hornby 31

Oh. I see what you mean, but I still don't know what the problem was, any self respecting trainspotter knows what a Brush 2 or EE4 [1] is and those who aren't won't need to know the wheel arrangement.... :~)

Lets start a list of for those too young to know anything more than the Class designation system

[ Note, there were regional variations, these were terms used by those on the ex GN section of the ECML in the late '60's ]

EE1 aka English Electric Type-1 (Bo-Bo) = Class 20 Baby Deltic aka English Electric Type-2 (Bo-Bo) = Class 23 EE3 aka English Electric Type-3 (Co-Co) = Class 37 EE4 aka English Electric Type-4 (1Co-Co1) = Class 40 Deltic aka English Electric Type-5 (Co-Co) = Class 55

Brush 2 aka Brush Type 2 (A1A-A1A) = Class 31 Brush 4 aka Brush Type 4 (Co-Co) = Class 47

BR Type 2 (Bo-Bo) = Class 24 / 25 Peaks aka BR type 4 (1Co-Co1) = Class 44 / 45 / 46

BRCW Type 2, aka BRCW Type 2 (Bo-Bo) = Class 26 / 27 Crompons aka BRCW Type 3 (Bo-Bo) = Class 33

Warships (B-B) = Class 42 / 43 Westerns (C-C) = Class 52 Hymek (B-B) = Class 35

NB Type 2 ala North British Type 2 (Bo-Bo) = Class 21 / 29 Note sure what people called the WR hydraulic (B-B) version.

BTH aka British Thomson-Hudson (Bo-Bo) = Class 15 Clayton's aka Clayton Type 1 (Bo-Bo) = Class 17

Class 50's were only known as Class 50's until the WR names them.

Have I missed any out, other than the single loco's like Falcon, DP2 and Kestrel ?

In 1965 the wheel arrangement was paramount as it was the designation used most often for steam locomotives. Most of us understood 4 axles = Bo-Bo, 6 Axles = Co-Co. It was when it came to A1A-AIA, 1Co-Co1, etc most of us were stumped and what the hell was a "Deltic" anyway? Even in those days it was considered nerdy to know *too* much about the subject so those that did preferred not to share it with the rest of us. That was difficult since a goods line ran the full length of the school. There was a kid in the A-stream called Callaghan who built a monorail from scratch and was as embarassed as hell if anyone mentioned it.

(kim)

No it wasn't due to so many using the same wheel arrangements, it's always been type or make first, thus we used to have B1's and Black 5's, etc. both of which have a 4-6-0 wheel arrangement, in the post steam era we had Brush Type 4's and English Electric Type 3's or English Electric Type 5's (Deltic's), all of which have a Co-Co bogie arrangement.

Most of us understood 4 axles = Bo-Bo, 6

The names I listed were those that BR footplate staff used - not just trainspotters.

":::Jerry::::" wrote

That may be, but the green loco produced by Hornby is not a class 31 - it is what would have been class 30 under the TOPS system.

John.

So it's a 'Brush Type 2' then, not a class 30.... :~)

More to the point John, what is your opinion of the model, beyond the gimmicks ?

From the photos I've seen, it's not on D5512.

The 50 photos were, IIRC, from a press CD-ROM Hornby issued that contained hi-res pics. I don't think Hornby have done this for any other loco. Presumably this was because the 50 was the first of the 'new breed' Hornby diesels, so they wanted to make a big song and dance of it.

They were assigned Class number 30 around 1966 - TOPS didn't appear until

1972/73 at which point the 30s had all been re-designated 31/0 (as had the 34s to 33/2s and the 72s to 73/0).

":::Jerry::::" wrote

I've tested a couple for customers and although they run pretty well I'm just not quite so happy with their on-track presence as with the class 50. Nothing you can put your finger on, although they feel significantly lighter than the Hoover.

Appearance wise (and bearing in mind that I'm not too familiar with the 'Toffee Apple' variant) they look rather nice. None of the obvious failings that another well-known manufacturer seems determined to incorporate into many of their diesel models, but I must stress that I've not done any serious model to prototype photograph or drawing comparisons.

All I can say is that I'm looking forward to adding a blue class 31 to my stud, providing Hornby don't make an utter balls up of the weathering like they did on their Network South East 50s. I'd add that it would probably have been two or three blue 31s, but the GBP90.00 recommended retail price leaves me totally cold.

Value for money - say five or six out of ten.

John.

Snip

Retail should be about £75 (?), but come on John your only being charged about £50 trade for them so you can have couple!

I may pick up a green or blue one when I get round to seeing them for myself. We never had it so good!

Pieman

also the narrow batch (for the Hastings line) were called Slim Jims.

In the early 1960s, there was only one class of diesels (excluding shunters and electro-diesels) on the Southern Region. Everything else was steam or electric. So, we tended to call them "diesels".

Sorry, a tpyo...

That will mean the business will loose at least 25 quid on each...

"John Bishop" wrote

That's a bit of a generalisation. What about the class 24s? They worked extensively on the southern in the late 50s and early 60s, whilst both Warships and Westerns were regulars on the Southern in the early 60s.

John.

"piemanlarger" wrote

We're actually selling them at £76.50 so not far adrift of your figure, but I wish they were just £50 trade - the actual figure is £60.00 give or take a few pennies.

John.

Your making too much money for Hornby!!

"piemanlarger" wrote

Tell me about it! :-(

John.

See also Class 23, extinct while still carrying 'D' prefixes!

BTW, was I right in my prediction some months ago, that the new Hornby interpretation would have 6-axle drive? Are the wheels all the same size?

Cheers, Francis K.

Apparently not, but they do all revolve at the same rpm, so the middle wheels just revolve in mid air clear of the rails.! Keith Make friends in the hobby. Visit Garratt photos for the big steam lovers.

No! The smaller wheels spin round cleaning muck off the rails!!! ;o)

Cheers, John.