Hornby : STOP PRESS - New 2018 model announcement!

Hello and welcome to The Engine Shed, coming to you from The Great Electric Train Show here at the British Motor Museum in Gaydon. What a weekend it's been so far; there has been lots of speculation about what we might be revealing today so without further ado, we are pleased to bring you this STOP PRESS edition!

Followers of our Social Media channels will have been following our updates from the show so far and Facebook users will have just been treated to a LIVE broadcast where we were excited to reveal that for 2018 we will be re-introducing to the range the hugely popular Brighton Belle as a five-car train pack!

The lineage of the 'Brighton Belle' can be traced back to the introduction of the daily 'Pullman Limited Express' by the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway on the London Victoria to Brighton route on December 5, 1881 and its subsequent replacement by the 'Southern Belle' on November 1, 1908.

Designated initially as 5-PUL, the new electric Pullman cars were built in three sets of five cars by Metropolitan Cammell in Birmingham, each set consisting of a Driving Motor Brake Parlour Third (DMBPT) at either end, with two Trailer Parlour First with Kitchen (TPFK) cars and a Trailer Parlour Third (TPT) in between. The DMBPT vehicles had a guard's and luggage compartment with forty-eight third class seats, whilst the two TPFK cars each had a kitchen and pantry, along with twenty seats, the TPT car having fifty-six seats. Measuring 335' overall and weighing 249 tons, all five cars were of all-steel construction, using cork as an insulator in the floors and two thicknesses of an insulating wood material in the walls and ceiling.

The inaugural trip of the new service took place on January 1, 1933, headed by Unit 2051 and became an immediate success, despite the season. On June 29, 1934, to coincide with the opening of the 'Swimming Stadium' in Brighton, the Southern Railway renamed the service to the 'Brighton Belle', the 5-BEL designation coming into effect sometime after 1935.

Post-war, it became apparent that the heavy carriages were causing track damage, so in 1955 the bogie sets on all 5-BEL and 6-PUL units were replaced. Eventually though, faced with competition on all fronts, the loss of the luxury reputation, as well as the gradual deterioration of the units, the last ever 'Brighton Belle' departed for Victoria on April 30, 1972.

When we were planning the new 2018 range we viewed it as a great opportunity to produce a livery for the 'Brighton Belle' that we had not previously had the chance to feature, especially given the fact that the 5-BEL (Brighton Belle) Trust are intending to have four cars back in mainline service during the latter part of 2018, after years of restoration.

'So what's new with the re-introduction Hornby?' we can hear you cry! Well…the lighting system within the coaches has been given a complete overhaul and a more simplified, streamlined make over. We're moving from fibre optics to PCBs and LEDs which should mean no loss of quality, but a less complicated manufacture process to make it more reliable and stable. As well as this, we're removing the original electrical plug/socket between the cars because we felt it was overly difficult to connect 5 cars together successfully and then put them on the track. Therefore, we have created NEM pockets for easy connection, and each car will contain its own pick-up system via all wheels from one bogie.

Expected in the second half of 2018, the new Brighton Belle 5 Car Train Pack is available to pre-order now from the website or your local retailer.

The Collector is back!

Also announced this weekend was the arrival of the brand new Hornby Club - The Collector! The name is the same but the content has evolved to ensure it is relevant and up to date with the Hornby enthusiasts of today. Benefits of the new Club include:

• Quarterly magazine delivered to your door
• A FREE wagon of your choice
• Access to Exclusive Club models
• Access to two exclusive Club Days every year
• And MUCH more!

Find out more by heading to the new Club area of our website and to register your interest to be the first to know when the new Club launches.

Well that about does it for this week, stay tuned to our social media channels for regular updates from the Great Electric Train Show - we'll have lots of content coming to you over the weekend so keep an eye out.

As always, we would love to know what you think about our latest announcement and addition to the 2018 range so please do feel free to leave your comments on our Facebook and Twitter channels as well as our Official Forum.

Until next time…

Happy Modelling!

The Engine Shed Team

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