Railroad County & Patriot

[LH&JC]

While I was in Monk Bar Models the Railroad County 'County of Cornwall' and the Patriot were being put on display, the Pat is the old Hornby tooling and the decoration is not as fine as on the 'standard' models, but fits in with the Railroad range. The county is the better model from what I could see in terms of body and decoration, the County looks good enough to be in the main range, or at least when compared to some of their models!

I'd imagine that the chassis on the Patriot follows the example of A3, A4, 9f & black 5 with loco drive and the tender drive frame still in place. I'm not sure about the county as I think that it was a loco drive model before, when it was in the main range. I just thought I'd share this info as Hatton's don't seem to have had the Patriot & County yet.

[7013]

IIRC the County shared the same chassis as the old Castle with the loco mounted ringfield? not the last Airfix bodied Castle though with that tooling which had a 5 pole skew wound. The County could do with the same treatment as the latest Castle.

[talyllyn1]

IIRC the County shared the same chassis as the old Castle with the loco mounted ringfield? not the last Airfix bodied Castle though with that tooling which had a 5 pole skew wound. The County could do with the same treatment as the latest Castle.

 

The Railroad County was announced as having a 5-pole motor, so I'm expecting it to have a revised chassis similar to the last "old" castles. I hope it does, I've got one on order for that very reason!

[7013]

Thanks Talyllyn 1 I did not realise that they had incorporated that chassis into the County, i would be sorely tempted to buy one and give it detailing treatment, but I know as soon as I did that Hornby would announce a new County, thats what happened when I bought Bristol Castle.

[talyllyn1]

I'm the other way round - modified a Dapol County with plastic firebox from a Hornby 8f body and etched detailing kit (formerly Jackson Evans) from Classic Trains and Motor Bus in Leamington (usual disclaimer applies). The kit contains a replacement cab, plate framed bogie, reversing rod, lamp irons etc.

Mine looks the part , but even with a DCC chip and messing with the CVs I can't get the thing to run well. I'm sort of banking on the Railroad chassis being as good as the Bristol Castle is (which I also bought before the new one was announced!).

Incidentally, the above concern also sell the ex-Hayes detailing kits for the Airfix/DapolCastle, if you fancy having a go at Bristol Castle. The kit includes etched and cast parts for all the detail variations of the class except chimneys, which are available separately.

[7013]

I have a detailing kit for a Castle which includes connecting rods, slide bars, cross heads, cylinders, chimney and safety valve. I will probably use it on my sole ringfield motored Castle. The only problem I had with the final version of Bristol Castle was stalling on points. I had a load of insulofrog points which I made live with those little wire inserts that Hornby made, but the problem persisted and I put it down to the traction tyres. Since building my new layout with all electrofrog points it crosses them without any problems at all. My Bristol Castle is now 'Spitfire' and I have converted the new tooling 'Ince' to Bristol Castle' with the Metcalfe Davis lubricating gear.

I would have thought a new County would be on the cards in the near future as the new chassis for the Castle would lend itself nicely, a bit like the Brit/Clan SpamCan/rebuilt WC/BBs i.e. minimum of changes to the tooling to produce another loco.

[talyllyn1]

My Railroad County arrived in the post today. I'm pleased to report that it does indeed have a revised chassis with a 5-pole motor. Unlike the Bristol Castle, it is not inflicted with traction tyres on the centre drivers.

Very smooth and quiet straight out of the box and slow running is excellent - at last my much modified Dapol County will be getting a decent chassis!

[7013]

Excellent no traction tyres, Is this a 'new' Railroad product? What County is it and where did you get it from Talyllyn1? Sorry about all the questions but this loco sounds like a good investment especially at RR prices, I need to start digging around for some photos of Counties.

[talyllyn1]

Excellent no traction tyres, Is this a 'new' Railroad product? What County is it and where did you get it from Talyllyn1? Sorry about all the questions but this loco sounds like a good investment especially at RR prices, I need to start digging around for some photos of Counties.

It's a newly released model - R2935 County of Cornwall. Announced as a Railroad model at the beginning of the year, it's a single chimney version in post 1946 GWR green. From an accuracy point of view, it is a curious mix of good and not-so good. The errors on the original Airfix/Dapol County are well documented (cab and firebox. Incorrect tender wheelbase) and these are carried over as the original body and tender tooling are used. It does have the later Hornby improvements though - sprung buffers and wire handrails on the tender back. The wheels and valvegear are blackened. The lining is very fine (same standard as the "premium" range) but there are some odd errors with the " G crest W" livery. The cabside lining is in the later BR style rather than over the side window and the tender back isn't lined out, which it was with this livery. The cabside window frames aren't picked out in "brass". The lower boiler at the front is "made up" with a screw fitted weight which is black (easily painted). In my case this isn't a problem as the loco body and tender are surplus to requirements and will eventually wind up on Ebay.

 

It does represent excellent value for money. I bought mine from Hattons for £52.00 including first class post. Compared to previous Hornby Counties with the rough old ringfied motor that is an absolute bargain! As luck would have it, I went into Ian Allan today and they had them in stock at £48.50

The loco body can be made to look much more like a County with the Ex- Jackson Evans kit mentioned earler. The firebox is completely wrong and really needs to be replaced.

If you can find a copy of Plastic Bodied Locos by Tim Shackleton (Wild Swan) there is an excellent article on modifying the County which I used. He made a brass firebox and an etched chassis. I've cheated by using a Hornby 8f firebox and shortly, a new Railroad chassis!

[talyllyn1]

Here are a couple of shots of my County before I dismantle it again.

These prove that:-

1) I ain't any good at taking photos

2)Digital photographs are very cruel. I have now spotted loads of things that need putting right or improving!

 

[7013]

Thanks Talyllyn nice model you have coming on there, I am aware of the shortcoming of the Hornby loco but am tempted to get one and work on it, I live close to Leamington so a twenty minute drive and I can access the parts you mention. County of Cornwall, my home county...result

[Barry Ten]

Looks nice to me, Talyllyn. I thought about doing that 8F firebox swap as well - you may well have pushed me into it. My County is also a rubbish runner, and I've been thinking about putting a Comet chassis under it at some point. The introduction of the Railroad one muddies the water, since it's probably cheaper to buy a completely new County than get all the chassis gubbins together. But then I'd still be left with the old County and wondering what to do with it...

 

Personally I think Counties are fine looking engines, so it'd be very nice to have a decent model.

[OFFTHE RAILS]

Can anyone tell me whether the Railroad Patriot has the old crude valve gear from the tender driven model or the more detailed gear as on the more recent Hornby Royal Scot and Patriot?

[45568]

Can anyone tell me whether the Railroad Patriot has the old crude valve gear from the tender driven model or the more detailed gear as on the more recent Hornby Royal Scot and Patriot?

looking at the pics on e-Hattons, looks like the "old crude"!!! OTR

Cheers, Peter C.

[Butler Henderson]

The Patriot also has the odd sized tender that Hornby managed to invent for it. Would have thought they could have adopted the ex Airfix Fowler tender but its obviously a very low cost to them addition to the Railroad range.