hornby class 29

[Turin 60]

Just an idle thought at the moment but I would be interested in your thoughts.

How good a model is the Hornby class 29 from a mechanical or finescale point of view, I ask this as I notice they seem relatively cheap on a certain well known auction and who couldn't help but feel something for such a face on a locomotive-mind we're not talking Thomas here!

 

John.

[Mod2]

Hi

 

30-something's Born again NBL, and Austerity 94's repowering query, just a short while ago.

 

Cheers.

[Guest Austerity94]

Hi John,

 

Where to begin? The model seems to be about right dimensionally (although I have not laid it on the drawings to check). The main question will be about whether you want a 21 or a 29 (Hornby's is a hybrid) and when you want to model it. Some things to think about are:

 

Main bodyside louvered grilles - only fitted to pilot batch and then replaced with mesh grille as per production batch. (A1 did etch but try getting one - 29s also had extra bodyside grilles.)

 

Front end - originally built with doors and discs - only those rebuilt to class 29 got the roller blinds (and then not all) Hornby has both!

 

Cab windows - Scottish region batch had sliding cabside windows and a tablet catcher recess

 

'Tumblehome' on cowling to buffers isn't right.

 

Windscreens are too narrow (A1 nickel-silver etches are to replace the plastic but are not any larger).

 

I have read that the roof was modified when rebuilt but haven't got any evidence of that.

 

Liveries from plain green, plus later with SYWP (class 21 only - I think); rebuilt in two-tone green with an unusual YWP, the some in blue. (I have read, but need to check pics, that one 21 made it to blue, although I have a suspicion it was really one of the 29s that kept its discs and doors.)

 

I have 'faked' one up as a two-tone green 29 with twin Hornby motors and it worked well. My current effort uses a Bachmann 25 chassis (although a light fitted 24 may be even better if doing a 21).

 

Despite the negatives it is an attractive looking model and even a few minor tweaks will give you something different.

 

My own attempt will be to build a 21 from the production batch (i.e. doors, discs, louvre grille, and plain green) because it is less work and it fits in with my latest obsession (with early green diesels).

 

 

Have a go and enjoy making it something you like to look at (and play with).

 

Hope this helps.

 

Regards,

 

Alex.

 

PS. If you have specific questions, then I can dig out some books and magazine articles and check numbers, details and liveries for you.

[theunborn]

Hi i like this model and have converted some to class 22's only thing i find is there not very good runners compared to todays offerings.

 

cheers

[Guest jim s-w]

You could canabalise a Bachmann class 25 to power them. Remember that Hornby did a 5 pole ringfield motor for their own class 25 which would also be an improvement.

 

HTH

 

Jim

[Turin 60]

Thanks for your thoughts guys some stuff to think about there, I suspect working from a photograph for the chosen engine would be the thing to do. Slightly wrong profiles don't overly worry me although spoked wheels do, I can accept that the old pancake motor jobbies are not quite as good as the drive systems used in many of the more modern products perhaps a pair might be the way to go?

 

John.

[Guest Austerity94]

Hi again John,

 

At the risk of raising the wrath of others, I would not worry in the slightest about spoked wheels especially as you will hardly see the things! Working from a pic is, as you wrote, probably still the best idea. In terms of the main body-grille as modelled by Hornby, the only one I can definitely find with it is the first of the pilot batch, which throws a bit of a spanner in the works for me as I have four bodies and three working chassis. As I said before, build a model that YOU are happy to look at and run.

 

Regards,

 

Alex.

[BrushVeteran]

The first ten NBL Type 2's (Class 21's) D6100-D6109 were delivered to Hornsey with louvered hinge out panels as Hornby has modelled on their version of the Class 29. During their first year in service these were modified to the vertcal slat arrangement with a thin horizontal waistline bar to increase the airflow through the radiator compartment. It looks to me as if Hornby used original Class 21 drawings for this pilot scheme batch for their model and it may be that there were never any update drawings from NBL for the later batches. The first class 29, D6123, was actually rebuilt at Paxmans in Colchester but did nor receive a four character headcode box. I cannot say whether any official drawings were made for this conversion as it was rather 'a suck it and see' power unit conversion at the time. It would be interesting to know whether any NBL archive from the diesel era exists anywhere.

[Turin 60]

Hi folks, I've now found more tangents to wander along! In an old MRC Annual for 1987 there is mention of converting the Hornby 29 to a 22, and lists an article in the June/july 1981 MRC on doing just this conversion. Would anyone out there be able to help with [edit] perhaps?

 

John.

[Guest Austerity94]

Hi again,

 

Sorry to potentially put a spoiler on the class 22 idea but it is an awful lot of work. The 22 was shorter, the bodyside grilles and doors are very different, as are the bogies. A1 did a conversion kit that used brass overlays for the sides that also help hold the cut-up and shortened Hornby body to stay together. If you would like a 22 then either try Silver Fox for their rather straightforward resin body-kit or hang on for a short time until the Dapol ready-to-run one appears (fine detail, modern chassis, DCC ready, etc).

 

As for the articles you mentioned, I don't have the MRCs but I am sure I saw something on them elsewhere. I'll have a look as soon as I get a chance.

 

Regards,

 

Alex.

[Turin 60]

Thanks for al the replies chaps, much to think about. Firstly the conversion to a 22, A1 did a conversion pack to acheive this, etches and castings. OOS but website says a new batch due shortly-perhaps a job for the brave!

Maybe I'll end up with a 21 (lazy? less work!) although certainly a 2nd power bogie and spoked wheels.

As to a RTR 22, I have a Heljan 33 and its a really good model & it runs like a dream. But other than regauging it to EM gauge I haven't had that much involvement with its creation unlike when building a kit or a new chassie for a RTR body, perhaps I get more out of the creation than the aquisition? Don't know the answer, but Christmas is coming!

 

John.

[Andrew F]

Hello

 

Alan Gibson do a spoke wheel conversion (listed Bachmann Class 21 near the bottom of the page in 4mm section)

http://www.alangibsonworkshop.com/

 

I guess they're designed to be used with a Bachmann 24/25 chassis for such loco builds.

 

Cheers

 

Andy

[Vanders]

Thanks for al the replies chaps, much to think about. Firstly the conversion to a 22, A1 did a conversion pack to acheive this, etches and castings. OOS but website says a new batch due shortly-perhaps a job for the brave!

 

Worsley Works also do "scratch aid" etches of the Class 22, in pretty much every single scale you could ever want (Even HO, apparently!). I've got one of the N body shells in primer at the moment.