Following the announcement by Hornby on Monday of their plans for 2014 that included an ex LSWR Drummond 700 class 0-6-0 and SR 2 Hal EMU a number of questions had been raised.
Firstly with respect to the Drummond 700 class it was noticed by a number of people, including by friend and SR aficionado Chris Knowles-Thomas via the comment function of these pages, that the locomotive number 30345 announced for the BR Black late crest variant was in fact a number for a K10 class (had it actually survived into British Railways ownership) but number 30346 would have been correct for a 700 class (a simple typo perhaps?). There is also the question of tender types as when built all the class had 13′ wheelbase tenders but some were swapped with 14′ wheelbase tenders in 1925/6. of the number announced by Hornby 30346 (assuming it to be the number they meant) and 30694 kept 13′ wb tenders whilst 325 acquired a 14′ wb tender.
I have been in contact with Simon Kohler at Hornby to advise him of the above and he confirmed that he will check their plans in light of the information and correct where necessary.
[Edit:18/12/13: Simon Kohler has further advised they propose to change the numbers to E695, 30315 and 30693, this implies Hornby will be tooling a 14ft Wheelbase tender as all these numbers had them post 1925/6 but I am awaiting confirmation from Hornby regarding their proposed tooling.]
[Edit: 19/12/13: I can now advise that Hornby will be producing tooling for two tender types, so both 13ft and 14ft wheelbases.]
I also raised the positive fact that the new tooling for the 2 Hal included the correct trailer car pick up bogie, which was sadly missing from the previous 2 Bil releases that incorrectly used the same pick up bogie from the motor car. Simon Kohler confirmed to me that it is indeed new correct tooling and that it will also be used on the future 2 Bil releases as well as the 2 Hal.
So all in all well done Simon Kohler and Hornby!
Regarding the 2BIL / 2HAL, is there any indication whether they will be available as spares for those who bought the earlier releases of the 2BIL?
Also will any modifications be made to the tooling on the 2BIL as on previous releases the toilet window on the composite coach is too close to the adjacent 1st class compartment.
Hi Phil
I am sure that the bogie will eventually be available as a spare from the usual spare parts outlets such as Peters Spares buy it is likely to take a while to filter through the system.
I doubt very much that Hornby will undertake any changes / corrections to the existing 2 Bil tooling especially for something that realistically the majority of purchasers would not even notice, I only know of one person who has actually corrected the error during process of making a number of other improvements.
Hi Graham,
Is there any possibility that Hornby will produce a special edition in LSWR livery, as they did for both the T9 and M7.
Regards, Sue
Hi Sue
I am not party to Hornby’s plans but it would certainly be a likely candidate as the rebuilding of the 700 class with superheating etc commenced with a small number of the class before grouping so they would have carried a LSWR livery in the condition they Hornby are producing the model (providing its paired with a 13ft wheelbase tender)
Very pleased Hornby are making 2 tender variations, it will boost sales. Thanks to you and Simon for the prompt information.
Hello Graham,
It’s nice to see that the bogie error on the 2-BIL has been fixed for the 2-HAL, and perhaps we’ll even have spares to retro-fit to our 2-BIL! But do you know if the 2-HAL is a victim of Hornby’s ‘design clever’ (or whatever they’re calling it these days)? It’s a big difficult to tell from the few photos that I’ve found.
Nigel
The 2 Hal will have moulded roof vents and door commode handles (although I personally do not have too much of an issue with these). Drivers grab rails and other hand rails will be separately applied wire.
Well I have just taken delivery of both Southern 700s that Hornby have released. 325 (part of Return from Dunkirk set) and 695. Both excellent runners. Now run in and ready for DCC decoders. Tempted by DCC Concepts. They look right to me. Any quibbles?
Hi Barry
I hope to post a full review of the 700 Class later this week, so watch this space.