Hornby Class 101 Strathclyde Met Camm Unit

[andyman7]

On 18/04/2024 at 13:21, Austin Allegro said:

Just picked mine up from Invicta in Sidcup - I know it was cheaper elswhere but there's nothing better than supporting your local shop and being able to drool over a load of stock in real life. 🤤

 

One seemingly odd "quirk" of it is that the  driving carriage as removeable couplers whereas the non-driving one doesn't, it just has the original Lima large tension lock coupler, meaning I've no other choice but to have a tension lock coupling between carriages making it look well out of place with the rest of the layout.

 

What on earth were Hornby thinking doing that???

 

 

4 hours ago, Going Spare said:

Bogie frames with NEM coupling pockets were introduced in 2008 so if the original Lima-style coupling has been used, it must be a mistake.  X9637M for non-motor bogies, X9636M for the motor bogie.  Both in stock at Lendons, if that is any help. 

The Driving Trailer does not use either X9636M or X9637M. Hornby have never retooled the trailer car bogie design.

[Going Spare]

Apologies if I misled you: I was quoting from Service Sheet 323 which states "Bogie Frame (Dummy Car) X9637M", the 'M' denoting NEM coupling.  It does seem, even for a Railroad model, very penny-pinching to have upgraded only one of the two vehicles.

[JohnR]

Having upgraded a Hornby 101 with updated bogie frames to get NEM pockets, I can confirm that even on the dummy car, you can swap over the frames without issue. 

[puffmeister-general]

TMC now have it at £91.79 excluding postage. Had to pick one up after my disappointment of Bachmann not doing one and it bringing back memories of seeing it on the Whifflet line. 

[scottrains29]

46 minutes ago, puffmeister-general said:

TMC now have it at £91.79 excluding postage. Had to pick one up after my disappointment of Bachmann not doing one and it bringing back memories of seeing it on the Whifflet line. 

None left in stock but on order now. Using code MAYDAY brings the cost down to a slightly more reasonable £87.20. I expect they'll probably get more stock as there's still a lot of them about elsewhere. I do wonder if the numerous errors on this model and the amount of work required to improve it (adding lights, roof pod, smaller couplings, etc) is dissuading people from buying it at full price.

 

Indecently, the previous Hornby R3047 and the Lima L149959 both had Glasgow Central/ Whifflet destinations, with the Lima one using the more accurate roof pod tooling.

Think I'll change the fictitious 'Paisley Central' destination to a 'Barrhead' shuttle example.

[puffmeister-general]

21 hours ago, scottrains29 said:

None left in stock but on order now. Using code MAYDAY brings the cost down to a slightly more reasonable £87.20. I expect they'll probably get more stock as there's still a lot of them about elsewhere. I do wonder if the numerous errors on this model and the amount of work required to improve it (adding lights, roof pod, smaller couplings, etc) is dissuading people from buying it at full price.

 

Indecently, the previous Hornby R3047 and the Lima L149959 both had Glasgow Central/ Whifflet destinations, with the Lima one using the more accurate roof pod tooling.

Think I'll change the fictitious 'Paisley Central' destination to a 'Barrhead' shuttle example.

Cancelled my order and reordered using the discount code - many thanks for pointing that out.

[Halvarras]

On 23/03/2024 at 15:31, Halvarras said:

 

Funny you should mention that, just last month I landed an absolutely mint Lima ER twin set from Howes for £40, with detailing pack, described as a non-runner - a motor strip-down revealed a carbon brush seized in its guide tube, it took a file to get it to move freely so it must have been a rare manufacturing defect, certainly the model shows no sign of use. This was even a version without roof pods and with lining which aligned correctly with the window bars (unlike the one in your link). It does still have the side heater grilles but the dark green paint disguises these to some extent.

 

To cap it all a couple of weeks or so later the same shop listed the rare matching centre car for £17.50 so after I'd stopped choking on my tea I grabbed that as well - it even came with four sets of bogie steps it doesn't need, but I can always find a use for. The centre car's green paint and cream lining is slightly paler than the two power cars (a common problem when supposedly matching models were not manufactured at the same time) but I'm not complaining! It will receive the detailing pack and a few improvements - end details, larger buffers, closer coupling -  and a renumber to a Scottish Region unit to accompany my handful of c1967 ScR diesels

 

Got this far with it - yellow panels (which also covered the headcode panels) were too large so were reduced sides and bottom with Railmatch 300 BR Green, almost perfect match, also for heacode frames; yellow redone with Precision P134 BR Signal Yellow; lower lining extended to yellow panel with Railmatch 302 BR Yellow-Green; bufferbeams painted Railmatch 400 Signal Red, fitted with Hornby buffer heads, Heljan coupling shackles and (probably) Craftsman cast whitemetal pipework; underframes, bogies and wheels finished in Railmatch 412 Weathered Black.

Replica blue-square coupling codes, destinations from cut-up MTK WR Toad brake van 'RU' names (that was 'fun'!) and after a lot of searching for something to fit into apertures only 2.5mm wide the headcode characters were cut down from those supplied with the Dapol Western diesel. Side window First & No Smoking labels from the HMRS pressfix sheet 14 (printed in reverse to be applied on the inside), also the BR coaching stock roundels which Lima only applied to one side of each power car! Interiors partly repainted and bits of crude detail stuck to the otherwise plain driver's control desks (the handbrake wheels are filed-down discharge wheels off a Hornby TTA underframe). The only job remaining is renumbering to a Scottish Region unit - 36 characters, I think I'll ask RailTec for assistance with that! It appears that the majority of green DMUs displaying the yellow First Class stripe were in Scotland, so......

Lima printed those numbers too low.......

 

Close coupling via those small Airfix couplers with one hook removed, pinned in place with Hornby track pins - I don't see why Bachmann mini-couplers couldn't be used instead:

 

As well as the modern heater grilles the unit also has incorrect full-length guttering, but I can live with both. (With the Lima motor bogie, who needs digital sound......?!)

 

Very pleased with this, I think it confirms just how good this model was, and it's great to know that it's still with us.

 

 

[Melton Works]

Just reworked the Network Rail 101 Railroad plus. He told me to "keep it simple" so I did... ok didnt touch the body (those tampo printed grills are annoying) or underframe, but tried to bring it up to date.

[Melton Works]

8 minutes ago, Melton Works said:

Just reworked the Network Rail 101 Railroad plus. He told me to "keep it simple" so I did... ok didnt touch the body (those tampo printed grills are annoying) or underframe, but tried to bring it up to date.

My makeshift close coupling...

[adb968008]

If you want a robust close coupling, I reccomend these…

 

Roco 40343
 

https://rainbowrailways.co.uk/product/roco-rc40343-close-coupling-mechanism-retrofit-set-pre-140mm-12/
 

 

Screw fit under the body on the chassis, and you instantly have a 21st century closer NEM coupling mechanism. Its really quite a simple solution to fit.

 

Edited 12 hours ago by adb968008