Hornby W1 Hush Hush

[zr2498]

5 minutes ago, Edna Clouds said:

It was from Leigh Collett and it's not to do with him, his packing was exemplary - it's the clamshell that pushes the smoke deflector inwards with nothing behind it. Perhaps my bucket list should include acquiring one in one piece!

May I suggest you get in touch with Hornby Service and ask for a replacement body shell. I guess they will have some ordered and it would not be packed in the same way.

[robmcg]

12 minutes ago, Edna Clouds said:

It was from Leigh Collett and it's not to do with him, his packing was exemplary - it's the clamshell that pushes the smoke deflector inwards with nothing behind it. Perhaps my bucket list should include acquiring one in one piece!

 

I think later production versions may have padding on the outside of the deflectors to more accurately locate the front of the model in the clamshell.  I recall seeing a photo of that, possibly from Hornby or a dealer, when the first R3840/1 damaged models first appeared and were discussed here many pages back. I bought two R3840s and one was broken and I repaired it reasonably well, the other had intact deflectors but a couple of other issues. Also bought a R3841 and it was fine.

 

Good lick.

Edited March 2, 2022 by robmcg
typo

[Edna Clouds]

1 hour ago, robmcg said:

 

I think later production versions may have padding on the outside of the deflectors to more accurately locate the front of the model in the clamshell.  I recall seeing a photo of that, possibly from Hornby or a dealer, when the first R3840/1 damaged models first appeared and were discussed here many pages back. I bought two R3840s and one was broken and I repaired it reasonably well, the other had intact deflectors but a couple of other issues. Also bought a R3631 and it was fine.

 

Good lick.

 I've given up now on R3840 and have ordered R30126 due in the summer when, hopefully, the clamshell business will be sorted.

 

Cheers, Pete.

[paftrain]

Well I received my replacement Hush hush chassis today from Hornby, unfortunately it is as bad as the faulty one I returned to them a month ago. They said they had tested it. Perhaps they should have also said that it failed the test. I have written to them again and await their further instructions as to how I return it to them again. Did someone mention Hornby’s poor quality standards?

 

[60800]

In an alternate reality where 60700 was preserved and named; 

 

 

I quite like this as a name for the W1!

 

I was going to have custom 'British Enterprise' nameplates done for 60700 but saw these in Silver Tay's fictitious nameplates list and thought it would have fit well.

 

Cheers,

  60800 

[davidw]

37 minutes ago, 60800 said:

In an alternate reality where 60700 was preserved and named; 

 

 

I quite like this as a name for the W1!

 

I was going to have custom 'British Enterprise' nameplates done for 60700 but saw these in Silver Tay's fictitious nameplates list and thought it would have fit well.

 

Cheers,

  60800 

Plates were also cast for after it was rebuilt to be named "Pegasus" ( quite appropriate ) but never fitted. They were notoriously powerful.

[60800]

1 hour ago, davidw said:

Plates were also cast for after it was rebuilt to be named "Pegasus" ( quite appropriate ) but never fitted. They were notoriously powerful.

 

Thanks, I didn't know that. Pegasus is an awfully short name for such a big loco. I'm not permanently attaching these nameplates, so I could do Pegasus and British Enterprise too. 

 

 

Cheers,

  60800 

 

Edited April 1, 2022 by 60800

[Coldgunner]

Finally got another R3840 from another retailer. They checked it prior to shipping. Compared to the one I received and sent back in December, it had extra padding around the smoke deflectors. Seems to run smooth but has a 'click' coming from something. Fitted with an A4 TTS chip (all I had spare). A little louder than some others but seems to run well.

 

Wondering if this is a return that's been repaired or another batch come from China.

[Ribird]

20 hours ago, Coldgunner said:

Finally got another R3840 from another retailer. They checked it prior to shipping. Compared to the one I received and sent back in December, it had extra padding around the smoke deflectors. Seems to run smooth but has a 'click' coming from something. 

 

Check the back to back on the wheels, that was the main reason why mine were clicking. Like back to back, not just the outside rims, but the inside areas, as I found they were quite wobbly even after a couple of sessions with the back to backs.

 

Another thing that may be is the eccentric rod bracket was not properly installed. Also, the main driving wheels might have its main pin pushed in too far. Seems like the factory was rushing these out and not pushing them in their correct angles, such stripping out the holes (and lack of a glue).

[drt7uk]

Just seen a fairly large model shop selling on eBay a *broken* Hush Hush - one of the smoke deflectors is completely snapped off - for TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY POUNDS.

 

World has gone mad...

[rogerzilla]

On 20/02/2022 at 22:11, cctransuk said:

 

So, if you can do it, why can't Hornby?!?

 

I know, set-track radii - so fit the flangeless wheels and lock the rear truck with another screw.

 

As I know from personal experience how easy it is to back-engineer Hornby's Pacifics to working trailing trucks, I can only conclude that Hornby get a kick out of p*ssing-off serious modellers with this 'design-clever' (stupid) anachronism!

 

CJI.

Well, technically it's wrong, because a Cartazzi axle doesn't swing at all.  If Hornby were clever, they would use trailing wheels with side-to-side play, much like the prototype.

[cctransuk]

1 hour ago, rogerzilla said:

Well, technically it's wrong, because a Cartazzi axle doesn't swing at all.  If Hornby were clever, they would use trailing wheels with side-to-side play, much like the prototype.

 

That wouldn't work, would it?

 

Model railway track has much tighter radii than the prototype - sideplay alone wouldn't work; hence the need for a radial pivot.

 

CJI.

[Hilux5972]

39 minutes ago, cctransuk said:

Model railway track has much tighter radii than the prototype

Exactly why Hornby has done what they have done with the Gresley locos. I’d much rather have fixed frames with floating wheels. The wheels under the firebox and cab don’t exactly do anything anyway. This argument is gonna go on forever I think and it gets rather tiresome.

On a better note, the new versions of the W1 are close to being released now. Very excited for my Photographic Grey Streamlined W1. 

[cctransuk]

20 minutes ago, Hilux5972 said:

Exactly why Hornby has done what they have done with the Gresley locos. I’d much rather have fixed frames with floating wheels. The wheels under the firebox and cab don’t exactly do anything anyway. This argument is gonna go on forever I think and it gets rather tiresome.

On a better note, the new versions of the W1 are close to being released now. Very excited for my Photographic Grey Streamlined W1. 

 

No-one arguing here - just  an observation that flanged wheels + excessive sideplay + tight radii are a recipe for derailments; contrary to a suggestion by the OP.

 

My views re unflanged wheels on trailing trucks are already well known!

 

CJI.

[HExpressD]

I think the unflanged 'floating wheels' are the best of a bad situation but on the W1 they look worse than on most for two reasons, the first being that they seem to sit a mm or so higher than most leaving an obvious gap and the second being that as the W1 has two sets (and the rearmost axle is much more exposed than on most locos) the fact that they don't turn is much more obvious.

[micklner]

     Hornby did themselves no favours by using a simply dreadful cheap arrangement for the Rear "Bogie" wheels. If they had used a "Bogie" instead of a fixed locator design,  which is cast with the rest of the chassis (to save pennies??)  there would have been some movement . My W1 resin conversion's of Hornby A4's into W1's  uses a simple rear "Bogie" which goes around 2ft 6ins curves without any issues.

 

What Hornby should have done on the W1 :-

Removable seperate casting for the rear "Bogie" wheels and a seperate Bogie supplied as well. 

They hide behind the excuse of having to produce models for Radius 2 Curves. They are still producing designs with little imagination, on poor designs on £200 models.

 

When will they realise that the W1 and similar Locos  are no longer childrens toys anymore.  99% will be used on large curves or sit in a Display Cabinet .

 

[jonnyuk]

21 minutes ago, micklner said:

     Hornby did themselves no favours by using a simply dreadful cheap arrangement for the Rear "Bogie" wheels. If they had used a "Bogie" instead of a fixed locator design,  which is cast with the rest of the chassis (to save pennies??)  there would have been some movement . My W1 resin conversion's of Hornby A4's into W1's  uses a simple rear "Bogie" which goes around 2ft 6ins curves without any issues.

 

What Hornby should have done on the W1 :-

Removable seperate casting for the rear "Bogie" wheels and a seperate Bogie supplied as well. 

They hide behind the excuse of having to produce models for Radius 2 Curves. They are still producing designs with little imagination, on poor designs on £200 models.

 

When will they realise that the W1 and similar Locos  are no longer childrens toys anymore.  99% will be used on large curves or sit in a Display Cabinet .

 

as a general comment i must be in that 1%, i have no choice but for R2, as i would say at least 50% of rmweb members, let lone Hornby's bigger audience that exists out side of this forum.

in regards the loco, that photographic grey looks stunning, its amazing how some loco's pass you by until someone  mentions it and you go and take a look. 

[Hilux5972]

10 hours ago, jonnyuk said:

in regards the loco, that photographic grey looks stunning, its amazing how some loco's pass you by until someone  mentions it and you go and take a look. 

It’s a totally fictitious livery but I preordered direct from Hornby as soon as it was announced so I wouldn’t miss out. 

[60800]

Purists beware, rule 1 modelling incoming!
-
It's well known that if Billy Butlin and Alan Pegler would have had their way, Silver Link and Papyrus would have survived, but potentially with the loss of Scotsman and one of the Duchesses, but who knows? 

 

Anyway, imagine if in 1959 someone had stepped in and saved the unique W1 60700? As a bit of an impulse buy and being a modern image / preservation era modeller I've used this as an excuse to have this engine and I imagine she would be a mainline runner and possibly would be named;

 

 

Contrary to what I said above before, the smokebox boiler band has been notched on both sides to accept the nameplates which have been permanently fitted. You'll notice other improvements such as painted cab spectacle plates and other areas picked out with brass and silver paint. 

 

I've also removed the rubbish hook that was supplied and have replaced it with the spare Accurascale hook and screw from 55022.

 

Cheers,

  WV908

[Hilux5972]

48 minutes ago, 60800 said:

Purists beware, rule 1 modelling incoming!
-
It's well known that if Billy Butlin and Alan Pegler would have had their way, Silver Link and Papyrus would have survived, but potentially with the loss of Scotsman and one of the Duchesses, but who knows? 

 

Anyway, imagine if in 1959 someone had stepped in and saved the unique W1 60700? As a bit of an impulse buy and being a modern image / preservation era modeller I've used this as an excuse to have this engine and I imagine she would be a mainline runner and possibly would be named;

 

 

Contrary to what I said above before, the smokebox boiler band has been notched on both sides to accept the nameplates which have been permanently fitted. You'll notice other improvements such as painted cab spectacle plates and other areas picked out with brass and silver paint. 

 

I've also removed the rubbish hook that was supplied and have replaced it with the spare Accurascale hook and screw from 55022.

 

Cheers,

  WV908

That looks very nice. A nice what-if model for sure. Just out of interest, have you done anything to the rear set of wheels? A lot of people say they sit higher and don’t rotate as a result but yours look like they sit perfectly on the surface you have the loco on. 

[60800]

13 minutes ago, Hilux5972 said:

That looks very nice. A nice what-if model for sure. Just out of interest, have you done anything to the rear set of wheels? A lot of people say they sit higher and don’t rotate as a result but yours look like they sit perfectly on the surface you have the loco on. 

 

Thanks 🙂 They sit level but they are extremely stiff and don't turn unless pushed. I've only fitted them for photos anyway and they will be swapped back for running. 

 

Cheers,

  60800

[60800]

Since I have added works plates to the cabsides purely to break up that large open area, can anyone please tell me where her works plates were fitted? I know the Commonwealth A4's had them fitted inside the cabs so I wonder if 60700 was the same?

 

What is also nice to see is I'm not the only person to have fitted nameplates to a W1 - I've had replies to my post in a group on there of 60700 late crest with Pegasus nameplates and an Apple Green 'as built' as 10007 Temeraire. Both look very smart.

 

Cheers,

  60800

Edited June 26, 2022 by 60800
Typo

[melmerby]

On 25/06/2022 at 20:09, micklner said:

     Hornby did themselves no favours by using a simply dreadful cheap arrangement for the Rear "Bogie" wheels. If they had used a "Bogie" instead of a fixed locator design,  which is cast with the rest of the chassis (to save pennies??)  there would have been some movement . My W1 resin conversion's of Hornby A4's into W1's  uses a simple rear "Bogie" which goes around 2ft 6ins curves without any issues.

 

 

 

And of course require the correct framework under the cab (as per Hornby) to be ditched. e.g. DJH's model kit is much wider there than it should be

There's simply not enough room for a bogie inside the fixed frames to swivel enough for R2 curves, so something has to give.

[Purnu]

6 hours ago, 60800 said:

 

Anyway, imagine if in 1959 someone had stepped in and saved the unique W1 60700? As a bit of an impulse buy and being a modern image / preservation era modeller I've used this as an excuse to have this engine and I imagine she would be a mainline runner and possibly would be named;

 

I’m most definitely a modern image modeller but I must admit to being fascinated by this particular engine since I was a child. Not having the skills to build it from a kit made it an easy decision to purchase one of these when released.

 

I had a very similar idea/justification for it’s appearance with my modern stock. Air brake and Main Res pipes make a nice little addition. Nicely done. Just needs an appropriate support coach now. 😉

[No Decorum]

10 hours ago, melmerby said:

And of course require the correct framework under the cab (as per Hornby) to be ditched. e.g. DJH's model kit is much wider there than it should be

There's simply not enough room for a bogie inside the fixed frames to swivel enough for R2 curves, so something has to give.

I find Hornby’s approach exasperating at times. Sometimes, the flanged wheels work, as on the Princess. Sometimes, as on the Duchess, some plastic needs to be carved away to provide a flangeway. Silly but correctable. However, on the W1, the flanged wheels are locked solid in place. Even leaving the miniature keeper plate off doesn’t help. Why? The tops of the flanges make contact with the loco body. All that is needed is a curve in the casting to accommodate the flange. If incorporated in the tooling, it should cost next to nothing to do. The locomotive will still not go round R2 curves but it would go round larger radii. Why on earth does Hornby not do it? The problem is not unique to the W1 – the Merchant Navies have the same problem but, as has been pointed out, the trailing wheels of the W1s are much more prominent.