hornby class 60

5526 Views 11 Replies 7 Participants Last post by dave, Mar 6, 2006

spongebob

Discussion Starter · Feb 23, 2006

I managed to purchase a new class 60 at the Harrogate exhibition on Sunday and thought i'd give it a brief review for you. It is the latest release in loadhaul black numbered 60007. Prices on the day ranged from £79.99 down to a much more palatable £64.95 (guess which stall was busier?). It was a toss up between the loadhaul or the EW&S livery and I duly left the wife to decide, even she was torn between the 2.

If anyone else is after one it is a very good runner and is nearly silent when running. The head and tail lights are possibly too bright (tail lights are more like rear fog lights).

I have a bit of a gripe with the body finish, the black of the livery is the natural colour of the plastic with the rest printed on which gives a raised look and feel especially to the loadhaul logo which is very shiny. I don't want to accuse hornby of skimping but nowadays especially when such a large area of the livery is black I feel it is a false economy to merely use the plastic colouring instead of paint.

The exhaust has been coloured so as to be rusty like the prototype and they have only succeeded in giving it a plastic plant pot look (ie shiny terracotta), it can of course be rectified but would probably be best painted silver the given a rust coating afterwards (when did you last see shiny rust?).

A word of warning when removing it from the packaging or handling it the air horns are very twangy and to me look as though they will drop off given the slightest excuse.

There you go then my first thoughts on hornbys latest release, brief and to the point, i am intrigued to see the magazines have got hold of the mainline blue one prior to this one yet no one had it on their stall on Sunday.
Just one question, there is a cover over one of the air horns, initially i thought one had dropped off at the other end, does anyone know what it is as i can't find a clear photo of a real one showing it?

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Jennings

· #2 · Feb 24, 2006

QUOTE (spongebob @ 23 Feb 2006, 22:13)Just one question, there is a cover over one of the air horns, initially i thought one had dropped off at the other end, does anyone know what it is as i can't find a clear photo of a real one showing it?
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Just looked through some of the photos i have of Class 60's doing the RMC's to Peak Forest through Sheffield. For 60026 specifically there is a cover over the air horns at one end BUT NOT the other end. As to why this is i have no idea but its correct either way which is very pleasing to know.

Nice touch there Hornby

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spongebob

Discussion Starter · #3 · Feb 24, 2006

I've just been to Wakefield model centre for some detailing bits and bobs and they had the mainline liveried version and the EW&S one but not the loadhaul!!
Also looks nice and I may have to see about all 3 as I still don't have a single loco in the colours of the UK's biggest freight company! Imagine that a railway devoid of EWS some might argue not a bad world i'm sure.

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Kal

· #4 · Feb 24, 2006

Thanks for the review spongebob. I saw pics of the mainline version on Hattons website and have been smitten by it. This one is next on my procurement list.

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Chip

· #5 · Feb 25, 2006

During my pilgrimage to Model Rail Scotland I purchased a Loadhaul 60, having scatched my chin for a while. All three models were there on many of the stalls and some of the layouts.

Removing the body to install a DCC chip, my model is in fact painted black onto light grey plastic. Hornby have excelled themselves with this livery, well done guys!

My only concern is the amount of play in the buffer heads. I can't decide whether I should fix them level or try fit something behind the bufferbeam to take out the movement. Has anyone got any ideas?

Chip.

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Oakydoke

· #6 · Feb 25, 2006 (Edited by Moderator)

It's a credit to HORNBY that the only significant problem that comes up on any forum or in any magazine review, is the buffers.

Surely these could have been designed with a guide, flange or something, to keep them in line?

I'd also welcome any suggestions of how to fix it whilst retaining the sprung function.

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spongebob

Discussion Starter · #7 · Feb 25, 2006

I'll forgive the wobbly buffers its the plantpotesque exhaust that bugs me i'm afraid, too shiny to be rust it would've been less of a sore thumb had it been just done in silver, probably easier to make better looking as well.

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spongebob

Discussion Starter · #8 · Feb 28, 2006

Here is a test photo to see if I can get it right and how it turns out!

Two brand new hornby class 60's and a lima one for good measure.

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spongebob

Discussion Starter · #9 · Feb 28, 2006

By the way body removal on the class 60 is a doddle if you are wary of small fragile parts which might be easy to damage. No screws just a snug fit onto 6 bodyside clips.

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spongebob

Discussion Starter · #10 · Mar 2, 2006

Here are a few more pictures. I'll try and not sabotage the url this time!!!

A look at the insides of the loco and the engine room components, note the see through side grilles in the background which gave rise to the doughnut nickname.

A view of the hornby and lima products side by side to show the roof details of each though maybe not as accurate as the hornby one the lima exhaust looks better to me in silver.

The PCB,decoder plug and a view of the driveshaft and transmission tower. The metal contacts for the lighting are just visible at the left of the picture and are a better design than those on the class31

60007 in side profile showing the well applied logo which is a bit shiny and will possibly benefit from a bit of subtle weathering or fading

Another top comparison, note the wonky buffers on both loco's and the incorrect oval ones on the lima model which are no longer available.

This shot shows the main down side to the lima loco the side grille and representation of the engine room which looks like an over exposed photo to me.The class 60 was in my opinion one of lima's better locos and is(was) backed up by the second hand values of them.

Some face on views of the class 60's again highlighting the slight differences in appearence between both types and showing just how far the hornby buffers can rotate!!

As i said earlier the body is probably one of the easiest of the new generation locos I have had to remove and there is plenty of space above the open driveshaft to fit a decoder if you want.

Not the clearest photo i've ever taken but I just wanted to show how bright the lights are and trying to get a photo of the subject moving slowly enough to capture but not so slow as the lights were flickering was a nightmare to say the least. Like the bachmann class 66 the lights can be switched between day and night running though it is difficult to tell the difference as the individual lights are so small and bright

A final picture of 60078 showing the mainline livery which is again well applied. I think I prefer it to the loadhaul livery but it is a close call. Hopefully I might add the EW&S one to the set(fingers crossed)

A very useful page of photos of the real thing and indeed virtually every other class of loco can be found here....
http://www.martinbray-ukloco.com/class60.htm

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paul_d

· #11 · Mar 6, 2006

Received my EWS version today and thought I'd add my 2 penneth worth.

Paintwork and decals - flawless

Lights - come on fully with very low voltage, before train starts moving. Best I've seen. I don't find them too bright...they seem fine to me.

Buffers - we all know about

(doesn't bother me, but a tiny bit of bluetac should sort if it ever does become an issue)

Noise - virtually non existent...quietest loco so far purchased

Smoothness - very smooth, but not as smooth as my Bachmann 66 (the 66 combines smoothness with such sublime control-ability - still the benchmark for me, but the Hornby coming a close second

Bogie sides - although excellent in detail, they seem to be made from a very bendy plastic. They seem thin and very pliable. Because they look great and the model runs superb, I suppose it isn't an issue, but worth noting anyway.

All in all 9.8/10 Superb

Running my Hornby class 58 and 47 straight after testing this, made me realise how far Hornby have come. Completely different leagues.

One thing I'm not looking forward to, is fitting the detailing hoses. I might not bother, because like my class 08, there looks to be a lot of tweaking to the location holes and bits, to enable them to fit. I didn't bother in the end with the 08. Bachmann hoses and bits seem to fit better straight from the box with only minimal filing required (in my short experience anyway)

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dave

· #12 · Mar 6, 2006 (Edited by Moderator)

I agree with Paul d the class 60 is an excellent model, with the small exception of the wobbly buffers.
With regard to fitting the detail hoses to the buffer beam, I can only say I find the whole process a nightmare. I remember purchasing the Hornby Black five and trying to fit the sand pipes, at least two of them flew of the tweezers into the abyss and despite spending what seemed like hours searching the carpet, I made some new ones out of wire.
The most recent releases from Bachmann are as you say easier to fit, however, Hornby detail is still as difficult as ever to fit.

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