like undue pressure, I bit the bullet and applied etched plates over the names and numbers and TBH it looks fine.

If it is to do with exclusivity perhaps you could send it back to Hornby and ask them to repair it? I am sure they would find a new body lickety split!

The repair looks to be coming on nicely S.A.C, what a shame (and black mark against them) that Hornby cannot supply a replacement body. Will you have to repaint and line the whole loco? Can you not get away with just the front end? Anyway good luck with the repair, Let us know in your review how you went about it and materials used, it may come in handy some time, but hopefully not.

I am sure Hornby will be able to forward you a replacement, indeed after your reviews showing their A1 in such a positive light, Mr Kohler should not sell you one S.A.C. but give you one as a thank you. Hope your Tornado is back and running soon.