REVIEW: OXFORD RAIL J27

Where this delightful new model really scores is in its incredibly low price, which represents outstanding value for money, as Tony Wright explains…

Imust declare a very slight interest right at the start of this review because I was asked a few questions about the J27s by Oxford’s product designer, some little time ago. Apart from the loan of a book or two and some photographs, my involvement in the project went no further than that.

The model has been worth waiting for because, overall, it’s to a very high standard, both in terms of appearance and, particularly, the sweet-running.

The 115-strong prototypes were among the most long-lived of British steam locomotives. The first batch was built at Darlington by the North Eastern Railway in 1906, with further batches built at the NER’s principal works, by the North British Loco. Co., Beyer, Peacock & Co. and Robert Stephenson & Co. up to 1922, with the final 10 being built at Darlington after the Grouping in 1923. They worked mainly in the North East coalfields, though 12 were transferred to the ex-GE lines in 1926, allocated to both March and Cambridge depots. Members of this dozen moved about a bit down the years, also seeing service from Peterborough East, Ardsley, Langwith and Grantham. They had all returned to the North East by 1942. Detail alterations were made to the class down the sixty-odd years of its existence – boiler changes, dome positions, smokebox lengths, buffers and bufferbeams, safety valves, superheating and tender changes – modellers beware!

All these changes can be found in the appropriate RCTS Part 5 in the ‘green series’ and Volume 47B of Yeadon, both of which I consulted in preparing this review. The final survivors saw out steam on the North Eastern Region of BR in 1967, over 60 years after the first members of the class appeared. One has been preserved for posterity. I saw them in their later years, plodding around County Durham and as far south as York.

On first taking the model out of its packaging, it has an air of high-quality. A prototype photograph of No. 1010 can be found at the bottom of page 231 of Yeadon’s Register of the class, and it would appear to match that very well, other than the real thing being dirty. Correctly, the safety valves are of the Ramsbottom type, contained in a brass ‘trumpet’. This is black on the model, since the brass was probably painted over, and the bufferbeam is in the form of a ‘sandwich’, with tapered-shank buffers, which are sprung.

The smokebox is also the correct, shorter length, representing an original saturated engine, with the horizontal handrails not continuing in a rising arc over the smokebox door. The tender is also right in having four filled-in rails around the coal space and three open ones around the rear space. There are numerous separate fittings, none of which need to be added by the purchaser – they’re all fixed in place, including brake rigging.

There are some detail issues I might question. The cabside windows seem to be too narrow, resulting in a greater-than-scale width to the central pillar, and I can find no evidence of J27s ever having prominent rivets along the top of the footplate’s edge – countersunk rivets were Darlington’s usual practice. That said, correctly, there are rivets at the splashers’ bases. Presumably because of production necessities, the handrail pillars protrude out horizontally from the boiler sides, where, in reality, they should be radial from the boiler’s centre. The bottom of the

boiler is part of the chassis, resulting in a visible seam line, though the representation of the inside motion is a very nice touch.

The finish is a pleasing overall satin sheen of black, though these locomotives were rarely clean in reality. The numbering/ lettering is crisply and accurately-applied. Those who renumber theirs to GE-allocated J27s will need to space out the ‘LNER’ on the tender with the letters further apart.

I’m not sure about the cabside interior colour, however. It wouldn't stay cream for long in service, though the cab interior is beautifully-detailed. The fallplate seems to refuse to lie flat for long. A two-position drawbar allows for closer coupling if desired, but don’t expect the model to go round train set curves if this is altered.

Performance is exemplary, straight from the box. It’s smooth-running, quiet and rock-steady. And, despite its relatively light weight, it’s sure-footed enough on fairly heavy trains.

Provision for a 21-pin DCC decoder is provided in the tender, with consequent four wires passing between the two units. Pickups are on all the drivers and the first and middle wheelsets of the tender, resulting in no stalling over pointwork and crossings. All wheels are true-round with consistent backto-backs, and this lovely-running locomotive negotiated both hand-built pointwork and Peco with consummate ease.

Where this delightful new model really scores is in its incredibly low price, which represents outstanding value for money, and it’s sure to fly off the shelves. I thoroughly recommend it.

datafile BASICS

Manufacturer: Oxford Rail

Catalogue Refs: (OR76J27001) J27 No. 1010 in black with LNER lettering

RRP: £109.95

Gauge/scale: 16.5mm/1:76/OO

Era: 2-5

Company/Operator: NER / LNER / BR

Weight: 220g

Chassis: die-cast metal

Body: plastic

Minimum curve radius: 438mm (R2)

Wheel Profile: RP25

Couplings: NEM-mounted tension-locks

The J27 impressed with its smooth-running, and despite its relatively light weight, it’s sure-footed enough on fairly heavy trains.

A two-position drawbar allows for closer coupling if desired, but don’t expect the model to go round train set curves if this is altered.

The cab interior is beautifullydetailed, but it's doubtful it would stay cream for long in service.