Order yours here: www.hattons.co.uk/stocklist/S... (Affiliate) My review of the impressive Hornby R3260 SR 2-Hal! Thanks for watching! Email: samstrains@outlook.com Facebook: samstrains Twitter: samstrains
Hi! Sam, now that's a gorgeous unit. I'm glad that you got the Southern Green, so much better than the BR blue. A must have for your Railway. Thanks for showing us!
hi sam. I remember the hal emus in 1961 as a child, as I lived in east sussex.had great heaters in the winter,the headcode did have a light on the front and back.they made a sort of growling noise when moving which was the traction motors.compare the front of this emu with the front of electric loco 2001 of 1944 and you can see the bullied design.2 bils were also running about the system in sussex. I never remember overcrowding on these like now, the good old days. fond memories of 2 hal and bils and 2001
Gorgeous. Reminds me of the powered coaches that ran near my home, on the SF&SR Railroad back in the 1930's and 1940's. Sadly, very very little of the SF&SR made it into preservation.
Hello Sam. Out of all the rolling stock/ locomotives you reviewed this one is my favorite. That looks like something that would run on a rapid transit system here in the Untied States The Atlantic you reviewed earlier was my second favorite. It is amazing how I grew to a liking of British locomotives/rolling stock. Although I still enjoy seeing our American locomotives. I hope your have a Happy Holidays. I moved to Orlando, Florida so greetings from Orlando, Florida.
Ooh blimey, really glad you liked it so much! Really glad you're enjoying the British stuff - Happy Holidays to you too, and enjoy Florida! :D Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Great review and I'd agree with everything you say. I used to travel on these in the 1960s and yes, they certainly had lights inside, as well as an illuminated head code. It's a pity Hornby didn't do lights in this model, but otherwise it is gorgeous to look at, and I've found that after time it becomes a smoother runner too.
Takes more than half an hour to run in, I got both 2-BIL and 2-HAL. Not great at doing a crawl, but they can start and stop realistically enough. The detail means I forgive them for all faults.
Nice video Sam as always, I actually like all the extra details but then I rarely handle my stock so there’s that. As for the livery to my eyes it looks like the composite livery first applied to Southern EMUs in 1938-9 with the Maunsell olive green with Bulleid lettering
Thanks a lot Iain - ahh very true, if you don't handle them much, then this is not so bad at all! Thanks for the info on the liveries too! Cheers, Sam :)
I can’t wait to see the next review! Especially about the new Steam Loco you showed. I think it was 4-6-2 and a PRR K4 Class Btw, 20:19 look like diesel. I don’t see lots of pickups for electric(at least in real life) and more exhaust vents. Maybe for Christmas(since it’s finally past Thanksgiving) could you find a way to run Christmas lights around the layout? Then you could run the engines in Christmas lighting! Besides that, I love researching any engine. Sort of a passion I’ve had and will come up a lot as I soon start my model railway. However, that may take a while. Ah well! Patience is a virtue and I live by that!
Amazing: Just noticed you are reading and answering 95 percent of all comments! You must spend hours each day doing this! I have not seen a channel to this day besides yours, where this is the case... Respect!!!
Excellent review Sam! The 2-HAL was a very enteresting design (in fact, by side the EMU looks like a coach XD) and i'm surprised I never heard of them before. The models were OK, since the detail was very good and convincing. But in terms of quality, it could of been better. And despite its flaws, it is something I would buy. I enjoyed the review, because I like when you see enteresting locos (and also, in the running session, the odd one out was the hornby class 29). And as always, thanks very much and keep on the good work.
Thanks a lot mate, I agree, very interesting looking things, but not talked about all that often! Glad you enjoyed it anyway!! Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Sam in the last video I commented about the h2 well I made a mistake on the dates. My grandad has just brought one and the detail is astounding! I said it was delayed to January but that was Lord Nelson which i also would like Great video Daniel:)
Your videos are tempting me to buy a Hornby set... I live in the U.S. and do N scale! I could always have a side project I guess. I have the room for it. Budget, maybe not. But Hornby stuff looks really neat from what I've seen online.
Good review as always Sam. Unfortunately I don’t really know electric locomotives too well, but is the odd one out the loco by toytown shed, or the Trolley?
9.45 I'm pretty sure those 'orange stripes' are actually supposed to represent the handrails running along the corridor in front of the large windows. They don't strike me as doing a very good job of it, given that on the real thing these handrails were chrome-plated tubing. Incidentally, Peco still produces components to add a third rail to the track for Southern modellers, which can be either cosmetic or fully current-carrying depending on the extent of your enthusiasm.
Excellent review of the two-car Southern electric unit Sam 👍😉 If I had one, I will like to have it in the Brighton Belle in chocolate & cream livery. Shame the unit doesn't have any lights in it as it would look great and awesome it will be in darkness.
Hi Sam, now you are right in my interest area :) 2BILs came first, HALs were a later development and not as well appointed. BIL by the way means Both Including Lavatory so you had one in each coach. HALs did indeed finally succumb in the 70s but many lived on as de-icing units and I am proud to say I drove one several times :) I have both the BIL and the HAL and love them, really great models
Ahh that's good to hear Mike! Maybe you could answer some of the questions... would these have had lights, even early on? I feel guilty for criticising the lack of lights, just in case it's prototypical! Thanks for the link, I'll check that out! Cheers, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains Hi Sam, sorry for the delay not getting notifications for some reason. They would have had a separate paraffin tail lamp on the back, placed on one of the lamp irons, in the front they had a headcode box with two 40 watt bulbs in, these only showed up at night very slightly. Being fair it was hardly worth modeling them
The headcode boxes used the stencil type number plates that were slotted in over a white background from the outside! you can see that here farm9.staticflickr.com/8020/7159177997_f5800b017f_b.jpg
Good example here www.flickr.com/photos/15038/7388849078/in/photolist-9UkzPp-WwMqNS-dMr5Eu-qREm4L-axnioU-dt987t-axBDEd-az2TYz-adiqrs-peaSee-aE5j4r-adfBpD-dEX7r6-ayoE5D-fAdJ5z-dt9utq-du13Z5-fPRrci-adfBzB-7vkLEw-cfVMpC-f44K7e-cacExG-bGt72Z-dF3w8d-7zZccn-9QcSSq-DKYjuT-dpLzFk-7zZe2M-fSPVtj-2bPBkoK-53q5ZU-f4iZFu-bUsMWm-bT4eea-p7agQw-bT4dYT-8uTVr9-dHCWXE-aEf91V-b9rytK-M9qaLA-fww3GR-bjLFte-nNx6Az-5ywhaT-a7bien-25nwL56-9SYUMD
Hey Sam, I’m busy with a new track for my model railways. It’s bigger than I first had. If I’m done with my layout or if it’s good enough to film, I’m going to make more videos! I’m now editing with my iPad on iMovie. But yeah I prefer an edit program on my windows 10 laptop. I don’t want to buy it for a huge price. Do you know any edit programs I can use on my laptop? :p Roy
Hi Sam! Have you seen the Class 91 number 91119 yet? It got reliviried into InterCity swallow livery as it'll be the last Class 91 in service on the ECML
Another fine model Sam, and a helpful review, as to the colour differences, Southern Railway livery was after more of a Malachite Green, similar to the model, and BR Southern Region Green was more like the other coaches you were running. Having said that, no matter what shade they should be, it should be accurately replicated on the Box, otherwise it could be seen as misleading....Bob
Thanks very much Bob, glad you enjoyed that - and thanks for the info on the liveries, yeah I thought it odd that the model didn't fit with the box! Thanks for watching - Sam :)
I love these units, very good model! My favorite detail is probably the brass air whistle, although I definitely agree that fragile details are an issue. I have an N gauge loco that I'm afraid to take out of the box because the handrails are so thin! Although I guess you really can't win sometimes, either way it came out looking quite good.
Thanks mate - me too! Ahh yes I liked that too - not sure I mentioned it in the video? Ahh yes - I bet N gauge is even more fragile than 00! Thanks for watching - Sam :)
@@SamsTrains No problem! I suppose it's a pretty small detail, although it's something that was missing on the old (But still pretty accurate!) Tri-ang 3SUB/4SUB units. That's probably why most of the N gauge locos I buy now are based on Japanese prototypes, most of their diesels have different handrails that are much closer to the sides of the body, so they don't have as great a chance of snapping off.
Maybe the darker green represents how the coaches weathered over time, while the box shows what it would look like right out of the factory. Just a somewhat logical idea? Very unique video Sam :)
Yeah that's definitely a possibility - though they do usually label them as weathered if that's the case! Glad you enjoyed it anyway mate, Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Great video thanks Sam. That livery (for a 1938 train) should really have been more early Malachite Green (with Sunshine Yellow lettering), rather than what I think must surely be on your examples, Southern 'Olive Green'. Guess Hornby did it that way so the two motor units better matches the darker tone of Southern's even older Maunsell coaches? I have a feeling that most of the BIL & HAP EMU's were in fact metallised rebuilds of a whole bunch of surplus ex LSWR corridor Manuell stock that they had accrued with all the mergers that went on in the 1920's.
Thanks very much mate - yeah I love the green too, just fantastic! I will look out for your letter - I really hope it wasn't lost! I'll give you a big shout-out on Friday's stream if it doesn't arrive! Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Good detail, shame there are no lights. The 'olive drab' makes it look very army, don't think that is the right green at all. Love how it got its name, I saw someone stole my line about the HAL 9000.
Thanks Ian - yeah that's true actually, it does look very army! haha yes indeed - but all credit goes to you for that one! ;D Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Hi Sam, could it be that the model is in the original Southern Olive-green livery, but the box is illustrated by the later post-war Malachite green? Always good to watch your videos, especially now that I am self-isolating and can't get out! Lots of videos to catch up on. Thank you.
It amazes me how many videos you manage to produce - always interesting, and you are always so cheerful! Now I'm stuck indoors for an unknown period, it is great to have such a collection to watch. I am also very impressed by the way you answer all the comments that people send you - and so very quickly. You might like to look at the Bluebell Line website, where they have very good photos of both olive green and malachite preserved coaches side by side. I remember the HAL sets in BR Southern Region green days coming out of Waterloo in the fifties and early sixties. Very best wishes, and you do a great job with fun projects. I'll never forget that poor train doing underwater circuits!! Thank you.
Hi Sam, Are to going to do a video on your trip up to see Hattons? I have heard from Everard Junction that you went. Can't wait for the next live stream, Really looking forward to it!
I really like driving this one as well as the 2EPB on the Chatham Main & Medway Valley in Train Simulator. Shame the route is not set back in their era. Stunning detail on this model. Third rail locos kinda feel like the most matching for rail-powered model trains, don't they?
Hi sam this was a great vid i also have a question-if you have a burnt out motor can you fix it or do you need to replace it ? As always great vid sam . James mcCreadie
Hi James! Good question - if it's truly burned out, then yes it will need replacing. But a motor can sometimes look and behave as though it's burned out, when really it's just clogged up with excess carbon. If you're able to, a full strip down and clean of a motor can be enough to salvage, or at least improve, a poorly performing motor! Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Sam, I am from America and I have taken a liking to British trains. I don’t know much about Hornby trains, only that OO and HO are the same. I have a few questions. First, can they still be run on US rails, power, and DCC controls. Second, Is there and easy way to change the British hooks to the American/Australian hook. I would love if anyone could help me. Thanks
OO & HO are different, the scale is 4mm & 3.5mm but the gauge is the same. You can use american track & power though. Use Kadee 19 & 20 couplings in the UK NEM pockets. Hope that helps.
Thanks for that Scott! Yes he's right - you can use them in the US, as long as your using 12dc, or a compatible DCC system (all modern DCC gear should be!) Yes, if the locos have NEM pockets, they're very easy to change! Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Sam'sTrains and Scott, Thank you! I am new to models and you channel is helping a lot, Sam. I may begin to post videos of my layout on my channel. Cheers
Good review of a relatively unknown EMU unless you live down South. Some of the separately fitted detail looks to be quite fragile so i would say this pack is definitely not for children. I look forward to your next video. Be well and keep safe, regards Gary.
Thanks very much Gary - yeah you certainly don't hear very much about these, but they are very lovely! But as you say, certainly not ideal for children! Cheers, Sam :)
Oooo what a nice model 👌 Got my layout ready but just need some improvements for it like grass, buildings and a new controller. I only got 2 controllers but they work but really old though. Probably getting a new controller.
Thanks vin - that one does look lovely! You certainly could add lights, but at significant extra cost! It's a shame the model doesn't come with them fitted, given the price! Thanks for watching - Sam :)
How do you keep your track clean? My track gets really dirty over time, even when I put it in a closed box, it always comes out dirty with many dead spots! Could you maybe do a tutorial video on how to keep tracks clean, and eliminate dead spots? Thanks!
Hi Ben! I use the Peco track rubber, and then vaccum the rails with the Dapol Track cleaner - it really does work the best in my opinion! :D Thanks for watching - Sam :)
16:51 - That's a Class 91, not a 225. They were marketed as 'Intercity 225' - the 225 reflecting their top speed in kilometres per hour. The IC225 trains consist of a Class 91 electric locomotive, at least eight Mk4 coaches and a DVT (driving van trailer). DVT's are just luggage vans with a driver's cab at one end. They allow the train to be driven equally well in both directions without having to uncouple the locomotive and run it around the train. Cab-cars are similar to DVT's, except they are passenger cars with a cab, and not luggage vans. Cab-cars can often be found on commuter trains in the US, one of which being SunRail in Florida.
As for the 2-HAL, I think it's a nice looking unit. For me there has always been something interesting about the Southern 3rd-rail electrics. I would get a 2-HAL, but anything electric would look silly on my layout - as it doesn't have a dummy third rail or overhead wires. Another reason for not getting a 2-HAL is because I recently bought a Heljan Class 15. I think that would be an interesting model for you to look at.
My apologies for that, yes that's right, I stand corrected! I appreciate the info too, and glad you liked the 2-HAL, they are indeed very interesting things! Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Very nicely detailed units probably aimed at the more serious modeller who won't handle them as much once on their railway. Yes I'd say they are the correct olive green colour, Southern railway used a few different shades of green in their time and I think its more likely that earlier Hornby models were less accurate.
That's a very fair point actually, though as I say, it's just a bit disconcerting seeing them flex so much when you touch them! Thanks for watching - Sam :)
It would be nice to know what the results of the polls were. RU-vid have ballsed up getting rid of them I think. By the way, I think the model is close to the correct colour. :)
I never have actually! Of course it's all personal opinion, so I think if someone else was scoring them, the ratings might look very different. I do prioritise quality and value for money. Certain categories weigh more than others, so a high mark for value will raise the final score more than a high mark for pulling power would. Again, this is based on what I consider to be most important, and may be different for others! Thanks for watching - Sam :)
@@SamsTrains Oh, indeed... such things are always subjective. I just enjoy the detail you put into it, even getting down to the 100ths of a point in the final rankings. I just had a curiosity behind the mathematics, certainly would not question evaluations, as it is always subjective, like art or poetry.
I believe the vintage version sells for around $500 US, and sellers are getting it. So at this price...Irrespective, I am quite keen on self propelled coaches, and now having seen your review I expect to put in an order, forwith.
Re-reviewed your review, and wow, you are a hard modellor to please! Too much detail, too fragile, no lights (I can never see the lights anyways) and no cab interior to see. It's all good, however, as you point out everything and let the buyer make up his own mind. I veered off buying this marvelous set in favor of the Rapido J70, you had reviewed. My first Rapido piece. Never would have known about it if you had not reviewed it. Previously, I was eyeballing a Toby, at some horrendous price, and wondering if I could pry the stupid face off it. I think the Rapido will be far better, I cannot wait until it comes. After I sell off some more North American rubbish I will undoubtably circle back to this Half Lavoratory set, from everything I saw it is a jewel
The Southern railway experimented with a number of shades of green But the main two are olive green as in the model and malachite green which was brighter and more vivid Which is probably what the box is representing I guess You will find that the main model manufacturers have changed their minds a number of times over what shade of green is right for both main colours This Hornby green is one of the best olive green I have seen it’s also on their recent high detail carriages If like me you like Southern Railway and have a collection from different manufacturers from over the years You’ll have quite a variety of different greens!😊
Thanks for the info on this Jon - sounds like a nightmare for manufacturers, all those different greens! I bet you're right! Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains I’m sure it has been which explains why there are so many shades about It was pointed out to me that the 3 engine sheds Ashford , Brighton and Eastleigh all had different interpretations of these colours as they mixed the paint themselves Also the colours varied according to the sun ( bleaching) Age and wear So in effect in reality there must have been hundreds of different shades and hues So now I don’t care that mine are all different shades ‘ it’s prototypical ‘ 😊😊😊
They were different shades of green at different times before 1948 including malachite green with sunshine lettering, then they went into BR green, which is roughly that on the box.
I rode them all as child and the overall grime or weathering was so strong its hard to be accurate trying to recall their true colour, and I rode them everyday to school.
My models of Sarah Siddons (1990s version so different to your one as it has the red roof) and an EM2 turned up in the post today which is a little bit fitting with this review as its all electric.
@@SamsTrains Heljan released two versions of Sarah Siddons I guess to increase the range of different liveries, I only went for that version because it was a bit cheaper.
I get what you mean about the fragility but give me separate detail over moulded parts any day.Whats with the oversized bull driving a passenger train.I found a plastic shark in a coal wagon that the kids next door put in there one day but he wasn’t driving the train.
Yeah absolutely - but it's all in the design - parts need to be strengthened where necessary or possible, and appropriate materials need to be used - Ie metal rather than plastic to ensure sturdiness! Thanks for watching - Sam :)
notice how the windows on the picture on the box are different to the windows on the model. on the model, the left side of the coach has small windows whereas the right side has larger windows, and the box has the same windows both sides. (if that makes any sense!) lol XD
Looking at the box compared to the model, the livery on the model looks like it’s in a World War II dark green livery, maybe, and it looks pretty good.
