Hornby's Best Ever Models

[The Johnster]

Poor external condition probably says it all; So long as the boiler was safe, everything else seemed to take care of itself.  The Lanky 0-6-0's were some 70 years old when I worked on them, though they had probably renewed themselves like Triggs brush several times. One particularly poor specimen was in steam standing on the breakdown train, the joke being it probably need to tow one around just in case, and I watched as it was called into action.  Draincocks open, the driver snatched open the regulator then shut it again....then he repeated this several times while steam built up in the internal passages. Finally something happened and the coupling rod shot to the end of its pin on the leading driving wheel. There was a judder before the wheels started to move and a blast from the chimney covered us all in muck. One dinnertime I found I was relieving that same engine at Oldham Mumps........ It was considered good enough to earn a crust shunting and trip working to Royton Junction! That was seven years before the end of steam, so I can well imagine what the motive power situation was like across the remaining loco fleet during the 1966-68 'minimum maintenance' period.

 

Yet, despite appearances, Blue Funnel was in excellent mechanical shape; no steam leaks, clanks or odd noises, and she was riding well enough given the high speed.  It was simply external neglect, unlike the desperate state of your Lanky 0-6-0s, poor beasts that had probably never been well looked after in 70 years.

 

A few years earlier, in the cold and foggy November of 1963, I was returning with the same bunch of lads from a shed bash around Birmingham and Wolverhampton (the fog was so thick that to this day I couldn't tell you what Oxley looked like despite having been there) to Cardiff from Birmingham.  We had to change from our Peak hauled Bristol train at Gloucester, which in those days involved the walk, usually a desperate run with whistles blown at the other end, across the long and spooky footbridge between Eastgate and Central stations, an experience in itself guaranteed to freak you out.  The bridge, spanning the Midland goods yard and loco shed, was made up of several sections of different levels and directions, so you could never see the end or beginning. were always alone, but you could always hear running footsteps and see approaching shadows, even if, in fact especially if, there was nobody there...  I digress.

 

Arrival at the Central end of this nightmare revealed, not the cross country dmu expected, but a set of Hawksworths off the Hereford service and a steam loco of sorts at the Cardiff end of it.  This loco, and whatever it was could not be easily determined at first, was best described as a cloud of steam with a gurgle somewhere in the middle, to be replaced by a rattle once it was moving.  It transpired that it was something that had been built as a 6959 Modified Hall, but, like Blue Funnel, had no obvious means of identification; the Gloucester crew did not know either except that they thought it it was an Oxford loco, and restricted to freight work; this was an emergency to cover the failed dmu which lay dead in the bay.  No number, name, or shed plate was carried, her chimney cap and safety valve cover and all her brasswork including the cab and window beading were missing, some of her boiler cladding was loose, and her general visual state rivalled Blue Funnel's; the freezing fog and sheer amount of steam escaping from everywhere didn't help much but Lewis, the telescope hero from the Eastleigh story, acquired a rag from the driver and cleaned off a coupling rod boss to identify the loco.  Memory is not reliable, but I have an idea she may have been 7928 Wolf Hall; we'd learned this trick at Woodham's!  

 

We sat ourselves in the front compartment of the Hawksworths, and whatever else was wrong with the loco, she provided steam heating well enough.  The freezing fog was dense all the way down, and it was pointless to look out of the windows, but much could be gleaned from the general feel and sound of things.  She was really dreadful; a terrible big end knock could be felt, and heard, in the coach and the riding was diabolical, again felt in the coach, a violent lurch to the left with every revolution of the driving wheels that ended in a derailment threatening bang.  Her windows were all missing and conditions on her footplate must have been very unpleasant, and we could not blame her driver for being reluctant to take her above about 40mph given the appalling riding.  She inevitably lost time all the way, and was taken off and presumably put out of her misery at Severn Tunnel Junction, replaced by a Hymek.  This was perceptibly worse at heating the 3 coach train, and for some reason ran over the down relief between Magor and Newport, losing more time!  Such were the miseries of attempting to run the WR without sufficient decent locomotives in late 1963...

 

The 6959's appearance matched Blue Funnel's in all it's dereliction and decrepitude, but in this case was matched by a truly appalling mechanical state.  If it could leak steam, it leaked steam, if it could knock or rattle, it knocked or rattled, and if it was a wheel and meant to be round, it ran as if it was square at best and triangular at worst.  The springs which were supposed to absorb shock were in fact shock amplifiers, and even at 40 mph, the crew must have had a very rough ride of it; heroes, in my view!  The loco was not supposed to be working passenger trains, but in my view should not have been working anything at all; she was bordering too closely on actually dangerous.  Boiler seemed ok though, and they kept a good fire in her!

Edited June 25, 2017 by The Johnster

[No Decorum]

Yet, despite appearances, Blue Funnel was in excellent mechanical shape; no steam leaks, clanks or odd noises, and she was riding well enough given the high speed.  It was simply external neglect, unlike the desperate state of your Lanky 0-6-0s, poor beasts that had probably never been well looked after in 70 years.

 

A few years earlier, in the cold and foggy November of 1963, I was returning with the same bunch of lads from a shed bash around Birmingham and Wolverhampton (the fog was so thick that to this day I couldn't tell you what Oxley looked like despite having been there) to Cardiff from Birmingham.  We had to change from our Peak hauled Bristol train at Gloucester, which in those days involved the walk, usually a desperate run with whistles blown at the other end, across the long and spooky footbridge between Eastgate and Central stations, an experience in itself guaranteed to freak you out.  The bridge, spanning the Midland goods yard and loco shed, was made up of several sections of different levels and directions, so you could never see the end or beginning. were always alone, but you could always hear running footsteps and see approaching shadows, even if, in fact especially if, there was nobody there...  I digress.

 

Arrival at the Central end of this nightmare revealed, not the cross country dmu expected, but a set of Hawksworths off the Hereford service and a steam loco of sorts at the Cardiff end of it.  This loco, and whatever it was could not be easily determined at first, was best described as a cloud of steam with a gurgle somewhere in the middle, to be replaced by a rattle once it was moving.  It transpired that it was something that had been built as a 6959 Modified Hall, but, like Blue Funnel, had no obvious means of identification; the Gloucester crew did not know either except that they thought it it was an Oxford loco, and restricted to freight work; this was an emergency to cover the failed dmu which lay dead in the bay.  No number, name, or shed plate was carried, her chimney cap and safety valve cover and all her brasswork including the cab and window beading were missing, some of her boiler cladding was loose, and her general visual state rivalled Blue Funnel's; the freezing fog and sheer amount of steam escaping from everywhere didn't help much but Lewis, the telescope hero from the Eastleigh story, acquired a rag from the driver and cleaned off a coupling rod boss to identify the loco.  Memory is not reliable, but I have an idea she may have been 7928 Wolf Hall; we'd learned this trick at Woodham's!  

 

We sat ourselves in the front compartment of the Hawksworths, and whatever else was wrong with the loco, she provided steam heating well enough.  The freezing fog was dense all the way down, and it was pointless to look out of the windows, but much could be gleaned from the general feel and sound of things.  She was really dreadful; a terrible big end knock could be felt, and heard, in the coach and the riding was diabolical, again felt in the coach, a violent lurch to the left with every revolution of the driving wheels that ended in a derailment threatening bang.  Her windows were all missing and conditions on her footplate must have been very unpleasant, and we could not blame her driver for being reluctant to take her above about 40mph given the appalling riding.  She inevitably lost time all the way, and was taken off and presumably put out of her misery at Severn Tunnel Junction, replaced by a Hymek.  This was perceptibly worse at heating the 3 coach train, and for some reason ran over the down relief between Magor and Newport, losing more time!  Such were the miseries of attempting to run the WR without sufficient decent locomotives in late 1963...

 

The 6959's appearance matched Blue Funnel's in all it's dereliction and decrepitude, but in this case was matched by a truly appalling mechanical state.  If it could leak steam, it leaked steam, if it could knock or rattle, it knocked or rattled, and if it was a wheel and meant to be round, it ran as if it was square at best and triangular at worst.  The springs which were supposed to absorb shock were in fact shock amplifiers, and even at 40 mph, the crew must have had a very rough ride of it; heroes, in my view!  The loco was not supposed to be working passenger trains, but in my view should not have been working anything at all; she was bordering too closely on actually dangerous.  Boiler seemed ok though, and they kept a good fire in her!

Terrific stuff! I comment only because there isn’t a “like enormously” button. Thank you for a very enjoyable read.

[The Johnster]

Terrific stuff! I comment only because there isn’t a “like enormously” button. Thank you for a very enjoyable read.

 

You're welcome; I am delighted the inane ramblings of an old codger are able to provide such entertainment...

 

Some of the Oxford and Banbury engines got pretty rough at the end, but that was still 2 years away in 1963!

[robmcg]

Marevellous stuff, The Johnster, thankyou, at 66yrs I recall main line steam here in NZ which was abundant in 1960 and all but gone in 1970.  That was a great decade, my teens were full of railway adventures too!

 

On a slightly different tack, I have been struck down by a disease fermented I believe by Men in Malachite, losing all sense of logic and reasoning, and driven to purchase a model of 21C1 'Channel Packet'.

 

My warped and fevered imagination allows me to hope that I can produce a nice picture of this amazing 1941 apparition, which unlike the sad offerings of the WR and SR of 1963-67 was at least for some of its early life clean. Pictures in due course, after suffering the delays of worldwide travel and customs.

 

Pics of Hornby's 21C1 I have so far seen, and I haven't looked far, seem rather toy-like, which I will hopefully cure with my camera and editing medicines.

 

Cheers.

[toboldlygo]

On a slightly different tack, I have been struck down by a disease fermented I believe by Men in Malachite, losing all sense of logic and reasoning, and driven to purchase a model of 21C1 'Channel Packet'.

 

Sounds like they successfully deployed their latest weapon/technique 'Green Sheep' in New Zealand.  

 

Why is it called Green Sheep, you ask?

 

After several months of testing in became clear that there was a unfortunate side effect of this biological weapon - sorry technique. Test subjects, kept complaining of seeing green sheep (it was tested extensively in Wales after all), along with the irrational urge to buy Bulleids. So instead of being called 21C4000, the Chief Inquisitor decided it would be Green Sheep and no one ever argues with him...

[steaming_chris]

Ah Firduassi, now there's a blast from the past for me...

 

60038_rhfan.jpg

 

The usual disclaimer applies to the following (as the MR/Bluebox folk may get upset and need therapy)   

 

Patriot Class 45519 Lady Godiva

 

45519_lhfan.jpg

 

G2a Class 48895

 

48895_rh.jpg

 

And the epic 1/24th Scale Typhoon is progressing rapidly (those years of building Harriers for real is paying dividends)

 

typhoon27.jpg

Hi James

 

I do like the look of the Patriot, the G2A, and the fine detail of the internal guts around the cannons is coming along nicely.

 

Regards

Edited June 27, 2017 by steaming_chris

[robmcg]

Sounds like they successfully deployed their latest weapon/technique 'Green Sheep' in New Zealand.  

 

Why is it called Green Sheep, you ask?

 

After several months of testing in became clear that there was a unfortunate side effect of this biological weapon - sorry technique. Test subjects, kept complaining of seeing green sheep (it was tested extensively in Wales after all), along with the irrational urge to buy Bulleids. So instead of being called 21C4000, the Chief Inquisitor decided it would be Green Sheep and no one ever argues with him...

 

I personally put it down to the long-term effects of building green model Spitfires from balsa and dope, and using rubber bands to drive propellers giving sufficient range to scare any sheep in local fields. I'm surprised the RAF haven't cottoned-on to this form of aero tech.

 

Moving quickly along, I am trying to work out which of the current crop of Hornby releases is going to become rare and sought-after, so as to mitigate the financial ruin which would follow on my buying all of them.  My money is on Britannia 70007 'Coeur de Lion'   but then the three Light Pacifics, 21C159, 34032 and 34077, who can tell which will become the new 'Manston'?  Wouldn't it be nice if the accessory pack for the Merchant Navy was available, then we could easily add cylinder drains to to all spamcans.  Yes I know there are aftermarket ones, but I forget things....

Edited June 28, 2017 by robmcg

[toboldlygo]

I personally put it down to the long-term effects of building green model Spitfires from balsa and dope, and using rubber bands to drive propellers giving sufficient range to scare any sheep in local fields. I'm surprised the RAF haven't cottoned-on to this form of aero tech.

 

Moving quickly along, I am trying to work out which of the current crop of Horny releases is going to become rare and sought-after, so as to mitigate the financial ruin which would follow on my buying all of them.  My money is on Britannia 70007 'Coeur de Lion'   but then the three Light Pacifics, 21C159, 34032 and 34077, who can tell which will become the new 'Manston'?  Wouldn't it be nice if the accessory pack for the Merchant Navy was available, then we could easily add cylinder drains to to all spamcans.  Yes I know there are aftermarket ones, but I forget things....

Oops, I've just been told that cellulose dope and thinners are ingredients in "Green Sheep" and it has been deployed in New Zealand Also explains why I got addicted to Bulleids - was all those Tiger Moths I built

 

Whether those lovely drain-cocks would be suitable for a Air-smoothed Bulleid Light Pacific, I'm not sure...

[toboldlygo]

Hi James

 

I do like the look of the Patriot, the G2A, and the fine detail of the internal guts around the cannons is coming along nicely.

 

Regards

 

Hi Chris

 

I'm trying and failing to get hold of a G2a - without tender back-cab for a reasonable price ( you know why  )

 

Thanks for you comments on the Typhoon, considering I only started it at the beginning of the month (June 3rd), she's going together quite well (some filing/filling is needed though) and I've taken over the entire dining room table as it's so big (much to Mum's annoyance) - still a Typhoon is being built not far from the location where they were actually designed and built.

 

 

I intend to do a blog post, covering the build up-to now in the next few days.

 

There are more loco's to come, once this distraction is done - though I should point out I did succumb to another 1/24 Scale Airfix Kit....

[coachmann]

I'm trying and failing to get hold of a G2a - without tender back-cab for a reasonable price ( you know why  )

I don't recall experiencing any problems in removing the Tender cab from mine. 

[toboldlygo]

I don't recall experiencing any problems in removing the Tender cab from mine. 

 

I didn't realize it was removable.

[coachmann]

I didn't realize it was removable.

It just might be designed not to come off, but my skills base includes 'brute force & ignorance'........  

Edited June 29, 2017 by coachmann

[toboldlygo]

It just might be designed not to come off, but my skills base includes 'brute force & ignorance'........  

 

Ah so you used a 10 pound sledge hammer and a pick-ax to do it   

[robmcg]

Dear All,

 

My Bulleid-itis has taken hold, the Men in Malachite have wrought their wicked ways, to what end I can only guess.

 

Filled even now with trepidation and fear, I have tried to ignore the symptoms, and all about me seeing my clear indisposition have suggested various remedies, such as long walks, cold showers, all to no avail.

 

Not only did I buy a 1941 Bulleid talisman called 'Channel Packet', yet to arrive here in the antipodes, but so merciless, strong and debilitating have been the symptoms of this terrible disease that I have taken to adopting a semi-foetal position for long periods in a darkened room, illuminated only by a small screen where advertisements for various other Hornby offerings are visible.

 

In a last desperate ploy, I have sought to counter my debilitation with gambling, yes, I know it is counter-intuitive, but I have purchased three more Bulleids at somewhere near normal retail prices, choosing with what is left of my febrile mind to ignore the likelihood that any of the following models will be 'remaindered', as is the lovely LNER A4 4494 in wartime black, currently available for £79;

 

R3525 early BR Malachite green s21C159 'Sir Archibald Sinclair'.  

 

R3468 rebuilt BoB 34077 '603 Squadron'.

 

R3445 early BR Brunswick green 34032 'Camelford' with front valances.

 

I have very good, clearly-thought-out  and impenetrably logical and sound reasons for these purchases, which certainly at 3am seem excellent and valid, after all, Sir Archibald Sinclair was a colleague of Sir Winston Churchill, and he represented the electorate where my family has some historical connection. Thus I had no choice on that one.  The others, well, 34077 will be sold out, even with some issues aired here regarding decoder-fitting/tender disassemby, and 34032 'Camelford', well, this was an Exeter engine which worked the 'withered arm'... how can any sensate person NOT buy it, given that we know that apart from Guildford, Ilfracombe is the centre of the universe?

 

While I wait for the arrival of these models, here is a pic of said 'Camelford' concocted some time ago.   Why did I sell Manston and Sir Winston last year?

 

 

I also submit a picture of a re-named and re-numbered gloss A3 as 2750 'Papyrus' , showing just how good these gloss-finish models can look, with careful photography and modest editing, certainly it is a very attractive and cheap model 

 

 

Cheers

Edited July 3, 2017 by robmcg

[Hroth]

You do know there is help and treatment for Malachitis?

 

Its not TOO painful, at least its less painful than the original infliction.......

 

 

Tangentially, after seeing your images, I was flicking through Hattons listings and noticed the pop-up chat box asking "Can we help?".  And I thought "No. Its too late now..."

 

At least I didn't buy anything!

[toboldlygo]

You do know there is help and treatment for Malachitis?

 

Its not TOO painful, at least its less painful than the original infliction.......

 

 

Tangentially, after seeing your images, I was flicking through Hattons listings and noticed the pop-up chat box asking "Can we help?".  And I thought "No. Its too late now..."

 

At least I didn't buy anything!

 

Unfortunately the cure is kept under lock and key at secure location and is only to be used in the worst cases and is known to have at least one major side-effect... Dieselitis (and this sadly is a permanent and incurable condition)   

 

Those who peddle so called cures for Malachitis are nothing but Charlatans and purveyors of the daft arts - the Men in Malachite offer free Air-Smoothing to every one that is caught 

[Hroth]

Unfortunately the cure is kept under lock and key at secure location and is only to be used in the worst cases and is known to have at least one major side-effect... Dieselitis (and this sadly is a permanent and incurable condition)   

 

Those who peddle so called cures for Malachitis are nothing but Charlatans and purveyors of the daft arts - the Men in Malachite offer free Air-Smoothing to every one that is caught 

You know you've got Dieselitis when you start contemplating a Diesel MPD diorama for your stud of Pilot Scheme locos, or you believe that diesel engines are suitable for aerial propulsion*. 

 

* A government scheme, 'nuff said.....

[toboldlygo]

You know you've got Dieselitis when you start contemplating a Diesel MPD diorama for your stud of Pilot Scheme locos, or you believe that diesel engines are suitable for aerial propulsion*. 

 

* A government scheme, 'nuff said.....

 

The Men in Malachite, dealt with a former client of mine - who was heavily into Bulleids and decided to sell on loco's he hadn't paid for (or I hadn't done) to a mutual friend. Said mutual friend contacted me and the client was rumbled. A call was made to the Men in Malachite via a secure line and the ex-client was given the cure - he now models diesels.... 

 

You nearly mentioned the War there - the Germans did like using diesels in their planes   

[robmcg]

Hi All,

 

In the clear light of day I now realise that I have erred.

 

The real work of British steam railways was done by 2P class 4-4-0s, mostly....  and the most thoroughly thrashed of all were the Fowler versions, cheap to build, and built to work, exemplified by S&DJR No.45. No over-priced Swindon-ware around here! 

 

Here is the Mainline version, with editing.  Best imagined on the climb out of Bath with 200 tons on, and into Devonshire and Combe Down tunnels at a steady 20mph...

 

Why am I humming 'Land of Hope and Glory' ...?

 

 

cheers

 

 

[Hroth]

Hi All,

 

In the clear light of day I now realise that I have erred.

 

The real work of British steam railways was done by 2P class 4-4-0s, mostly....  and the most thoroughly thrashed of all were the Fowler versions, cheap to build, and built to work, exemplified by S&DJR No.45. No over-priced Swindon-ware around here! 

 

Here is the Mainline version, with editing.  Best imagined on the climb out of Bath with 200 tons on, and into Devonshire and Combe Down tunnels at a steady 20mph...

 

Why am I humming 'Land of Hope and Glory' ...?

 

45_SDJR_2P_portrait1_3abcde_r1200.jpg

 

cheers

Because the Proms season starts just after Wimbledon!

 

I do like the S&DJR livery on the 2Ps, it suits them far better than when tarted up in Midland Red...

[No Decorum]

The real work of British steam railways was done by 2P class 4-4-0s, mostly....  and the most thoroughly thrashed of all were the Fowler versions, cheap to build, and built to work, exemplified by S&DJR No.45. No over-priced Swindon-ware around here!

They had to be thrashed because the valve gear was so bad. They weren’t economical on coal for the same reason. On the other hand, they generated so little power that they didn’t strain themselves and so didn’t require much maintenance. Like the Great Western stuff, the poor driver had to scrabble about between the frames to oil it before every trip.

 

If you were near Somerset or Dorset at the right time, though, it would have been agreeable to see a blue (darker than the Hornby) loco in the sea of black, green and red covering the island. The same could be said about finding a mustard yellow loco elsewhere.

[toboldlygo]

Speaking of (ex) LMS Locos - a Bachy Aspinall Class 5 Tank

 

 

And more progress on the Typhoon, she's nearly ready for the paintshop (though it's far too hot in there at the moment)

 

[robmcg]

The Men in Malachite have arrived.

 

I am no longer capable of rationality.

 

Not that I ever was...

 

Picture edited to sharpen some details, little else. A model of a good practical mixed traffic engine, certainly. 

 

 

Cheers,

 

 

[The Johnster]

If you keep tropical, or any other, fishes, you will know that Malachite is a cure, not a disease.  I apply model railway philosophy to my fishkeeping; no fishes in the same tank that would not have commonly been seen in the same habitat in the wild.  This can be a problem as fishes from the same ecosystem are often those which eat each other, but careful selection, not letting them get too hungry, and psychology enable you to get away with things without too much trouble.  As for Hornby's best ever models, most of the current production are extremely good, and I rate the 21ton hopper  very highly indeed, probably my best open wagon due to the level of interior detail (which I've gone and hidden under a load of coal...).

 

I am expecting greatness of the new Toad.

Edited July 10, 2017 by The Johnster

[No Decorum]

You don’t have gauge problems with fish but then locomotives don’t eat each other.