The Doc

Hi, I built a 6'x2' continuous run layout which you can see at: And with more scenery at: As threelink correctly states, use the wider Hornby (ex Triang) couplings. I found that with my layout (smallest radius 8") the Hornby Austerity 0-6-0 J94 ran well, as did a Rivarossi USA 0-6-0 tank in HO scale and an Electrotren 0-6-0. All my 0-4-0's work well. A few others that work well are old Lima class 33 diesels and Fowler 4f, both HO scale. You might just get away with a Hornby or Bachmann class 08 diesel, which I tried out here: Short wheelbase wagons and bogie wagons such as bogie bolster and well wagons are ideal.

It's an interesting initiative, but sadly, like the majority of the population, I'll be at work. Perhaps Hornby are genuinely interested to find out the views of those who are retired and rely on pensions to fund their hobby?

I recently bought a batch of unmade and partially made Ian Kirk Gresley Teaks off ebay. The Hornby superdetail models are beautiful (a bit too beautiful for me to spoil the paintwork) so I'm having fun creating my own teak finish with several layers of Railmatch Teak and GWR brown to tone it down. These coaches won't be perfect but they compliment the Hornby coaches nicel, especially as Kirk offer many more varieties such as this corridor end vestibule third. I've also just completed a 3 car articulated 1st/3rd Restaurant set with the kitchen car in the middle.

Incidentally, some people confuse the phrase "banjo" dome with the later streamlined dome with straight tapering sides. The original Triang Flying Scotsman has a banjo shaped dome, but I believe most, if not all, banjo dome A3s had their domes altered to have the straight sides as depicted by all the more recent Hornby models. In addition, the Trix Peppercorn A2s also had a banjo dome, but I suspect this may have been incorrect - I think the Bachmann models all have a streamlined dome.

@Drakredcape Sorry for the delay in replying - busy at work. Yes, it's in the garage, and damp causes more of a problem than the cold (although when I go in there at this time of year I tend to wear a coat and walking boots with thick socks!). The damp has caused a couple of card kits to warp (e.g. an old superquick goods shed that is near the garage door), but those that are well braced (e.g. Metcalfe kits) have not been affected. Much of the track is on foam underlay which has mostly been sound even after about 15-20 years. I don't have any problem with track expanding in extreme heat (gets to about 25-30 Celsius in very hot weather as there are slight gaps between rails. The most annoying thing is mice - the house is around 400 years old so I can't really keep them out.

Here's a video that shows my layout in close to its present state. I've added a few more details and populated the platforms since this was shot:

Your wish has been answered, but I hope you are feeling wealthy enough to be able to afford them!

Hornby do their level best to put you off 1st radius curves, by stating minimum radius on boxes that are simply not accurate, and yet plenty of their current models still run perfectly well on 1st radius. Of my own fleet, there's the J15, J50, D16, D49, several Bo-Bo diesels, Class 08, J94, all 0-4-0s including the latest Peckett and Sentinel. I even got my A3 Minoru and Stanier 8F around 1st radius albeit at slow speed and with a feedback controller to prevent them slowing down. I certainly wouldn't recommend it for big locos such as those last two, but if you haven't got much space, 1st radius is much better than nothing.

Bachmann's prices seem to have gone up just as much as Hornby's to me, but maybe they went up earlier. When introduced a couple of years ago, the newly tooled J72's rrp was already about £105-110 - quite steep compared to Hornby's newly tooled Terrier. Now it's £130 on their website - pretty much the same as the Terrier. (which usually has a more intricate livery, so could easily justify a higher price). Similarly, their newly tooled V2 has an rrp of £230, matching Hornby's A2. I'm interested to see how the price of Oxford Rail models (previously excellent value) change now that they are, I believe, owned by Hornby.

The Railroad version of the A4 does not have a removable coal load, so you won't have any joy there. It might well be worth checking the back to back measurements of the tender wheels.

Sprung Buffers - what's the point? They only ever get pushed in when you push them in with your finger and say, "oooh, look, it's got sprung buffers". I bet 99.9% of models operating on layouts never make use of the fact that the buffers are sprung. When a loco pushes a coach, unless you are using 3 link couplings, it's one tension lock (or equivalent) coupling that pushes another. The buffers never actually touch each other. A waste of money in my humble opinion.

I bought one of the original batch. It ran superbly until the valve gear fell apart! Sent it back to Hornby, who lost it somewhere in their warehouse/repairs system, so they sent me a brand new one. That was in late August and possibly the second batch. The newer model looks better, runs superbly, and no faults whatsoever. Despite them losing my original (that was 6 months old), getting a brand new replacement (with humble apologies from the service department for losing the original) was good service, and I have always found Hornby customer service very good at dealing with faulty locos or other problems. It's just a pity that so many have had faults in the first place!

@Fazy, "I would love a basic range as long as the over dimension are correct that’s the important thing." I agree totally. One of my favourite models is my Railroad P2 Cock o' the North that cost me £70 about 5 years ago. I wonder if completely newly tooled P2 "Prince of Wales" at £254.49 will look any better at normal viewing distances? I have quite a few of the superdetailed range, and though they look superb and mostly run superbly too, I have broken off quite a few little details like cab doors and cab handrails (A3 Minoru), Speedometer link (?) (Britannia) etc. just by daring to pick the loco up. As someone who runs my trains as often as I get the chance (not often enoughanguished) I would much prefer them to run well and look good without being perfect. After all, no matter how much of a perfectionist you are, if you are running on 16.5mm OO gauge track rather than P4 18.82mm gauge you might as well live with a few compromises in detail.

Have you tried it again since it stopped working? The cheap train set controllers have some sort of safety cut-out (possibly a simple thermal cut-out if the current drawn is too great) that switches off the circuit until it has cooled down (can take up to ten minutes to reset). This frequently happens with older engines whose motors draw geater current, but shouldn't really happen with modern motors.

Hi, Thanks for your reply - the phone number should be useful. Unfortunately the guidance given (presumably a Hornby generated FAQ?) is incorrect. I've just had another look at "my orders" and there's no sign of any pre-orders. But when I searched for pre-orders in my email account I found that I have pre-ordered one item (that I had forgotten about since it was over a year ago), and I have an order number for it, so it seems that there is a fault in the Hornby system. I'm also absolutely sure I pre-ordered P2 Lord President recently direct from Hornby because, like many, I have had a bad experience in the past few months with cancellation of pre-orders from other retailers. So I will get on the phone to them and try to find out what's happening.

There may be an obvious answer to this, but when I go to my account, I can only view the items I have already paid for and received. So how can I see what I have pre-ordered? After losing out on several pre-orders from Hattons in the past year, I can't actually remember whether I then pre-ordered direct through Hornby. I know I did with one item (Hush hush) but surely there should be an easy way of checking this??

The longer the points, the smoother your trains will run over them. However, bear in mind that some very short wheelbase locos may not like the longest "insulfrog" points as there is too much plastic. The ex Dapol pug, for example. I use mainly the largest radius, and some of the curved points, and prefer to only use the shorter points where room is tight.

Probably because it isn't available yet, and also maybe sold out on pre-order??

Bother! The steps on the footplate alongside the valve gear seem to stick out a lot. My home made station platforms were set up to allow my widest rolling stock through (previously an old King class with its wide cylinders) without leaving an enormous chasm between coaches and platform that only Bob Beamon could negotiate. The W1 is definitely "out of gauge". Either I rebuild my platform or shave a mm or so off the steps. Apart from this, a lovely model, living up to its nickname with an almost silent mechanism.

As some have commented, there are some ridiculously overpriced "bargains" out there, but equally we can find good value stuff if we are patient. I recently bought a couple of tank engines off ebay: a Hornby J52 (£24) and a Bachmann J72 (£18), both in LNER green, and both described as good runners. They are both noisier than the latest offerings, but run as smoothly as I could wish for. Considering Bachmann's newer J72 is over a hundred quid a little bit of engine noise doesn't bother me.

Just received an email from one of the big online model railway retailers. Their "Pre-owned festive sale" with up to 20% off sounds tempting, but don't go shelling out your money unless you are really desperate. I couldn't see any bargains myself, but maybe you are feeling more flush than me. How about a Gresley teak coach (pre-owned) for £41.00, list price £41.50. Wow, a 50p reduction for a used item! Or a Heljan class 25, a snip at £148. Oh, but wait, it's described as a non-runner. There are plenty more described as poor runners, or with various bits broken or missing, but still costing well over £100. They rather remind me of a Harry Enfield character who ran a junk shop called "I saw you coming".

People claim that you will destroy a DC motor in seconds if you apply a DCC alternating current to it, but I haven't had that experience. My layout can be switched from DC to DCC and the other day I accidentally left an old Mainline J72 on the track when i swapped from DC to DCC. It must have had at least a minutes worth of digital signal going through it. Once I realised my mistake I switched back to DC and the loco was just fine - running very smoothly (unlike most old Mainline J72s these days). Obviously it's not to be recommended but motors might be more robust than we imagine.

Peco streamline short points are 2ft radius, which is very close to 4th radius. You would have to cut a piece of Hornby track to size to fit the point in - possibly a mix of 3rd and 4th radius curves, or use flexitrack. This would look better and give smoother running than a Hornby standard point.

@sagaguy, Looks great. Have you had a chance to test its pulling power yet? Over the years I've not had much Dublo rolling stock - most was quite heavy, but the coaches at least ran smoothly.

@sagaguy I've never seen that one before, or even heard of Jodal models. I'm guessing it has two dublo (modified?) 2-6-4 tank chassis powering it, and is it a cast (in one piece) metal body, or a white metal kit?