New Railway Modellers Forums

I cannot see Hornby production ever returning to the UK. As far as I am aware it was a choice between moving production to China or closing the company. As a child of the late 1970s/early 1980s I do not recall products from Hornby Margate being particularly notable for their quality. Quite crude and...

ofouroloco You are right, brilliant little locos for the money. I wonder if the fact that I use old H&M controllers helps? I planned to repaint the Bagnall and Holden in ficticious Shell (silver) and North Thames Gas (yellow) liveries respectively to complement my equally ficticious Wrenn R1 ta...

ofouroloco You are right, brilliant little locos for the money. I wonder if the fact that I use old H&M controllers helps? I planned to repaint the Bagnall and Holden in ficticious Shell (silver) and North Thames Gas (yellow) liveries respectively to complement my equally ficticious Wrenn R1 tan...

Yes, the more recent 0-4-0s run well and represent good value for money IMHO. I have bought the Bagnall shunter, a Caley Pug and a Holden tank over the last couple of years and all give good slow speed control without stalling on insulfrog points. Not sure what Hornby have altered - but it works!

I've always had a soft spot for this locomotive, perhaps because it was my first diesel as a kid back in 1980. Of the three diesels I bought around that time, this was the only one that performed well - and still does! The class 25 was never a good runner and the Hymek was exchanged for a Lima class...

I really like these, they have character. Bought a mint boxed BR black one off ebay last month for just over £30 and I am delighted with it. Most likely test run only and then stored in a cupboard for 30 years. I have three of these now and all of them run well without modification. Unfortunately, t...

I have ~50 Lima locos dating from the early 1980s through to the mid-2000s, all but 3 of them diesels. Never had any problems with any of them. Sure they are crude in comparison to modern offerings but also reliable, durable and very usable. Of the locos I bought as a kid in the early '80s Lima are ...

Frizinghall Models and Railways I used to buy quite a lot from here but haven't been back in about three years. The old shop on Manningham Lane was great but they seemed to do downhill after the move. Their range isn't the best and the prices quite high, so no wonder they are not as popular as they ...

"It suddenly started smoking".

The result of peer pressure from claggy 56s or trying to look "cool" like a Deltic perhaps?

Old Man Phil Exactly. If you have any questions or are unsure then contact the seller. I have found the majority to be honest, helpful and more than happy to provide additional information/photos. If buyers used their common sense and thought about what they were doing most of the problems would not...

HonestTom Ebay isn't a problem if you know what you are doing. I have made many purchases via the bay over the last couple of years and been very happy with most of them. Once you know who the honest, reliable sellers are stick to them and you should be fine. I only buy from specialist "returns...

Yes, Dapol rolling stock is fairly fragile. The quality of the plastic used seems to be quite brittle and separate parts are sometimes poorly fitted. In my experience quality control isn't the best and the poor packaging means that models are not well protected before sale. They are certainly not in...

To be fair, most Wrenn isn't fetching silly money on ebay etc. any more. There will always be some sellers/dealers who try to take advantage of the unwary, but there are just as many charging fair prices for decent stuff. You should be able to get an excellent boxed example of one of the more common...

A store closing sign is up outside the Leeds branch and most items (excluding Hornby) have a 20% discount. Very little railway stock left apart from Hornby - the Bachmann cabinet and shelves are almost empty. Plenty of diecast though. The place was almost empty at 2.00 p.m. in the middle of the scho...

As others have pointed out, there is still a realistic chance that the business could be saved. However, it is unlikely that like all the stores will survive. Underperforming branches will be closed as the chain is pruned back to those most likely to be profitable in the future. If these are the sub...