DBfan

Ditch the steel and use NS .

The none powered bogie is the problem. The wheels with the gears should be on the opposite side than those of the powered bogie. It also looks like you have the actual bogie frame the wrong way, The steps should be under the drivers door, and in your picture they look to be at the back of the bogie behind the door. Try rebuilding the non-powered bogie.

If you do not run it at FULL Speed you should have no problems. Also look at the Peco set track equivalent it is a much better product.

Hornby are going back to the traditional way of selling ie via the retail trade. This means that bricks and mortar shops will make a come back and people will be able to go some where and get sensible advice on setting up a model railway.

TT is a mistake and it is N gauge that is being produced.

There is nothing wrong with the wheels shown. They were only ever held by a screw in the centre wheel and would not be a tight fit as you would never be able to remove them. Just ensure that the con rods are they right way up, ie the square edge at the top, the ones in the photo are upside down.

I think Hornby choose the term Limited or Special depending on what they feel like. The limited/special models do not always hold their value after the initial rush and interest . People are often very disappointed when they come to sell their models later on.

All releases nowadays are limited editions regardless of whether it says so on the box or not.

As regards to the price differential between the Arnold BR251 and the Hornby TT Class 66, the Arnold model is a very well detailed model as well as having pantographs, which the Class 66s do not, and are probably less detailed.

At an exhibition yesterday there was a distinct lack of Hornby on display and talking to well established traders, their view let Hornby get on with it, why should I bother with them. One said he would have ordered at least 16 GWR HSTs but was told he was allocated ONE. Needless to say he didn`t bother. They are not the only company like this apparently as some of the leading continental manufacturers are playing the same game. It is a shame it has come to this but I fear it will all end in tears.

Reading the part press release posted by SteveM6 is interesting and disturbing at the same time. It reads as though Hornby want to be number one at any cost and will enforce "rules" to ensure that they will force shops to only stock their products. Not all shops want to stock all of the Hornby range, some shops sell a lot of model railway items and despite carrying a range of Scalextric, sell very little of it. Also why should a specialist plastic kit shop be penalised because it does not sell model railways or die-cast. Specialist shops are a must for the hobby and the knowledge of the owners is passed on to the customer. There is the danger of shops becoming a jack of all trades and master of none. We never stocked radio controlled items when we had a shop because we were not interested in that part of the hobby. When any body asked about r/c we referred them to the two SPECIALIST r/c shops in the area. The reverse also applied A well run shop knows it`s business and concentrates on stocking which items sell the best. Bachmann who now have a large portfolio of brands do not operate a tier system and are doing quiet well thank you. The tier system is a marketing disaster and should be scrapped as soon as possible. I some how don`t think that Hornby came up with system but it was rather forced on them.

And look where it got them. They did not move with the times and ended up being taken over by Tri-ang[Rovex] Group.

I don`t believe this for a second. If they did that IF they would find out the hard way that people would vote with their feet. Healthy competition is good, but contrived monopolies are not. All manufacturers want to be the top dog, but realise they have to keep their standards up. Resorting to bully boy tactics helps no one and leaves a nasty taste. You can`t beat going to a local model shop and seeing the product in the flesh.

If what you say is true SteveM6 , then Hornby have no idea how to run a business. When I ran a model shop [for 33 years] there was no " embargoes" on what stock you sold. It was an accepted that you sold all major brands, and everybody was happy. Telling a shop what they can or cannot sell is a recipe for disaster. The whole concept of tier systems is totally wrong, Corgi [ before they were taken over] tried a similar system, and guess what ----- It failed.

I don`t think so. Most model shops sell more than one manufacturers products. I don`t know where you got your information from or who told you but it is NOT TRUE