Definitely. I’m having to rely on eBay and even that is a land field. I got a Hornby J94 for £40 from Rails of Sheffield eBay site and runs really good (even if it has a somewhat noisy motor)
@@hellothere6023 if you haven’t already you might want to consider checking out the prices at your local hobby shop. This might just be mine but prices tend to be drastically lower in them then those online
I remember the magic as a kid ripping open Christmas wrapping paper and seeing a glimpse of that Hornby railways logo but £90 odd for a model that is a lower quality version is just ridiculous for a plastic mould and a motor that’s worth about £5. That’s more expensive than even the super detailed ones should be. I love model trains but i think model trains are the lowest value for money product you can possibly buy. Great video as always sam.
Can I just say, I really appreciate that you have put the ads in the appropriate place, not cutting you off in the middle of a sentence or something, it just makes the video seem that much more professional.
haha yep - I know I'd love those, but they're just so hard to get! That's the modern way now - manufacturers produce tiny quantities to create value :( Thanks for watching, Sam :)
If Hornby simply standardised across their entire range by fitting a good quality five-pole motor with a flywheel to every loco, it would probably save them money overall and avoid criticisms about crawls, pulling power, smooth running and longevity. You're right that this is more important than differences in detail or finish between the ranges, because many owners will be happy and able to modify, upgrade or weather their models to improve them visually. I was able to stand on the footplate of Mallard recently, and it was quite an experience, making me eager to superdetail the cab of an A4 model soon!
At first I thought it was a good deal, but seing how they downgraded the mechanism I definately agree with your ratings. Value maybe half a star off becase the 2012 one is definately better. Great review, Sam
Sam now you are talking my language and price range. I purchased this same engine and I love it . I live my buying fantasy through watching your videos. I only buy the ones you recommend that I can afford. Your reviews save me a lot of trouble in returning items that have problems. Thank you for this video. Keep them coming.
Great review Sam. I’m returning to the hobby after 20 years out and your reviews are incredibly insightful. I’ve since acquired a Railroad 9f a railroad Jinty and a Super detailed 2800 class. They were all uses but the super detailed model, while incredible is soo fragile in comparison to railroad models. I will be sticking to Railroad models in future for robustness, shame about the motor and pickups though. But more railroad reviews please. At £100 that’s more my budget (mainly cos I’m tight).
Saw the real thing in person last weekend, always wanted a model one, this seems perfect. Deffo one of the people who just enjoys running stuff, Im not super fussed on detail, as long as the livery is right and its the right shape I'm happy really. And yes, more diesels please! :3
I quit the hobby a while back due to the prices and find it amusing how this is an affordable basic railroad model and it's still nearly £100. It was only around 15 years ago when I'd pay £70 or so for something super detailed. When it came to diesels you could pick up the Hornby superdetailed locos for £50. When sound fitted locos started to become a thing even those were less than you'd pay for just the loco these days. Obviously there's Inflation to consider within the last 15 years but it wouldn't make it that much more expensive.
I found a box full of my dad's old loco's. I was astonished at some of the prices on the boxes. £30, to like £70 for a full on express tender loco. A lot of them hold up to modern standards too.
Can you do an episode of Sam’s Engineering where you take the railroad model and spruce it up with paints and wiring such as a beginner could copy and improve? If it has the infrastructure couldn’t you show us how to cheaply make it better, even buying and installing a 5 pole motor?
Interesting idea! In April last year Sam actually tried something like this, converting a Battle of Britain Class loco from a Hornby motor to a similar Chinese five-pole unit. Hornby wanted over £17 for a suitable power unit, but Sam got one on the Internet for under £2. To everyone's surprise, the cheaper motor equalled the Hornby unit in every respect except crawl performance, and in the crawl tests it was... better! The only slightly tricky part of the engine swap was transferring the worm gear from the old motor shaft to the new, but it's definitely doable. Hopefully, Sam will try to do some painting upgrades of models in the future, although at the moment he is a little wary of this. But what could possibly go wrong?
Very smart. I'm new to this hobby and recently got the Flying Scotsman train set. The mechanism on this model looks very similar to that of my Scotsman, which is, according to the blurb that came with it, a three pole motor with a flywheel. It accelerates and decelerates really nicely and smoothly, but the crawl leaves a bit to be desired. With that said, I'm loving it, and am having to resist temptation to buy a tonne of track, buildings etc.
I have both the Railroad Flying Scotsman and Railroad Mallard. I found the slow speed crawl to improve once I converted them to DCC - I used ESU LokPilot 59820 Micro decoders in both (they're silent decoders, as I'm not really into sound at this point).
I'm a model train fan with a budget, and I usually buy things that catch my eye. Thanks to you, we have an interactive catalogue of models that are worth getting that you can recommend
I'm not too picky personally. As long as it passes the silhouette test I'm mostly happy, although I definitely do appreciate the more fine detail when it's there. I tend to want mid range locos, but I only really buy basic rollingstock.
Hello Sam, I guess I have been unfortunate with mine. It had all kinds of bits broken already when taken out of the box, even though I used the holes in the back of the polystarine packaging (railings etc). When i ran it it would continously derail, even though running on outer curves, because the front bogees would come off. Found they were over tightened so loosened them, but still derails. I ve got 60+ locos all bought off ebay, and all but a few work ok, as my first brand new buy this was saddly a disapointment. Understand that my location in thailand might mean postage damage was possible, but the package was ok. Enjoy your reviews mate, keep up the good work!
Bought this model recently , but i also have a Railways A4 , specifically the experimental Purple one I love them both and they've really made me like A4s a lot more than i did lol However I must state that both my Railways A4 and Railroad A4 came in perfect condition - the Railways one has the block of ice and my Railroad Mallard has the same polystyrene as yours , so it shows that there's some models that are good and some that aren't when they arrive. Mine also runs absolutely fine Awesome video as always
As ever, Hornby have done their stuff. Beginners' level it maybe, but a stop-frame at around 23:46 shows that Hornby have captured the elusive lines of the A4 to perfection. Yep - as to getting the aura of a locomotive, no-one can rival Hornby.
I have a c1979/1980s BR Green Mallard, and even that had glazing in the cab, and although still basic the pipework in the cab was picked out in a brass colour! And you got a driver and fireman figuers
That model is pretty much what the Railroad version is based on. Only thing Hornby have done is fit a new mechanism in the loco end rather than keeping the ringfield motor in the tender.
I like the Railroad range as its pretty much the era of model trains I remember and they are decent enough to run even when you have some super detailed locomotives on your layout. Hornby Railroad models are also still cheaper than their rivals latest attempt of a budget range known as EFE.
Me too Ben - I started with lots of these too! I don't think EFE rail is intended as a budget range... many of the models might be useless don't get me wrong, but they're flippin' expensive! Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I've been after an affordable A4 for ages, then this year I inherited an old Bachmann Branchline Sir Nigel Gresley (model 31-954) from my grandfather. I recommend it if you manage to find one. This one seems very old but well looked after. It runs well, but isn't a strong puller (I have a 2.4% incline on my layout, and it can manage 4 or 5 coaches up it comfortably at best - although the coaches I used are heavier than standard because my granddad has put loads of lighting gubbins in them). It can do 1st radius curves too, which is good for me on my little 6'x4' layout. That's my review.
Sam I think the coal is like that because you can get a digital sound version which is what I have so I think the coal was like that because of the speaker and they do have tender pickups aswell and the performance is way better with the pickups and does a really good crawl
Hi sam I only have 2 a4s both in gather blue One a super fat version of Mallard before every one was using the plug. So early till mid 2000s cost me £85 new from Banbury model shop Other one is a 80s Margate built seagull. Look stunning when going round track You rise some good points in this video Keep safe arp
I think their best one is R2339, the first generation of new tooled A4's. Have managed to fit a TTS chip in the loco body with a long thin speaker. Has the pickups in the tender too, but the tender can still be detached. Still a great runner.
Brilliant review. I have the same model as this, and it is a fantastic runner. I got it to remind me of my visit to the NRM, about a decade ago, when I actually got to sit in the cab (The had steps for visitors to climb in, then, I don't know if that's the case now). You can feel the history, when you're in the Mallards cab, it's rather spectacular.
Thanks for sharing Sam. Very good idea. I always go full fat, but Railroad models are extremely important, and as you noticed really pretty well detailed ... 'though not that cheap. A4's are definitely holding their price seemingly at the moment. They do need to differentiate between the 2 grades. I've seemingly found that Bachmann locomotives appear to pickup more consistently without tender pickup, than Hornby ones do, almost justifying their insistence in not having tender pickups! Careful with the locomotive brake rods - I recently purchased a full fat blue Mallard, BR, which is absolutely a gem, except, it was coming off at the points ... which I quickly found out was a slightly bent downwards set of brake rods! Thanks for sharing, as usual Sam. Al.
100% agree with you on this as relatively budget orientated on this hobby as i only have 1 or 2 super detailed models that took me ages to save for there is nothing wrong with cheaper models if you just want to have that model for your layout maybe a railroad vs main could be a good set of videos like the old thomas vs style!!!!! Great review as always!
Good review Sam, it also explains a lot of things. I have been messing around with A3/A4 chassis, fitting the newer chassis to my older tender driven locos. Hornby have obviously changed the mechanism, the old ones used the same as the expensive A4s, it was just that the valve gear was a bit clunky. The mechanisms I have been buying also must have used tender pickups, not the 4 pin lead but the 2 way arrangement on the tender pin. What they have done is changed the mechanism to the later Railroad Tornado type and it looks like the tender as well. I had lost the plate that holds the dummy pony truck axle in, as you cannot get it as a spare, I asked Hornby if they could send me one. Hornby did send me the plate, which was good, but it didn't fit. Surprisingly the plate is different between the old A4 chassis and the Tornado one.
I bought this exact model at around the same time as a Hornby Railroad Flying Scotsman. The difference between them is that I bought Flying Scotsman fitted with TTS. Guess what? Flying Scotsman has full tender pick ups too. I don't know if a non-TTS Flying Scotsman would have lacked those pick ups, but if this is a normal difference between TTS and non-TTS locos I reckon the extra cost is money well spent because its running is superb, never mind getting the sound as well. On a different note, when reviewing a model that has a close "twin" (i.e. the Hornby Railways Mallard), it would be good to see a few side by side views for comparison.
My 5 year old Railroad A4 runs very well (5 pole, tender pick ups) and looks really good. No trade off in performance against the super detail models, unlike your review sample. Mine cost £48 new at a show! Should have bought 2!
Hi Sam, The TTS sound version is slightly more expensive and viewing some photo's it seems the decoder and speaker are located in the tender. Maybe with tender pick-ups too ? But you're completely right: no savings can be accepted on good running properties and tender pick-ups are a must. They can also blame it on Covid as all the greedy businesses up there now. Thanks for sharing and pointing this out to Hornby !
My first ever model was a slightly earlier railroad mallard, then I bought a Caledonian Smokey joe. I still have my mallard, but it doesn’t run very well. Might fix it up soon.
Great review Sam. Now in my 3rd year of this hobby I have being favoring Hornby’s Railway models and steering clear of the Railroad range of which I bought a few of earlier on. Having said that I don’t mind some of the railroad ones and would like to see some diesel reviews. Whilst we’re on the topic of Hornby diesels, the class 50’s & 60’s (Railway range) I think are particularly good, almost as good as the class 56. Cheers
I still have two Horny engines from the 1960s, both still work as I have kept them since new as a child. Not really bothered with scale trains until I started watching the TV series on Horny. After looking into the company as it is now I can not believe the quality issues and standard of customer care that people have to deal with and the running issues with so called high end models. I'll keep my two from my childhood thank you!
It's so cool to see an A4 in your videos. While your review may have been a bit harsh, I have started noticing those same things on my Hornby Railroad Mallard. However, considering it was my first purchase, I'm not bothered about that, just aware of the downgrade I have compared to other locos... Aside from that, another cool review overall. Nice to see A4s again
I'm all for more Railroad-style reviews, and not just from Hornby if other manufacturers do something similar. This was interesting and I'd happily watch more like it. One minor complaint is that when you were running the 3 trains, I couldn't see which A4 were on the inside and middle lines. Would have been nice to know.
Sam, thanks for this video. I skipped buying the more detailed version when they were available a few years ago so was wondering about the Railroad versions. Now I see I will pass on this one. I’m sure Hornby will cycle these back into production again in a year or two.
Cheap is right though. I bought a 0-6-0 locomotive from trainworld today in Southern Pacific's black & Roman font livery. I can't wait to see what is in store.
For 100 pounds I really need a some windows fitting which probably cost 50p to produce and 50p to fit. Also I can't see why one colour number and letters really save all that much in production costs. The rest is acceptable
Ahh fantastic - yeah at least the mechanisms are still quality... though it'd be better if they had higher quality motors to match! Thanks for watching, Sam :)
If you paid £91 for your other Railroad A4 in 2012, once you’ve adjusted for inflation that works out at £110 today - so the price has not increased at all
Nice review Sam, I consider myself intimidate level modeller and I balance up new fancy top range, vs hornby last 10 years vs occasional railroad. A good example I bought the latest 9f railroad and I really cant believe for the extra 120 Id enjoy that new bachmann version anymore.
Railroad Mallard is the star of my engine shed microlayout 😂😂 I’ve added a crew and painted the cab detail. Mechanically mine doesn’t struggle to crawl like yours does though. It’s not perfect but it is much smoother at low speeds.
i dont know about you sam... but if i were getting an a4 for a fleet... id get an older or current railroad one and just up-detail it... or modify it. might be cheaper and it wouldnt be too much of a rediculous downgrade from the superdetail version
Couldn't find the odd loco out... unless it was the non-blue A-4 you had running. Very nice review and I trust your judgement. I would trust, without comparing to the non-blue A-4 you got for a better deal, this loco will be a good seller for those who like "economy-priced" choice locomotives... for those who always wanted a Mallard. John BC, Canada p.s. gonna watch your review from three years ago on the "same" locomotive.
I didn't recall if you said it actually had pickups in the tender, visually though, it looks like it doesn't. I have the Gresley Collection. and annoyingly, while the A1, A3 and A3 do have tender pickups, with the decoder socket in the tender. The P2 however, has the decoder socket in the Loco, with no tender pickups.
I just got a Railways Flying Scotsman and out of curiosity after watching this weighed them as well. Same as with the A4s the Railroad engine(no tender) weighs 54g more than the Railways engine
Yeah they are very similar - the latest ones have virtually the same chassis! Hilarious that they're heavier than the Railways ones though, lol! ;D Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Yeah this is probably the same engine that came with my model set last year. The valve came out and I had it sent back to get a replacement. Their choice to do that and I believe the valve malfunctioned again. Lightning strikes twice maybe? Anyway it's nice to see not all Mallards are lemons.
Hi Sam Most of my Locomotives are Secondhand apart from my Hornby Flying scotsman which was a train set and she could do with some New Buffers and a new Step but she still runs also I am getting a Mainline BR Black Collett goods Locomotive
You gave a very fair review, I can understand the affects of inflation over 9 years but not that much of a drop in standards ! Maybe someone will take note, I have.
Many thanks Tim - yes you're right - and don't forget mine had a £20 DCC decoder fitted from 2012... nothing like that in this! Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains thanks for the reply. I'm following the Mallard Railroad. Just found this SUNNY SERVICE @ TRADE 7686 .COM They are offering Model Railway Locomotives. This Company is a SCAM. DO NOT SEND THEM MONEY 😬
Indeed, it is an older tender! But, yes: the tender pickups are a real issue. I have the TTS version of this model, so it's very noticeable when it momentarily cuts out over points and such... and tender pickups would most likely fix that. Overall, I still think it's a good package for the £116 that it cost - but, this is an issue that bears mentioning...
I think there are 2 version of the railroad Mallard, my one came with the flight of the Mallard train set, tender and loco are not coupled, but things like the numbers on the side of the cab looks like the railways one, not sure what hornby trickery is going on there, but i thought it was interesting non-theless! Edit: i belive that mine does have tender pickups, those ones that are fitted on some locos with non coupled tenders, and a 5 pole motor!
Hi Sam, really enjoyed this video, A4 are mine and my brother favourite trains, we both have a silver Fox each and we are in the process of building a couple of other A4, my brother is going to build the blue and green Mallard and my myself I'm still try to build The union of south and I would to build the green mallard too, we brought all are parts for are A4 of Ebay and that not cheap any special where A4 are concerned.
@Sam’s Trains the Hornby Railroad models look like they are modeled just before nationalization (even before BRITISH RAILWAYS was painted on the tender or tanks)
Two days ago, i went to half penny green airport and i also went into the antique shop i saw a model of the mallard and told my stepdad that the mallard is class as a a4. My stepdad said it was very interesting.
I think this problem goes deeper than just a few new models, I think they tried to make this Mallard to work as both the basic railroad version and the TTS sound version. I have the TTS sound, and it appears to have identical issues with performance, and the detailing is identical (right down to the sprung buffers on the front but not the back). It is really irritating when the loco jerks into life like that when sound is added into the mix.
I need that still, I’ve had models for 14 years and I’ve never got Mallard yet! No idea why. I do have an A4, but that one is 60001 Sir Ronald Matthews with DCC Sound (not TTS). That one used to be LNER 4500 Gargany and built in 1938. Hornby made no. 4500 in a train pack called Queen of Scots I believe. Nice video Sam. Kind regards. Dan
Hatton’s don’t add VAT until checkout, or their web store prices aren’t updated frequently. I don’t know which, but a £145 displayed model usually checks out at £175. Shifty stuff.
This might be a strange idea but potential video idea. Take a model like this and upgrade it with 3D printing ect to try and compete with the more expensive A4. It would be hard to match but would be fun to see how close you can get!
Good review, Sam! I have a Railroad A4 (Silver Link) that came in a train pack with matching carriages (the ones with the scale 1ft window cill). It's okay, but from what you say it must be closer in age to your earlier Railroad A4, i.e mid 2000's.
I don’t think the tender is the old tender driven moulding as the old tender driven A4s had the corridor connection on the rear, it is the same for their old A1s and A3s they all had the same tender, i think the tender has been taken from the recent super detail ones as some of them have the non corridor connection.
Mr.Sam, you need to start a Narrow gauge model railway. OO9 scale is the scale you will need for your narrow gauge, that is if the model railway you have now is OO scale. This OO9 narrow gauge model railway will be higher up and also the engines will be narrow gauge too. I like Narrow Gauge. You NEED a narrow gauge model railway.
