br-nse-fan

I second this request! I'll have a couple, thanks!

I actually sent it by Purolator as I don't have a Canada Post outlet within reasonable distance to me... the Purolator store is on my way to work. Paid more than I should (could) have, but at least it got them there quickly, and insured against further damage

Must be nice... seems everyone else is getting the postage covered for their loco's.. cost me almost $200 CAD to send them to Hornby, no mention of a refund sent my way...

Since this is a wish list... how about a home for Simon Kohler?

I'm not sure, but that is what the problem was with my 50's. The chassis seems fine on them, but if you look further back in this thread, you'll see how it literally crumbled on two of mine.

It's funny... I sent back 3 31's and two 50's at one point. All came back repaired / new chassis and I even received a new body in addition to the one that I had sent back! Anyone need a spare Blue body?

Give them a call or email them. I've found them to be fairly quick in responding, and they'll let you know what to do. They will probably assign you a case number, and you'll need to quote that on your package so that they'll know what to do with them.

I know I've posted in this thread before, but growing up in Canada, I only ever had my Dad's models, books, photo's, etc to perk my interest... and that it did! As my Dad loosely modeled (and still does) the 50's - 60's Southern(ish) trains, I grew up with them. I became interested in the GWR, for many reasons such as their unique way of doing many things, and the way their employee's were treated, and in turn that level of respect was given back. They were also a natural rival to the SR, so It did not hurt that it allowed my Dad and I a means to vent at each other in a tongue and cheek kinda way... Dad: "That blasted king has derailed again... lousy Great Western junk..." Me: "It never derails on Western metals, it's that shoddy Southern track work..." Anyway... I digress... I did visit England for a month back in '89 (wow... was it really that long ago!?) and was treated to Network Southeast and Railfreight running along side BR Blue. I fell in love with the variety and character of the stock and overall feel of the network. The 80's had almost a steam era feel to it in the manner in which things operated, along with the variety of locomotive and rolling stock. Nowadays, the railways (seem to be) limited to a handful of diesels and a plethora of brightly colored MU's that seem to change owners more frequently than some change their underwear...

Hi Dave Just came across this thread... skimmed through it, so apologies if these have already been suggested. no locomtives that I can think of at the moment, and all are OO: - VEA van - high spec GWR corridor coaches (the Hornby Hawksworths are beautiful, but not really GWR coaches) - BR brakedown crane & associated support vehicles - high spec GWR Siphons and NPCC's (other than the afformentioned Hawksworths, there are no full brakes or mail cars available RTR, and the Siphons available are all close to 40yo models) Thanks for your time and consideration!

I would suggest that this is no direct fault of Hornby's, and if you desire one of these models, don't let this affect your decision to purchase one. IF you do end up with one that has this issue, Hornby has been very quick to remedy the situation. If you wish to avoid one of the affected models, take a look through this thread as all of the affected models (generally from the inital releases) are clearly indicated, including the Hornby R#### and the loco's body number of 31 XXX, DXXXX, 50 XXX.

I had an issue with one of my Class 50's... they did not replace the cab floor, and sent the loco back as is. When contacting them, they sent a replacement cab floor, and like you, the screw holes did not line up correctly. I ended up having to use a very fine metal drill and increase the size of the hole in order to make it fit.

I agree... 8yrs or 100hrs is not very reasonable... regardless how you look at it. Look at the Wrenn or Doublo items... even a lot of the older Hornby and Lima items from the 1980's... still run strong today with all their original components. My Dad has a Hornby Class 47 that, although no longer in regular service, still runs as good today as it did when he first got it (with a little servicing). And it's almost 35yrs old!

Overseas? How about under the sea? Anyone have any information on the SS Thistlegorm? I don't know much about it, but came across a thread on Reddit / Imgur about it here... http://imgur.com/gallery/L3YK3 The sixth photo down certainly looks like a UK tender to me...

especially when you have two kids under two! hard enough to find time for trains to begin with, let alone building the trains too!

I agree, and that's one of the points I made above. I've found that it's a mix of correct and not so correct heights when it comes to (specifically) Bachmann. If it's a newly tooled or updated model, you are more than likely to get a coupler with the correct NEM height. If it's an older model, it's probably a crap shoot. As an example, the brand new Pillbox brakevan coupled up to an older tooling 16t mineral wagon. The mineral wagon is the same one as seen in the Class 40 pics above... (click the pic to have a closer view) If it were too high, it would be easier to fix... this will require significant surgery to repair, and as such, has been regulated to the bottom of the pile to have Kadee's fitted.

I don't believe it would be an issue to created a cranked NEM Kadee... the problem is that there is not even a standard height for the cranked ones... as seen above! What height would they make? LOL I totally agree, and would love a cranked NEM Kadee, I just don't believe it'll ever become a reality, but am more than happy to be proven wrong!

But how much? Would it be worth it to them? From what I understand, it is only the UK market that has non-NEM standard NEM items, and mostly from just one manufacturer. I don't believe the US uses NEM pockets (why would they when Kadee and the like have been the standard for donkeys years?) and I've never heard of European manufacturers not conforming to NEM standards. The market for such an item would be very small indeed... and on top of that, do you do 17, 18, 19 or 20? Lets take a look at RMweb users. What is the percentage of us that even use Kadee couplers compared to some other form of coupler? Even if we use that as a basis for figuring out potential sales, I think we'll find that it's just not financially viable to invest in such an item. One suggestion I had posed in another thread, was for Kadee to make the knuckles available to *cough* Bachmann *cough* for fitting to a cranked NEM 'arm'. The same issue would arrise as above. Would it be worth it to Bachmann? Probably not, and on top of that they have indicated that they have no issues with the heights, as they provide an appropriate coupler for the market in which the model was released to. Unfortunately, I think we are stuck with the height issues until the manufacturers actually stick to the NEM standards for which they claim to be conforming to. edit: on an aside... one thing I have noticed, is that although they come under the wrath of the RMweb community for various issues, I have yet to find a single Hornby model that does not conform to the proper NEM standard. All my models have a perfect alignment with the Kadee height gauge.

The Heljan coupler is not as 'stepped' or 'cranked' as the one above. The Heljan couplers are very close to being the correct heights, much like the Bachmann MK1 / MK2 coaches... but the ones that are on the Class 40 & 45 I have are waaaaay out. I can take some pictures tonight if anyone is interested?

I just recently purchased a pair of locomotives from Rails, and just had the opportunity to take a look at them. Surprise... surprise... the NEM pockets are not at the correct height. Has anyone had any luck in fitting Kadee's to the older Bachmann 40's and 45's? I've attached a couple photo's of the 40 below. The 45 is setup similarly. I knew I was in for trouble when I pulled the coupler out... that's what I call a step! And my fears were confirmed when I lined the loco up with the Kadee height gauge: And a wagon that lines up perfectly with the height gauge:

Layout? Not even close... more like a masterpiece! I swear, that shot of the 128 passing through the tunnel could be almost be the real thing. The only thing that gives it away is the lack of clag I will admit to being slightly jealous...

I've found that using a liquid cement works nicely, and quickly. I've also begun to use the nylon / plastic screws and screwing the coupler to the wagon instead of gluing. This does a couple things... it allows the coupler to be attached to the wagon while the box is still setting, as the screw holds everything together. It also allows the coupler to be removed at a later date (if needed) with little to no fuss.

the only coupling hurdle I've encountered thus far (other than height related issues) are when shutting freight cars. Specifically, the long wheelbase wagons such as Bachmann's VDA and OCA type wagons. Due to the pivoting axle to help with tight curves, they can sometimes be less than straight, especially when propelling backwards, instead of pulling. Another member on here once commented that fixing the axle so that it does not pivot resolves this issue.

So I messaged Hornby regarding the possibility of re-releasing the Collett's in the Hawksworth livery... And their response: So... I won't hold my breath, but I am certainly taking that as a potential positive