new lad on block

Hi Ammie, according to Ramsey guide there are in fact 7 different colours/liveries. According to the book, A4 early livery BRa, is experimental blue/purple, later BRb is Express Blue. Will take photos in daylight tomorrow to show any differences. If you advise which A4s you have will advise which may be of interest to you. Regards

Hi DRC, for a hard copy the Ramsey guide is the best by far.As GS says the only problem is that the latest edition is quite out of date.The latest edition of that book is edition 9, comes in 2 volumes. on line the best site is Hornbyguide, unfortunately once again not a full list of all Hornby products,in my opinion not as good as Ramsey guide. The other member who Chris refered too is a member called Anglia, something or other.Not sure but think he only has catalogued Locomotives.

More photos to compare, note all plastic wheels on the R1139 set.

Photos of R1139, Blue Rapier Set. R1207. R1139 Coaches. R1207 Coaches.

Hi DA, I am not sure how much input Hornby had to do with the show, or contents.When the show was proposed there was a contact number to ring the production company who were making the series, I have forgotten their name. I rang them stating that I had been Hornby collector for 30 plus years, and probably had one of the largest Hornby locomotive collections in the UK.Left the message on a answer machine they did not even reply!

Hi GS, Hornby also made another special Hitachi 395 set for Argos, in a red livery, R1239. That set can also be viewed on EBay. Regards

Hi John, did you buy the extra coaches loose or in a original Hornby box. If bought in a box what was the R number on the box? If loose, It maybe these coaches were split from the Argos special set, R1207 Intercity Express. The set and spare coaches from the set can be found on Ebay if you search Hornby R1207. Will check my sets and compare tomorrow. Regards

Hi Chris, I think I have asked this question before, searched for the answer but no luck. I have several of the earlier Hornby XS digital locomotives, can these be run safely on a normal analogue layout. I have run them briefly in the past,but was warned it would damage the chip. As you are probably aware, if run on DC, the locos go through several starting procedures automatically. Thank you in advance for clarification.Regards

Hi JJ, can the train just be placed on a layout, or will it have to move under its own power. Regards

Hi Dark Red, well the the guiness world recod is 2956 trains.The guy who holds the record is American and what I can find out a model train is classed as an item of rolling stock or a loco.I am confident I have more, I have approached Guiness earlier this year, they are waiting for me to send details of my collection. All items must be unique, no code 3s, must have been commercially available. Photos shows thomas part of my collection, all Hornby, represents 2 to 3 % of total collection. I await the rude commments I received last time I posted description of my collection.

More photos,

Hi again photos.

Hi RI, photos of component parts of big top. Sizes: Big top full length including curved ends 380 m.m. radius of curve 100 mm. total wideth 205 mm. Flags total height 90 mm, penent 55 x 15 mm. Boards for entrance total length 190 mm x 90 mm tabs 15 mm high. Curtains round tent, 2 x 405 mm x 50 mm high, tabs 15 mm. Photos to follow.

Hi joe, I would say that it is not a Hornby factory produced livery. Instead a code 3 model made up by someone.The donour, If the wagon is black plastic and not painted, there we’ll be two candidates. Firstly it appears to be a Hornby small tanker dating from 1974 and manufactured in several liveries for the next 40 years or so. One candidate could be R6064 manufactured in 1998. The second candidate would be Thomas tar wagon R 305. Both candidates were produced in all black plastic parts.

Hi Anglia998, thank you for the information, I have vol 1 & 2 of the Rovex story, but every time a vol 3 comes up for sale they appear to be very expensive. The model I have is a dummy car and the nameplate appears to be printed on. Came to me loose though and not in a pack. Will submit photos of it. Regards

Hi, Photo of the Class 43 Armada 400, running number 43051, with name plate.

Hi Mr Luigi, Thankyou for the quick reply, the model highlighted on the Hornby guide website just shows the common version of 43051. That particular model has the same swallow livery and running number but no nameplate on the loco sides. The one I have which I wish to verify, has the nameplate just at the side of the rear entrance door. My particular model, the nameplate appears to be tampo printed. Years ago I did find a photo of the prototype but can’t find it again. Regards

Hi, if someone has the story of Rovex volume 3 by Pat Hammond, could I ask you to look up if there is a picture or mention of the following locomotive. HST Class 43, Armada 400, running number believed to be 43051, production would be 1988 or thereabout. I have checked on line, and cannot find a picture of the prototype. According to the Ramsey guide may have been produced as a 3 Car pack. I seem to recall may have been a production run for export. Any help, greatly appreciated.

Hi Graham, Hornby produced late crest K1s, these are R3243, R3243A,R3243B and R3417. As a reference guide I use Ramsey’s British Model Trains Catalogue, latest 9th edition. Not completely up to date, unlike 'Anglia998' database which is more comprehensive. Ramsey lists the models in class order but most production R numbers are included. Regards

Hi, a big Thankyou to all for the advice, will look into the various suggestions. The cataloguing, I will start in autumn when the nights get longer. At the moment, spare time is spent reorganising the shed.

Hi All, I am asking how other members catalogue their model railway items. For years I have written down items in a dedicated notebook. Most of the items I have are Hornby, so I have used their R number as a reference, starting at R1 and adding to the list in numerical order. I am now looking for a suitable digital way to input it into a I pad or lap top. I would not want a complicated program or if possible not purchase/rent a program, not really very good with computers so the easier the better. Would it best to list say as loco type or stick with the R number order. Any Ideas would appreciated.

Hi RT, according to Ramsey guide, Hornby Dublo, did not produce a UoSA. Wrenn also did not produce one, but made Dominion of Canada in BRc.

Hi Robert, Hornby over the years have produced 4 versions of the Union of South Africa. R2302, produced in 2002, Ltd. Ed. 500 produced. R2909, produced in 2010, Ltd. Ed. 1000 produced. R3198, produced in 2013, Ltd. Ed. 510. produced. R3253, produced in 2014, Ltd. Ed. 510. Produced. R3198 & R3253 were sold as parts of the Great Gathering, & Great goodbye collections. As can be seen all variants are Ltd. Ed’s hence why they are hard to obtain. A suitable donor to convert to 60009, maybe the railroad R2784X BRc Mallard, that model also is DCC fitted.

Hi Keithp, depending on budget, It may be possible to use adhesive window lead, it comes in various width and lengths. A quick look on eBay I found a 50 metre roll starting at £19.00. This works out at 38p. Per metre. Simply cut to length and stick on your rolling stock. A friend of mine who was a keen angler, used to go to local scrap yard, buy scraplead and melt it in an old pan on a gas / camping stove.Lead melts at around 330 degrees centigrade, he then made a mould by cutting a suitable size recess in a block of wood, poured in the molten lead, left to cool down Extreme care is of course is needed together with protective work ware. Health and safety would have a night mare today.

Hello, and welcome to the forum, from a starting point do you already have HO track to run Hornby rolling stock on. Do you have access to Local or mail order Items from the UK.Are you resident in the UK, as some UK model outlets do not post outside of the UK. I am sure other members will ask questions and advise you how to proceed. Regards.