BritInVanCA

@dBerriff well actually what I sometimes see here is a tendency to assume user error as a starting point. I understand that the moderators and beta testers see a lot of user issues so it’s easy to jump to conclusions but sometimes the attitude is a little frustrating. Patience is the key for all of us.

I’ve had one failure. Pre installed HM7000 in a TT120 Night Hawk running on a Hornby Select powered layout. I can’t imagine what I could have done to cause a user error. It ran happily for months and then went hot and caused a short. The loco was fine on DC with a blanking plate. I have no complaints because Hornby just replaced it but they didn’t suggest what the problem might be. I agree that people should read supplied operating instructions but these are intended to be consumer level products. If you’re operating with recommended equipment any failure is the manufacturer’s responsibility

@Chris1970 there is a lot of help available here but you’ll have to be more specific. Have you tried the troubleshooting guide referenced in the pinned post at the top of this page? Are they all the same type of decoder and do you have inconsistent results from the same locomotive? What does “doesn’t work” mean? No connectivity, no sound, no movement, etc.

My Dapol Manor is a dream. It also has a metal boiler and cost less than half the price

@SMR248 what’s wrong with the footbridge apart from it being very expensive? I bought one a while ago. I haven’t build the station yet so it’s not on the layout but I took it out quickly to look at it and it seemed fine. I’m still waiting for my new buildings. Is Hornby playing silly buggers with retailers again. Rails have them in stock but TMC says they still haven’t got theirs.

Sam has reviewed another one (please resist the Sam bashing). It was better but still had loose crank pins and a slight loco to tender connection issue which he seemed to solve with cleaning (even though it was new). They certainly don’t seem to be fault free

@Tim Allen I wasn’t expecting you to know. It was more a question to the hive mind. Thanks for the pictures BTW

Someone of Facebook was saying the tender should have a ladder on the rear. Doesn’t bother me as I’m getting an era 4 model and I’m not a rivet counter but I know there is a lot of prototype knowledge here. quote “artist illustration left off the tender rear chassis steps, the streamlined Duchess locos had tenders like that, as they had a ladder fixed to the rear of the tender. Later when the streamlining was removed from the locos, the tender sides were cut back, but they retained the ladders and did not need the steps! Atholl had an ordinary tender and should have rear cjassis steps.”

@96RAF you mean my 16 year old Select isn’t going to last forever! It’s already outlasted 2 iMacs!

Agreed. Double track needs height and width modifications. Single track just height. The thing is I can get Metcalfe kits in Canada unlike all these one person enterprises doing 3D printing and laser cuts.

I just got a marketing email from Hornby listing items that are “last chance to buy” and one is the Elite. Are they discontinuing this controller? Is something replacing it?

People who follow this subject are probably tired of hearing me say this but I’ve used Metcalfe for tunnel entrances and retaining walls. The tunnels definitely needs some width/height extensions for TT120. My layout won’t have a large number of buildings so I’m using Hornby and Peco at the moment. It would be good to see the latest Hornby village buildings against some of the Metcalfe ones. I’ve heard comments that the Hornby ones look a little small. I wonder how much difference there really is. @Dave the Buskerlike the door hack

Yep. That was the point I was making. Shame it was the YouTuber with the biggest audience who got the dud.

I’ve seen four YouTube reviews and only one that had issues

Thinking about it from a prototypical point of view I think it is probably because having two express trains frequently passing each other while a shunter works in a goods yard isn’t typically what would happen. It is the reality of a lot of layouts though. I should have put some insulation in my tunnels to get a better contrast when the locomotives emerge!