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Hornby announce LNER J50


Andy Y

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Well, now that the dust has settled and my LNER version has arrived from Hornby direct (mainly due to the 10% I got for signing up to the newsletter at Warley) it's time I posted some photos for your perusal. First set are of the box and contents, then there's a selection of the loco itself. They are phone photos as I've not had chance to get my proper camera (or layout) out yet!

 

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The accessory pack contains brake rodding, NEM pockets and tension lock couplings for front and rear. I have the late crest version too, and the pack is the same in thay

 

I hope these are of use!

 

Cheers

 

J

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What's the betting you'll come back with more than one ;)

I could… the only thing stopping me is I have to save for the NRM single, I'll update you with my choice if Frank lets off enough to allow me to walk into town

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It took me nearly an hour of standing by the cabinet to decide which one, they all looked so good

Edited by WD0-6-0
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My first chance to visit Monk Bar Models in York this morning, although they'd left a message on my answerphone on Christmas Eve to tell me they'd got the J50s in.  I couldn't choose which BR one to buy, so I'd asked them to put one of each aside for me hoping they wouldn't all turn up at once; they did!  The vacuum braked 68987 can act as station pilot, whilst 68971 will be appropriate for the goods traffic.  About time I had some more proper GN engines, to keep the N2s company!

 

Thanks to PMP for the review linked in Post 181 above, which gave me a good idea of what to expect.

 

Putting them both on the rails, both ran smoothly although 68987 seemed the more noisy off the two.  Consequently, I decided to take this one apart to give it some oil, and investigate construction.  As per PMP's review, it's easy enough to get the top off, with three cross headed screws holding the body on.  As he pointed out, this leaves the sand pipes (attached to the body) quite vulnerable; I didn't break mine, but be careful when putting the top back on, and note the sand pipes have to be sprung around the coupling rods (they pass outside the rods).  The coal load was quite loose on both locos, in fact they drop out as soon as you turn them upside down, but better this way than some of the other types of loco where it seems you're going to break something before you get them out.  They both leave quite a generous recess for a load of real coal to be glued in, in due course.

 

Oiling 68987 seemed to help a bit, and I left her 'running in' with one end blocked up and buffered up to a train of vans leaving the wheels spinning, while I sorted out the attachments on the other one.  68971 being unbaked, the only parts to fit are the brake rodding and tension lock couplings.  I found some of the holes in the brake hangers were a bit tight to accept the pins on the yokes, so I spun a 0.65mm drill bit through the holes and then everything fitted nicely.  The rodding ends under the cab, where there's a hole to accept the vertical projection on the brake rodding moulding.  On 68987, there are also vacuum and steam heating pipes to be fitted; I found the vac pipes were a snug fit in the holes on the buffer beams, with no glue needed.  I left the steam connections off, as I expected they'd foul the tension lock couplings - in reality the 'bags' were removed in summertime anyway.  On both engines, as per my usual practice I shortened the NEM pockets and coupling tails by 2mm, and attached the couplings to the pockets by a pin passed through a hole drilled through both parts.

 

Back together again, you can have a good game of 'spot the difference'; obviously the bunkers are different, and also the lamp iron arrangement is different on the bunker backs.  On 68971, the upper rear lamp iron is a separate part, but all the other lamp irons on the bunker are moulded on.  The cab seems to be a separate part with a join just above the level of the tanks, but I haven't worked out how to get the top off yet.  When I come to fit a crew, they may have to go in through the cut out with a blob of glue on their feet and hope for the best!  As far as you can see inside, the cab seems to be well detailed with the controls etc. picked out in various colours.

 

Anyway, here's a few pictures of the locos being put through their paces. At this stage I hadn't fitted the couplings, and it isn't easy to photograph a plain black engine, particularly on a dull December day!  I'm sure in due course I'll apply some weathering, which will probably make it easier to see the details on the models.

 

68987 carries a 34B Hornsey shed plate, whilst 68971's is 34E, New England.

 

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Super little loco, slightly noisy at first, but quietens down after a little running in. Not a light-weight either - though I suspect there'll be those out there who will want more weight in it.

 

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Only issue with mine was a slightly wonky front end of the running plate - easily put right though.

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I see the motor is not only five pole, but skew wound as well. So it should run extremely well, I am thinking of the lovely J15 here.

 

With regards,

 

Rob.

 

P.S. I hope I might be able to get mine tomorrow.

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I see the motor is not only five pole, but skew wound as well. So it should run extremely well, I am thinking of the lovely J15 here.

 

With regards,

 

Rob.

 

P.S. I hope I might be able to get mine tomorrow.

 

The motor is also bigger than the one in the J15. Oh and the J50 weighs in at 300g (a heavyweight compared to the larger 42/52xx & J15)  ;)

Edited by toboldlygo
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Well, we've had some lovely photos of the BR versions, so I'll follow up my earlier set with a selection of the LNER version, as seen in the box previously.

 

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As can be seen, the lining is incredibly fine and subtle, even covering the wheel splashers in the gap in the water tanks. A very fine locomotive indeed!

 

Cheers

 

J

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Well, we've had some lovely photos of the BR versions, so I'll follow up my earlier set with a selection of the LNER version, as seen in the box previously.

 

attachicon.gifIMAG2523_1.jpg

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As can be seen, the lining is incredibly fine and subtle, even covering the wheel splashers in the gap in the water tanks. A very fine locomotive indeed!

 

Cheers

 

J

 

Hadn't noticed the cupboard at the rear of the cab!

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Well, we've had some lovely photos of the BR versions, so I'll follow up my earlier set with a selection of the LNER version, as seen in the box previously.

 

attachicon.gifIMAG2523_1.jpg

attachicon.gifIMAG2524_1.jpg

attachicon.gifIMAG2525_1.jpg

attachicon.gifIMAG2526_1.jpg

attachicon.gifIMAG2527_1.jpg

attachicon.gifIMAG2528_1.jpg

 

As can be seen, the lining is incredibly fine and subtle, even covering the wheel splashers in the gap in the water tanks. A very fine locomotive indeed!

 

Cheers

 

J

 

 

Good close ups, James!

 

More 'spot the difference' - as well as the open bunker coal rails, the safety valves are mounted directly onto the boiler rather than being on a raised casing, and the buffers are different - parallel sided GN-type casings, as opposed to the stepped LNER type on the BR versions!

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Don't knock the old Lima J50's - I have two of them, AND run them.

 

They are permanently coupled together and electrically connected so they don't stall on point work. There sole duty on my layout is to drag 10 coach rakes of coaches between the carriage sidings (in a cutting) and the main station, this line is mostly through a tunnel.

 

So I don't see 'em much !!

 

But I know where they are cos I can hear 'em !!

 

They'll do - for now. The Hornby one looks superb, but will it pull 10 coaches (can't afford two) ?

 

Brit15

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I bought it new when I started ET.

 

.....so no, it's never been run....:-)

 

Is it worth millions?......

 

 

It's worth 50p for the nice lump of lead inside. 

 

No idea what it is worth, I'm not one of those collector types, but I suspect 34theletterbetweenB&D's estimate is nearer the mark.  The ones you see on eBay almost always look battered though, so you never know.

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Well I've just purchased mine from Monk Bar Models. It ran perfectly straight from the box. What a contrast with the old Lima model! Will try it out on the layout later on, but the running qualities seem comparable with the J15.

 

With regards,

 

Rob.

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It's worth 50p for the nice lump of lead inside. 

Cheltenham Model Centre were asking £20 yesterday for one in far worse nick than the one shown here. We stood that next to the new Hornby (that was being tested prior to me buying it!) and it was surprising how similar the Lima is in overall dimensions.

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Well here are mine. The J50 on the left is the new Hornby model straight out of it's box, and the one on the right is the old Lima model. I will leave you to make your own minds up over which is best, or not, as the case might be. I know which I prefer!

 

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With regards,

 

Rob.

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