'Railroad' Tornado

[MarkC]

I've just had an email from Hattons that my card's been debited, & my order is being packed.

 

One very happy nephew in a few days, I think!

[S.A.C Martin]

Just checked - so has mine!

 

Going to be an interesting review video against the Bachmann Tornado

 

Looking forward to seeing the Hornby Tooling up close and personal.

[Horsetan]

Hopefully it won't be anything like the Olumpic ticket-buying process......

[Mark 37]

Can you post some close up pics when it arrives?

 

Thanks,

 

 

Mark

[MarkC]

Hi Mark

 

I'll not be able to for a couple of weeks, but if no-one else has done so by the time I get home, I'll do just that.

 

Cheers

Mark

[S.A.C Martin]

I will have pics and a video up by the end of the day it arrives, have no fear!

[D400]

http://railsofsheffield.com/br-green-4-6-2-tornado-a1-class-locomotive-60163-r3060-jjja16417.aspx

 

In in at Rails for a couple of days now.

 

Bruce

[dibber25]

All three versions are reviewed in the next Model Rail which went to press yesterday.

CHRIS LEIGH

[coachmann]

Looks like the return crank is to the rear of the driving wheel boss.....as per usual!

 

Did someone say the real Tornado is a modified version of the originals with lower cab and boiler fittings? And if so, by how much?

[Horsetan]

http://railsofsheffi...-jjja16417.aspx

 

In at Rails for a couple of days now.

 

Interesting rendition. Who'll be first to do a detailing upgrade pack for it?

[S.A.C Martin]

Looks like the return crank is to the rear of the driving wheel boss.....as per usual!

 

Did someone say the real Tornado is a modified version of the originals with lower cab and boiler fittings? And if so, by how much?

 

The total height of the loco is 13 foot exactly as opposed to 13 foot and one inch. The cab roof is a different shape, the boiler mountings are recessed a little more, and the chimney is shorter. This allows the engine to navigate most of the national network - even the Dartford loop line, which as I discovered on here last month, isn't possible for the other pacifics.

 

EDIT: I should also point out that the position of the whistle - different on the originals - has been modelled, along with the second chime whistle (now a P2 whistle and not an A4 one, I've been told), along with the cabinet of instruments on the tender, and the different tank/coal compartmental arrangement.

[PaulRhB]

Does look strangely plain without all the nice intricate lining, good price but it'll be interesting to see the full version.

[bluex5]

Think I'll wait for deluxe version before passing comment. The cab / boiler mount arrangement probably woouldn't bother me if I wanted to backdate to a "real" A1 but i think the tender will offend and I'm not sure the cheaper initial purchase cost over the Bachmann version offsets the time and money spent sorting it. Yes, I understand it's a model of Tornado, I was just hoping it might have something to offer the serious modeller too.

[S.A.C Martin]

Think I'll wait for deluxe version before passing comment. The cab / boiler mount arrangement probably woouldn't bother me if I wanted to backdate to a "real" A1

 

I haven't had my model yet, but I suspect the roof will be the main point of contention for backdating, albeit still relatively minor. I'll line up mine against an original Bachmann WP Allen and their Tornado in due course.

 

but i think the tender will offend and I'm not sure the cheaper initial purchase cost over the Bachmann version offsets the time and money spent sorting it.

 

The only part of the tender you could reuse is the frames, and only for the roller bearing versions. The tender tank and its internal/external arrangement is unique to Tornado.

 

 

Yes, I understand it's a model of Tornado, I was just hoping it might have something to offer the serious modeller too.

 

The loco and tender chassis/frames I would think are perfectly usable for a model of an original Peppercorn A1, but when one is on the market made by Bachmann anyway, one wonders if its worth stripping a Hornby Tornado for backdating purposes.

[Dan Hill]

I picked up LNER Pacifics, a bookazine that has recently been released. On the back is a Hornby advert for their Tornado's. However one of the images which I think is meant to be the Special Edition looks very close to Bachmann's version.

 

Anyone know what the loco-tender connector will be made from because the plastic one on my Bachmann is chipped so it doesn't properly connect anymore. Hopefully a metal like the Railroad 4472 or the plugs that I think newer models Hornby make have.

[Horsetan]

....The loco and tender chassis/frames I would think are perfectly usable for a model of an original Peppercorn A1, but when one is on the market made by Bachmann anyway, one wonders if its worth stripping a Hornby Tornado for backdating purposes.

 

Team it with a wrap-round Brassmasters sprung chassis - no soldering needed - and get it going in P4.

[coachmann]

The total height of the loco is 13 foot exactly as opposed to 13 foot and one inch. The cab roof is a different shape, the boiler mountings are recessed a little more, and the chimney is shorter. This allows the engine to navigate most of the national network - even the Dartford loop line, which as I discovered on here last month, isn't possible for the other pacifics.

 

Thanks.

[Charlie]

Has anyone seen a version that's a confirmed 'high detail' one? Only ask as from all pics I've seen so far I've no idea which is which...

[Dan Hill]

Has anyone seen a version that's a confirmed 'high detail' one? Only ask as from all pics I've seen so far I've no idea which is which...

There were some at a model show a few months back but didn't look like the super detail ones even though one was the Brunswick version.

 

The advert I saw had all 3 versions.

 

The Special Edition (has the announcement picture but also 3 other images. One of the front (kind of looks like Bachmann but difficult to tell by the Railroad version as they have the same smokebox handle position), another of a bit of the motion and the tender (which is 100% Hornby's as it differs from Bachmann's by the connectors)

 

Railroad (Announcement picture)

 

Tornado Express Pack (Again just the announcement picture)

 

Otherwise I don't think there's been any official images until either Hornby themselves reveal them or when all 3 are reviewed in Model Rail as Chris Leigh said up thread

 

I also found this link which has a picture (a little scroll down the page) https://www.model-railways-live.co.uk/Features/The_London_Festival_of_Railway_Modelling/

[gc4946]

Saw the model on sale in a display case at the NRM today, I didn't ask to look at it closely as I didn't want to buy it there and then.

 

1. Loco and tender has much simplified white only lining, wheels, frames and cab not lined out, the boiler band lining's all white, like their Railroad's Flying Scotsman, and the loco has a fixed flangeless Cartazzi pony truck;

 

2. The tender has white/green/white lining and the loco-tender coupling's looks like a simple bar, I couldn't see any interconnecting wires.

 

3. Tender's tooled up specifically for Tornado including roller bearing axleboxes.

 

The distinction between that and the special version, I guess, will be in the decoration, and particularly the lining, which would be applied in full, overhead warning signs and other details (maybe in the cab as well?)

[S.A.C Martin]

Okay, model arrived this morning. I'll add photographs shortly, but these are my thoughts as they come, basically:

 

On receiving the model, the first thing I noticed was a little sticker applied to the handsome yellow and red packaging – a “DCC Ready†sticker. The box is the standard Hornby affair, though annoyingly it does not use the plastic inserts of previous Railroad models, regressing somewhat to the polysterene tray of previous years.

 

At a first glance, the bulk of the new build Peppercorn A1 is captured extremely well. Most notable are the roller bearing axle boxes on tender and engine, the shape of the cab roof – unique to Tornado – the placement of the A1 whistle (different from the original engines) and the plain stovepipe chimney.

 

On the front bufferbeam, the electric lighting and their lamp brackets are absent, but the holes for their placement are not, leaving three distinct square holes in the running plate. The hole for the vacuum pipe in the bufferbeam is also present, but no detail is provided with this budget model to fit.

 

A spare pipe can be fitted very easily to the front end, improving the look.

 

The handrails on the cab, tender and smoke deflectors are moulded onto the model, much like the Railroad Flying Scotsman model. The handrail for the boiler is separately fitted.

 

The buffers are not sprung, and are moulded onto the model. This is something of a disappointment as my example had some damage to the right hand buffer. The plastic is clearly not durable enough, and caution is advised when handling the buffers. If you are brave enough, as I intend to be, to fit new buffers, spare sprung buffers can be obtained from Bachmann of the correct LNER type.

 

The tender shares this type of buffer. Detail on the rear of the tender body is crisply moulded, though again there is no vacuum pipe, but a hole for fitting one remains present.

 

The tender is probably the strongest part of the model, capturing every single unique detail of Tornado's tender, down to the anti-slide plating on the water tank, to the cabinet of dials on the front. The spoked wheels are a joy to behold, and capture the prototype extremely well.

 

The connection between the tender and locomotive is a simple bar arrangement, with two holes for changing the gap between cab and tender. This means the tender, like the Bachmann Peppercorn A1s, does not have pickups of any form.

 

This is the first time I have seen this particular arrangement on a Hornby model, and I don't like it very much. It seems a rather flimsy arrangement, compared with the other other Railroad Pacifics plug in connection.

 

The cab is also moulded very well, entirely in plastic and as part of the injection moulded bodyshell. Two cab seats are provided, one either side. The cab roof, though relatively plain, is a very accurate presentation of the prototype's different curvature to the roof.

 

The chassis is a very familiar affair, if you are familiar with Hornby's other Pacifics in their Railroad and Super Detail ranges. The cartazzi wheelset – the two small wheels under the cab – are flangeless, allowing the model to negotiate tight curves with ease. A relief for my tiny trainset!

 

The wheels have plastic centres, with metal rims pressed onto them. The only real complaint here is the colour of the plastic – it does not match the green of the bodyshell very well.

 

The Railroad is a budget model, and has a much simplified livery. The white/black/white lining of the prototype is reduced to simple white lining on the locomotive, and to white/green/white on the tender.

 

The extensive red lining on the running plate, and frames of the locomotive and tender have also been excluded. The overhead warning stickers are also absent.

 

At the front end, the white lining on the bufferbeam has also been excluded. For a budget model, this is understandable.

 

The nameplates are printed onto the smoke deflectors and are easily legible. The cabside numbers and British Railways branding on the tender are neatly applied too.

 

More disappointingly, no silver paint has been applied to the smokebox – one of Tornado's most recognizable features are her burnished smokebox straps and handrail, and to some extent this changes the “face†of the model somewhat.

 

This is a very minor quibble with an otherwise well painted model. The livery application is crisp and sharp, the model looking smart regardless of its much simplified livery.

 

Overall, there's a few questionable design choices - like moulding the buffers in plastic (?!), the tender to locomotive connection, and missing a few paint details such as that on the smokebox, which I feel could have been added rather easily - but aside from that, it seems a solid representation of the real thing, particularly in the detail differences, and whilst I'm not entirely sold on the Railroad model, the full price model will have all of these details and probably end up a much better model overall.

 

So I'll be getting my scalpel out shortly to fit new buffers - I won't be sending mine back, despite the minor damage to the right buffer, it just doesn't seem worth it.

 

So - am I a happy chappie? Yes, but with reservations on the model itself.

 

Video and photographs will be edited into this post this afternoon.

 

This post has been promoted to an article

[Dan Hill]

Great review. I'm not planning on getting the Railroad version but may get the Special Edition but I guess that the bufferbeams on that would also be plastic on that wouldn't it. So does the bar with holes go through a slot on the loco with a plug like on Bachmann's or just a plug that does down through the holes and if there is a plug is it plastic like Bachmann's or metal like the one on the Railroad Scotsman's tender.

 

Sorry if that doesn't make sense.

Edited June 7, 2011 by Mod5
To remove unnecesary quote

[S.A.C Martin]

Hi Dan, currently collating photographs and putting a video together - it'll show all, have no fear. I've made special mention of the tender connection, done a short clip on how it fits together.

 

The bar is on the tender, the pin for fitting it is on the loco. Sort of the reverse to that on the Bachmann model, and in my opinion it doesn't work very well. It seems very flimsy, and possibly prone to derailment going backwards.

[Dan Hill]

Hi Dan, currently collating photographs and putting a video together - it'll show all, have no fear. I've made special mention of the tender connection, done a short clip on how it fits together.

 

The bar is on the tender, the pin for fitting it is on the loco. Sort of the reverse to that on the Bachmann model, and in my opinion it doesn't work very well. It seems very flimsy, and possibly prone to derailment going backwards.

Ah right cheers.

[S.A.C Martin]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEfXm6AS7Sk

 

 

Here you go chaps, my video review of Tornado - shows the tender coupling amongst other bits.

 

Oh, and just to prove I've been doing a weeny bit of modelling

 

 

Bachmann sprung buffers already fitted, along with some "gunmetal silver" paint for the smokebox straps and door dart. My two pet peeves, fixed already! Looking at detailing the whole front end now...!

 

For anyone who wants to look under the bonnet:

 

 

 

8 pin decoder socket plus 3 pole motor and flywheel. The model moves absolutely beautifully, no stuttering anywhere (even on my gunky track!), it's better than a 5 Pole motor I think. Did not seem to miss the extra pickups.