Hello From London

Newtothisat52 · Post by **Newtothisat52** » Mon Jan 02, 2023 10:18 pm

Hello to you all, I have had a snoop around here for awhile trying to decide to buy a trainset because I've secretly always wanted one since I went to university and left the old one in my parents shed, sadly it is long gone.

Anyways, I probably sound like a hornby plant or something, but after agonising over OO vs N for what seems like and probably has been a couple of decades, suddenly what I'd wanted in the first place TT has emerged (mainly because it is the same scale in continental and uk models, secondly because of the size, and I've plumped for the scotsman set, apparently to be delivered in the next few days.

I have no idea yet as to what to do with it other than play trains, but I think its going to be fun

Bigmet · Post by **Bigmet** » Mon Jan 02, 2023 10:36 pm

You are representative of what some don't believe, which is that there are still new new adult (re-)entrants to this hobby, Hopefully this proves to be fun for you, and if time permits tell us about how the TT:120 product works in your hands.

Newtothisat52 · Post by **Newtothisat52** » Mon Jan 02, 2023 10:55 pm

well there is potentially another, a dear friend of mine and I have been discussing model trains for some years. It seems the wrong way round but the consensus seems to be "wait till my boys have flown the nest". I always thought it would be "pretend its for the kids while they're still there".

glencairn · Post by **glencairn** » Mon Jan 02, 2023 11:42 pm

Welcome on board, Newtothisat52.

Glencairn

Dublo · Post by **Dublo** » Tue Jan 03, 2023 7:46 am

Welcome to the forum Newtothis.
Always good to see a fellow Londoner.
If I hadn't got into OO as much as I have TT would have been my go to scale.

End2end · Post by **End2end** » Tue Jan 03, 2023 11:37 am

Hi and a warm welcome to the forum Newtothis.

I'm a born and bred "sowf lundon geezer" but moved out 20 years ago. Not far. but far enough.

I'm not sure that anyone on the forum has taken up the TT gauge as of yet, so it will be interesting to hear (and perhaps see) how you get on with it.
Thanks
End2end

Newtothisat52 · Post by **Newtothisat52** » Tue Jan 03, 2023 6:56 pm

thanks for all your kind words.

In addition to the reasons I gave, I think being in at the start of something is a psychological allure- I must be a marketers dream. Also if not well priced, the things hornby announced don't seem any more silly priced than anything else. At least not on the face of it. Though I did just look at a 125 and a full rake of coackes. hmmm.

The niggle in the back of my mind is that if there are issues, well, there wont be a hundred and one people who have found two hundred and two ways to overcome them. I mean in terms of locos and rolling stock. I'm sure the rest of it is fairly universal.

Bigmet · Post by **Bigmet** » Wed Jan 04, 2023 1:32 pm

Newtothisat52 wrote:...The niggle in the back of my mind is that if there are issues, well, there wont be a hundred and one people who have found two hundred and two ways to overcome them. I mean in terms of locos and rolling stock. I'm sure the rest of it is fairly universal.

Universal truth no 1. Give it a couple of hours test running when received, loco alone at about half speed, turning the loco around on the track about every half hour. You want to discover any 'infant mortality' while your purchase is indisputably new, and if it runs well it should be 'well exercised' with the factory lubricant well distributed around the mechanism.

Newtothisat52 wrote:...I must be a marketers dream. Also if not well priced, the things hornby announced don't seem any more silly priced than anything else. At least not on the face of it. Though I did just look at a 125 and a full rake of coaches...

If space is not an issue for you, OO is ready and waiting with a range of choice of product that TT:120 won't offer this side of 2040. That option isn't going away any time soon, the product choice from multiple brands is still expanding, and there's a mountain of second hand available too.

But if TT:120 really succeeds, I reckon it will take a large bite out of UK N gauge, for the simple reason that UK prototype is uncomfortably small for commercial N gauge mechanism installation. TT:120 makes the exterior of a UK model about the same size as North American N, which is superior mechanically to UK N; and the Chinese factories have decades of experience in North American product. Some of the brands currently active in the UK will be watching like a hawk to see if TT:120 'flies' - or not...

Newtothisat52 · Post by **Newtothisat52** » Wed Jan 04, 2023 9:21 pm

Bigmet wrote:
Newtothisat52 wrote:...The niggle in the back of my mind is that if there are issues, well, there wont be a hundred and one people who have found two hundred and two ways to overcome them. I mean in terms of locos and rolling stock. I'm sure the rest of it is fairly universal.
Universal truth no 1. Give it a couple of hours test running when received, loco alone at about half speed, turning the loco around on the track about every half hour. You want to discover any 'infant mortality' while your purchase is indisputably new, and if it runs well it should be 'well exercised' with the factory lubricant well distributed around the mechanism.

well its running in as I'm typing, and to my untrained ear it is smooth, though not exactly speedy

Bigmet wrote:
Newtothisat52 wrote:...I must be a marketers dream. Also if not well priced, the things hornby announced don't seem any more silly priced than anything else. At least not on the face of it. Though I did just look at a 125 and a full rake of coaches...
If space is not an issue for you, OO is ready and waiting with a range of choice of product that TT:120 won't offer this side of 2040. That option isn't going away any time soon, the product choice from multiple brands is still expanding, and there's a mountain of second hand available too.

But if TT:120 really succeeds, I reckon it will take a large bite out of UK N gauge, for the simple reason that UK prototype is uncomfortably small for commercial N gauge mechanism installation. TT:120 makes the exterior of a UK model about the same size as North American N, which is superior mechanically to UK N; and the Chinese factories have decades of experience in North American product. Some of the brands currently active in the UK will be watching like a hawk to see if TT:120 'flies' - or not...

Space is an issue, I was very tempted by N, but it did really bug me that a 125 is out of scale to a TGV, and I decided it was a wee bit small. Having said that now I've seen TT120 it is quite small too! I do like the point that came with the set, its not as sharp as I remember points I used to have in OO.

Bigmet · Post by **Bigmet** » Wed Jan 04, 2023 11:07 pm

Speed is difficult to judge. Near as makes no odds in 1:120, a metre in 3 seconds is scale for 90mph; and that was the maximum speed on UK express lines in the steam period, so you can time it if you choose.

As for the points, they look far better proportioned than the standard set track point in OO which are an unbelievably small radius. Is a radius quoted for either or both of the plain track curves and the curved road of point?

Newtothisat52 · Post by **Newtothisat52** » Thu Jan 05, 2023 1:12 am

I'm assuming they are modified tillig mediums - which are 631mm

I'm assuming that because hornby has lifted the length of the straight sections and the curve radii. I watched a Hornby thingy where they said they changed the point slightly so that the return curve lines up with the straight on the other track.

They havnt lifted all the geometry, in the tillig original there are lots of little straight sections to do this, that, and plenty of the other. In the tillig original, the crossing is neither left nor right and small straight sections are needed for everything to line up. Hornby I gather are making different ones so that the little pieces arent needed - i.e. left and right crossings.

The thing is the little straights seem to do much besides, but we're not getting them in the hornby world it seems. Thats probably not a problem as the two track systems are compatible- or so say the hornby videos.

Bigmet · Post by **Bigmet** » Fri Jan 06, 2023 11:52 am

Newtothisat52 wrote:...in the tillig original there are lots of little straight sections to do this, that, and plenty of the other...

Hornby are sticking with the 'keep it simple, stupid' principle here. With no retailer distribution to handle customers asking for "One each of little pieces Rxxxxx, etc." that's sensible.
Hornby should however be a little embarassed at thus revealing that their OO set track range is astronomically far behind the curve; already listing larger curve radii in TT:120 than they have ever ventured in OO, and the much superior points as a result.

Newtothisat52 · Post by **Newtothisat52** » Fri Jan 06, 2023 2:07 pm

that is very true in one sense.

bearing in mind i dont know much about these things, I did do quite a lot of investigating and thinking about what can go in the space. Having set up the oval and siding and a few more bits and bobs- so the oval is bigger and the siding too, I can guess that the 15 degree points and shallower angle are going to make the run up to a station longer.

The oval might be smaller but the space for industry and stations etc is going to be hampered- because the oval is smaller and to get off it takes more space.

The answer is to make the layout bigger, but of course, why then tt120? in terms of space saving (if a continuous run is desired)

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