Pandora

In the USA Ford sell a greater number of SUVs and Pickups (Trucks in American parlance) than passenger cars. It would be better to describe Ford as a truck-maker than a car maker. The Japanese and Asian manufacturers are the Americans choice for small to mid size passenger cars

I think Hornby will follow up from the same songbook of the sales success of the Sentinel diesel and irresistable Peckett tank. A Tram engine either J70 or Y6, either would be easy to tool. they are both "brake vans" with motors,

I no longer have access to the Pat Hammond books, but from memory he described lost models including the Jones Goods and Clayton class 17 feasibility studies included mock ups of each model.

Forget all they carefully scripted propaganda about "German Engineering" you will read in the motoring "copy-in-exchange -for-adverts" comics. Research forums on subjects as VW group DSG/Tiptronics gearbox failures, diesel DPF and EGR valve failures or the dieselgate scandal. Go for the Japanese badge for true reliability. for example the Honda Jazz. The entire motor manufacturing industry use Toyota as the benchmark for success, go with the leaders not the also rans

Reading (and thinking) around the subject of the O'Brien book, the Edwardians railway engineers and railway manufacturers were certainly capable of conversion from steam traction to electric traction, eg the L&Y schemes, the NER schemes by Raven etc, it may be the uncertainty of the economic climate which held back adoption due to the need to borrow big sums of money to create the electric network, the uncertain economic climate being WW1, 1920s and 1930s depressions, and WW2. In an alternative scenario, by 1940 electric traction would be the norm for mainlines and diesel traction the norm for railcars and light traffic branch lines

Morecombe and Wise, the sign off scene of the televised show, Eric and Ernie would leave centre stage, as the stage curtains opened, revealing a back projection film shot of a Western diesel ( filmed from a low level camera in the four foot) would be heading at express speed directly towards the duo, the curtains would quickly slam shut to complete the scene

Steam: a model which is low in tooling and manufacturing costs with a low parts count, therefore inside cylinders, parallel boiler and if non-tank loco, toolng of the tender already exists. Diesel: Other than a few oddities, such as the Fell loco, DHP1 etc practically all main-line classes are covered or announced, my bias is a diesel shunter for this category. How about a class 13 Tinsley Master+Slave pair for release? Electric: an 86 based upon the class 87 tooling? Suprise Item Narrow gauge to run upon 16.5 mm track, effectively an entry into 7mm scale. Or, a loco which never left the Drawing Board, all CMEs had them

Students of Railway electrification may be interested ina new book written by Gerald M. Beesley on Henry Eoghan O’Brien – An Engineer of Nobility. Henry Eoghan O’Brien, one of the 20th century’s earliest proponents of mainline railway electrification, was born in county Dublin on 24th August 1876. He was in the 30th generation in line of succession to Brian Boru, High King of Ireland (1002-14); a great-grandson of Sir Edward O’Brien, 4th Bart Dromoland; grand-nephew of Sir Lucius O’Brien, 13th Baron Inchiquin; and first cousin of Sir Murrough Wilson, deputy chairman of the London & North Eastern Railway. O'Brien was the Engineer for the L&Y commuter scheme Liverpool to Southport electrification . He made many predictions for main line electrification schemes, his thinking far ahead of his contemporaries. As friend of Gresley introduced by John Aspinall of the L&Y, very likely Gresley would have consulted O'Brien over Woodhead etc. http://www.lyrs.org.uk/Electrification

I will go back to the source and check the number, he quoted 55000, but did he really mean to say 5500?

A 1956 or 57 Triang Black Princess Elizabeth Trainset , the Princess was a wiper pickup model and not a plunger or roller modfel. the Triang Jinty set with wagons followed, all in the high warp acetate, and then an unwanted S/H 1948 Dublo 3-rail Duchess of Atholl based collection , tin plate wagons and coaches, the collection included the coveted wooden station platforms and buildings. The Duchess was dated to 1948 , the first year of release, from key features of the body casting I still have the remains of the 1948 Duchess but all the rest went into the dustbin in the 1970's. I had little idea of how valuable those station units would become. The Princess set also went into the bin especially those awful short coaches which warped. Collectors will be horrified but possession of those early sets were a source of embarrassment by the mid 60's. Hence their final trip to the dustbin

Is it true that Derek Lovat f Bachmann is to retire? Threrfore a loco which may be on of his favourites on the cards?

I am thinking if there is more to be had from the Hornby 08, variations such as SR Boxpok wheelset or GWR with cast number plates, I would like to have a jackshaft LMS shunter but that6 would be an all new model

I was told by a person with considerable practical knowledge of model railway manufacturing. Total Production runs of 55,000 units or greater including variations (current or future releases) is a parameter for the viability of a new model by Hornby. Accepting this as a fact must constrain the agenda for viable models from Hornby

Gresley Quad-Art Coach rakes!!!

The Lickey Banker with TTS soundchip Big Bertha dates back to 1919, 100 year anniversary next year

The Surprising Thing The crux of the matter, those who are privy to the inside knowledge are not coming forward, and many of the suggestions are too contemporary to truly raise the eyebrows. My guess is a very different approach, such as a locos which never got beyond the drawing board, every famous designer had "locos which never were" .

A steam outline camera locomotive, detachable smokebox door as the lens cover, mobile phone camera modules are low cost items, reattach the smokebox door to return the loco to a contemporary model

The early postings on this thread stated "eyebrow raising" as opposed to contemporary models. Here are my "eyebrow raisers" 1) Romney Hythe & Dymchurch scaled to fit OO track (replacing Thomas and thinking of the play value of such for children) 2) A prototype diesel, electric, or steam loco which was designed and drawn up but cancelled or abandoned without any examples being built. 3) A "Drivers point of view" loco with a camera in the cab front to relay video back to a tablet 4) An Edwardian era Electric loco. 5) with reference to 2) outline drawings of the 1945 LNER diesel-electric fleet have been found.

#My guess Romney Hythe & Dymchurch of a scale to run upon 16.5 gauge track

Hattons are investing in manufacturing, O gauge in particular the A4 and A3, also in OO the class 66, perhaps Hattons have prioritised those projects over Bachmann stock etc

Michael Bonavia covered the topic of LNER diesels, the LNER Electrification Engineer was sent to the USA to report back the the LNER Board. The proposal was dropped, BR had enough to deal with ( Woodhead and Great Eastern electrification to complete) we could do with some concrete information, The LNER Board Minutes for example, they may have the flesh for the bones, are the the Board Minutes held by NRM York?

A fine model of an unusual subject. Pre-grouping non-steam. I can recall M28249M stored at Hellifield in 1967 along with steamn locos such as The MR Spinner. A pity only part of the full set was saved

The Doh-Ray-Me notes or tones of the singing Taurus Electric, post #6, are the intrevals half or full octaves?

I believe the highest cost / mile is travelling in London when your journey starts and finishes either side of Travel Zone boundary £5 per mile, or has TFL fixed this anomaly? The lowest must be the over-60's TFL Oystercard , free travel Tubes , NR Trains, Buses with very few restrictions, basically not valid for travel on NR network before 0930 hours Mon - Fri, all else virtually unrestricted. Coverage is extensive eg as far as Surbiton Watford Epping Dartford Coulsdon http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/static/documents/content/60_map.pdf

The Networkers are approaching 30 years of service, when are they due to be replaced?