A MODEL WORLD STEAMS INTO YESTERDAY CHANNEL IN JANUARY

Hornby Development and Marketing Director

Simon Kohler has had a radical idea, using the iconic locomotive Flying Scotsman as the spearhead of a brand new range, two thirds the size of the ubiquitous Double-O. This Table Top (TT) scale hasn’t been produced in the UK for over 50 years and even for seasoned designers, poses significant engineering challenges. Everything must be scaled down 120 times from real life, rendering some features almost invisible to the naked eye, or too small to even mould. There’s also a huge task on minuscule proportions for repairs “Magician” Jon as he performs the fiddliest of fixes on two tiny Rocket locomotive models. Plus enthusiast Kathy Millatt is shrinking a Welsh slate mine down to create a new micro layout, contending with buildings that are too big, locos that don’t work and the bane of her life, a hot glue gun.

In the new series, musician and TV presenter Jools Holland (episode 2) allows cameras into his Kent home to marvel at his incredible train layout. He’s played to millions on stage but few know of Jools’ passion for model making. With a love of architecture, Jools has collected models and kits of curious buildings for the past 45 years. Elsewhere in the series, music producer Pete Waterman (episode 4) creates his most ambitious layout to date - recreating the section of West Coast Mainline where he spent his Saturdays as a child. Each programme follows Hornby’s design process from drawing board to perfect mini replica, charting the ups and downs of the journey as Hornby’s team of dedicated designers attempt to get the all-important detail spot on, whether it’s perfecting the sound of a luxury 1940s steam loco or the shape of a rally racing car. Cameras also capture some of Britain’s best model layout builders, creating miniature masterpieces in lofts and sheds across the land. These dedicated enthusiasts spend hundreds of hours building perfect replicas of towns, villages and landscapes for their locos to travel through, everything from wintry wonderlands to bomb damaged city scapes.

Episode 1 of Series 2 aires on 16 January 2023 at 8pm on Yesterday Channel. You can catch-up on UKTV Play here!

The first series is available on demand on UKTV Play now.

Celebrating 100 Years Of Flying Scotsman

Hello and welcome to this special edition of the Hornby blog, all about the centenary celebrations of a very special locomotive. Flying Scotsman left Doncaster Works in February 1923, and to celebrate the milestone birthday it reaches next year Hornby have teamed up with the National Railway Museum as the lead sponsor of events during this centenary year. In this blog, we will look at some of the models we are creating for this very special occasion.

Hornby has produced literally countless models of Flying Scotsman over the years. One of the first of these was the tinplate 0 gauge model complete with its 4-4-2 wheel configuration, a limitation of the time as the model used the same chassis and mechanism from the standard 4 wheel tank engine. Since then, a model has appeared with every number the locomotive wore and every livery, LNER Apple Green, Wartime Black, BR Blue and BR Green. Hornby has produced literally countless models of Flying

Scotsman over the years. One of the first of these was the tinplate 0 gauge model complete with its 44-2 wheel configuration, a limitation of the time as the model used the same chassis and mechanism from the standard 4 wheel tank engine. Since then, a model has appeared with every number the locomotive wore and every livery, LNER Apple Green, Wartime Black, BR Blue and BR Green.

Image Courtesy of the NRM

As well as being a mainstay of the Hornby range for time immemorial, Flying Scotsman has been the introduction for many into the hobby of modelling with many train sets featuring the iconic locomotive created and sold as well as a Railroad version of the model, perhaps the largest selling model in our introductory range. in preparation for the centenary celebrations in 2023, Hornby have announced a suite of models for this historic occasion. These are not re-releases but are instead bespoke models to be released under the Hornby Dublo branding with the specifications that you would come to expect from the name. Each Hornby Dublo Flying Scotsman model is fitted with a diecast locomotive body, enhancing not just the weight and therefore pulling power but the quality of the decoration applied. The finish achieved on Hornby Dublo models is much closer to that of a full size locomotive than can be achieved on plastic. As well as this enhanced decoration, the models are 8 pin DCC ready allowing for fine control on digital layouts. Also featuring on these models is a new style of locomotive to tender connection, allowing the two to be easily connected and disconnected while still allowing electrical connection and functionality between the locomotive and tender.

The medley of models presented cover all eras of Flying Scotsman’s career, presented here in chronological order and covering:

The locomotive as restored under the ownership of Alan Pegler, with A3 boiler and banjo dome but in LNER colours and lettering, a streamlined corridor tender and red nameplates

The locomotive in its iconic U.S.A Tour guise with modifications including a headlight, bell, cow-catcher and second tender. Flying Scotsman had its cow-catcher painted in two different colours while it was in the U.S, with the red colour being painted over in black during a layover in St. Louis, Missouri between June 30th and July 6th 1970, making this model a pre-St. Louis version. The cow-catcher, originally red to compliment the buffer beam it was attached to, was painted black to make it less conspicuous helping it to blend

The locomotive as it will appear in its centenary year of 2023 as well as how it would have looked during the late BR era, in late BR colours with German Style smoke deflectors in.