John Isherwood

I thought that I'd revive this thread since Hattons are virtually giving away the 'Janus model at present. At under £60.00 for the PLA version, I felt that it would be rude not to order one - so I did! It arrived in double-quick time - but I was a little wary as I had seen several postings relating to poor performance. I need not have worried - the loco is smooth, sure-footed and virtually silent. It will pull impressive rakes and is the ideal industrial yard shunter / trip working motive power. I am looking forward to receiving my Planet Industrials 'Victory' 0-6-0T in due course, and the 'Janus' will be repainted to match the green livery of the one that I have ordered. Nameplates have been ordered - 'Vulcan' and 'Hercules' - (Gods of fire and strength); but no ownership markings will be applied, so that the pair can operate in whichever version of my industrial yard and branch is current. If you can use a cheap 'Janus', now is your chance - assuming that Hattons have some remaining! (No connection with Hattons, other than as a satisfied customer). John Isherwood.

Tony, I understand why, to a professional modeller, time might be more of an issue than the cost to the client or the visual intrusion of a partially visible gearbox and / or motor. I also understand that you are personally disinclined to spend time - or to fiddle, as you put it - undertaking the simple task of assembling a motor / gearbox. However, since you seem to feel the need to regularly express your personal preference, there is a body of modellers who will feel compelled to dispel any suggestion that DJH gearboxes are the ultimate solution to most locomotive motorising projects. On consideration of size alone, they are best suited to large locos - your favourite subject - but there are many equally suitable alternatives. At the end of the day, we all have our own way of working, but it concerns me that your repeated glowing endorsements will lead less experienced modellers to dismiss more suitable motorising options for their projects. John Isherwood.

Agreed. Take a Peco thin track pin; trim off the fixing lugs on the brake pull-rod and drill the rod to be a press fit onto the pin; pass the pin through the hole in the bottom of the brake hanger from behind - ie. with the pin head adjacent to the wheel; then press the pin through the brake pull-rod so that most of the pin protrudes away from the wheel; and trim off the surplus pin with cutters. This takes less time to do than to type! CJI.

From the visible bulging of the running plate, removing the reversing rod and thinning the tab that passes through the running plate would seem to be advantageous. CJI.

Tony, There has been much discussion here about the relative merits of RTR versus handbuilt locos, as regards pulling power. Having been constructing and buying locos and stock for in excess of fifty years, and having nowhere to run them other than a 2.4m. long test track, I have been totally ignorant as to the the pulling power of my locos. Having now got my first and last 'magnum opus', 5.0 x 2.4m. 'roundy-roundy' operational, I have been going through the stock drawers to check and oil locos and rolling stock, followed by a good running session with each rake, in order to iron out any niggles. I have to say that I have been extremely gratified with the way that all my stock has, so far, performed - with only the odd detached coupling to refix. As to haulage, all locos - RTR and handbuilt - have, without exception, exceeded my expectations. I have been running-in mainline locos with eight car passenger rakes, though the the ultimate intention is to operate ten car rakes. Out of curiosity, I added extra coaches to an eight car rake comprising mainly Kirk kit-built Maunsell and Bulleid stock, to see when the out-of-the-box Hornby Rebuilt West Country started to slip. Suffice to say that I ended up with two full, eight car rakes behind the tender and the loco didn't so much as falter. I could definitely have added several more coaches to the rake, but the train was starting to look ridiculous with the loco headed one way whilst the last car was still going the other! I am therefore extremely impressed with the performance of the RTR locos that I have so far tested. On the track currently is another Rebuilt West Country - this one with a Hornby Dublo cast body to which numerous Albert Goodall castings have been added; mounted on a Comet chassis and powered by a large Pittman motor; all remaining crevices are stuffed with lead! I am in two mind about repeating the haulage test with this loco; I am not sure that the stock couplings (Peco Simplex) would survive the test! John Isherwood.

As a matter of course, I apply at least one coat of Klear to all RTR locos. This, IMHO, produces an ex-works appearance which is an ideal base for weathering - as per the prototype. CJI.

Look at the shiny bit behind buffer heads; there is a step in the original version that is (correctly) not there on the new version. CJI.

I Interesting - the buffers on the latest iteration have proper, non-stepped shanks. Clearly, some retooling has occurred. CJI.

If that photo is representative of the model itself, I would be inclined to reline the valence; paint the surfaces of the running plate black (though they appear to be black in this photo); and give all the green paint a coat of Klear. I can't imagine what caused the gross distortion of the green in the original photo that raised such an adverse reation. CJI.

It has to be said that those photos don't look as bad as the one above - but it's still far from what other producers interpret as BR Passenger Loco Green livery - and so, it's far from how the prototype appeared. CJI.

I just can't get over this cariacature! The Clan has - for whatever reason - been absent from Hornby's range for what seems like eons, creating what is undoubtedly a pent-up market; (members may recall that I was ridiculed in the Ebay Madness thread for paying 'silly money' for a Clan some time ago). Eventually, we are promised its return, and potential buyers have been bemoaning the delays in its delivery for ages. Finally, it appears on dealers shelves - as something that would not be out of place in the 'cheap tat' section of the Aliexpress toy section! What is it with Hornby - have they no control whatsoever over what comes out of China? Would it be too expensive to send out a product manager to China to inspect the finished product BEFORE it is shipped? ( .... and this question could be directed to many of the other producers, too)? This sort of junk comes out of China because far to many commissioners shrug their shoulders when specifications are ignored and accept sub-standard product. I know that China has a virtual monopoly on this kind of manufacturing, but surely the sanction of moving one's business elsewhere within China still remains? Despairingly, John Isherwood.

Yes - but are the photos on Ebay the actual models that are on offer - or just photos of the last production batch harvested off the internet? CJI

Sorry - just on the shade of green and the green running board surfaces, the entire production should have been rejected by Hornby! Unless Hornby get on top of the BR green issue, their market for such models will shrink to those of us who can and will repaint / reline our purchases. cJI.

'Fraid not - I barely keep up with requests for BR steam era transfers, so I dare not depart from that self-imposed limit. Sorry, John Isherwood.

I would have thought that the loco fittings would be an obvious subject for 3D printing - and one with a reasonable product appeal. John Isherwood. PS. Did the P&P driving trailers really have crimson ends in early BR days?

So, tomorrow, we'll wake up to huge newspaper headlines saying PETROL CRISIS ENDS!!!!!!! (not). Just in time for Boris's Army tanker drivers to save us from the non-end of the world. CJI.

Already announced by KRM. CJI.

Because they were not a UK prototype. The UK uses OO scale / 4mm. : 1ft. Most other countries - including those that had Shays - use HO scale / 3.5mm. : 1ft. CJI.

Clearly, you were born too late! In our secondary school, we had a railway club, headed by a teacher, who organised weekend spotting tours via coach. Happy days. John Isherwood.

I have pretty much zero interest in the current railway scene - but I do click here because there might JUST be images of AC locos that do interest me very much indeed - the first generation ones. I too indulged in nicknames when I was a juvenile spotter - it made me feel that I was 'one of the gang' and 'cool'. However, I would not have dreamt of using such nicknames in conversation with more mature enthusiasts, nor would I use them now. Frankly, the type of caption which prompted my post conveys an immature, cliquey attitude - WE know what we are talking about, and we rather like the fact that YOU don't. This is a forum for a broad range of ages and interests; posters should aim to be comprehensible to the entire membership, IMHO. CJI.

More new sheets of transfers; again prompted by the release of 3D printing design files. BL190 covers BR diagrams 1/163, 1/165, 1/166 & 1/167 25.5T and 33.5T iron ore hoppers. Sheets BL191 to BL194 are dedicated sheets covering just one diagram, for those who wish to build block trains. Full details can be found at https://www.cctrans.org.uk/products.htm John Isherwood.

11001 anyone? CJI.

I'm sure that you, and others of your ilk, understand this - but it is totally incomprehensible to the casual reader. CJI.

Ah - but where lies the greatest profit - groceries or seasonal 'tat'? ....that's the prioritising department working as intended! CJI.

Full marks to them - they deserve it. I was a doubting Thomas - not helped by their somewhat unconventional / confrontational public persona - but I am pleased that they are thriving and I look forward to receiving 10100 and DHP1. CJI.