If we had to put up with what was on the railway now, you could kiss goodbye to many models. Unbranded Virgin Mk3s have been seen a fair amount on the railway since Virgin nearly got rid of them all, until quite recently infact. The TGS was only ever an HST vehicle, there is no loco-hauled version (well technically I think there were two, but they were non-standard and not exactly the same anyway), so really it is a case of it being odd to have had the loco hauled stock (even if they were longer lived than the unbranded HST coaches).
And after all the moaning Hornby have received for not having enough Mk2s out there, you seem to be having a go for some being released?
Hornby did redo the Lima 47 for the Blue Pullman set, which I believe sold quite well (even if it was just for the new motor and DCC socket) so it does make sense for them to release that one again.
I wonder if the ex-Lima 67 will drop into the railroad range in the next few years?
I wasn't particularly having a go at Hornby with this, just more having a moan - Weathered Ex Virgin Mk3s do seem a slightly odd choice if you look at how many have run in debranded ex Virgin livery out and about on the mainline - Yes Cotswold had a hotchpotch rake, Virgin until 2009 had a rake in ex debranded ex Virgin, Cargo D had a fair amount before repainting into BR Blue Grey and DB's Chiltern Railways has a few too, but overall - Mk2s seem to have lasted longer out and about on the mainline still conveying the ex Virgin livery - largely thanks to the 22 owned by Rivera Trains - Including the 'West Coast Set' which as of last months Cheshire Cat Tours, still does see occasional use on the mainline (and don't forget the 9+ just taken onboard by West Coast)...It's a different choice anyway!
(Edit, although to be fair, East Anglia's Mk3s took some time to repaint back in 2004 - Had forgotten about those!)
As for the Mk3 TGS in the rake - that of course only exists because of Hornbys lack of a Mk3 BFO - The loco hauled equivalent of a Mk3 TGS and only spent use on the West Coast Mainline & laterally on the Great Western mainline with FGW (Only 3 built) - But what makes the ex VT mk3 set odd, is the inclusion of the RFM in ex VT livery, but with the TGS - But this being Hornby, then mistakes are likely to come about...And why not bring out the DVT in Ex Virgin too?
As for the Ex Lima Class 47 - Im glad it's made a return again and this time now available on it's own in the Railroad range - It's last outing was as you say for the blue Pullman set and certainly did manage to see rather well - managed to get hold of 3 of them to swap chassis with my ex Lima 47s...
But my overall feeling is mixed – Yes, it’s nice to have a new class 67 and it does show some commitment towards D&E, but the various errors (still not corrected) with the VEP, and the release of yet more 1970s ex Airfix Mk2s in more new liveries – Isn’t it about time they were retired and replaced! But at least it shows they’ve woken up and listened to some – though they really do need to stop with the releasing of models in dribs and drabs – The HSTs being an example where they always seem to produce a relatively smallish sized batch of Mk3s first, then release the HST power cars…And surprise surprise all the MK3s disappear before the power cars turn up….And Why produce only one Mk3 in Wrexham & Shropshire livery - Yes, the Mk3 RFM would be the wrong tooling to use as Wrexham created their own new type of Mk3 RFM, But why only one?...And i do have to wonder as to whether the Mk2 & Mk3s in BR's Intercity Swallow livery is going to be a re-release with a more realistic version (both were announced in Last years 2011 range by the way, so nothing new there!!!)
Im afraid in this day and age, where we have the likes of what Realtrack Models, Model Rail, Murphy Models & Bachmann can produce for the price that they produce, Hornby's rehashes just don’t seem to cut much of the mustard anymore…And bearing in mind, this is even before we’ve seen any hints as to Hornbys 2012 prices! :roll:
As for the 67 - Who Knows, But having worked in a modelshop myself, the Railroad Range does certainly seem to sell rather well! (Mostly for kids, but some as project bases / remotor other models or just to keep as a whole)
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