Hornby announce J15

[DougN]

Well the J15 in LNER guise turned up... Run in... Fitted with a Zen decoder from DCC concepts...with keep alive... It runs beautifully. I am surprised by the haulage capacity of 3 gresley suburbans.. My layout is a little bit challenging being a 1:30 grade at both ends of a figure 8... It is fast becoming my favourite loco... Running in the opposite direction is a J11 which is running just as nicely. I must put up a photo or 2.... All very out of the box but looking lovely.

[jwealleans]

I had mine up to 6 kit built Gresleys before I decided that was as far as I wanted to strain it.

[orford]

Don't worry about haulage capacity. Mine will happily haul (and propel) 5 latest version Hornby Pullmans without problems (and they are heavy with a lot of drag because of the pick-ups for the lighting) ............they won't, in normal service of course - but  I will certainly be using them to shunt this rake at the terminus.

 

Haulage capacity is well up to anything the prototype could haul.

[HeavyDuty]

My second J15 showed up yesterday with the typical smokebox door handles adrift but also with one of the steps under the cab broken off.  It's a clean break and will be an easy fix.

 

Even better, I had a chance to run them both on the test track.  Very smooth and quiet operation!  I'm impressed with these little locs.

[EddieB]

Apologies if this has been covered before in this thread, but Hornby are listing their steam loco range for 2015 in the current "Railway Magazine" (p43), including two J15 variants yet to be released:

 

R3380 7510 LNER livery

R3381 65475 BR Early Crest

[Unknown Warrior]

Beautiful photo in the latest copy of Heritage railway of the preserved J15 fresh from overhaul now running in GER Blue as 564. Would make a beautiful model if Hornby have the tooling to replicate the modifications to back convert the original to it's GER condition. 

[orford]

Surprised to hear that it is up and running. As of today (26th April) still absolutely nothing about it on the NNR web site. I would have thought it would be getting a BIG coverage there (but then - it IS Norfolk, where everything only happens on a Thursday - and then only on some Thursdays............)

[orford]

Ah - Just seen it ...there's a couple of vids on You Tube as well.  OK - I'll admit it looks very smart - but this is why I generally dislike Heritage Railways. I really would personally prefer it running in (preferably dirty) BR black !  That is how I remember them. 

[stewartingram]

Beautiful photo in the latest copy of Heritage railway of the preserved J15 fresh from overhaul now running in GER Blue as 564. Would make a beautiful model if Hornby have the tooling to replicate the modifications to back convert the original to it's GER condition. 

I have the superstructure of an unfinished Stephen Poole kit, and I'm seriously considering the purchase of a Hornby LNER version; then marry the two to produce a splendid blue livery version to add to my small collection of "preserved" locos. Beautiful livery, if only it was available - along with an M&GN liveried 4-4-0 as well!

 

Stewart

[orford]

Looks pretty much rural GER when nosed up to a three coach local................

 

[jwealleans]

Has anyone noticed the tender wheels dragging on theirs?  I had mine to bits to repaint and weather and when I put the tender back together last night, the leading wheelset started dragging when I tightened up the baseplate.  After some experimenting I decided it was narrowing where it arches over the axle, so filed some material out and that seemed to free it off. 

 

Anyone else found this?

[jaym481]

Has anyone noticed the tender wheels dragging on theirs?  I had mine to bits to repaint and weather and when I put the tender back together last night, the leading wheelset started dragging when I tightened up the baseplate.  After some experimenting I decided it was narrowing where it arches over the axle, so filed some material out and that seemed to free it off. 

 

Anyone else found this?

I had/have the same issue with an A4 tender. I haven't had a chance to look at it more closely, but the same problem - disassembled and after reassembly two of the four wheel sets drag.

[SDJR7F88]

Pop into my local model shop this week and was surprised to see two R3230's still on the shelf. If anyone is after one hears the link... 

https://www.signalsmodels.com/lner_class_j15__7524-details.aspx

Hope this is of help to someone.

[EHertsGER]

Thanks for the kind comments, all.  I never think that I am a particularly competent modeller, so comments like that are very much appreciated and serve to keep me at it!  The coach is essentially just a standard Hornby model which I re-worked a bit.

 

The tarpaulin bars on the J15's are proving interesting (to say the least). My three locos (65447, 65457 & 65389) all had completely different tarpaulin arrangements during the period I am modelling. 65477 had just the standard round bar supported by two twisted flat bar uprights. 65389 also had these but in addition had an additional planked wooden back-board with two somewhat crude small square windows immediately behind the original supports, and for most of it's BR existence the originals were noticeably distorted, leaning/bent in a forwards direction, resulting in a particularly distinctive shape when the tarpaulin was draped over - and this is very obvious on most photos of this loco in BR days. Finally, 65457 had a full-blown proper steel 'half-cab' during my period, similar to those fitted to the Colne Valley engines but with round windows like those on the loco cab.

 

All three will be modelled in due course and I think I have now got my head around how to do each one. I will post progress reports on this in due course.

 

As a matter of interest, the Hornby model 65445 also carried the planked wooden back-board in addition to the standard supports at some stages of it's life, although this was gone by 1961. Conversely, 65478 carried one until the end - although this engine also had fluted connecting rods, so cannot accurately be portrayed using the Hornby model.

 

The preserved example - 65462 - also carried a proper half-cab on it's tender from the mid-1950's onwards, although this was both taller and a slightly different shape than that on 65457 ..........whilst those modellers baulking at the thought of making tarpaulin bars at all may wish to consider taking the easy option of renumbering their engines to either 65453, or 65444 - both of which examples were entirely bereft of any such frivolities whatsoever!

 

Something else which came to light whilst researching all of this is that modellers may wish to avoid numbers 65475 and 65476. These also carried proper half-cabs on the tenders (albeit this time with square windows) but were also fitted with trip-cock gear at the lower left hand (facing) corner of the front buffer beam and on the other side of the engine towards the rear of the tenders, for working London Transport's Central Line. And this was very visually distinctive!

 

Finally whilst I am rambling aimlessly along, I have now had my own examples for a week and have only just noticed that Hornby have (correctly) provided balance-weights on the driving wheels of the Westinghouse-fitted models and (equally correctly) no balance weights on the wheels of the steam-brake-only models. Another "Well done" to them for that detail.

 

Can you direct me to some good shources of photographs of the trip cock apparatus (ideally on a J15, front and back, as they seem different beyond the mounting brackets), please? 65464 was definitely fitted as such and, yes, it is obvious!

 

Best,

Marcus

[Pint of Adnams]

Marcus,

 

Yeadon volume 35, p38 upper photograph = tender LHS and lower photograph = locomotive RHS, The captions to the photographs provide chapter and verse. See also another view of it on the tender on p59 lower photograph and on the locomotive on p80 upper photograph, p89 bottom photograph and p90 top photograph.

 

As far as I can tell, the various drawings issued by the GERS do not include details of the trip cock apparatus.

[EHertsGER]

Thank you - references duly consulted, along with a couple of pictures of 65464, job done.

[Matabiau]

Does anyone know how to get a replacement buffer (including shaft) for the LNER J15? I have contacted Hornby a while back but they never replied and looking at the J15V service sheet there is no reference for the buffers alone.

 

I take it this could be a standard buffer used on other LNER locomotives of a similar generation?

 

Thanks

[31A]

Alan Gibson part 4904 (GN/LBSCR/NE/GE round base, parallel) would be a suitable buffer for a J15.  This would get you the whole thing, buffer bodies as well as buffer heads - not sure whether this is what you need?

 

Page 11 in the Alan Gibson catalogue;

 

http://www.alangibsonworkshop.com/Catalogue.pdf

[Matabiau]

Thank you for your quick reply. Yes, I am after the full buffer, one of the originals has fallen out leaving a hole in the buffer beam (and I can't find it!).

 

I was hoping htat Hornby would provide spares for this but not labelled it specifically for the J15 if it it used on a number of models. 

[31A]

Thank you for your quick reply. Yes, I am after the full buffer, one of the originals has fallen out leaving a hole in the buffer beam (and I can't find it!).

 

I was hoping htat Hornby would provide spares for this but not labelled it specifically for the J15 if it it used on a number of models. 

 

You're welcome!  The reason I was doubtful was that I didn't realise the whole buffer was a separate piece on the Hornby loco, but it seems it is.

 

Anyway, I found I had a set of those Alan Gibson buffers in my stores, and (without opening the pack) it looks as though they would be a reasonable match to the Hornby ones.  The flange where the buffer meets the buffer beam is slightly thicker on the Hornby ones - I think on the real locos there was a circular packing piece between the buffer and the buffer beam, and Hornby have incorporated the thickness of this into the flange.  However the overall length of the buffer (i.e. from buffer beam to front of buffer body) seems to be the same in both cases.  One thing I couldn't check was whether the size of the hole in the buffer beam would accept the Alan Gibson buffer - you may find you need to open it out a bit.

[EddieB]

65475 arrived yesterday - just in time for Christmas.  I'm pleased that Hornby have chosen a Cambridge example for their latest early BR version.  

 

To be true to the prototype it needs a valve handle on the cab front, trip-cock apparatus (still present at least in 1953, despite being allocated to Cambridge in 1949) and a frame on the tender for hanging a tarpaulin when working tender-first on the Colne Valley line.  (A full weatherboard was present by the late 'fifties).

 

Lovely model.

[micklner]

Thank you for your quick reply. Yes, I am after the full buffer, one of the originals has fallen out leaving a hole in the buffer beam (and I can't find it!).

 

I was hoping htat Hornby would provide spares for this but not labelled it specifically for the J15 if it it used on a number of models. 

You can get the B1 standard LNER  version no idea if similar. 

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/X6495-Hornby-Spare-Tender-Buffer-pack-for-Class-B1-Loco-/311192636680?hash=item487486cd08:g:4SUAAOSwVFlT7GhX

[31A]

Sorry Mick but a B1's buffer would be a different shape (stepped buffer body rather than parallel sided).

[Pint of Adnams]

This should perhaps be in a '2016' thread but there seems to be such a proliferation of threads on the same specific topic at present that here is, I think, as good as anywhere for attracting relevant interest.

 

Much as I dislike rumours, there is a fairly strong one that Hornby will be producing a J15 variant in 2016 with a tender cab - anyone close to the design team have any more positive information about this - or about any other ex-GE or ex-LNE models apart from the B12?

[JSpencer]

And here is the latest J15 with 6 other 0-6-0 tender engines. It now ecclippes (!) the Dean goods as the smallest tender engine on the market (excluding rocket). The tender must be the smallest. Very smooth runner.