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First pair of coaches arrived today. They look very nice indeed. I’m not too worried about the capacitors… an easily solvable problem using the ‘m’ word and much easier to correct than a shape problem (if it bothers you). I couldn’t wait to place them on track so here they are on one of Whatley’s fiddle yard boards. I couldn’t think of a more fitting way to support them than by using vehicles from the original 1980s set. They are just sitting in place on the shared bogies in the photos. Still a big surprise to me that Hornby released the coaches before the sets. Hopefully not too long to wait now though… Guy

Having lived in the Low Countries where there are both abundant bikes and trams I would hardly describe tram tracks as ‘potentially lethal’. If your wheel gets stuck in the tracks you put your feet out to stop yourself toppling over. It happened frequently. What is wrong with this country? People just see lawsuits everywhere… same nonsense that stops you sticking your head out of a train window on a rail tour. Guy

Any more pics Alex for those who won’t make it this weekend? Guy

Still not a grainflow though is it?

Hi Will, PM me, I have made cast copies of the Lima grilles if it helps. I cast a load of them earlier this year. They are a drop-in replacement for the Hornby ones. Sorry to hear about your mountain bike accident. That sounds rather unfortunate. Did the forks fail? Guy

They will be 'un-runnable' as they all have a single shared bogie.

I'd be massively surprised if Hornby launched the intermediate coaches before the sets. Makes no commercial sense. Guy

I’m in the rapidly growing minority (majority?) now too. Please don’t compromise detail for the sake of tight curves! I think what has been proposed by Cav sounds fine. Guy

A few pics of the undecorated kit...

Hi Trailrage, I have a small kit for these wagons that uses Silhouette-cut styrene in 40 and 10 thou and then Stenson Models Schlieren Bogies that I developed from dimensioned drawings that I obtained from a DEMU member. The kit uses 40 thou evergreen strip for ribs and top edge. Wheels are Keen Maygib 12mm with Stenson Models disc brakes. I think the Stenson Schlieren bogies are correct for these: Please PM me if you are interested. Guy

Just had ads for the second time today on the same machine... is it tied to the server-side session? If so, you will get ads again when the session expires. Guy

Does that work on a phone?

Indeed. When you click the close button, the ad doesn't immediately close. Seems to have a timer associated with it. Pretty terrible user experience. Guy

My stash arrived at the end of last week from Rainbow Railways (thanks Mark, Colin and Mike!). They look good next to my Intercity Models kits which I intend to paint to match. Jo, I reckon that the colours look spot on. I think Rails and Hatton’s photos make them look a bit lighter than they should be (overexposed studio shots). Note how the hopper doors don't extend quite as low on the Dapol ones.... will hunt for pics/drawings of the prototype to compare against. Cheers, Guy

This has already been answered at least three times in this thread! The answer is: yes, for a limited period when the liveries were changed. Guy

I’d be surprised if it wasn’t loksound 4 by that point… I have the same setup so will test mine in the next few days and report back. Guy

The 'Yeoman type'. Which one? There are lots of different Yeoman ones... at least 11 different batches were operated by FY. Guy

Or just use a 555 and make the circuit yourself for peanuts Mick? Guy

Mmmmm 60094. I have the plate off this loco! Glad to see you have made a start Will. Guy

Are you going to add conductor rails?

I think I have the paint specs for these from a certain person (who I think we both know) who commissioned them. But yes, agree Jo, the blue does look a bit light in the Rails photos (could be the lighting though). I think the silver should actually be darker. Here's one of Hugh Searle's pics from Flickr when they were new: I was going to paint my Intercity models ones the same shade to match... Guy

Can attest to this. Well done both for announcing this today! The CAD looks miles better than the competition and within a realistic timescale too. Might even tempt me to the dark side… Guy

Why not just get yourself a few Lima ones then if you’re not too bothered about looking at them closely? Save yourself a few quid and spare the trip to Caernarfon? On a serious note, there is a reason why getting the basic shape right matters. I hope the painful message is landing with Heljan as they seem to have ignored it for too long. Guy

Great announcement. Super excited about this. I have a few questions not answered by the announcement: - Will they do 47601/901? - Is provision EM/P4 wheelsets being considered? - What are the specs of the speakers? Will an EM2 speaker fit? Hoping my questions don't get lost in all the chatter... Guy

The prices have gone up on Hornby's website - £434 for 5 car and £533 for 7 car. The 5 car is no longer showing in coming soon but is still showing as pre-order. The 7 car is still showing as August delivery. There are also a whole load of spare parts also showing.... Guy