Hornby Amtrak Acela NEC High-Speed Service OO Electric Model Train Set HO Track with Remote Controller & US Power Supply HR1000T, Blue & Gray

4 of the Hornby products we purchased - for hundreds of dollars - broken down within 2 months. Shoddy workmanship. The Acela, a 5th Hornby product, was broken the day we got it. Hornby company has plummeted. Many of the products are defective. Moreover, we sent 4 engines back to Hornby for repair. We should have done a simple return instead. The engines got there in 4 days but then were stuck at customs for more than 4 weeks. Hornby and USPS/Parcel Force never informed us a customs payment had been slapped on them that Hornby refused to pay. Now they're supposedly heading back to the US - unrepaired - and we're told it may take a very long time. Hornby refused to issue reimbursement for $670 worth of defective trains, not including tax. They refuse to send us replacements. They say we must go through Amazon. Amazon says the return window is no longer open, even though it was open at the time we shipped the engines to the UK. Amazon just has a computer to talk to you, so you can't make it understand sense. Hornby has real people, but they don't understand sense either and can't get around their bureaucratic rules that conveniently serve their own profits. Amazon said we have to go to the manufacturer. Round and round. Asked Hornby again, and they still refuse to issue reimbursement or replacement for their 4 defective engines because we did not buy them directly from them but through Amazon. Never heard anything so absurd and so tight-fisted. They obviously earned money selling these engines to Amazon. So why can't they pay us back? Why should they keep their $670? This company makes millions and can't afford to replace 4 engines and can't afford to make operable engines. Hornby is hard-hearted, cold-fisted, and bureaucratic. Their engines are junk. Don't waste your money on Hornby. Stick with Bachmann. Their engines rarely break down and when they do, you get immensely better service. They're located in the US so you don't have to deal with UK customs and poor UK customer service.

Toy not hobby, really cheaply made, no lights, doors and windows are just decals, only one electrical pick up on the locomotive front boggie, it stops at every switch, the other 3 boggies have plastic wheels, bodies are light weight and flimsy plastic. Controller is terrible, the only good part of this set are the tracks, actually pretty decent right up there with atlas. I purchased this set as an open box like new condition for half price. I’m keeping it because of that, otherwise it would be returned. The full price being asked for this set brand new is absolutely ridiculous and definitely not worth it

I wish that I can send it back. It’s very cheesy and cheap.