Andy-662041

Ooh - a smart-looking beastie 🙂 Is this a different-coloured track system? Looks grey from the pix - all the track I have so far is red...

@Moccasin Happily, the Chasewater Railway shop has come to the rescue! Also managed to procure all the track extension packs. Just now need a 'Bolt' to complete the set 🙂

Ach - not so good after all - just had an email from the supplier: "Refund for R7330 + p&p from order 220224/24, unfortunately these are currently unavailable" Curses

Good call! - Thanks!! Purchase made!!! Order about to be restored and World Peace possible...

Agree with much of the above. I work in the Community Rail Sector - one of the tenets of this is to bring Rail together with the Communities it serves - rail safety and education with younger folk is certainly one of the big areas that CR participates in. I tried working with some 'additional needs' kids at a local Academy a while ago and took a Thomas train set and a box of track items in with me. The maths and science teachers quickly cottoned on with the range of activities and discussion topics that could be had with a simple train set. In particular the group I took was employing practical geometry without initially knowing it - it was quickly realised by the participants that diameters, parallels, gradients and radii etc are an inherent part in planning and creating a model railway - especially if you want the tracks to join together properly to make a double track enclosed route (eg an extended oval). There are efforts to bring trains to the fore as a sustainable form of transport and increasingly one at the centre of wellbeing through station adoption and volunteering. The Rail Education Network has been discussing a new badge with the Scout movement - pilot scheme at the moment - I can see an opportunity to raise an interest in model railways as part of this too - watch this space.

"Try your Local Model shop perhaps??? 🤔🚂" I did - but the Model Shop (which does stock Hornby 00 items) said thy'd never heard of Playtrains....

I've been looking for a supplementary Playtrains R7330 controller but to no avail - out of stock everywhere I've Googled... I even came across a posting purporting to say that the controller has been discontinued(!) As supplemental train packs (eg Bolt and Thunder) require the separate purchase of a controller (to avoid sibling squabbles and potentially WW3) does anyone know what the future holds for the Playtrains controller as a separate purchase?