DarkRedCape Posted October 19, 2022 Share Posted October 19, 2022 As some of you might know, I’ve had a Hornby Elite on pre-order for some time now. I just got an email from Hattons saying my order has been cancelled because this item is no longer in production.My anger aside, does this mean Hornby will be bringing out a new controller system? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rog RJ Posted October 19, 2022 Share Posted October 19, 2022 I suspect this is just a consequence of the worldwide chip famine and would expect production to restart sometime in the future.Maybe Hattons are hoping to sell a different system to keep the money rolling in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P-Henny Posted October 19, 2022 Share Posted October 19, 2022 I agree with Rog. The Elite is shown as available as a pre-order in the Hornby online shop. So very likely at best poor wording by Hatton's or at worst trying to persuade a purchase of a different product that they do have in stock to generate urgently required revenue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted October 19, 2022 Share Posted October 19, 2022 The Elite is a current product and I presume your response from Hattons is them playing silly beggars again with pre-orders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted October 19, 2022 Share Posted October 19, 2022 Well it is out of production at the moment, so I suppose not that big a lie. Question is will they ever make anymore. I imagine the processors inside them are obsolete by now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkRedCape Posted October 19, 2022 Author Share Posted October 19, 2022 This is the email from Hattons.“HelloThis is an email to let you know that the following item has been cancelled from production, and, as you requested an email notification of its arrival, thought you would like to know that it is not now expected to be released.We are unsure of the specific reason for the cancellation, and will try to keep its descriptive text updated to provide any information which the manufacturer releases. You will remain signed-up for notification – so if it is reinstated and delivered then you will receive a notification.”And if they do ever get anymore, they no longer have to honour my pre-order price that at this point was near £100 less than it is on Hornbys website.Also, no idea if it’s even relevant, but the email they sent was sent three times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted October 19, 2022 Share Posted October 19, 2022 It could be that in reality there won't be anymore, at the new price it is very expensive. The thing I do like about the Elite is the easy menus for programming, Hornby did get that right, although they did mess up with the rotary encoder and the press to enter (it gets it wrong a lot). For running trains on a layout there are better options. I have replaced my Elite with a Digikeijs which is great for multiple trains, although it does have a number of faults mainly to do with software. It could be that as Hattons is very low down the Hornby Tier system that they will never get any, even if they were available, hence why they cancelled your order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P-Henny Posted October 20, 2022 Share Posted October 20, 2022 Just speculation, but another possibility is that the Elite in its current form is out of production (hence the Hatton's mail) and the Hornby shop pre-order relates to a as yet unannounced MK2 version. This is what happened with the Select. This could account for the price hike too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted October 20, 2022 Share Posted October 20, 2022 There is no Mk2 version as such but there has been a modified version at last couple of production runs, which only has one Xpressnet port, this due to the previous sprung terminal blocks no longer being available in the size required so larger ones were fitted resulting in loss of the said port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkRedCape Posted October 20, 2022 Author Share Posted October 20, 2022 Just seems odd to me that Hornby would drop their flagship DCC controller system with seemingly no replacement announcement. Having emailed a few retailers, I know there was high demand for this item, so it wasn’t a lack of demand.A member on here said he bought his Elite for around £100 many years ago, so with the current model price being around £330, I can only assume they just can’t make money on this product anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulleidboy Posted October 20, 2022 Share Posted October 20, 2022 That was probably me - I bought my Hornby Elite (now at level 1.45) for £123.20 in January 2009. At the time this was not cheap, you could buy a Hornby Pacific loco for about £100. If you compare the current Elite RRP with that of some of the latest loco's, there is little difference. I would add that my Elite is still working well, but then I am not running trains 24/7.There are a lot for sale on ebay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brew Man Posted October 20, 2022 Share Posted October 20, 2022 Interestingly, the Select is now not on Hatton's product list either, even though is is in stock here. Maybe this is the death knell for Hornby DCC controllers at Hatton's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted October 20, 2022 Share Posted October 20, 2022 I keep saying it I will say it again. You cannot compare the price of an Elite against a loco, if it wasn't made by a toy company, it would either have been improved substantially to match improvements in electronics to justify its higher price or be a lot cheaper because all the components are now dirt cheap. I paid over £400 for my first computer and that was very cheap as it was a recon. I bought a Dell latitude laptop reconed for use with my Digikeijs which was £80. I think a new one is much less than my original computer. If you go and look at the Zimo decoders, yes they have gone up in price but they have also changed the specification. With an Elite you are paying an exceptionally high price for late 1990s/early 2000 technology. Trouble is they are so highly priced they don't sell enough of them to justify reinvesting in an upgraded version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yelrow Posted October 20, 2022 Share Posted October 20, 2022 Hattons , have of course been kinda dumped by Hornby, so have little loyalty. They will promote and sell systems they can make best profit on. That is why they are in business after all. I am, perhaps in a fortunate position, having 3 Elites, and 4 Selects, having picked them up, over here, at very favourable prices. There was a time, when the early ones , were failing, so i took the precaution, not necessary, as it turned out, to stockpile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rog RJ Posted October 20, 2022 Share Posted October 20, 2022 That was probably me - I bought my Hornby Elite (now at level 1.45) for £123.20 in January 2009. At the time this was not cheap, you could buy a Hornby Pacific loco for about £100. If you compare the current Elite RRP with that of some of the latest loco's, there is little difference. I would add that my Elite is still working well, but then I am not running trains 24/7.There are a lot for sale on ebay. I also paid £100 for my Elite very shortly after it was launched. It's still working well but also not used every day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yelrow Posted October 20, 2022 Share Posted October 20, 2022 My original one was £110 , here in France, hand delivered and demonstrated by a lovely Frenchman, and his wife. Bought the second one, and a Booster, in a job lot, for £110, and last one was £100. At the time, there was several posts about faulty machines. Still using the original one, that to date, has been faultless.. very happy with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinB Posted October 20, 2022 Share Posted October 20, 2022 My one had the "STOP" button broken, I fixed it with a cocktail stick, mailed Hornby and got a new "STOP" button. I think I paid about £100 for it, plus two accessory modules and a copy of RailMaster. I use it for programming locos and testing them out on a metre of track if I have fixed them or added a DCC decoder. For my main layout I used to use a Fleishmann which I got super cheap as it had no power supply and leads, but now I use a Digikeijs system. Both the Fleishmann Twin Track and the Digikeijs are great for running multiple locos, the Elite is a pain if you have two or more locos you want to control. Trouble is the Elite looks like it could control two locos but in reality it is not so easy.As to Hattons, Hornby have sort of cut them off so I doubt if they will bend over backwards to sell their products. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yelrow Posted October 20, 2022 Share Posted October 20, 2022 I solve the running multiple locos, by using Selects as Walkabouts, but located next to Elite. That way all work nicely. I need a couple more cables, but eBay guy, has disappeared. Have 2 more Selects, ready and waiting for cables. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P-Henny Posted October 20, 2022 Share Posted October 20, 2022 I need a couple more cables, but eBay guy, has disappeared. Have 2 more Selects, ready and waiting for cables. The ebay guy has transferred his business to Amazon.......see link below.https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=r8266&me=AYT0OFIYZ5W6Q&ref=nb_sb_noss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yelrow Posted October 20, 2022 Share Posted October 20, 2022 P ~Henny, thank you. Thought by mentioning it , someone would know. Guy makes yellow cables , any length, at good prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yelrow Posted October 20, 2022 Share Posted October 20, 2022 P-Henny, what do you describe it as, cos i cant find it, (age thing, ) perhaps. thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted October 20, 2022 Share Posted October 20, 2022 JohnWhen I click that link from P-H I see this…PC Supplies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkRedCape Posted October 20, 2022 Author Share Posted October 20, 2022 If there is some doubt about whether this information from Hattons is correct, the mods could get clarification from Hornby and clear it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96RAF Posted October 20, 2022 Share Posted October 20, 2022 @drcThat is already in hand. No one is doubting what Hattons has said, just is the statement true at Hornby level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yelrow Posted October 21, 2022 Share Posted October 21, 2022 Tis all in the click, don’t you know. Thanks, Rob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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