Hi Peter,
Is there more to this post ....................... as not sure the point you are making tbh ?
Cheers, Norm

 

My grandson who is currently in the north of England sent me a couple of photos today of Hornby locomotives at a secondhand shop. The 5 steam models all had low Hornby stock numbers in the 300 range I think, all were said to be good runners but all had motors in the tender. I know that tender driven models were never popular but i guess it must be around 25 years since Hornby stopped making models with motors in the tender.
These models were priced at between £30 and £60,

I assume you're asking if they are worth the asking price, considering they have low R numbers (old locos) and are tender-driven. Honestly, without seeing them, it's a difficult question to answer, if in good condition, with minimal scratches, playworn etc. they could be worth the asking price if you don't mind having an older tender-driven loco, what locos are they ?

Can you post the photos your grandson has sent you perhaps ?

 

I have three tender driven locomotives, they work perfectly. I think there’s been some snobbery about them in certain quarters, (I’m looking at you Hornby forum), so I wouldn’t worry about that aspect, you can’t tell when they’re going round the track, and the ones I’ve seen are good looking models, the more recent versions of the same loco are selling for two or three hundred quid.

As to their worth, who knows?

 

As to their worth, who knows?

As always, what the purchaser will pay, and that £30 -£60 range should find customers amongst those that like them, when most current tender loco productions start at circa £200.
Personally I wouldn't buy, dependency on traction tyres which wear out quickly and deposit dirt on the rails while doing so, low motor torque making a smooth ease into motion difficult, the 'mighty tender' moving before the loco does, and a tendency for outside valve gear locos to skid along ahead of the tender are too much downside.

 

The photos were not very clear but included 2 x R322 8F 2-8-0 Locos 46788 at £32.99 each , 2 R373 Class 8F 2-10-0 Evening Star at £44.99 each, and a R289 class 96 Bo-Bo Electric 'Penrith Beacon' at £39.99. All said to have been tested and run and in good condition and with original boxes. One additional model in a box and the text not clear enough to read.
Where couplings can be seen they are the original Hornby tension lock rather than current small tension lock.
I realise there may be some demand for these locos for those who accept tender drive and lack of detail, but my point was just how old they could be. When did Hornby stop making tender drive locomotives? I certainly would not be interested in buying

 

...my point was just how old they could be. When did Hornby stop making tender drive locomotives?

These were in production until the transfer to China effective 2000, some will likely have been produced some time after, anyone know?

The 9f R373 was the first tender drive model introduced 1971, now that had the Fleischmann design motor, all three axles driven, quiet ,with good torque. Hornby soon fixed that in their death spiral competition with Lima to see which could better dupe their customers with the shabbiest motor performance.

 

not come across any of them yet but do have them on the 3 rail and i guess its down to the weight of the things (all cast and tin) they are good runners even when pulling the lighted Pullmans (reminder to self run them soon) only problem i have is front bogie wheels sometimes skip the rails on bends ,but got around this by bending the connector bar and using a bit bigger screw to hold them better not that you can notice
cheers phill

 

The best way to judge the value is to look at the sold listing for each model on E-Bay, or just the buy it now ones to see what someone thinks they are worth.