Reviews

CHRIS LEIGH has waited 17 years for this particular ship to come in. And now that it’s here, what’s his verdict?

Hornby’s ‘MN’, Bachmann’s ‘Coal Tank’ Farish’s ‘Castle’ and Heljan’s Class 37 are the pick of this months’ new releases.

Seventeen years ago, in my review of the rebuilt ‘Merchant Navy’ 9 (MR22, August 2000, page 65) I first pitched the idea that Hornby could, with minimal effort, produce the unrebuilt original version of the class. It was, of course, a simplistic view. In fact, virtually every aspect of the model would need retooling. However, as the last big glamour ‘Pacific’ not covered in model form, and relevant to Hornby’s southern homeland, it was inevitable that the air-smoothed Bulleid ‘Pacific’ would appear - eventually. Well, now it has, and what a model it is! The Southern Railway introduced the first of Oliver Bulleid’s revolutionary ‘Pacifics’ under the constraints of wartime, and only received consent to build them by reducing the wheel diameter to 6ft 2in and branding them as mixed traffic locomotives. The first examples appeared in 1940 and featured chain-driven valve gear (based on a printing press which Bulleid had seen), Bulleid-firth-brown disc wheels and semi-streamlined boiler cladding. The first members of the ‘Merchant Navy’ class were subject to a variety of different front-end shapes, in an effort to lift exhaust emissions away from the driver’s very limited forward view. Hornby has elected to model at least two of these front ends, including the initial ‘widow’s peak’ shape and the later style, with smoke deflectors, which lasted through the BR era until the locomotives were rebuilt in the late 1950s.

SIDE NOTE

There were also two distinctly different styles of side to the air-smoothed casing. The first two locomotives had steel sheet cladding, but they added too much weight, so the next eight, Nos. 21C3‑10, were built with a cladding of Limpet Board. The most notable feature of this asbestos-based sheeting was the need for a horizontal strengthening rib along both sides of the locomotive. This clearly visible ridge was disguised by careful positioning of a third horizontal yellow stripe on the malachite green livery. Hornby has also modelled both styles of side casing. The currently available models are the prototype, No. 21C1 Channel Packet, which is modelled with the original cast numberplates, cast ‘Southern’ nameplate on the tender and the inverted ‘horseshoe’ ‘Southern’ logo on the smokebox door, and No. 21C3 Royal Mail, which carries the triple lining and ‘Sunshine’ lettering, which was eventually adopted as standard. To follow are two BR green-liveried versions based on later batches of the class, No. 35023 Holland-afrika Line with DCC on board and TTS sound, and No. 35028 Clan Line. Both will carry the early BR emblem. Those who, like me, want a BR blue version, will have to be patient.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

I examined both models in our local store, Trains4u, in Peterborough, and although impressed by Hornby’s rendering of the cast plates, I opted for Royal Mail with the standard livery. All aspects of the packaging on my sample were extremely tight. You might not damage the model when you remove it from the packaging, but it’s quite easy to damage the box or the card sleeve. The clear plastic cradle is an equally tight fit within the box. But once it’s clear of the packaging, it is immediately apparent that Hornby has correctly modelled the reinforcing rib on the sides of the Limpet Board casing. The raised strip is not obvious to the eye - like the real thing, it is

THE CAB HAS A WELL DETAILED BACKHEAD WITH PIPEWORK AND CONTROLS PICKED OUT IN COLOUR, WHILE EVEN THE TINIEST OF THE DIALS HAS ITS FACE PRINTED IN BLACK AND WHITE

concealed by the middle yellow stripe. Smooth-sided versions have also been tooled. It is pleasing to see that the locomotive and tender are supplied pre-coupled. The standard Hornby system of a drawbar with a screw at each end and a small separate electrical plug is used, but these will only need to be undone if the tender is uncoupled. The malachite green and yellow livery has a pleasing semi-matt finish, and the low coal level in the tender is immediately apparent. Bulleid’s air-smoothed casing did not exactly bristle with detail, but what little there is has been reproduced well, much of it as separate fittings.

IF IT MOVES…

Working from the front, the model has turned and blackened metal buffers, which are lightly sprung. On the classic oval smokebox door, there is a very fine pair of door handles - usually called a ‘dart’, although that’s actually the part of the catch that is inside the door. Around it there is a separate red ring with the word ‘Southern’ printed in gold colour. Only No. 21C1 had the bottom part of the ring cut away. In this condition, it looked like an inverted horseshoe. Popular superstition suggested that the luck fell out of a horseshoe this way up, so the Southern quickly abandoned it. There are three ‘brassed’ safety

valves recessed in the top of the casing and behind them a separately fitted whistle. The cab roof carries a very neat rendering of the sliding shutter and it does actually slide. The cabside windows have their distinctive wind deflectors and look as if they might slide, but they don’t, the rear window being modelled in the open position. Vacuum pipes, cylinder drain cocks and front steps are provided for fitting by the modeller, as is a tensionlock coupler for the pocket on the front bogie. It might be best to leave some of these parts off if your layout features sharper-than-scale curves. The trailing truck follows Hornby’s established practice with its ‘Pacifics’ and is fixed, fitted with a flangeless wheelset. However, unlike earlier models, there is no alternative flanged wheelset included. Modellers either like this fixed rear truck arrangement or they don’t. I don’t have a problem with it, but then my layout has quite generous curves. The cab has a well detailed backhead with pipework and controls picked out in colour, while even the tiniest of the dials has its face printed in black and white. Pipes are copper-coloured, the oil trays are brassed and the lever to operate the Ajax fire doors is silver-coloured. The cab fallplate and folding side doors are, however, fixed in a curious halfway position. Bulleid was evidently a realist. He provided a nice bucket seat for the driver, but only a ‘perch’ for the fireman, who presumably was expected to be on his feet the whole time, feeding its voracious appetite! Both seats are appropriately represented. Three screws must be undone in order to remove the body. It is good to see that both the screw holes in the plastic body have threaded metal bushes to eliminate the old problem of selftappers and stripped threads in the plastic. Bulleid’s big, boxy body shape is a boon for model makers, particularly with Hornby’s established chassis layout, as it allows all the components to be bigger. So, we have a very substantial sealed motor, mounted above the leading coupled wheelsets with a huge brass flywheel between it and the worm drive connected to a gear tower onto the trailing coupled wheelset. The chassis block is a metal casting, but there’s really no need to contrive any extra weight, though there’s a fair amount of space if you feel the need for it. The electrical connection to the tender allows for an eight-pin decoder socket in the tender and space for a 28mm diameter speaker. The Bulleid-firth-brown wheels

have metal tyres on self-coloured plastic centres, and the same arrangement is employed for the bogie wheels. The front bogie is also a metal casting. The cylinder block is moulded plastic and the slidebars and rods are blackened metal. A welcome feature is that the plastic brake pull-rods are pre-fitted, though one of ours kept coming off.

PERFORMANCE

Even before running-in, my sample was noticeably quiet - bordering on silent. I ran it in on my layout at home before carrying out a haulage test. It lapped my layout effortlessly at a realistic express speed with 16 coaches attached. The locomotive could easily haul more, but the problem then was keeping them all on the rails. On Model Rail’s test track its performance suffered on the sharper curves and it managed seven coaches over the 1-in-30 gradient. This is approached after some second radius curves, and with more than seven coaches on, the locomotive is pulling against the direction of the coaches as well as up the gradient, so it really is a difficult task. However, the Dapol Class 68 (much heavier than the ‘MN’) did manage it successfully last month. That said, the ‘Merchant Navy’ still ranks among the top performing steam outline models on this test track.

CONCLUSION

Hornby’s ‘Merchant Navy’ has been well worth the wait. It is everything you might expect of a front-line Hornby ‘Pacific’ in terms of appearance, detail and performance. Now I just need a blue one.

IT LAPPED MY LAYOUT EFFORTLESSLY AT A REALISTIC EXPRESS SPEED WITH 16 COACHES ATTACHED