WHEN HORNBY announced a Class 60 in the popular TrainloadFreight Construction livery, as applied to many of the class from new, it was well received among modellers of the early 1990s period which covered the last years of British Rail.
Not only is No. 60015 Bow Fell a popular locomotive, for those collecting a fleet of Class 60s used on aggregate flows from Peak Forest or centering on Mendip stone traffic alongside that generated by Redland at Mountsorrel and marine aggregate installations in the Thames estuary, it would have been suitable for renaming and renumbering as other members of the Trainload Construction fleet.
Adding to its appeal are the forthcoming new Foster Yeoman JHA aggregate wagonmodels from Dapol alongside the new JUA and JTAwagons in ARC and Foster Yeoman schemes from Accurascale – perfect for such a Class 60.
Except: Hornby made some fundamental errors in the livery, unfortunately. Some of the main livery colours are not accurate with both executive dark grey and the upper body flint grey being the wrong shades. Assuming one could live with those compromises, not an uncommon problem with the Hornby Class 60 finished in this livery scheme, the all-important trainload symbol applied to the sides of the model are incorrectly positioned.
The example of the model used in this refinishing project is otherwise as good as the Hornby Class 60 has always been, with etched metal grille work, detailed cab interiors, fully working running lights with underframe switches and a powerful motor powering all six axles of the locomotive topped by a heavy metal underframe.
This story is from the June 2020 edition of Rail Express.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the June 2020 edition of Rail Express.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
LNER puts remaining ‘91s' into warm store
The ongoing pandemic restrictions and major engineering works have resulted in the complete withdrawal of the last remaining ‘Electras’ from passenger service, although the plan is to resurrect them in the summer.
Mk.1 Restaurant-Buffet (RBR) cars
A SURPRISING number of Mk.1catering cars have survived to see service on the privatised railway, in private operator and charter trains. They may turn up on anything from an enthusiast special to higher-end dining trains and have been formed in trains as prestigious as the locomotive-hauledBlue Pullman’ set, the ‘Great Britain’ tours operated by West Coast Railways and the ‘Northern Belle’ tour train.
Powerscene
Our authoritative class-by-class review of newsworthy locomotive workings.
End for Freightliner Class 86/6s
The company’s Class 86/6 fleet down to just two examples as seven locos are stored.
Service reductions as Covid cases increase
An increase in Covid-19 cases in early January saw the governments in Ireland and Northern Ireland impose stricter lockdown measures that impacted on public transport.
East West Rail funding go-ahead
Although it was expected, £760 million of funding has now been confirmed to build the Western Section of the East West Railway scheme.
Travellers-Fare with Hornby's Mk.1 Restaurant-Buffet car
Hornby expands its range of retooled ‘OO’ gauge Mk.1 coaches with a brand new tooling for the Diagram 24 Restaurant-Buffet car (RB) and the Diagram 33 refurbished version (RBR). It models the vehicles in both original form, finished in BR maroon and Southern Region green, together with the RBR refurbished coaches. They remained in frontline service well into the 1990s, including Cross-Country workings.
Class 92 revolution
Despite its complex shape and high detail ratio compared to other modern six-axle locomotives, Revolution Trains chose the Class 92 to be its first 'N' gauge locomotive model.
Bottling it!
A dig into the Rail Express archive has revealed some rarely-seen photographs of the former rail-connected Express Dairy bottling plant in South West London, which today is the site of a large mosque.
1990s ‘N' gauge Class 950
Work on the ‘N’ gauge Class 950 Track Recording Unit project, a conversion based on a standard Graham Farish Class 150/1 model, is concluded by finishing the model in 1990s condition.