Hornby Class 101 Tank Engine is real

[rovex]

Alright I could probably have found this out if I'd really been interested, but I'd always assumed that Hornby's Class 101 engine (you know the little GWR 0-4-0) was a complete fiction.

 

 

Something invented in the Drawing office to put in train sets and roll out in silly liveries. Its currently undergoing an identity crisis as something from the Southern.

 

So imagine my surprise when I came across a photo of the actual engine in a recent charity shop purchase

 

 

Alright its not the best model in the world and I still wouldn't have one given, but it seems that this engine did exist, even if it was only for 8 years, the original (one off) being scrapped in 1911.

[Obi-Jiff Kenobi]

I'd certainly come across the information before (possibly in an old Hornby catalogue), but never seen a picture. Thanks for posting it.

[mezzoman253]

So not a Class 101 DMU then?

 

I suggest an alternate topic title, Hornby class 101 tank engine.

 

Rob

[mezzoman253]

Thank you kind sir!

 

Rob

[andyman7]

I'd certainly come across the information before (possibly in an old Hornby catalogue), but never seen a picture. Thanks for posting it.

Indeed, I too was aware it was modelled on an actual engine but had never seen a picture, so thanks!

[Adams442T]

Scrapped after 8 years, obviously Hornby haven't been told..................................  There again it might be in the forefront of the new 'smart design'................

[Xerces Fobe2]

I would commit this loco to Room 101 !

 

XF

[jcm@gwr]

It was designed by Holden,

before he 'defected'.

[Ozexpatriate]

I seem to remember a potted history of No. 101 in a Hornby catalogue many years ago. (Maybe 1981?) I distinctly remember the detail that it was built as an experimental oil-burner and then converted back to coal.

There is a nice description of the locomotive's history here.  It is such an odd prototype to have launched so many thousands of reproductions.

[69843]

I happen to have a '101' in need of a few mods...

[BR60103]

This seems to be a contender in the "models to prototype ratio" stakes.

[Michael Edge]

I made this surprising discovery more than 20 years ago and my son turned it into a very respectable model, with new frames and motion work. The Joy valve gear was a bit of a challenge though. As far as I could check the body is very accurate. 101 has seen occasional use on Cwmafon but now lives in Jersey.

Michael Edge

 

 

[69843]

I made this surprising discovery more than 20 years ago and my son turned it into a very respectable model, with new frames and motion work. The Joy valve gear was a bit of a challenge though. As far as I could check the body is very accurate. 101 has seen occasional use on Cwmafon but now lives in Jersey.

Michael Edge

This looks fantastic! Nice to know it can be done, although it's tempted me to consider doing this myself to an old 'Roger' version I have.

[papagolfjuliet]

There's also a battery powered Chinese-made Class 101 which is basically a pirate copy of the Hornby model, scaled up to American O Gauge. It's well worth keeping an eye out for in fancy goods shops and the like.

[RJS1977]

My first loco! :-) Still in service, though now on its second chassis after the gears stripped a couple of years ago....

[BG John]

I wonder when Knobhead will spot this!

[peanuts]

ah the 101 my first ever loco quickly replaced with a second hand pannier tank from norman wisendens for the princely sum of £10 

was actually supprised by what 101 could pull !

[The Stationmaster]

I seem to remember a potted history of No. 101 in a Hornby catalogue many years ago. (Maybe 1981?) I distinctly remember the detail that it was built as an experimental oil-burner and then converted back to coal.

 

There is a nice description of the locomotive's history here.  It is such an odd prototpye to have launched so many thousands of reproductions.

There was definitely a bit about it in a Hornby catalogue although I can't recall which year it was and I believe in several catalogues it was noted as 'based on a GWR design' or words to that effect.

[Obi-Jiff Kenobi]

My thinking is that the description I read was in the 1981 Hornby 'Ticket to Ride' catalogue, as the descriptions in this one were quite lengthy. I'll have a look over the weekend, to satisfy my curiosity if no-one else's!

[PatB]

I remember the prototype description too.  As I never owned a Hornby catalogue of the era I think it may have been in an ad or a review in Railway Modeller at the time of release.  Presumably when they pensioned off Nellie.

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

Scrapped after 8 years, obviously Hornby haven't been told...

 If only there was formula the manufacturers used based on the aggregate of service lives of steam classes, with a minimum qualifying value of circa 1,000 years; then we might have a rather more representative range of RTR models. I suppose we should be grateful that the Neilson/Caley/NBR, L&Y and Sentinel design 0-4-0Ts are of rather more useful subjects, three out of four in this wheel arrangement better than nothing...

[Red Bull]

From http://www.hornbyguide.com/class_details.asp?classid=44

 

Due to technical issues associated with design the locomotive never left Swindon Works

 

 

The Hornby 101 is clearly not very prototypical then, it seems to have got everywhere instead of being confined to quarters.

[Nick Holliday]

Probably information over-load, but the following is taken from the RCTS bible:-
Engine No. 101 - Swindon Works No. 1969 - Lot Number 136 - Date Built 1902

Swindon’s solitary 0-4-0T was an engine of considerable interest. Built in June, 1902, but not taken into stock until a year later, No. 101 was an experimental side tank locomotive burning oil fuel on Holden’s system. It had outside cylinders 13in. diameter x 22in, stroke, with 4⅛ in. piston valves operated by outside valve gear of Joy’s type. The wheels were of 3ft. 8in, diameter on a wheelbase of 9ft. 0in.
Its original boiler, no particulars of which have hitherto been published, was most unusual. It had an inner firebox consisting of a firebrick-built chamber 4ft. 10in. long x 4ft. 9in. wide; this chamber, which was 3ft. 0in. high at the sides but arched to 3ft. 6in. at the centre, was opened out at the front to fit the tube area. The backplate carried two oil-burning nozzles 2ft. 6in. apart. The boiler barrel, measuring 8ft. 0in. x 5ft. 0in. and pitched at 7ft. 0in., contained 289 1 1/2 in. tubes in its lower half. The very large steam space thus created compensated for the absence of an outer firebox - for what looked like a Belpaire firebox casing was in fact a short square saddle tank for the oil fuel. A standard brass safety-valve cover was mounted on the centre of the barrel. The tubes had a heating surface of 907.83 sq. ft. to which 10.9 sq. ft. was added, presumably, by the backplate. The boiler pressure was 180 lb.
The furnace evidently soon proved to be too large, for in July, 1902, drawings were issued for alterations, in which the length of the firebox was reduced to 3ft. l??in. and the back narrowed to 3ft., with a single oil burner in the centre. At the same time the tanks were shortened at the front, probably for better weight distribution.
In 1903 No. 101 received a Lentz boiler. This type of boiler was originated by Gustav Lentz in Prussia in 1888. Designed to eliminate stays as far as possible, it consisted of a corrugated cylindrical firebox within a cylindrical casing and a tapered barrel. (The type was revived in the U.S.A. by Cornelius Vanderbilt in 1899, though the tapered barrel was not an essential feature of the Vanderbilt design. Some such boilers were used on the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway).
The date of fitting of No. 101’s boiler is shown in the records as April, 1903, but the engine did not emerge from works with it until October. It was made in three rings with a dome on the middle ring. The front ring was coned from 4ft. 0⅞ in. to 4ft. 10⅞ in. The total length of the barrel was l3ft. 6⅝in., but the length between tube-plates was only 8ft., since what would in a normal boiler constitute the firebox casing was in this instance an integral part of the boiler barrel. Pop safety-valves of the rail motor type were placed over the rear end of the barrel. This boiler had a corrugated circular inner firebox with internal diameters of 2ft. 11in. and 3ft. 3in., which extended into the boiler, its total length being 5ft. 9in.
The fuel saddle tank was removed, 200 gallons of oil fuel being stored in the rear end of the side tanks. Nests of coiled springs replaced the former laminated type, while large circular spectacle glasses were added to the cab front.
After being out of service from June 1904 to May 1905, the engine emerged converted to coal burning and with a firegrate 3ft. 3in, long by 2ft. 8in. wide in the corrugated firebox. The cab back-plate was removed and a small bunker fitted. In this, its fourth and final condition, the dimensions (as recorded on 0-4-0 tank Diagram A) were :-

Cylinders Diameter 13”, Stroke 22”
Boiler Barrel 13’ 6⅝”
Pitch 6’ 7”
Firebox Length 5’ 4”??
Tubes Number ??“ 242, Diameter 1”??
Heating surface Total 825.18 square feet
Grate area 7.78 sq. ft
Boiler pressure 160 lb
Wheels 3’ 8”
Wheelbase 9’ 0”
Weights Leading coupled 13T 2 cwt
Driving coupled 15T 10 cwt
Tractive effort (85%) 11,492 lb
Tank capacity 500 gallons

Although Lot 136 shows it as intended for the Wrington Vale Light Railway, No. 101’s activities were confined to shunting at Swindon works. It was condemned in September, 1911, with a mileage of 36,458; its boiler survived it by a couple of years.

 

Sorry if there are some odd looking characters  inserted - I prepared this seven years ago for the following thread:- http://www.rmweb.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=3470 and the various changes in server etc since have scrambled some of the characters - mainly punctuation.

[RJS1977]

I'm surprised nobody's started a thread yet to ask when we're going to get a re-tooled one with separately-fitted handrails....

[Trainmaster64]

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/1084/entry-10976-gwr-class-101-no101-a-profile/

 

My blog on my own GWR175 liveried example of the ubiquitous 101 tank. As an aside, anyone who can point me to a Hornby GWR175 thread here would receive my thanks.

 

I personally feel that this tank engine is a fairly decent example here - definitely one that fits well with a Western-based layout, and has real character like that of the Caledonian 'Pug'. Unlike the Ex-LBSCR 0-4-0 (retool of Thomas) and the Class D, these engines are quite distinctive and exude character of their own. They do not define the typical category of generic trainset locomotive... and it's also of note that they do run smoothly at speed, inaccurate though it is. For a beginner's engine this is probably the second-best engine I would recommend - if you cannot find the Caledonian 'Pug' in any livery (CR, Smokey Joe, etc.), this is the one to go for.

 

And its looks are very respectable when comparing it to that photograph - very nice find indeed! Perhaps Hornby should consider using it for the next 'Limited Edition' release of this engine, on the box sleeve perhaps?

 

And, as for a retool with separate handrails - taking Hornby's new stance of 'Design Clever' into consideration, I doubt that will happen - possibly a refresh on the chassis could be done if Hornby felt it necessary (which they probably wouldn't), but the body will most likely stay the same. No separate handrails as of yet...