Hornby - New tooling - LMS Princess class

[Ian Hargrave]

2 hours ago, Robin Brasher said:

There is a review of the 'Princess Elizabeth' on pages 336 and 337 of the April Railway Modeller.

 

The conclusion was that when Cyril Freezer measured the original Rovex Princess in the March 1952 Railway Modeller he found it excellent value for money, but he had some concerns about the dimensions.

 

Now ,68 years on, this magazine has no such qualms about the new 'Princess'.

 
And neither have I,Robin .By coincidence August 1952 was my first sight of the vision in blue....the prototype I mean.

[Market65]

Hopefully, tomorrow afternoon, I’ll be in Rails making a purchase of one BR blue Princess. It just looks so good, the photo’s make the black and white lined blue look so lifelike. Well done to Hornby, for how smooth and quiet 6201 is. If a model runs well on my old layout, then it will run well on much better layouts.

 

Best regards,

 

 Rob.

[Brocp]

Only nitpick I have is the lubricator/oilbox near the smokebox is about half as big as it should be. But in all honesty having these locos with all the differences between the first two and the production batch made ready to run is unreal. Very happy LMS modeller here.

[Henry 84F]

Picked up 46206 yesterday. An incredible product. The weight is exceptionally surprising (much heavier than the King) and when it was tested, it seemed to run really well. 

 

The million pound question - how is the blue? It might have a little more sheen than the slightly older aforementioned King, but I'd say that it's a very good match.

 

Henry

 

 

[robmcg]

Lovely pictures Henry 84F and I am told today that 'my' 46206 has left the UK seller today.

 

Nobody knows how airlines will deal with less passengers and flights with regard to freight to NZ, so far things have been arriving ok, On the other hand NZ closed its borders last night unless a traveller does 14 days isolation on arrival.  Most tourism and sport stopped.  Government will print money....

 

That flat running plate/board on 46206 is indeed impressive!

[Market65]

Hi, I’ve just got back from Monk Bar Models, York, and 46206 is such a beautiful model of the prototype. I think the blue looks ‘right’, and how well Hornby have covered the detail differences between it and 6201. 
Here’s one photo’, for now, of the newly unboxed model on my layout. Please note I used an LED lamp to help fill in the shadows which probably affects how the blue may appear. I’m hoping to take some photo’s tomorrow in natural light.

 

Best regards,

 

 Rob.

[Henry 84F]

Looking good @Market65. It seems your LED lamp picks out that very faint manufacturing seam on the smokebox and the first panel of boiler cladding - something which I don't think is visible to the naked eye. 

 

I didn't think anything could top the last run of Princess Coronations, but here we are. Stands the forthcoming releases in good stead.

[Market65]

Thank you, Henry 84F. I honestly cannot see that very faint line with my naked eye, especially under artificial lighting conditions. I will be having a look at that, in the morning, whilst I take more photo’s in natural lighting conditions.

I forgot to say, in the previous post, how smooth and quiet the model runs. Just as good and silky as 6201. 
 

Rob.

[Market65]

So, as promised, a couple of photo’s taken in daylight. It’s looking very good, with the BR blue probably as good as it can be realised on a small model. Well done, Hornby.

 

 

 

Best regards,

 

 Rob.

[Henry 84F]

Very much enjoying comparing these two variations of Stanier's pacifics (yes, the AWS box still needs to come off 46257). The Princess Royal is definitely a smoother performer than the Coronation on the rolling road.

 

I cannot emphasise how pleased I am with 46206!

 

Henry 

 

 

Edited March 15, 2020 by Henry 84F

[robmcg]

It looks like Hornby may have hit a new high in quality of manufacture and assembly.

 

I have an 2001-tooling Hornby factory-weatherd 46210 blue Princess made by Sanda Kan which I use as my baseline measure, dead smooth, totally quiet, no vices, but the new tooling R3207 6201 I have equals this  and by all accounts it's no fluke , the blue R3711 models appear to be up there too. I await mine, it is in transit to NZ.

 

By comparison some of the 2017-tooling Coronation models have been a bit less accurately made, and some assembly errors in my experience, I actually returned one which had valve gear poorly made, another has a wheel wobble, slight, but most are excellent,  None are perfectly silent, all but one (valve gear) are acceptable to me, I hasten to add.

 

I returned to model railways in 2004 after a 37-year break, and bought a Hornby LMS 6242 'City of Glasgow' which was astonishingly quiet and smooth, and have been addicted ever since.  

Edited March 15, 2020 by robmcg

[apollanaut]

4 hours ago, robmcg said:

I returned to model railways in 2004 after a 37-year break, and bought a Hornby LMS 6242 'City of Glasgow' which was astonishingly quiet and smooth, and have been addicted ever since.

 

By coincidence, I did the same in 2004, which is the year I emigrated to NZ. I'd been collecting on-and-off during the 90's, but didn't have the space in my UK house for a permanent layout, so had to put my favourite hobby on the back-burner for many years.

 

Shortly after settling in NZ, my Kiwi partner took me to the old model shop in Frankton he used to frequent as a boy and it was there I was introduced to the marvelous Bachmann E-Z track. Whilst not being as accurate as finescale track with hand-applied ballast, the robust plastic roadbed and good electrical connectivity meant I was able to set up and enjoy temporary layouts to run my models and experiment with layout ideas.

 

Then on a trip back to the UK in 2007, I purchased my first "super-detail" locos: a Hornby rebuilt Royal Scot, a Bachmann BR Green Class 20 and a Hornby Britannia. It was the latter that truly wowed me with its extraordinarily fine detail and superb running characteristics. After that I was well and truly re-addicted for life to this absorbing and rewarding hobby. The next step was to invest in a DCC control system as I was curious to see if it lived up to the hype. My new locos came DCC equipped and it turned out that Bachmann E-Z track is ideal for DCC control, so I was up-and-running straight away. The vastly improved control and performance offered by DCC, the greater realism when running multiple locos on the same track, and the options for individually customising each loco meant I was immediately hooked (especially when compared to the old analogue systems I was used to!)

[Pete the Elaner]

On 02/03/2020 at 12:54, MikeParkin65 said:

Yes sorry - I am talking about the new version - by 'arm' I means the bracket that extends from the chassis block mounted just in front of the leading axle as you describe. To be clear this isnt mounted from the body - it is from the metal chassis.

I got around to trying this today.

It seems to run a lot more reliably now. It was certainly a much easier adjustment than removing the body to add a stiffer spring (if I could find one) or somehow fit a weight on the bogie.

Thanks for the solution. It is definitely one to remember.

[robmcg]

I notice R3713 BR 46207 'Princess Arthur of Connaught' is now in many shops, well, at least four that I looked at today.  In LMS red style according to the Rails blurb.

 

Just to clear up the LMS/BR crimson thing, is the LMS lining right up the cab side and the BR style a lined panel below the windows? If that's the case the model is right, my Irwell book says 46204 and 46208 had BR lining with a panel below the windows but this was changed to LMS style not long after . 46200 and 46207 had the LMS style from 5/1958.

 

Here is the Rails pic,  no connection,  lovely.

 

[apollanaut]

3 hours ago, robmcg said:

Here is the Rails pic,  no connection,  lovely.

 

Rails take the best photos! Sooo much better than Hattons. I have a growing collection of Rails photos of my favourite models.

[ikks]

4 hours ago, robmcg said:

I notice R3713 BR 46207 'Princess Arthur of Connaught' is now in many shops, well, at least four that I looked at today.  In LMS red style according to the Rails blurb.

 

Just to clear up the LMS/BR crimson thing, is the LMS lining right up the cab side and the BR style a lined panel below the windows? If that's the case the model is right, my Irwell book says 46204 and 46208 had BR lining with a panel below the windows but this was changed to LMS style not long after . 46200 and 46207 had the LMS style from 5/1958.

 

Here is the Rails pic,  no connection,  lovely.

 

Hi Rob,

A number of the "red" Staniers, both Duchess and Princess classes had the BR lining but I believe all were altered to the LMS style fairly quickly(thank goodness!!). Hopefully, mine will be on its way to Oz shortly.

Rgds.....Mike

 

Rgds............Mike

[MikeParkin65]

10 hours ago, robmcg said:

I notice R3713 BR 46207 'Princess Arthur of Connaught' is now in many shops, well, at least four that I looked at today.  In LMS red style according to the Rails blurb.

 

Just to clear up the LMS/BR crimson thing, is the LMS lining right up the cab side and the BR style a lined panel below the windows? If that's the case the model is right, my Irwell book says 46204 and 46208 had BR lining with a panel below the windows but this was changed to LMS style not long after . 46200 and 46207 had the LMS style from 5/1958.

 

Here is the Rails pic,  no connection,  lovely.

 

Truly a thing of beauty! I'm still waiting for Hereford Models to tell me mine has arrived - was hoping I'd be able to pick it up from the shop but with the new Covid restrictions I doubt this will count as 'essential travel' 

[Pete the Elaner]

2 hours ago, MikeParkin65 said:

Truly a thing of beauty! I'm still waiting for Hereford Models to tell me mine has arrived - was hoping I'd be able to pick it up from the shop but with the new Covid restrictions I doubt this will count as 'essential travel' 

If you prefer not to travel, could you ask them to send it?

[MikeParkin65]

4 hours ago, Pete the Elaner said:

If you prefer not to travel, could you ask them to send it?

As soon as they tell me they have it in I’ll be working out the quickest way of getting it here

[Ian Hargrave]

Non essential journeys not recommended so they say.It appears never more so than now.

[robmcg]

I'm hoping some airlines are still operating, having just bought 46207..

 

pic is derived from Kernow's ad  and it is irresistible is it not?  Edited in small details like shadows under wheels, tender closed up to cab a tad nothing false about it. Will remove if asked.

 

[Frond]

In an effort to cheer myself up I finally took the plunge on Monday evening and ordered a Princess Elizabeth from Rails (the malt whisky I happened to be drinking at the time had nothing to do with this sudden extravagance- honest).

 

It arrived this morning which given the current circumstances I feel is very good service and looks fantastic.

 

Now about that King Arthur that Rails have got on sale! - pass the bottle someone....

[robmcg]

3 hours ago, Frond said:

...

 

Now about that King Arthur that Rails have got on sale! - pass the bottle someone....

 

I'd pass the blended stuff, but oh dear alas it's all finished... 

 

It would not be difficult to spend money, not just on the lovely N15  but on several other delectable treats... from Rails or other sellers 

 

here is the Rails' Arthur, has to be up with Hornby's best quality together with the Princess.

 

 

For those of us living in the antipodes one wonders how fast delivery of such as these will be given the upheaval in airline flights.

[Pete the Elaner]

3 hours ago, robmcg said:

 

I'd pass the blended stuff, but oh dear alas it's all finished... 

 

I find it harder to drink now.

A friend insisted we do a couple of distillery tours when we did Loch Ness Marathon in 2018. Whisky was just whisky to me before then but now blended whisky tastes muddled. Single malts taste a lot cleaner.

They may be more expensive but I don't just knock them back. 20-30 minutes for a single measure..maybe 1 or 2 of those per evening. I've built up a decent selection & have only just finished 1 bottle in 18 months.

[MikeParkin65]

Homeworking done for the day so the ‘workstation’ can revert to its proper use - running in this beauty prior to DCC fitting