leavesontheline

Great little show this year, as always. Standouts for me were Vale of Oxbury and Arun Quay. Both amazing in their own ways. Good to see Lord and Butler with a small stand. Maybe they'll be back next year with more stock. Did I overhear the Modelmania owner saying he was retiring and shutting up shop this year or was that just show stalls?

What a great idea! Crew designed to fit a specific model. This tie-in between Hattons and ModelU could go a long way - Why stop at crews just for Hatton's models.....!

I do wonder why this model is in the nominees for the 2018 British Model Railways awards when it isn't yet on general release! They should perhaps hold it until next year's awards. I have one on order but have already voted for something else in this category.

I saw this via Hornby's Twitter feed! Great find! (goes off to check all other Hornby models ...........!!)

I've just done the first of four of these using the Peterspares PS61 brass alloy replacement (plus the Hornby X9945 rear mount) and could post some pictures if you are still interested? As already stated, its a nice little casting, requiring only minimal fettling to get a nice snug motor fit.

So it is! I did wonder what that was on Google Maps, and why '@Bristol' wasn't immediately obvious! Is it the same inside? I haven't been for at least a couple of years.

Thanks for those great photos! I never realised that's what @Bristol used to be!!

Great show again this year, lots of variety in the layouts. The floor plan in some areas made access to some layouts a bit tricky but it was good to see the show so well attended. For me personally, Fenchurch St Peter was the standout attraction. Well done sir!

I wonder if Hornby might announce some new technologies this year rather than focusing on 'new tool' models. Whilst a brand-new never-modelled-before-in-RTR Robertson-boilered 6-8-2 with welded tanks and half-flange Westfield steam doofers might get us lot into a state of frothiness it is just 'another steam train that looks exactly like the last one' to the average punter (or parent) in the street! Hornby must recognise that they need to keep the younger generation interested. This obviously starts with the new 'Junior' model and then the Thomas range (which does seem hideously expensive! £116 for Gordon - a bright blue loco with a smiley face that little Johnny or Janet will grow out of before you know it!) and then into the Railroad range, which apart from the strange name, seems to have been a big success (how long has it been in place now?). However, whilst many modern parents and children still 'get' the traditional appeal of a train-set, I think more needs to be done to 'modernise' play value, for example a mobile phone app that with DCC could introduce a whole new level of playability if done properly - much like a train simulator PC/console game but with 'real' (model!) trains. They already have most of the technology to do this with e-link and also with the Scalextric ARC system although I have no idea if this system is actually any good? Whilst on the subject, I also often wonder why, on a Scalextric 'DPR' (Digital Plug Ready) car, fitting the slot car version of a DCC chip takes seconds and involves the removal of a small plate under the car, clip in the chip, then replace the plate with it's one screw! On the vast majority of locos (certainly Hornby steam locomotives anyway) this can be a minimum of 30 minutes of nerve-wracking tiny-screw-wrestling and then another 30 minutes gluing back on all the bits that fell off during the first 30 minutes. I admit that on most steam locos trying to find the real-estate for an easily removable plate underneath could be a challenge due to the detail brake rods etc that we all expect but there are always tenders with removable coal loads, removable smoke-box doors etc - in fact some newer DJM models (and maybe others?) with the plug ready for DCC fitment in behind the removable smoke box door have been such a pleasure to convert to DCC in contrast to most Hornby models I have done. On most D&E models it would be easy to put something easily accessible underneath i.e. in fuel tanks etc. To re-tool existing models for this is obviously a huge task but there must be quite a bit of commonality across tenders, and D&E models would require minimal re-tooling, with fewer parts involved (I have also wondered why 'DCC sound' type chips and speakers have never made the move across from Hornby products to Scalextric but that is for another forum!!). So I think they really need to think about simplifying DCC and even DCC sound fitment, and then maybe integrating this more with other electronic devices like smartphones and tablets. They have done great things with TTS in my view, by bringing DCC Sound to the 'masses', but they now need to make 'DCC ready' models alot more 'ready' IMHO! Dapol seem to be onto this with their recently announced GWR Mogul and Large Prairie OO models which will apparently feature 'tool free' slot-in DCC behind a removable smoke box door! Whatever they do announce, I am sure that there WILL 'be something for me' anyway! 37 pages of this thread so far - I wonder how many more after Monday?!

FYI, tweet from KMRC, they have one Sir William FRS available due to a cancellation. RRP. Edit: gone!

I imagine they probably did but I only got on at BTM where they were reinforcing the message on the platform and on-train announcements. But then there were additional announcements to make sure passengers alighting at the shorter stations would be far enough forward. These messages combined could have been confusing to some people particularly those busy chatting! I, on the other hand, was like an exited school boy on finding that I'd be getting my first ride on one! I never normally get lucky with HST's, usually ending up with a Class 150, though I have noticed Class 166's filtering down to routes down here recently. My wife though, not so bothered!

Indeed, the wording "decoupled" or similar was used by the announcer and also shown on the electronic platform displays! I think a bit later when the delay in leaving was announced the wording "separating the units" or similar was used, again leading me to believe that they would actually be physically detached! For the shorter platforms, like Nailsea and Backwell, there was an additional announcement for all passengers leaving the train to move forwards of the rear doors of the penultimate coach. So that was after they had already 'decoupled' or switched off the second unit. As for my 'dig' at GWR, I am by no means a regular rail user, perhaps less than 20 journeys per year, but pretty much without fail in recent times, I can say that each and every journey with FGW/GWR has been affected by some level of delay, quite often this delay ends up longer than the original journey time! Maybe in original GWR days things were better?

I was surprised to find myself travelling on one of these for the first time last night. Surprised because I was travelling south of Bristol Temple Meads and I wasn't aware they were operating on this route yet. I guess as they are gradually replacing HST's they must be! First impressions are the seats are very hard, though it was a smooth comfortable ride and the rate of acceleration and deceleration was very impressive. However, I still think that comfort wise the HST and Mk3 combo is still leagues ahead of everything else I've ridden on! (which isn't a huge range I must admit). Last night our train was formed, I think, of two five car sets. Everyone travelling on from BTM was told to move to the front five coaches so they could decouple the rear of the train. We left fifteen minutes late (for a 17 minute journey! Typical GWR in my experience) and a Hitachi technician was walking up and down the gangway for the short duration of the journey. On arrival we realised that the rear set was still attached! Obviously they'd had a problem decoupling them!

Well mine arrived today (R3539 - kudos to Derails for a super service and also for honouring the pre-order price!) - another miniature marvel from Hornby! I have only run it up and down a straight test track so far so don't know how the 0-4-4 arrangement performs over setrack pointwork etc but it seems quite sure footed, smooth running and 'weighty' for its size. Seems like it will benefit from a little running in as the mechanism seems quite 'tight' out of the box. Only minor negatives so far are the quantity of oil in places (cleaned up with a cotton bud) and a small area where the lining is missing along the lower edge of the frame - similar to the one in the video on the Hornby website, but not quite as bad as that one. I may try and rectify it. These are far outweighed by the positives though!

My only thought after watching the video - that is either a secret 'N'-gauge version of the model or our "mystery reviewer" has got 'O'-gauge hands

Egg cup?

I agree, I'm in the same boat! I have some older models that I had as a child that I am one day going to have a go at weathering. I also have an airbrush, but at the moment nowhere practical to use it! I certainly don't want to weather all of my models but there are one or two I want to have a go at. However, I don't want to 'spoil' them. Like others have said it is more common to see weathering overdone than underdone! Whenever I go to shows, I always see cheap wagons or even coaches on the second hand stalls, that have no boxes and are often a bit tatty, and that can be had for a couple of quid. You might also get lucky in a charity shop, local village hall market stalls or car boot sales, where you could find something cheap to practice on. You never know, you might even turn a cheap toy into quite a nice model! Keep us posted with progress....!

Well, erm yes! But that is a given with any model surely, so why point it out I wonder? And why "1 wheel insulated" but not both, unless there are plans for electrical pickup from the axle for something? Just curious.

My antidote to Warley was an unplanned visit to the Burnham and District MRC Pre-Christmas Show! Nice compact show, spent too much!

Great news Hattons! I'm guessing the weathered versions are going to be more popular than the pristine! Good to see the typical formations info too. Is there any significance to the 'insulated wheel' - any plans to add a mini electric pump for added realism?! A 'misting' device would create a prototypical cloud of water as it speeds past! Seriously though, does the prototype feature lighting?

Good news on the RHTT set! Well done Hattons. Unless I missed it, I don't see any mention of a manufacturing partner - does that mean this is a pure Hattons project?

Lazy journalism?

I wonder if they expected to be sold out of the model version so soon?! Seems a shame to have the real thing there but not able to sell the model version!... Unless they kept a load back just for the show.

It seems Hornby are up to their old tricks again though, ie short supplying to some retailers but seemingly supplying plenty to others.

... and I have no doubt they will sell them! The proverbial 'hot cakes' it seems!