Hornby Class 67

[NickL2008]

I thought I'd provide some kind of account of my attempts this weekend to improve the Hornby 67, in case they can be of use to civilisation.

 

I started with the exhaust. This was a very easy mod. Once the exhaust is removed (more on this below) the silencer part can simply be cut from the 'tail' part without damage to either one. Several light strokes with a new craft knife blade works best and means there is no gouging or 'lost' plastic that would result from using a saw. The silencer part can then have a little (1mm? 2mm?) taken off its base, a little removed from underneath the brackets at the side, and it will then sit at the correct height relative to the roof. The 'tail' part I think needs packing with 40 thou or so, but I haven't tried this yet as I had no plasticard in the house. The photos above suggest that this part of the exhaust is definitely higher in reality than Hornby have modelled it.

 

So far so good. Then I moved on to my other target areas, the roof grille and the windscreens. These were less easy and my efforts less successful. Part of the problem is that the body is made out of very thin plastic - I've never seen a model so thin. With the exhaust the plan was to file off the glue on the underside then pop the retaining pegs out with the point of a small file - my standard method for e.g. windscreen wipers. However, when I started nudging them with a file stress marks began to appear in the plastic. These were not in 'public' places so no problem, but I ended up drilling the pegs out instead, just to be safe. But all the time as I was gripping the body it was flexing all over the place. This thinness might explain the bowing in the body that RE reported.

 

Then I turned to the roof grille to see if I could get it to sit better. Again, I filed inside the body where the pegs are glued and then tried to nudge the pegs out. This was very hard - I really had to swear a lot. They came out in the end, but stress marks again on the inside of the body suggested that I'd been pushing my luck, and it could have easily gone wrong, with the file or tweazers easily going right through the plastic. Anyway, upshot is, the plastic moulding underneath won't let the grille go down flush. Still, I wanted to spray the moulding underneath the grille a lighter grey as this area on the real thing is very light coloured (Hornby have painted the moulding a darkish grey), so not a compete waste of time. But close.

 

Next the windscreen. As Big Jim noted, it is glued in very well on the lower edge. I 'encouraged' it and it ended up breaking. Not a problem as I wanted to replace it anyway, but again stress marks appeared on the inside of the nose front, so for the other end I won't risk the body trying to save the glazing I'll simply drill and file the whole windscreen out so as not to put the body under this kind of stress again. The modified end looks a lot better with new glazing in, and I'll experiment with a marker pen on the rear at some stage in the near future, and turn to the airbrush if unsuccessful.

 

So the moral of the story is be careful out there. With this thin plastic body things can easily go horribly wrong!

 

On a positive note, I did find that the TDM cables are removable. They are pushed back into the body at the top and down into the receptacles at the bottom. Once removed they can be bent to a more 'in service' shape and refitted.

 

Interesting modifications, have you any pictures of these?

 

NL

[mike tugsandsheds]

I've got to be honest and say I'm seriously considering not purchasing these models.

 

£200 Outlay on Models that clearly need a fair bit of rectification work is something I'm struggling to justify.

 

Also the obvious QC issues as well

 

Shame as I was really looking forward to them

[Daddyman]

I'm coming to the same conclusion, Mike. I wish I hadn't bought one really. I gave up on the Limby 67 a few years back and now I'm just doing most of the same things: fannying around with windscreens, exhausts and grilles. I don't mind a bit of modelling, but when all the work I did to get the grille off just shows that it can't realistically be improved*, and when my windscreen mods could still go wrong when I attempt to add the black edging (and I'll still need someone to produce windscreen wipers), it's pretty disheartening. After a frustrating few hours I turned to my D11/2 for what I hoped would be a relaxing hour or so fitting the bits from the bag, but found that between the guard irons and the dummy frames between the bogie wheels there's absolutely zero rotation possible on the bogie! Models are conspiring against me, telling me I should be working on the J39 to J38 conversion - that's the only way to be a happy and fulfilled human being...

 

NickL: no, afraid I haven't got photos at the mo as I'm in the middle of a protracted house move, and camera is in storage. Sorry... Maybe in a couple of weeks.

 

*Big Jim: cutting the tabs off won't get the grille to the correct height. It will make it lower, yes, if you have one of the early releases with Hornby's special ill-fitted grille (I'm guessing the tabs weren't pushed in far enough). But it will still be too high because (believe me!) it's the moudling under the grille that's the problem.

[Sutton Junction]

I have both the EWS and DBS liverys which are both in good condition. Only problems I notice is on the EWS one the black buffer beams a large yellow triangle in which has been applied rather un-neatly and on the DBS one the DB logo is missing from one cab front. Has any one else had these 2 problems?. Other than that there up to a decent standard and run really well:)

[Swifty11]

I have both the EWS and DBS liverys which are both in good condition. Only problems I notice is on the EWS one the black buffer beams a large yellow triangle in which has been applied rather un-neatly and on the DBS one the DB logo is missing from one cab front. Has any one else had these 2 problems?. Other than that there up to a decent standard and run really well:)

 

The DB logos aren't on the models and where it sais just under the cab window 'English welsh and Scottish railwa' instead of railway

[Sutton Junction]

The DB logos aren't on the models and where it sais just under the cab window 'English welsh and Scottish railwa' instead of railway

The DB logo is on the front of one cab end but not the other on mine and on the EWS version I have the missing "y" too

[Swifty11]

The DB logo is on the front of one cab end but not the other on mine and on the EWS version I have the missing "y" too

 

Hmm... There will probably be DB nose end transfers and EWS logos out there, there will be increased demand seen as though Hornby have cocked up the branding!! :-|

[big jim]

Hmm... There will probably be DB nose end transfers and EWS logos out there, there will be increased demand seen as though Hornby have cocked up the branding!! :-|

 

i've only just noticed the DB logo on 018, did a quick google image search to see if it was only applied to one end, but no, it did used to have them both ends, as it stands now the real loco doesn't have any logo's on either end.

 

wonder if i could get a full sized one made up and sneak it back onto the real loco, save me painting the one out on the model!

[Guest dubdee1000]

Hmm... There will probably be DB nose end transfers and EWS logos out there, there will be increased demand seen as though Hornby have cocked up the branding!! :-|

 

According to Fox Transfers, availability of EWS transfers is going to become limited due to licensing issues

[mike tugsandsheds]

I think the recent posts have made my mind up.

 

I can't justify spending £200 on imperfect models. I'll look at spending my money on something else.

 

I only hope thye DBS Class 60 is not afflicted by these same issues as that'll be another £110 I won't be able to justify

 

I think I'll wait till there are further releases to see if improvements are made.

[Waverley West]

I always try to be positive when posting on here, partly because I have a generally very upbeat view of the hobby these days, but I’m afraid when it comes to Hornby, I just can’t. I want to see the company be successful, but it makes too many mistakes with its products for my era (1980-1990) and has the wrong attitude towards putting them right for me.

 

The 67 was always going to be a fairly marginal purchase for me, but it was one I intended to make and the sort of purchase I usually do make. However, I’ve had far too many frustrating issues with Hornby as regards both their products and their attitude towards customers in recent years to risk getting involved in another one, so I’m going to shelve the plan for an EWS 67 for the moment, especially given the money involved in buying stock these days. When I started collecting stock for Waverley West 10 or so years ago, I was paying £45+ for a loco + £10 for a coach. Now with sound, I'm looking at well over £200 for a loco and £20 for a coach, plus £20-.30 for a wagon in some cases too. For that kind of money, I need to be sure I'm getting a decent product.

 

It seems there are a fair few other people on here already who have made exactly the same decision. That’s going to hurt Hornby’s profits at the end of the year. The majority of modellers I think know when an issue is an issue and cannot just be brushed off as a small and unreasonable minority. When will Hornby realise they cannot just bury their heads in the sand and pretend there isn’t a problem with something? And I’m not just talking about the 67 either. But don’t get me started on the other issues I have with the company’s products and their attitude towards them.

 

Right, I think it’s time I went and bought a Bachmann ScotRail 47/7 and then I need to save up for a few Bachmann 101s... Oh, and then there’s the Bachmann Railfreight Petroleum 47 coming up and a few Bachmann Mk 1 sleepers... I like the look of the new Departmental coaches too. I hope they don't release anything else I might want soon.

 

Not sure I can afford all those, or justify them to Mrs WW, but I’ll do my darndest. At least I think I'm safe from Blue Pullman cravings, beautiful model as it is.

 

Cheers

Dave

[Removed a/c]

Have to agree with you Dave. When I got back into the hobby just over a year ago I went straight to Hornby but after being disappointed I started looking at Bachmann and boy have I not regretted that decision. The only products I need from Hornby are the class 43s and some MK2s & MK3 for my 80s layout. They are the only manufacturers AFAIK in OO so I have no choice at the moment.

[mike tugsandsheds]

With the other livery variations:

 

2 x Royal Plum

WSMR

EWS/DBS Silver

ATW Wales Blue

And alternate EWS versions and various train packs

 

Hornby could have had a real cash cow so to speak, with the QC issues and issues that need rectification I fear Hornby may have shot themselves in the foot !

[steveb860]

Having only just looked at this thread (as the 67 holds little interest to me) I am dismayed to seeyet another new model or re-release from Hornby falling below standards accepted nowadays.

 

Rarely do I buy a Hornby product any more these days, My purchases are almost exclusively Bachmann with some Dapol (who have come on leaps and bounds, improving with each release).

I am also amazed that Hornby find these acceptable to send out. No wonder their profits are falling.

 

Hornby, you really need to take heed of the paying public, look at your QC,review your marketing strategy (large logo class 56 anybody!) and maybe move manufacture somewhere where it can be done properly, or I suspect you may not be trading in a few years,as you can only sell so many trainsets at christmas, which would be a terrible shame.

[Sutton Junction]

A quick question to anyone who knows, other than mail and passenger stock what would the 67 prototypically be used for??? Also how do the opperations of the loco differ today from when they were first brought into service, if atall??? Im looking for realistic loads for my EWS and DBS versions to haul.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Sutty

[big jim]

A quick question to anyone who knows, other than mail and passenger stock what would the 67 prototypically be used for??? Also how do the opperations of the loco differ today from when they were first brought into service, if atall??? Im looking for realistic loads for my EWS and DBS versions to haul.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Sutty

 

67s have been used on things like rhtt trains (top and tailed with a DVT!) , they also get used on MOD trains with VGA wagons (or whatever the variants are), there is a nice pic of one in ashchurch with army tanks on flat wagons in this months rail express

 

They have also been trialled on MGR trains paired up in multi but the lack of the right number of wheels knackered the weighbridge up in the unloader, its set up for co-co locos and it threw the configuration out!

 

Trip workings, warrington to stoke (marcroft) for example, couple of 45t tanks and maybe a HYA for repair

 

Stock moves, see my picture futher back in the thread for 018 moving the arriva DVT to crewe

 

Other than that whatever you feel like running

[Sutton Junction]

67s have been used on things like rhtt trains (top and tailed with a DVT!) , they also get used on MOD trains with VGA wagons (or whatever the variants are), there is a nice pic of one in ashchurch with army tanks on flat wagons in this months rail express

 

They have also been trialled on MGR trains paired up in multi but the lack of the right number of wheels knackered the weighbridge up in the unloader, its set up for co-co locos and it threw the configuration out!

 

Trip workings, warrington to stoke (marcroft) for example, couple of 45t tanks and maybe a HYA for repair

 

Stock moves, see my picture futher back in the thread for 018 moving the arriva DVT to crewe

 

Other than that whatever you feel like running

Ahh pretty much as I expected, thanks for the reply

[newbryford]

A quick question to anyone who knows, other than mail and passenger stock what would the 67 prototypically be used for???

 

As Jim says, pretty much anything.

67002 worked 34 empty MEA's from Clitheroe Cement works a few years ago.

 

Cheers,

Mick

[Tim Horn]

A couple

 

MBAs back in 2000

 

67013 TJH01 Norwich 9th December 2000 Copyright Tim Horn by Tim Horn, on Flickr

 

And this from 2004

 

67027 TJH05 21st August 2004 Copyright Tim Horn by Tim Horn, on Flickr

 

Cheers

Tim

 

[Guest jim s-w]

Hiya

 

2004 they were used on the summer saturday trains to the south west.

 

 

(does the roof grill look different in this pic to how they look now or is it just me?)

 

Cheers

 

Jim

[big jim]

i'd say the loco hasn't got a grille fitted in that photo

[Matabiau]

Don't forget the Caledonian Sleeper north of Edingburh and Glasgow taking over from the class 90 when the overhead lines run out.

[roundhouse]

We saw a 67 on the Kineton to Didcot MOD service a few months back passing through Banbury hauling a rake of container flats with de branded 20 ft containers and a bogie bolster at the rear.

 

Ian

[NickL2008]

67s have and still appear also on the 6V38, Eastleigh/Marchwood-Didcot MOD train also usually formed of TTAs, army flats and VGA wagons

 

NL

[Metr0Land]

Having only just looked at this thread (as the 67 holds little interest to me) I am dismayed to seeyet another new model or re-release from Hornby falling below standards accepted nowadays.

 

Rarely do I buy a Hornby product any more these days, My purchases are almost exclusively Bachmann with some Dapol (who have come on leaps and bounds, improving with each release).

I am also amazed that Hornby find these acceptable to send out. No wonder their profits are falling.

 

Hornby, you really need to take heed of the paying public, look at your QC,review your marketing strategy (large logo class 56 anybody!) and maybe move manufacture somewhere where it can be done properly, or I suspect you may not be trading in a few years,as you can only sell so many trainsets at christmas, which would be a terrible shame.

 

Pretty much echoes my own sentiments. Class 67 and 4VEP don't fit with my steam era models, but am really disappointed in the way these significant releases seem to have been handled. There's plenty of discussion elsewhere on rmweb about how we all lose when retailers close. We all need a healthy major manufacturer market (and all the cottage industry manufacturers) as well.