Hornby in the news today

[GWR_fan]

In "h.o." we had a centre mounted motor driving a bogie each end of the chassis back in the 1950's. Yes it was "hi-fi" drive with rubber bands to the axles but it was not long before gear driven bogies were introduced. Bachmann introduced a centre mount chassis in "OO" back nearly twenty odd years ago. Hornby introduced a centre mount chassis less than fifteen years ago. Who is being taken for a ride?

Hornby latched onto the superior European ringfield drive back in the 1960's/1970's and dumbed it down until it barely moved and then continued with the drive until around 2005 on some models. Bachmann did supply ringfield drive diesels to the American market however these were the cheaper end of the market and by 1980 odd these were phased out. Athearn have been supplying basic but reliable centre mount chassis since I was a child and the mechanism was so reliable there was little need to alter the design until DCC came along.

I feel that Hornby saw its position in the market as beyond challenge and saw no need to improve when their models were selling. They "owned" the British market. Why catch up with the rest of the world when the British public were buying Hornby's antiquated products.

While I do not mind the Hornby product from the 1980's onwards for its simplicity, remember that Hornby is still currently selling product they inherited nearly two generations ago. The non-Silver Seal ringfield dates back to the 1970's and was in production for thirty odd years. Some rolling stock has its origins back almost to Tri-ang days and the venerable old Mk1 coach has only been superceded in the last couple of years.

Honestly, are we all that stupid that we continue to hold the company in the esteem many do or is it just a case of nostalgia like remembering "the good old days" when many remember the good old days were not that good at all. Our memories mellow with age. If Hornby was a racehorse it would have seen the knackery many years ago and not have the opportunity to be retired into greener pastures.

[D605Eagle]

In terms of technology, the past is the past, and should remain there. It was what it was. Like DC's stuck in the muds, DCC is finally THE long overdue finally established embraced operating standard now - like it or not, refuse to acknowledge it or not.

What a ridiculous statement. Virtually all models have been DCC ready for way more than a decade. Nothing needs to change in that respect. Dapol have the right idea offering each model in DC for normal people, DCC for those who think they are clever, and DCC sound for those with hearing issues.

[Bigglesof266]

What a ridiculous statement.

Comprehension absent itself again today did it?

Dapol have the right idea offering each model in DC for normal people, DCC for those who think they are clever, and DCC sound for those with hearing issues.

Flogging a dead horse is the metaphor that outburst brings to mind.

[End2end]

I lost faith with "We're the best" Hornby years ago.
Too self important to think they are untouchable. Even their buildings are meard these days.
Bye bye Hornby. You won't be missed by me.
Thanks
End2end

[Bufferstop]

What will happen to Hornby? My money is on exactly the same as Triang did with Hornby Dublo, someone will buy it for the name, merge the best bits with their own range, then after a while emerge as the new Hornby. ATM the likeliest candidate I can see would appear to be Oxford.

[sishades]

DC for normal people, DCC for those who think they are clever, and DCC sound for those with hearing issues

I think we should go one step backwards and reintroduce 3 rail systems and tinplate rolling stock the size of shoeboxes.

[trainlover23]

In terms of technology, the past is the past, and should remain there. It was what it was. Like DC's stuck in the muds,DCC is finally THE long overdue finally established embraced operating standard now like it or not, refuse to acknowledge it or not


I beg to differ DCC is one way to control toy trains and it is a personal choice.
Also there is a place for the Railroad Range

[D605Eagle]

In terms of technology, the past is the past, and should remain there. It was what it was. Like DC's stuck in the muds,DCC is finally THE long overdue finally established embraced operating standard now like it or not, refuse to acknowledge it or not


I beg to differ DCC is one way to control toy trains and it is a personal choice.
Also there is a place for the Railroad Range

Absolutely agree with that. Sadly this hobby is really bad for people who think that their ideas are the only ideas and nobody should be able to think differently. Its a sign of limited intelligence, but its not their fault

[allan]

Yes, it's a broad church. My view is that DCC is the best of a bad lot, and is already obsolescent: it's thirty year old technology, far from user friendly, and severely compromised by "DCC" that is non-compliant with the old standards - so that components are not interchangeable, and users are restricted to proprietory components, which are necessarily more expensive.

Thirty years ago Windows 3.1 was in it's very early days, and computers had hard drives with low megabyte capacity... maybe.

But, ask 00 modellers to standardise on a new control system? Give it a rest - they cannot agree on standards for anything! Without standards, 00 scale is just going to fall into a heap. If 00 scale modellers don't pull together, new entrants will continue to be bewildered, and give up. Or go off and play with Thomas.

[Stufiley]

I am also of the thinking that we as modellers are maybe partly to blame in how the hobby is portrayed and the lack of younger modellers. Recently I have just been to an exhibition, I won't say where as this would be unfair to all those who have put lots of effort into the show, but I did notice a couple of issues that I would think would put the younger generation from ever taking up this hobby.

Firstly all the exhibits bar one were at a height that many children could not see. This means that their parents were having to hoist them up to see. In a very crowded show you could see the annoyance of others when a small child slightly blocked their own view!

Secondly most were running to a time table with very little movement on the layouts. These then were all run at scale speed and were very few. This I can imagine to a small child looks very boring.

I am not complaining about the layouts or the operators but the whole thing had an air of being a stiffly run railway, all the fun seemed to have leached away. Yes they were good railways but I saw no express trains running at speed, nothing really of any great movement, nothing to catch your eye just stopping trains and goods marshalling, and a lot of fiddling with DCC controllers and prorgaming.

I know that DCC is very good and is probably the best way to control a layout but for me the self control feeling of driving the locos was gone. Maybe I am being too cynical but the whole idea of fun was not here, I as a child I thought this was what model railways were all about I think this would have put me off.

[Bufferstop]

Some good points there. The height thing is a perennial problem. I prefer my models at about chest height which puts you at around he same height as someone looking on from a block of flats, rather than a skyscraper, but this is too high for kiddies and those confined to a wheelchair. Scale speed looks ridiculously slow, we happily compress distances to get it all in, so why not compress time, film and TV producers do it all the time yet there's no great outcry that the action looks too fast, and what are we doing if not acting out a story on a 1/76th scale set. Stick to scale speeds when at home or club, but for exhibitions we should remember we are putting on a show.

[glencairn]

A very interesting discussion going on.

Will Hornby go under?

My thoughts are that they should listen to the public and cater for their needs and wants, not do what they think the public require.

The argument between DC and DCC could go on and on.
Personally, when I am at our model club, certain members show off their latest DCC possession. At first I was interested, but after watching said members twiddling this, that and t'other for nigh on half an hour, the engine had not moved an inch. Boredom began to set in. I have had enough.

At home, my layout is DC and will remain so. My Grandsons', aged 5,4 and 3, love to be involved. They like being involved in the different areas. They even like to 'run' trains. A simple control system is easy for them (and me). Seeing them slowing a train down as it enters a station is a delight.
Getting them involved has made it more enjoyable for me.
I am now watching as my two Granddaughters' want to join in.

Glencairn

[Notanyware]

Crikey I thought the DC v DCC debate was dead and buried how wrong I was, I had a DCC layout for a while and really enjoyed it, no knob twiddling just punching a number in and turning a knob, I decided to switch from OO gauge to American N scale DC run but quickly got bored with that so decided to make a return to OO gauge which was a great move, the problem is during the two years that I ran the N scale layout the price of decoders and other DCC hardware had rocketed up in price, I now run my layout on DC but do I wish it was DCC ? to right I do but I am not prepared to pay through the nose for something that has become far to expensive, some may say why not buy the cheap and cheerful Hornby sound locos but I don't because I don't want or need big engines, frankly I think the whole hobby has become way to expensive, over here in Oz hobby shops are as scarce as hens teeth most toy shops no longer sell electric trains and catalogs are full of drones and other interesting stuff, as for guiding young kids into the hobby the model train industry has dropped the ball and now cater for old farts for their income, lets face it when the oldies including myself have passed on the hobby will die with us, its to late to do anything about it now as its no good shutting the gate after the horse has bolted.

Cheers
Dave

[Bufferstop]

Dave it's not a debate as to whether DCC or DC is the right way, both are available, as are other systems, eg battery or steam powered with R/C for starters, it's what is most suitable for the layout in question and the preference of the modeller. My own layout is DC and I don't see much prospect of going DCC. It's an end to end layout with nowhere a loco can be set to run and left to get on with it, so the multiple loco control would be wasted, conversion of upwards of 20 locos would cost the earth, and some of them (home built) have zero space inside in which a decoder can be added, finally my points and signals are operated mechanically as were the prototypes. It doesn't mean I'm agin DCC, digital electronics is part of my history, it's just not appropriate here, but you should see the desk where I'm typing this, or rather not see the desk just the gear that covers it.

[Bigglesof266]

issues that I would think would put the younger generation from ever taking up this hobby.

In my memory going back as far as the late 1950s, the height of table thing was ever thus. We coped.

Secondly most were running to a time table with very little movement on the layouts.

What you've said here, I'd agree with the part of boring to children, and more curious adults motivated by nostalgia yet to return to the hobby than we'd probably credit I'd contend. But by the same token, the majority of the audience would have been adults, probably already railway modellers, not children. A case of catering to the predominant audience. In the 60's, the demographic was different, and interest in the toy train set was high.

I think that you make a salient point about the lack of fun or excitement factor from a child's perspective.

In AU, there are still a few exhibitors who present with what is effectively a large train set, possibly more so than in the UK? But the general feel you describe is pretty much the same. It's the nature of the beast the hobby and much of its demographic it has evolved into today.