What's your latest acquisition?

[Iskra]

Girlfriend bought me this from the model centre in Whitby, lovely loco, been weathered and weathered also. Model shop there was one of the best I’ve visited and lovely location too

That's a very nice looking loco! I've never visited, but bought a lot online and spoken to them over the phone fairly frequently and they are an excellent outfit.

 

[xotGD]

Very nice, is that a Dapol PMV?

Yes - Reference number B341

I like the load in that plank wagon

I'm assuming it represents limestone. Came loose in the box, so I had the option of keeping the wagon empty. It is a Bachmann Branch-Line model, reference 37-040.

 

[BrettSy96]

That's a very nice looking loco! I've never visited, but bought a lot online and spoken to them over the phone fairly frequently and they are an excellent outfit.

Yes they were very helpful and knowledgable in store!

 

[Peter C]

Loving all the additions on here - that signal box definitely is an interesting example, isn't it @Iskra? And that 66 is super too @BrettSy96!

-Peter

 

[Cowley]

Yes they were very helpful and knowledgable in store!

I was there for four days last week and I totally forgot that their shop was there.
I am a complete and utter tool!

 

[Iskra]

I was there for four days last week and I totally forgot that their shop was there.
I am a complete and utter tool!

Probably saved yourself a fortune!

 

[Cowley]

Probably saved yourself a fortune!

That is definitely true actually. We’d have had to come home a week earlier.

 

[BrettSy96]

I was there for four days last week and I totally forgot that their shop was there.
I am a complete and utter tool!

I agree with Iskra you saved yourself a fortune but it is a shame you forgot about it as it’s a lovely place to visit!

 

[SprattyHeath]

New acquisitions for July, a Hornby LNER Class 91, and an absolutely goregous (just released) Dapol TPE Class 68.

 

[reddragon]

The Dapol 68 is shockingly good, for me only 2nd to Accurascale 55 at the mo.

 

[SprattyHeath]

The Dapol 68 is shockingly good, for me only 2nd to Accurascale 55 at the mo.

It's probably Dapol's most successful and high quality model that they have ever produced, it's absolutely stunning

 

[reddragon]

It's probably Dapol's most successful and high quality model that they have ever produced, it's absolutely stunning

Only my Dapol 68 & Hattons 66 can haul rakes of 30+ wagons. Not tried my Accurascale Deltic yet but word is it will pull until the couplings break!!

 

[SprattyHeath]

Only my Dapol 68 & Hattons 66 can haul rakes of 30+ wagons. Not tried my Accurascale Deltic yet but word is it will pull until the couplings break!!

I've been hearing some mixed opinions about the new Deltics, they look absolutely smashing but they seem to be having numerous issues. I can cut some slack as it is their first loco they've done and they seem to care a lot about what they do. I'm looking forward to the 92s that are releasing in August.

 

[reddragon]

I've been hearing some mixed opinions about the new Deltics, they look absolutely smashing but they seem to be having numerous issues. I can cut some slack as it is their first loco they've done and they seem to care a lot about what they do. I'm looking forward to the 92s that are releasing in August.

There have been a few tiny parts come loose, the bogie chains are notable. I had a bit of resin on 1 wheel. A few with speakers coming loose. A tiny amount versus the usual failing of a Hornby model that costs the same as a basic DC local as the Deltic is as DCC sound & all bells & whistles!

AS state only 1 loco of many 1000's has been declared a failure, not bad when Hornby lost 50% of their LNER 10000 original models, due to bodies falling to pieces & motors being dead.

 

[DJ_K666]

A Bachmann mk1 RFO in maroon. £23 from Hattons. Bargain!

 

[Iskra]

New acquisitions for July, a Hornby LNER Class 91, and an absolutely goregous (just released) Dapol TPE Class 68.

View attachment 117376View attachment 117377View attachment 117378View attachment 117380View attachment 117381

Very nice!

 

[61653 HTAFC]

New acquisitions for July, a Hornby LNER Class 91, and an absolutely goregous (just released) Dapol TPE Class 68.

View attachment 117376View attachment 117377View attachment 117378View attachment 117380View attachment 117381

If you don't mind me asking, how well-detailed is the Hornby 91 these days? My brother owned one of the original run back in the 1990s, and it was a bit of a mixed bag: excellent detail on the roof around the (functional) pantograph, but the livery print wasn't particularly crisp. Likewise the lack of working lights (when the HSTs had had them from the start) was a disappointment even in 1990!

The latest addition to my fleet is 47832 'Tamar' in a non-standard variant of Intercity Swallow livery (no Swallow branding, numbers almost hidden just above the solebar). Not sure what circumstances would lead to a long-range 47 from the West Country finding itself on a colliery branch in Yorkshire, but I'm sure I'll come up with a justification!
To be honest it was a bit of an impulse buy, it just happened to be coming to the end of the auction on Ebay when I was browsing on Sunday, and only had a few bids so I put one in and ended up winning!

 

[reddragon]

If you don't mind me asking, how well-detailed is the Hornby 91 these days? My brother owned one of the original run back in the 1990s, and it was a bit of a mixed bag: excellent detail on the roof around the (functional) pantograph, but the livery print wasn't particularly crisp. Likewise the lack of working lights (when the HSTs had had them from the start) was a disappointment even in 1990!

The latest addition to my fleet is 47832 'Tamar' in a non-standard variant of Intercity Swallow livery (no Swallow branding, numbers almost hidden just above the solebar). Not sure what circumstances would lead to a long-range 47 from the West Country finding itself on a colliery branch in Yorkshire, but I'm sure I'll come up with a justification!
To be honest it was a bit of an impulse buy, it just happened to by coming to the end of the auction on Ebay when I was browsing on Sunday, and only had a few bids so I put one in and ended up winning!

I've been after a 47 for ages, never quite made my mind up on one I like enough to buy or at a price I like.

 

[sprinterguy]

The latest addition to my fleet is 47832 'Tamar' in a non-standard variant of Intercity Swallow livery (no Swallow branding, numbers almost hidden just above the solebar).

That is in fact the BR Mainline livery - An Intercity derivative that was quite widely used as a "jack of all trades"/general user scheme for passenger locos at the end of the eighties/early nineties, and was worn by a few of the '47/8's following renumbering before the application of Swallow livery became widespread on the sub-class.

At the time the real loco was in the condition pictured it was frequently employed on Cross-country services, so trips to Yorkshire would have been entirely within its remit, though perhaps less so colliery branches haha.

 

[SprattyHeath]

If you don't mind me asking, how well-detailed is the Hornby 91 these days? My brother owned one of the original run back in the 1990s, and it was a bit of a mixed bag: excellent detail on the roof around the (functional) pantograph, but the livery print wasn't particularly crisp. Likewise the lack of working lights (when the HSTs had had them from the start) was a disappointment even in 1990!

Surprisingly it's quite a nice model for it's price, it's definitely better than the old 80s tooling one which is becoming massively out of date.

Hornby have started to step up their game by having lights which are actually controllable (Head & Tails etc) and a 21 Pin DCC socket which is a first for Hornby considering they've been stuck with 8 pin nonsense for the past 15 years now.

A few problems I've noticed is that the bogies don't seem to move around that freely, I don't know if that's by design or not but it might struggle on steep inclines and slight dips & crests on the rails but it is a smooth runner nontheless.

The pantograph as always just feels cheap and looks cheap, very flimsy and if not careful enough will break, it's pretty much the same story as the other AC electrics they've made, but at least this one has some metal supports unlike the 87 which was plastic fantastic (and breaks far too easily)

 

[BRblue33]

If i wanted a class 90 there is no way that i'd have a Hornby model. Bachmann model has more detail plus it look's nice.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

That is in fact the BR Mainline livery - An Intercity derivative that was quite widely used as a "jack of all trades"/general user scheme for passenger locos at the end of the eighties/early nineties, and was worn by a few of the '47/8's following renumbering before the application of Swallow livery became widespread on the sub-class.

Thought it might be Mainline, but had got it into my head that the shade of grey was slightly different with Mainline. A bit of research reveals that was just a brain-fart!

On the AC electrics, it seems that the idea of functional catenary in model form has fallen by the wayside. I did have some of the old Hornby system back in the day, and although fiddly it worked quite well. Even Lima supplied their 87s with working pantographs and a switch on the roof to select between standard operation or pan pick-up. I always remember how tacky the plastic dummy pantographs looked on the version of the 91 that came in Hornby sets looked though.

How are the more upmarket AC locos when it comes to roof and pan detail? Things like the Bachmann 90 and Accurascale 89?

With Hornby, anything they release nowadays I'm expecting to be poor quality and overpriced- though I'm sure there will be exceptions from time to time. The only Hornby loco/unit that I'm likely to run regularly on my layout is their 153, and the only Hornby loco I'm likely to buy is a second 153 to go with the first. Well, that and a 142 if I ever decide to try and kitbash a 141!

 

[Ayman Ilham]

As I recently developed a thing for model trains, I decided to scour eBay for 2nd hand N-Gauge stock and ended up with this lovely Graham Farish Merchant Navy locomotive for just £39 (including delivery) after winning an auction. Paint worn off the tender (great opportunity to put my own custom branding on it later) but it's a 'good runner', at least according to the seller. I'm yet to test it myself as I don't have any tracks or power supply to go with it yet but either way, I grabbed a pretty good bargain (insane if it actually does run well like the seller said) given these prices are usually only found in OO-Gauge. It helps that the same seller was also selling another similar locomotive, but in better aesthetic condition thus it hogged all the bidding attention, so I decided to bid on this one instead and ended up being the sole bidder. Not too bad for a first model locomotive; makes a brilliant display piece on my shelf until I buy some Kato Unitrack pieces and a controller, as well as a couple of Mk1/2 coaches for the loco to pull.

 

[sprinterguy]

Thought it might be Mainline, but had got it into my head that the shade of grey was slightly different with Mainline. A bit of research reveals that was just a brain-fart!

Yeah, to be fair and as you may well be aware, there did seem to be a period in the early nineties when the liveries worn by some Intercity-sector locos fell somewhere along a 'sliding scale' that could sometimes be hard to judge between "Mainline with added embellishments" or "Swallow with missing insignia".

On the AC electrics, it seems that the idea of functional catenary in model form has fallen by the wayside. I did have some of the old Hornby system back in the day, and although fiddly it worked quite well. Even Lima supplied their 87s with working pantographs and a switch on the roof to select between standard operation or pan pick-up. I always remember how tacky the plastic dummy pantographs looked on the version of the 91 that came in Hornby sets looked though.

How are the more upmarket AC locos when it comes to roof and pan detail? Things like the Bachmann 90 and Accurascale 89?

There was a recent discussion on the RMWeb forum that effectively surmised that, with the increased desire for realism in modern modelling, it would be challenging to produce a working overhead catenary system that was both sufficiently realistic in appearance and robust enough for reliable operation. A shame really, as I thought that the old Hornby system was perhaps a little gimmicky but really quite a clever and potentially useful feature.

I don't own one myself, but I think the general consensus is that the pantograph on the Bachmann 90 is pretty much the best there currently is in OO, in terms of both appearance and functionality on DCC. It'll be interesting to see if Accurascale raise the game with their class 89, as they're generally regarded as being industry-leading in terms of the accuracy and detailing of their locos and stock.

 

[TheEdge]

Its been a while since I've popped up with some strange European N model no one here is interest in.

So, here we are with a new arrival from Kato...



4 car Kato ET425, aka DB Regio BR425. DCC ready, with lighting and with a whole pack of very high quality stickers for destinations and whichever state you want to see operating it. I'll be picking Rheinland Pfalz with an RE to Trier.

Best part, the price. Brand new, £69.90 (11,480Y) Bought using a freight forwarding service from a model shop in Japan and then £40 P&P, but I did pay for 2-6 day UPS rather than the slightly slower options. So £110 all in. Gaugemaster charge £175 for this. A few questions present there...

 

[Cowley]

Its been a while since I've popped up with some strange European N model no one here is interest in.

So, here we are with a new arrival from Kato...
View attachment 117695View attachment 117696


4 car Kato ET425, aka DB Regio BR425. DCC ready, with lighting and with a whole pack of very high quality stickers for destinations and whichever state you want to see operating it. I'll be picking Rheinland Pfalz with an RE to Trier.

Best part, the price. Brand new, £69.90 (11,480Y) Bought using a freight forwarding service from a model shop in Japan and then £40 P&P, but I did pay for 2-6 day UPS rather than the slightly slower options. So £110 all in. Gaugemaster charge £175 for this. A few questions present there...

That’s incredible value for what looks like a pretty decent modern model. Is the Kato stuff good?

 

[TheEdge]

That’s incredible value for what looks like a pretty decent modern model. Is the Kato stuff good?

I've never heard any complaints and while I'm yet to give this a run out the box it looks pretty good. Not quite as high detail as the Fleischmann and Minitrix stuff I have but at that price hard to fault.

 

[Ayman Ilham]

Went to the Locoshed Whitefield (Manchester) to pick up some bits and bobs to go with my £39 loco; got a decent run out of it, but I'm gonna purchase some extra track from elsewhere to make a loop so I can do some continuous running. Spent £105 for the coaches (£15.50 for the BR Blue Mk2 and £17.50 for the Virgin Mk3), track pieces (£23 for whole straight including feeder) and controller (the most expensive bit at £50).

View attachment received_576609950703598_001.mp4

Here's a close-up of my train; if you're wondering, the Mk1 carriages the shop had were too expensive for me and I've always wanted to see what it was like if a Steam loco pulled Mk2/3 carriages. I do plan to get some diesel locos for these coaches and a joblot of Mk1 coaches for this loco, however.

 

[Iskra]

Certainly a colourful rake, and yes it seems sensible to have a loop for some continuous running. That original virgin livery is one of my favourites

 

[Ayman Ilham]

Certainly a colourful rake, and yes it seems sensible to have a loop for some continuous running. That original virgin livery is one of my favourites

Ordered the extra track I need to make the loop; the store I went to today didn't have the radii I wanted (they had R216 and R316 but not my desired R282) nor any S62 straights needed to close the loop due to the feeder track, so I just ordered them off katouk.com along with 2 additional S248 packs so I can have a nice long loop to play with.