Hornby Class 87
◆ GAUGE ‘OO’ ◆ MODEL Hornby R30031 Class 87 87009 City of Birmingham ◆ PRICE £217.99 ◆ AVAILABILITY Hornby stockists Web www.hornby.com
Models of AC electric prototypes seldom garner the same level of attention as diesel or steam traction, but Hornby’s Class 87 is certainly one of the Margate company’s best locomotives. Combining a top-notch overall profile and an impressive level of detail, the current tooling – introduced in late 2018 – really captures the character of BR’S 5,000hp express locomotives.
Originally announced as part of Hornby’s 2021 programme, the latest ‘87s’ only arrived towards the end of last year, with 87009
City of Birmingham being offered in original Intercity livery, along with 87006 City of Glasgow in experimental dark grey with large double-arrow logos.
Delays are inevitably frustrating, but during that time Hornby did manage to upgrade the original specification to include a 21pin DCC interface (replacing the old 8pin socket), thus bringing a greater degree of functionality for digital users.
Under review is 87009 in the livery introduced in the early 1980s, which is my preferred version of the Intercity scheme. The ‘87s’ were stalwarts of West Coast Main Line express passenger services from the mid-1970s until the early 2000s, although I can also recall Intercity-clad ‘87s’ on air-braked freight traffic in the late 1980s.
Hornby’s tooling remains unchanged from the 2018 release and, half a decade later, it still looks the business. In terms of livery application, there are a few minor imperfections visible: the yellow lacks opacity in a few areas and there’s a discrepancy in shade and sheen with the red stripes on each cab door. That aside, the overall finish is impressive.
A set of bufferbeam hoses is supplied for customer fitment, along with a pair of printed metal nameplates to add extra relief. The attractive plastic pantograph is poseable and the skew-wound, five-pole motor provides super-smooth performance and impressive haulage power. Installing a DCC decoder is straightforward, as the body unclips from the chassis to reveal the main circuit board atop the chassis. However, the PCB must be unscrewed and flipped over, as the DCC socket is mounted on the underside.
Incidentally, the combination of the livery and multiple working equipment on the cab ends places this rendition of 87009 in the 1986-1989 period, prior to the application of the ‘Swallow’ version of Intercity around 1990.
Modellers of the colourful ‘Sectorisation’ era of British Rail will therefore find it perfect.
As with other previous upgrades of existing models, it’s good to see that the ‘87’ has also received a superior DCC specification. And late 1980s-era liveries are always welcome! (GD)