Corbs

So if 114 models sold 20,000 each that's 2,280,000. Hornby currently list 312 locomotives on their website. Each of these would need to sell 7,308 units to equal the 2,280,000 above. Of course this is solely locos/train packs (not rolling stock) and solely based on the range currently on the website. I am unsure if the 114 models of the 1960s range refers to locomotives or models across the whole range.

One would hope that the manufacturers were not basing their sales strategy on the market of 60 years ago.

People keep saying that but the market has never been bigger.

Hey folks, it's been a while. A global pandemic happened during which Chris' Dad (my Grandad) moved in to the room next door to the train room which entailed a whole load of work selling his house, dealing with all the belongings from said house, then the danger of viral transmission between us. Now that we're regularly testing and vaccinated (and the old house has been sold) hopefully we can push on. FIRST we must address the learnings. We made a crucial mistake at the start of the process which was that the 'dog bone' return loop under the helix needed an insane drop in height in a relatively short space. This meant we were dealing with harsh reverse curves and gradients, a bad combo, and trying to work and lay track under the helix was really difficult. We needed to be able to 'dial in' the gradient on the dog bone and thus make it part of the helix, so we pulled the whole lot out. Lots of nut-spinning and lifting. The helix comes off in one piece and the dog-bone is dismantled. If you don't want to play 'spot the difference' with the next two pics, in the first one the dog-bone base layer is screwed to the support frame. In the second pic, it is now supported only by the helix struts and can be moved up and down like the helix layers. A much simplified track plan for robustness, and to give the easiest curves possible. The reverse curves at the bottom of the pic are only going to be used in the downhill direction so this can be quite steep, allowing the climbing track to be as gentle as possible. Next: test, test, test. The Black 5 was by far the weakest loco for its size on the helix tests, so we wanted to make sure it could pull the same amount of coaches around the reversing loop. 4 was its limit on both. Once this was done we could be satisfied the the slop was as gentle as we could make it. Then the helix went back on (Buddy and Mum helped) Because this has entailed reducing the clearances on the reversing loop, we needed to lift the 1st level of the helix by the same amount. The lead-in will occur in the lower station area, thankfully the trackbed was already raised here so we just lifted it up at one end to create a nice gradual slope all the way down. With that done we could dial-in the helix gaps to try and ensure they are consistent throughout, testing it with the train and carriages. At the moment it needs tuning as the slope on one side is steeper than the other but hopefully we can get it running ok. I doubt the Black 5 will be able to do much unassisted so we will likely need a couple of panniers and a 9F on banking duty....

I think they do have plans to do it as a standalone. What is crucial to remember about Lion is that in its current form, it is not representative of the 1830s Liverpool and Manchester Railway, instead it is what the LMS thought it should have looked like when they rebuilt it in the 1930s. Lion in L&MR use did not look like it does in the 20th and 21st Century or in the film(s). The large haystack firebox is fake. It is also not certain that today's Lion is even the 'actual' Lion. It is worth reading Anthony Dawson's books on the subject if you are interested.

I attempted some of the Paddington 2 vans a little while ago Paddington is also a Studio Canal property, incidentally.

Wonder who owns these.....

Hornby produced a 60th anniversary Titfield set (see pic). This was produced under licence with StudioCanal. Hornby announced their Lion model last year with the tagline 'The cat's out of the bag', stating that they had heard there would be a leak that they were producing Lion and they had decided to announce it early. Rapido publicly announced shortly after that they are making Lion and the Titfield Thunderbolt train packs (under licence from Studio Canal) for the 70th Anniversary of the film and had begun work on CAD etc. Hornby announced today that they are making their 'Inspired by' range. For the avoidance of doubt, The Railway Children Return, The Lady with a Lamp and The Titfield Thunderbolt are all property of Studio Canal. Hornby has an official licence for The Railway Children Return tie-in products. Rapido has an official licence for The Titfield Thunderbolt. Neither company has stated they have an official licence for The Lady with a Lamp.

Yes, for example Ted Polet's 009 loco would be considered a Pugbash.

I should also add that to keep it fair (so everyone has the same amount of time) the build will need to be started and completed within the time of the competition, so I would not be able to enter my Avonside-esque 'Perseus' as I built it several years ago. I know the wait might be frustrating but please bear with us as I really want to get it right.

Yes

Quite specific, I'll add now to save people hassle later on that this first round is just the Caley pug UNLESS you are only using the chassis in which case you can use the Holden 0-4-0T chassis as it's widely available

In the new year. I have managed to get some prizes but not had time to do the other bits.

Has the little aerial wire become broken? This happened on one of mine, I sent it back to Andy who fixed it for very little money.

Vauxhall Regatta Blue, natch It sits on the shelf looking pretty and yes eventually it will Took some measurements off the 812s now they are here and printed off some lining sheets, enabling the third tender to be painted blue and be paired with the Sharp Stewart modified 21 class. Previously this had a Caley 123 tender but I could not get the chassis to run right so in the end it was easier to ask Alec for a printed one. I like the idea it's inherited a tender from one of the Beyer Peacocks. Varied the usual NWR branding on this side for a bit of interest. The 2nd tender gets Sodor & Mainland branding as before. Still needs bufferbeam detailing adding but will do that after lacquering. Got some Markits washout plugs in the post thanks to Roxey Mouldings. Drilled a hole with the pin vice and then held the soldering iron against them to melt them into the styrene a bit. They are being painted by spraying the Ford Laurel Green into a yoghurt pot (duly emptied beforehand) and using a very small brush to build up layers of green. Definitely helps break up the flat firebox sides. Needs a reach rod I think, and some other gubbins like fall plate, cab steps, tender coupling etc.

Sorry, must have been confusing, I put the can under the hot tap and then run off for 30 seconds, then return to the can and hold it under my armpit to warm it up.

I read your backdating of the key historical events and I nodded sagely

Thanks! The main issue is getting a suitable RTR chassis. We do spend quite a bit of time trying to find the closest match we can. There is another industrial Manning Wardle in prototyping phase to fit the B2 chassis again. There may be more opportunities in the future with the current pace of technology!

I use Tamiya Matt Clear TS-80, run under the hot tap for about 30 seconds to a minute before spraying.

I had the same issue as you Martin, the Railmatch cans were rubbish. Mine had loads of paint left in them but the pipes were clogged solid! Nevertheless the wagons have turned out looking great.

I've ordered my all-singing, all-dancing DCC sound full set!

This is a colour photo I bought of Coal Products No.3 if that's any help? Looks darker than the faded brighter blue but might just be the film stock as other pics seem brighter. Looking great so far!

YES! You asked, we listened once again! We now have the RULE ONE available in HO scale flavour. https://www.railwaymania.net/shop/rule-one-ho Features: 1:1 scale rule (mm) 1:87 scale rule (feet) Centre finder up to 32mm off-centre Wire/Rod diameter quick-checker (1/8”, 3mm, 2mm, 1.5mm, 1mm, 0.7mm, 0.45mm) HO gauge back-to-back checker HO track gauge checker Minimum double track spacer Average person height (1:87 scale) NEM socket (top internal) height Platform height Average buffer centre height Standard buffer spacing width Price is £8.50 posted.

I don't think half a loft would be much use as a loco.

Maybe...