Generic Hornby Username

Great news, Paul! Congratulations on the new wagons, and thanks for the update!

100%. No one should feel foolish for expecting an Autumn magazine to have come out before Dec. 1st. Typically, seasonal magazines or catalogues tend to come out at the beginning of a seasonal period. Which makes this all a bit of a head scratcher. If this keeps up, then the Winter magazine will come out in February or March. They do need to get caught up now that the new marketing team is in place. And April is going to be wild. We should get preorders for the British Pullman set (which I’m pretty sure is the Brighton Belle, but my predictive track record is admittedly rubbish) and the Class 47. One question I’m left with. What happened to the small-tank loco? We were supposed to get information on that in the Autumn magazine. And they’ve teased upcoming surprises in September and October. What happened to them? It’s all somewhat confusing. Teasing a surprise in September of 2023 that won’t even be announced until April of 2024 is odd. 2024 is going to be epic!

I'm curious to see these new wagons. Be sure to post some pictures once it arrives!

The A4 really does look fantastic in that dark blue. What a gorgeous locomotive!

Fantastic news! Germany is the heart of the TT world. The Class 66 can't come soon enough! This is the first I've heard of this. It's exciting to hear about progress in this space! If they can make this work, this would represent a huge addition to the system's functionality. The promise of iterative improvement is being born out. The strategy for HMDCC's launch makes more and more sense in retrospect. First, aim for the normal consumer who want basic DCC functionality. Then, once you have a rock-solid foundation, add new functionality. With each additional feature added to the app, you are expanding the addressable market for the system. Once this feature is released, you are on your way to capturing ever larger swaths of the DCC market. 6010 is already offering accessory control. The reverse loop module will be another big win. I'm excited to see this system continue to develop.

Fascinating. I thought they were going to give information on the small tank locomotive in the next issue of the Hornby TT120 Club Magazine. My sense is that we are running into the same issue again and again. Manufacturing capacity is the issue. Back when Hornby was planning TT120, they assumed that sales would be solid but not extraordinary. They had good reason to be cautious. This was a risky investment. When they booked space in their factory, they based it on these conservative numbers. But then TT120 took off with gusto. I remember Simon describing how they ordered the initial batch of train sets with the expectation that they would take a year to sellout. Instead, they sold out in a few weeks. Hornby then had two options. Either continue to launch new products when the demand for existing products has not been met, or to use the manufacturing space they had booked on the existing products. I am now of the belief that that Hornby is using manufacturing space it had expected to use on Phase 2 and 3 on simply meeting the demand for Phase 1 products. The Hornby CEO recently explained that you have to book the factory 12-18 months in advance. That means we're still likely using factory space that was booked before the launch of TT120. Importantly, that was before they were able to gauge the reaction to their initial release. It was around March 2023 that it became clear that TT120 was not slowing down. That might explain why the Summer is going to be so prolific. Assuming Hornby booked additional space, that's when the factory space should reflect the demand.

I'm enjoying watching this layout come together. I think this will be one of the coolest British TT layouts once completed. The different levels, the bridge, and the four tracks in parallel give the layout a real wow factor. It feels epic. This layout is going to have so many cool angles for photographs. So much action packed into a compact space! Cheers!

From my recollection the next releases are: 1) TTA Wagons- Dec. 2) Swallow Livery HST- January 3) Blue/Yellow HST- March/Apr They also had LMS coaches due for November, but no sign of them yet. I wouldn't be surprised if they missed the boat. April will be when an onslaught of models including the Mark 2fs, Class 50s, and Duchesses make their appearance. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but that's what I remember.

No worries on this. Between that now deleted post and the drought the TT120 modelers have been experiencing, it's about time something happened. We know a new announcement is about to drop with the new locomotive. I'm liking Rallymatt's hint on two models!

The Duchess looks great! I think that class of locos might be some of the most beautiful locos. Something about them is just captivating. The LMS livery looks fantastic too. Interesting fun fact about the TT120 version of the Duchess. The individual who designed this locomotive was featured on Hornby’s socials, where he explained this was the first loco that he ever developed. Not bad for a first go! 😁 He’s also responsible for the TTA wagons too. I think these models will end up making him proud! The decision to upgrade the motor is a welcome addition. I’ve been continually pleased by Hornby demonstrating that this is serious modeler’s scale. I think this most recent series of model railway shows has been enormously positive for TT120. Many people were actually able to see running A1/A3s, A4s, 08s, HSTs, and Class 50s for the first time. The sentiment seems to have changed among certain communities I observe. This improvement only continues to demonstrate seriousness. And Class 66 also looks fantastic. I observed there is Arnold branding on some of the parts. That means we’ll soon see European versions of the Class 66, and maybe the German Railways Class 77. I’m excited for the 2024 Arnold range release!

You know, that's actually something I never really thought of with this whole Hornby TT120 endeavor. Say the absolute worst-case scenario occurs and Hornby cannot launch this as a workable product line. Fine. As you point out, TT has existed for decades and is not going anywhere. Do we think Class 66 models, A1/A3s, A4s, and HSTs are going out of style? Hornby could always exit the scale by selling the toolings to Tillig, Piko, or Roco. Those firms would get a variety of locomotives that have longterm appeal, and Hornby would get much of its investment back. It really adds to the whole "no-brainer" element of Hornby TT120. It also goes to show that fear mongering about how TT120 is going to "bankrupt" Hornby is nonsense. Hornby TT120 has actually gotten bigger faster than Hornby was ever prepared for. I see the partnerships with stockists as a huge vindication for this entire project. I am also excited that Key Model World/Hornby Magazine has jumped onboard as a stockist. Hornby Magazine's stamp of approval is a huge vindication of the quality of the products being produced. And more firms are moving towards TT. Peco has now launched wagons and the excellent Revolution Models is testing the TT120 waters. Plus, the next 6-7 months of Hornby TT120 promises to be the most prolific yet. We have the mighty HST, a new set (the Era 3 British Pullman), a small tank locomotive, the TTA wagons, the Class 50s, the beautiful LMS locos (resisting that one will be painful), the Class 66s, and more!

Thanks to both Rallymatt and Fishy! I'll send an email off to Hornby with much of the same information that I included here. Hopefully it gets resolved without too much issue. Cheers!

Great research and useful tidbit! If I’ve learned anything so far in Railway modeling, it’s that there are so many exceptions to every rule. If you do the research, you can find little gems like this that open up possibilities!

Greetings! Shortly after returning from school, I eagerly went to unbox my DCC Easterner train set. I had previously set up track and gotten the 4 Amp transformer. So, I set the train on the track and got to work downloading the A4 vehicle profile. That all went down without issue. I did a few slow laps around my layout and found a few spots that caused derailments. I have never run a loco on it before so that wasn’t too surprising. Once I remedied the significant track issues, I set out on running in my new loco. Overall I was pleased with the performance. I noticed that the 2nd wheel on the tender wasn’t very free rolling and it was causing a squeak. I ascribed that to needing to get some oil which I’ll order and remedy. No issue there. Other than that and improving my track work (which is still substandard- a few areas where the A4 and MK1s bounce ), the only other issue seemed to be the motor was a bit noisier than I would have expected. But to be honest I had no frame of reference since this is my first model, so I wasn’t sure quite what to expect. Ultimately, I got about 2ish hours of running before I faced a real problem. Then the locomotive ground to a halt. I immediately stopped the locomotive and moved it to a new area on the track to avoid strain on the motor. No big deal. But when I went to start it again, there was no movement. The DCC sound came on as normal and still sounded superb. But there was no movement of wheels. I turned off the DCC sound and tried again and heard a high pitched buzzing sound. This sound was not emanating from the speaker, but from the mechanism. I cycled the train and tried again. The DCC sound and app controls worked flawlessly, but the loco wouldn’t move. The same noise appeared. I went through the trouble shooting steps of force closing the HM7000 app and going back in. No improvement from that. Then I unassigned the loco from the app and deleted the locomotive from my engine shed. Then I went in and went through the steps of relinking the decoder and downloading the locomotive profile again. Again, the app worked flawlessly and within 15 minutes the TT A4 profile had been redownloaded and I tried again. The sound again worked flawlessly and the app was still registering exactly right. But again there was no movement and the buzzing sound. Summary of details: 1) I’m running the Hornby 4 Amp transformer 2) I have no DCC controller except for HM7000/HMDCC 3) I have the digital power track (not the analogue one that I know is for DC) 4) My layout is pretty basic. Pretty much an oval with sidings. I didn’t want to bite off more than I can chew with this first one. Some might accuse me of having a toy train layout! sweat_smile I was curious if any of our community here have suggestions for me. I’m totally open to the possibility I’ve screwed something up. While I’m leaning towards a mechanical fault, I know I need to keep some humility here since this is my initial foray into this world. This wouldn’t be the first time a novice interacting with delicate machines broke something. Cheers!

Excellent news! You'll have to post some pictures of the Falcon in the deliveries thread once it arrives!

The Class 47 might bankrupt me. They were the dominate diesel in the time and place I am modeling. With TMC becoming a TT120 stockist, I could have it renumbered straight from the store. I could get multiple… 😬

I for one have no problem with critiques of products. Take the newly-tooled APT. When it first launched there were problems including lights cutting out, poor performance going up hills, and flimsy pantographs. Hornby listened to the feedback and improved the product. It is now much better. RMWeb can cross the line from helpful critiques into downright negativity. Many question why Hornby is even bothering with TT. Hornby seems to have provoked an emotional reaction in people with this move into TT. I suspect that some people feel like it’s an implicit attack on other scales like OO and N. Essentially, they feel Hornby’s decision to enter TT is saying “your scale is wrong.” Personally, I think that’s not right. Though, if TT is going to steal market share it will be from N and not OO. OO and TT trains are pretty different sizes. It seems like Graham Farish/Bachmann agree and they have been doubling down on investment and launching new sets.

With both the Great Electric Train Show (GETS) and the Great British Model Railway Show now wrapped up, I thought it might be appropriate to gather some of the TT120 pictures and news that emerged from these events. Hornby will also be participating in the Warley National Model Railway Exhibition so more is likely to emerge. 1) Key Model World announced they would become an official Hornby TT120 Stockist: https://www.keymodelworld.com/article/key-model-world-shop-official-tt120-stockist 2) In addition to becoming a stockist, Key Model World/Hornby Magazine debuted a layout at GETS. This layout had special TT120 that will be made available for sale on the Key Model World shop. These accessories were a viaduct, a tunnel portal, a station platform, and a signal box. You can find those for sale here: https://www.keymodelworld.com/shop 3) Making an appearance at GETS were a slew of Hornby TT120 decorated samples. These included HSTs in the three announced liveries, the TTA Wagons, the MGA Hoppers, and the Class 50s. You can see a review of all the samples on display and even shots of the HST running with this video by our very own Peachy: 4) The Great British Model Railway Show also has yielded great shots of the decorated samples. RMWeb Administrator Phil Parker was able to get some close-up pictures of the decorated samples. In this thread you can see pictures of the TT120 HSTs. Also of interest, you can also see pictures of the HST's mechanism with the shell removed. It looks like it's a robust model with great detail.https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/182370-tt120-hst/These are some of the best pictures of the Class 50s I've seen so far. They are amazing models!https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/182369-tt120-class-50/And the TTA wagons also look great. The pictures of the underside detail is kind of crazy:https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/182371-tt120-tta-tank-wagons/5) Other information has been trickling out of the Great British Model Railway Show too. This RMWeb poster reports a discussion with a Hornby representative mentioning a Pendolino is on Hornby's TT120 masterplan. Obviously, that is likely years down the road. Still, it's the first time I've ever heard it mentioned.https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/174747-hornby-announce-tt120/?do=findComment&comment=5323329 A different forum poster had another conversation about the future of Hornby TT120. The representative confirmed the upcoming small-tank loco coming soon. A little worryingly, he is supposed to have said the J94 is set for 2025. That would represent slippage from the recent Hornby Magazine. On a brighter note, the employee said the small-tank loco is coming sooner.https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/174747-hornby-announce-tt120/?do=findComment&comment=5324298Things are looking good for British TT120!

Congrats on the Gronk! The Gronk comes DCC ready. That means a decoder can be fitted if you would like. Out of the box it will only run DC. Right now you have two options, either run it on DC or buy a 6-pin decoder and run over a normal DCC controller. A 6-pin HM7000 decoders will arrive next year to allow bluetooth control over the HM7000 app. I hope that helps!

So impressive to see the progress you've made since April. Your initial post is just some track laying on a board. Now you have a multidimensional track plan, a huge bridge section, sophisticated point work, wiring, DCC, a RLM, and you've mastered the art of the flex track. I'm like you. I've gone through several variations of track plans. I'm now at the point where I'm going to remove some of my set track sections for some flex track from Tillig. I want the concrete sleepers for the parts not around the station. No ballasting yet- I'm keeping my options open! 🤣

🤯 That ship is amazing! It’s in superb condition for a 25 year-old model that actually set sail. The craftsmanship is clearly excellent. What a great tribute to your father to have it find a home in the world you’ve created. The modeling gene runs in your family!

To add a bit a of clarity, I double checked what was in stock at that retailer. It looks like the DCC Easterner set is in stock, but the Easterner DC set isn’t. In layman’s terms, they have the app control set but not the traditional set. Hornby had the app-based Easterner sets in stock up until a few days ago (the anniversary event cleaned them out). So, if you would like to cancel your Hornby order and go for an app-based set (at additional cost) you can do that. Of course, I would doublecheck to make sure you have a compatible phone. Otherwise, waiting is the name of the game unfortunately. Lots of demand for these sets and products!

Content creator “ThisWayWorks” has some nice video of Hornby Magazine’s TT120 layout- including the beautiful Swallow Livery HST. It’s not the full rake, but it has 4/8 of the coaches. It gives a good idea of what it will look like. It almost makes me want to get it- but I will stay true to BR Blue! The shots of the HST start at 3 minutes into the video. Though, I would recommend the entire video to get an idea of the Great Electric Train Show. Hornby Magazine even let ThisWayWorks run his 3D printed TT120 loco on their layout!

I can confirm that the Class 47 Hornby is modeling in BR Blue is an Eastern Region 47/4. I’ve found pictures of her pulling coaching stock. Mark 3s (the original version) were HST specific in the 1970s/1980s. You can see on the BR Blue Mark 3s you have the “125” labeled on the side. Originally, HSTs were supposed to be in fixed formation. They were essentially supposed to be a fixed DMU that would never be broken apart. The Western Region HSTs were 253xxx and the Eastern Region HSTs were 254xxx. The coaches were an inseparable part of the whole train. In the case of the Class 43s Hornby is modeling in BR blue, it’s a 254xxx and thus an ER train. It was the Eastern Region staff who kind of felt the idea of fixed formation was too rigid and started to treat them like any other train breaking apart the formation. Western Region were more traditional before finally doing the same later. Even once they were broken up, Mark 3s stayed with HSTs. As far as I’ve ever seen, a Class 47 or 50 never hauled a Mark 3. Subsequent versions of Mark 3s like the Mark 3A and Mark 3B were hauled by other diesels like the Class 47. But they have visual differences, most particularly buffers. And Class 43s never hauled Mark 2s. You’re going to be making a compromise in terms of exact accuracy. That has disadvantages and advantages. It gives you flexibility to decide what you want to do. One approach is to get the Mark 3s. That way you have one train you know is prototypical. And if you’re feeling rebellious, you can just put them behind the Class 47/50 knowing it’s a stretch, but not completely absurd. Another way to go is a mix of Mark 3s and 2E/Fs. Say you get the Mark 3 restaurant and first class coaches. You could add three to four 2F standard 2nd coaches and the 2F 2nd brake. Then you have coaches to create a train that looks a whole lot like an HST, but you can take the Mark 2s out of the rake and pull them behind a Class 47/50 with prototypical accuracy. Or you can go with your current plan of 2Es and 2Fs. It ultimately is up to you and what you’re comfortable with. What looks right is probably more important than what is exactly right. I’m one of those people that is probably too rigid for my own good. Lol.

“And initially, Class 50s going to Doncaster for intermediate overhauls were still returned to traffic ex-works, but in unrefurbished condition. There was, then, a period during which the 1V93 Edinburgh – Plymouth service, famously used for returning ex-works ‘Hoovers’ from Yorkshire down to their own region, was seeing alternate appearances of both refurbished and unrefurbished Class 50s.” Interesting point, @Moccasin. https://railrevisited.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-class-50-refurbishment-story.html?m=1