Bexhill Donkey

My latest acquisition is R30106, which is reviewed here: Super cool minty Southern Livery!

The last thing I pre-ordered from Hatton's was the class 800 Azuma 5-car set. The pre-order price was cheaper than anywhere else and it sold out almost immediately, and I consider myself lucky! I found Hatton's useful for other things like tins of Humbrol and point motors. I shall miss Hatton's! I think the mistake Hatton's made was the move to Widnes, since had they stayed in Liverpool, they could have fallen back on their passing trade. With the focus on mail order, they were vulnerable to international shipping costs. The observation made by the contributor above about the ageing population of modellers must surely be valid! With the focus on high-definition models for well-to-do collectors, it is too difficult for youngsters to build a collection. Model trains have never been cheap. There was always a huge markup in the model shop. But that's true of retailing generally, and that's why so many high street shops have been forced to close. It is difficult for modellers contributing to this forum to offer any business plan that the manufacturers and retailers could follow. However, I think the idea of reproducing Triang sets is a good one. Although Triang got into financial trouble, the basic idea was sound. Triang was a plastic toy manufacturer, whereas Hornby Dublo was a die-cast and tinplate specialist with high production costs. Probably what Hornby should do is produce a range of cheap plastic stations, buildings, and bridges, that can easily be put together to make a layout. Together with a range of train sets, of course. What do you think?

I am sceptical that he is doing his best. I have had a nameplate on order from him since 22nd March 2020. I have given up trying to get back the £10.44 I paid. My order still says, "Processing" on his website, so I am wondering if it might eventually be supplied. Who knows?

If the wiring is correct, the likely explanation for the points not working is that the issue is with the power supply. The HM6010 needs its own PSU. The one that comes with the eLink can be used. Although there is a connection for connecting the HM6010 to a DCC Power track, PL-11's require more power.

This is incorrect. While the difference in gauge between the London Underground and the national rail network is often cited as 1/4 inch, this is an old wives' tale. The gauge of both the London Underground and the national rail network is the same - 4 feet 8 1/2 inches (1435mm). The statement that most railways widen gauges on curves is also incorrect. In fact, the opposite is true - rails are banked on curves to reduce the forces on the trains and maintain the standard gauge. You can however widen the gauge on a model railway track to allow a train to take a tighter curve. The new Hornby TT:120 has the advantage of having a more accurate track to gauge scale. It will be great for modelling the London Underground, as longer trains can be represented.

If you don't mind being a few years behind the times, there is plenty of stuff for sale on eBay. It is quite a good idea to put in a bid for a train set, as that will give you a lot of extra track and rolling stock for a knockdown price!

Sam's Trains has reported an apparent error with the track geometry, first noticed by Charlie at Chadwick Model Railway. But don't worry folks! The track geometry is correct. It looks as though a circle requires either 23 TT8016 half curve 3rd radius, or 11 TT8005 Curve 3rd radius and 1 TT8016. It is just that a piece of TT8016 has not been supplied with the set. You get 12 3rd radius track pieces in the set, but you need 11, plus one half-length 3rd radius curve to make a circle, as the picture below shows.

This is an error due to my internet connection dropping out. I hope I have corrected it now!

It is a fault. I copied and pasted the entry from Hornby's website. I selected paste as plain text, but it copied the bold from the entry. Now corrected.

Sam's Trains has reported an apparent error with the track geometry, first noticed by Charlie at Chadwick Model Railway. The track geometry is correct. It is that a circle requires either 19 TT8016 half curve 3rd radius, or 9 TT8005 Curve 3rd radius and 1 TT8016. It is just that a piece of TT80016 has not been supplied with the set. You get 10 3rd radius track pieces in the set, but you need 9, plus one half-length 3rd radius curve to make a circle, as the picture below shows.

I have used N gauge track screws. You can order them from eBay together with a suitable screwdriver for £7.50.

I have established the scraping sound on curves is due to the wheels coming into contact with the sole bar. If you use a larger radius of track, then it doesn't happen. The only remedy would be to add a washer to the bogie, but I don't know if that can be done. This video demonstrates the scraping sound on curves.

I have a NSE 4-VEP. It has a standard Hornby R8249 DCC chip, and that's fine. I would swap the chips and put the Bachmann chip in the other loco.

The HM7000 is a 21-pin Sound DCC decoder with Bluetooth. As with any DCC decoder, it has an analogue mode and you can run a loco chipped with it using a DC controller, such as HM2000 or an old H&M Clipper! However, no sound functions would be available under DC, as would be the case with any TTS loco. So there's no point buying it if you have not got a DCC command station.

The HM7000 is a 21-pin Sound DCC decoder with Bluetooth. As with any DCC decoder, it has an analogue mode and you can run a loco chipped with it using a DC controller, such as HM2000 or an old H&M Clipper! However, no sound functions would be available under DC, as would be the case with any TTS loco. So there's no point buying it if you have not got a DCC command station.

It would be quite a good idea to produce the now-discontinued OO Thomas and Friends in TT:120. The original Revd W. Awdry books, the gauge 1 series and the CGI series each have their own canon. The Bachmann models are accurate to the CGI series, but not the books. The Hornby OO gauge models are accurate to the Gauge 1 series. A range of models could be produced in the TT:120 scale as accurate to the original books which more closely follow railway practice.

It would be quite a good idea to produce the now-discontinued OO Thomas and Friends in TT:120. The original Revd W. Awdry books, the gauge 1 series and the CGI series each have their own canon. The Bachmann models are accurate to the CGI series, but not the books. The Hornby OO gauge models are accurate to the Gauge 1 series. A range of models could be produced in the TT:120 scale as accurate to the original books which more closely follow railway practice.

In the TT:120 club Members Area, there is a download link to development information. It looks to me as though the Pullmans supplied with the trainset are not the same as those supplied separately. But Garry Hall on the TT Model Train Fans Facebook group alleges the pictures show photoshopped OO gauge items, in which case the illustrations are nothing to go by. I have some old Triang ‘TT’ coaches and a loco, which used the scale of 1:101.6 and ceased production in 1964. These are not bad, but they lack interior detail and have plastic wheels. Hornby's TT:120 coaches, although slightly smaller, must be an improvement on these. If you have never seen TT gauge layout exhibited, think carefully before ordering a set. Although it is not as small as N gauge, it is pretty small. This is the download link, which is a bit hard to find: https://uk.hornby.com/community/hornbytt120-club/members-area/blog-and-news/the-onward-journey

Triang originally made a TT range to a slightly larger scale of 3mm to the foot. This was known as TT3 and is now defunct. Commercial support for the brand-new British outline TT:120 was first introduced by Peco in June 2022. It has a scale of 2.54mm to the foot or one tenth of an inch to the foot and uses 12mm gauge track, just like the TT scale used both in the USA and continental Europe. Hornby released details of its forthcoming new range of TT:120 on 10th October 2022. 2 Train sets are initially being offered with 4 series of locomotives and rolling stock available. It is important that you do not confuse this modern TT:120 brand new British outline TT with the old Triang TT which has different couplings and wheel standards. You can download a PDF of the planned TT product range at this link. Brochure and Guides :: Hornby Hobbies The conclusion I have come to after studying this is that the planned range is focused on TT versions of the current OO gauge scene. I think it would make the TT range more interesting if it included things that have not been released as OO gauge models. What do you think?

I am glad that Hornby has taken the plunge and decided to reintroduce TT scale. TT scale is a good idea if you live in a bungalow and have not really got room. Hornby's new TT:120 scale will enable many new modellers to take up the hobby whereas previously they would not have had space.

Not all the Bachmann Thomas things are HO scale. Some of the things are OO scale. The reason the Hornby Thomas range is discontinued is that there was a change in the copyright holder. It was originally owned by Gullane Thomas (Ltd). That sold out to HIt Entertainment which in turn was purchased by Mattel who make the Trackmaster Thomas. If Hornby continued to produce the Thomas range, it would mean paying a royalty to another toy manufacturer. So that's why! See https://shopping.mattel.com/en-gb/collections/thomas-friends

It is not a good idea to use salt crystals on a layout because salt absorbs moisture. Coal R7170 £4.75 RRP, is available in the Hornby Range. UNIPAC GRANITE BLACK AQUARIUM SAND 2KG is cheaper at £3.99 a kilo. Real coal, granite or salt crystals are not desirable because small hard chippings can get into the mechanism of locos and often stick to the wheels.

You don't have to list the items individually on eBay - you can list the entire collection on eBay and say "buyer collects". Somebody in your local area will be able to come around and take the whole lot away. You often lose on postage and packing when selling items individually.

If you have got the old wires, clean them up with a brillo pad and they should be fine. Here's a video showing it running.

I bought a Gordon R383 for £80 second-hand in September 2022. I found it made a buzz but did not move. I traced the problem to the connecting pin on the tender - it was filthy and black! I cleaned it with Servisol Super 10 sprayed onto a cotton bud. I also cleaned the copper connectors by twiddling the cotton bud in between the contacts. A lot of black came off! I bent the connectors very slightly inwards with a pair of long-nosed pliers to ensure better contact. (Only do this if the test run demonstrates it is necessary!) Now, my Gordon is running fine and super smooth! I didn't need to open the tender at all.