Hornby's Most Beautiful Coaches? | GWR Clerestory | Unboxing & Review 

“Hornby just shut up and take my money!” Great review😂😂

When you apply the '3 foot rule' as they go past on your layout any slight imperfections are rarely noticeable. These are great looking coaches. Cheers Greg

Sam: “I’ve never reviewed coaches before! :O” Disneyland coaches: “are we a joke to you?”

Love these reviews! :D - One minor thing (as a fan of cathedral architecture) 'clerestory' is usually a 2-syllable word "clere-story" (pronounced "clear-stree"). As you rightly pointed out, the word comes from the high windows above side isles in churches, the glass level or 'clear story', a design feature echoed in these exquisite coaches.

THE BEAUTY! This is AMAZING!!!! I NEED TO BUY THESE!

GWR, Beautiful, and looks nice, I got to recommend my friend to buy this

An amazing videos Sam. An absolutely fantastic set of coaches. They have nice detail on the rolling stock. Can not wait to see more videos like. Hope you enjoy your new set of amazing GWR coaches. Really enjoyed seeing the different locomotive and rolling stock that were running as well. Take care of yourself

Hey Sam. The brake coach was used for the basis of a character called Old Slow Coach. She was a coach that Thomas and Percy saved from scrap. I'm surprised that she isn't on the little western with Duck and Oliver.

My first hornby train set was a black jinty and three red clerestory coaches back in 75 76 ish

They were first made in 1981. I have 3 different rakes of them

It's nice to see a review of some coaches. It would be great to see more coaches reviewed in the future; Hornby's more recent toolings like their Maunsell and Stanier coaches are absolutely beautiful models with an amazing amount of detail.

Just received the same pair of coaches today as a thank you for helping to remove a large train set layout from a house where the owner had died. He had worked for the BBC and was a technical expert for creating the effects on some of the James Bond films. Anyway, these coaches will be perfect for my NRM Locomotion GWR City of Truro.

Nice video, nice coaches😀 You’ve got such a soothing voice😁

I believe you've reviewed the "Disneyland" coaches before, so you actually HAVE reviewed coaches haha :P

Hi Sam, I am a big GWR fan and I am glad you did get round to reviewing some clerestory coaches. They are indeed very beautiful. I also have a set of clerestory coaches with the Lord of the Isles set. These however are a little more basic. I also picked up another set of clerestories with another Dean Single, these were also very beautiful, though different again. I can't wait to get my layout built and see these in action. As usual, another good review made even better by the choice of subject. Thank you.

They are absolutely gorgeous! And great review btw! I'm preordering the Clerestory coaches from Hornby.

The ocean wagons will always be considered the most attractive and majestic piece of rolling stock one can own

They look really nice, but I think my Hornby lighted Pullmans are more beautiful. You should get some of those Sam.

Very elegant and beautiful! I don’t have these, but I have two N-scale GWR autocoaches in the same livery. I run them with my pannier tank often

Hi Sam, I have picked up about a dozen of these in both Great Western and LMS liveries. Hornby has been producing them since the 80’so you are very right about them being basic, but they are so very beautiful. The livery on my older coaches is somewhat simpler than the new ones, so they have brought them up to date somewhat. And yes, I think in this case “Looks are everything.” I am not at all disappointed that I have purchased them. Cheers.

I'm getting bachman James and might get those coaches for a test run

Those passenger coaches remind me of a Thomas and Friends character old slow coach can you please unbox the holmby old slow Coach

I was so excited when I saw the thumnail of the video. Finally I can extend my Great Western Troop Train pack. Back when I first bought it I was told that the coaches were exclusive to that pack. And I know that these aren't completely identical. But they are good enough! Edit: Having looked closely at mine (and purchased quite a few of these you've reviewed) the yellow is a bit more faded on these, they have no white printed white words on the black "footplate" I guess you could call it. And the roofs on these are whiter than the ones in the WW1 troop train pack which are greyer. Over all the printing quality is a bit lower on these compared to the ones from the pack. Also the bogies are more free to elevate to go up hills on the ones from the pack. And one last detail I've noticed. On these coaches you've reviewed there is a line printed on the corridor side of the coach on the windows, which I've been told is a hand rail. Which is absent on the WW1 pack. Which instead has "Smoking" printed on the middle two windows on the corridor side of the corridor coaches. Just a little comparison for anyone who wants to extend their pack and wants a bit of side-by-side comparison ;) Also having finished the video, Sam I can't believe you never mentioned the limited edition WWI troop train pack in this review! I though it would be obvious to pair them with that pack. Anyway amazing review as always! I'm definitely going to pick some of these up for myself.

Some of the best details I've seen on a RTR model coach Sam, thanks for your invaluable review, I'm sure these will be very popular with many modelers....Bob

Thank you much improvement from that... deisised catapiller

Hey, look, it's Old Slow Coach from Thomas the Tank Engine.

Just got the hornby j15 loco , mine in br late edition, fitted digital chip and run for few minutes , fabulous model, performance just crazy , slow speed control and overall just perfect , not run in , saw it cheaper on rails of Sheffield after so would recommend buying it there but don’t feel ripped off , the price I paid 76 pound is a gift , last in stock went up to 100 + , rosheff 67 pounds stealing it . Thanks again for the review , weight detail and performance wow so far , bits to add on if you wish . Keep safe and putting out the videos

We needed something lovely after yesterday's nightmare! Much appreciated!

Of course it's the most beautiful coach, clestory coaches are the best

Hey, do you now a method that i can get Hornby trains/coaches to Argentina???

With detailed interiors those coaches would be wonderful. They do look very elegant behind the 'Single' though. Very nice, thank you Sam.

I didn't know that you haven't reviewed any passenger coaches yet on this channel. You review locomotives (obviously), wagons, and snow plows, but for some reason you haven't reviewed a single passenger coach on this channel. I'm glad you're getting around to do this idea since passenger coaches are in the rolling stock category and that means you'll have a mix between wagons and coaches for you to review for your rolling stock ranking list of this year! You should get some more coaches soon to review, it'll be nice if your rolling stock ranking list would have a variety of different types of rolling stock! Keep up the good work! :D

I think those coaches are old slow coach from Thomas and friends base

It's pronounced "clear-storey" not "cle-res-tory".

I'm glad you're finally reviewing coaches that aren't part of a train pack! I'm kinda surprised this isn't a Hornby RailRoad coach

So after watching this they are really just the 1980's versions, but with a much better paint job and wheels. Thank you for the information, your reviews are so useful and sensible.

Back in 2005 hornby use a Clerestory coach as the basis for their Thomas & Friends "Old Slow Coach," a character introduced in season 5 of the show

The new Hornby Teaks are really nice and have more features. They have nem pockets, sprung buffers and more seperately fitted detail. I got them for Christmas with a model of Bittern and they look so good together.

I've always had a soft spot for anything GWR. Brunel was a childhood hero of mine - it blew my mind, aged nine or so, that here was someone who didn't consider anything to be impossible. He seems incredibly modern in his outlook - the Crossrail tunnelling today would probably have pleased him greatly, I'm sure. I do love the GWR, though, it was a railway apart, with some quirky design features, like their singular 'Pagoda' huts. And yes, their Clerestory coaches were the best and most beautiful of all.

Hello again Sam you are my absolute FAVORITE youtuber and those are the best looking coaches I have EVER seen.😀😀

I purchased these coaches from Kernow Model centre ,Really stunning coaches ,very very beautiful coaches .Your video convinced me to buy these coaches.

Hi Sam, Yes had some of these on the railway for quite a few months and I agree with what you say but I am sure you would agree scores do not always tell the full story as when an item such as these is before us we just must put it on the tracks and watch it going round and be glad we have them. I think you should be doing reviews of coaches as they are a big part of the hobby and as they get more and more expensive we need a subjective view such as you give to educate us, I have just bought 6 L.N.E.R teak ones that cost £45 pounds or so but they are I think worth the money for the detailing and as with this coach how they look but I bought them at R.O.S. but at Hattons would have been £30 more!!! Keep safe and well. Cheers Robert.

Agree completely regarding the couplers. It'd be so easy to modify the molds. Here in USA I've replaced my couplers with Kadees, just my preference. Actually, I make hybrids, only replacing one end so I can couple it to anything I run. For NEM's, it's a pull and push replacement. For Hornby older rolling stock, it's quite a bit of surgery!

The coaches are the clincher and its great to see them pootling around your railway.It made for a series of interesting Vista's

Good to see you are still alive after your last review

Brilliant video , would love to see more coach reviews !

Cheers from California ! , Love the coaches Sam. As always, a good time !

Great to see some coach reviews for a change. It would be nice to cover all big 4 company coaches in time. Don't forget the historical component! Maybe compare the current Hornby and Bachmann stanier coaches with older versions etc. for starters...But one of the the biggest area for discussion with coaches is the history of model mk1 coaches through the eras until the latest offerings from Bachmann and Hornby....more exotic, varied and longer than the history of the full sized thing! (Model Mk1 coaches have been built by nearly 10 different companies!)

Well they certainly look stunning, a nice change of pace from the last one, a nice deal as well

Sam, thanks for your reply about my query on the recent Hornby Southern Maunsell coaches. These were the recent expensive high detailed tooling. Although you reminded me that you just unboxed them, rather than a review, I would suggest they would make a good subject for a full coach review. Like this GWR Clerestory review. You will not need to purchase them and wait for delivery, so a bonus there. I think many will be impressed with the quality and detail of the Maunsell coaches. Especially those that are not familiar with the current state of the art Hornby coaches. Regards John

wow they are beautiful coaches id love some of them : ) great vid sam

I HAD to buy the passenger/parcel coach for my pre-grouping branch line. Agree with your criticisms and agree that it's too handsome to not have on my little layout.

Really like this video Sam please do more coach reviews so i know what coaches are the best if i need more

Those carriages with Achilles look absolutely exquisite!

Superb. I wouldn’t mind a couple of these myself! Very very pretty! Hope you’re well? I’m playing catch up with your videos at the moment due to work inconveniently getting in the way of me watching your vids as regularly as I’d like!

Choach is beautiful! I really love it ! Details, quality all that ! Nice video!

very nice sam . I agree with you that they may actually hornbys best coachs yet. Keep up the great work. Jack

I'm quite impressed indeed. Sam, in the U.S., we pay MORE than that for Passenger Coaches WITHOUT even basic Interior!! 😲 $40-60 USD each, and you look inside and just see the floor weight!! 😖 Interiors have to be separately purchased and fitted, bringing the total cost to near $100 USD EACH!! With yours, I would simply disassemble, do some interior painting, fit some People in the Seats, and you will have stunning models! Carmine ✈🚂🚙

Haven't seen the full review yet, first impression -they look beautiful 😎😎😎 Fingers crossed on with the review...

Enjoyed the coach review and would love you to do more. Mike

Hi Sam I have four of these coaches and I think they're superb. My bogies are different though, great review as per usual. Regards Terry.

Those lovely coaches are very addictive, I now have 6 coaches and 1 brake/passenger. Just ordered another brake/passenger so I will run two rakes. U will not be disappointed. The coaches are quite well close coupled and look great when raked up and running. As you can see I rate them as 10 out of 10 !

Gosh, im gonna need to get a set of these! I was literally thinking yesterday, I need something other than mk1s, teaks, and pullmans! And a coach that would look out of place in 1903!

It's subjective. Following your review I purchased the same two coaches from Colletts Models for £28.50 each and quite frankly they really are lovely. I don't unfortunately own an engine old enough to do them justice, but I still think they look great being pulled by my GNR N2 (green). Another review of yours that got a purchase for Hornby. Glad I got them. Thanks.

Wow Sam they do look great I may have to get some or some like them. Loving the vids keep up the good work

Great work sam

They look like brilliant little coaches, sorry I didn’t watch the video on release I’ve had so much school work to do (sometimes 8 hours a day) I haven’t had time for anything else Loved the video -Ollie

They do look good behind the Single. Value for money would get an extra star from me. As an LNWR collector, my coaches come as kits that cost more than this already. Then they need weeks of making. I then try to paint them, or spend well over £100 a go to have them pro painted! The best RTR I have are the three Bachmann SECR Birdcage coaches in Dark Lake. They are very well made, well detailed and look fantastic behind my kit built Wainwright C Class in SECR Grey.

A category of coaches you can review, it is the LMS coaches by Dapol. They are sold below GBP 20 because they are an old Airfix design sold as is for budget-constrained modellers, it would be interesting for many people to have your advice on them. By the way, if those clerestory coaches would have been sold GBP 10 cheaper, that would have change lots of things... For me, the car bumpers like couplers is a no-go, especially at GBP 35.

Great review Sam! I have a Bachmann City Of Truro and may get those coaches because they would look so good together

Yes they are beautiful, hope they produce an updated version of this without quality mess ups🙏. The nem sockets, detailed but strong bogies, undersides, ducket, brakepipes, & coach lights. Apart from this, I personally wld love a Caledonian livery or perhaps the crimson & cream livery on these coaches. (Though may be fictional) but wld look beautiful... Oh & please start reviewing your coach collections. How about starting form the Triang Caledonian & their slight variations...

They look good. I just bought a Triang transcontinental diesel, the old one with an X04

yes, more coaches please. Thanks Sam

I think these will be part of my next project after I finish with my HST project

Re the crests - the one in middle is the Great Western Company Crest, the one on the left is that of the City of London making the right that of Bristol (both of which are within the GWR crest). I believe this was known as "twin cities" decoration. Owing to their slightly out of loading gauge size, I'd suggest the perfect partner would be an outside framed passenger express - City of Truro would be my choice with 4 or 5 of these

They look exactly like mine. Last year, I bought two composites and a brake for just over £30. I don't know what year Hornby released them into the range, but judging by the boxes, I'd say 1980's. Both coaches and boxes are as factory fresh as they were the day they left the factory in Margate.

Those are very nice coaches, and in fact, I have one of those coaches. I'm going to try and get more for my collection.

This video ain’t so terrifying as the last one. For a first coach review those are splendid

Sam, I have an earlier 2004 set R4198 & R4199, but the Clerestoies date back to the Hornby catalogue to 1971. My two coaches compared to yours there isn't any real difference in them. The detail as you say is basic, but the livery does make up for that in looks as they trundle around a layout. Yes, Sam you should do more coaching stock and wagon vids in the future. One set to review is the Kernow K1004 Push-Pull Gate 1914 LSWR in BR (SR) Green livery set. They are expensive £130 RRP, but eBay sellers do offer them for around £80-90 for a set. Another set of coaches is the Bachmann 39-000T 4x Coach Pack LNER Highland MK2s with TSO Clan Mackenzie 5166, TSO Capercailzie 5212, SO Corriemoillie 5230, BSO Balmacara 9385. There is also the Kernow only Bachmann 39-005 £98 RRP Highlander Coach Pack with an MK2A TSO Clan Fraser 5154 and a Class 101 DTCL (Driving Trailer Composite Lavatory) 6300 Hebridean that would go well with the others too. So check them out as well and hopefully see you review them.

Hi Sam, Yes they do look the part, I do think a rake of 4 would look even better, Full mark's from me. All the best Brian 🤗

As I saw the thumbnail and the start of the video I really love them coaches I must need them for my city of Truro model

I’m getting Hornby Thomas and get those passenger cars, 1 brake coach and 7 Third Class Corridors to recreate Day Out With Thomas, along with 2 of the Bachmann Thomas with Analog speed activated sounds, and a Porter model to recreate the Strasburg Railroad Thomas The Tank Engine along with a front knuckle coupler for the DOWT recreation

I have these coaches in a hornby limited edition Lord of the Isles set and they look beautiful. I think hornby have really updated these old coaches very well as you have to look twice to realise they are the old models but slightly updated.

Good review, older tooling yes, livery application good, iirs a pity they didnt upgrade them with flushglazing as fsr as the couplings go U can drill out the rivets & use the Bachmann 36-025 mini loop short screw on couplings as a replacement!

Great video! Just started building my second layout and was wondering where is your review of the Hornby R3809 Stephensons Rocket? Keep up the good work :)

Wow, you can make a Thomas and friends in real life 3! The GWR Clerestory standard coach is the basis of old slow coach. You also have Merlin’s basis, Toby’s basis, Flying Scotsman’s basis, Mallards basis, Duchess’s basis, and so many more!

I'll have to get myself a couple of these.

These do look nice. 3 points though, 1: They'd definiteley look good in a rake of 4 behind either the single or City of Truro or something. 2: The couplings look very chunky compared to the decorations and they do look screwed on. Maybe some shorter slimline couplers would look better plus you'd get closer coupling too. Lastly you can travel in something very similar at Didcot on a steam day. I do also believe there's a Hawksworth and a few Collett coaches to be sampled there too. Well worth a visit. I do think Hornby's more recent GWR output as well as the Stanier Midland coaches have been amazing. Might be worth a comparison.

Dates from 1982 Sam, although yours are obviously more recent versions . They were originally the most expensive coaches in Hornbys range back then . Now they’ve been overtaken by more modern models like the teak LNER ones . I think the panelling is printed on rather than being part of the moulding which it really should be .They do have the correct bogies though and correct under frame details. There are a couple of versions of these so watch out if buying more and you want it to match . Some have less intricate panelling and are basically just cream with less panelling around the windows . Not sure if the roof is always white . I have a feeling some might be grey.

Even though these coaches are stunning, the actual model is around 40 years old now! I have some older Hornby Railways clerestories from the 80's, still gorgeous but lower levels of detail and with plastic wheels (that are very easy to swap for better metal wheels by the way). I have 8 with four being GWR and four being LMS. Both liveries look absolutely great, but like I said, lower detailing levels but with some really good lettering and lining. If you still want a clerestory coach but don't want to spend an obscene amount on coaches and are willing to sacrifice some detailing then I would suggest looking at the older ones because the plastic wheels still roll freely.

Sam! I am recently obsessed with gronk 08's! More 08's in videos please :D

Hornby have produced the same moulding of these coaches in the Railroad Range which I bought new for £19 each. (R3914) They are even more basic with no interiors, and are turned out with a plain cream and chocolate colour scheme, but with out the window frames picked out in chocolate nor the gold lining or coat of arms and names. I think they may also be shorter in length. I think If I'd have seen the main range coaches I'd have been sorely tempted to pay the extra £13 each because, as you say, they are lovely.

Hey Sam lovely coaches btw love your vids!

Really honest review of an ordinary set of expensive coaches. I do not know whether you have had a chance to review "Simplon Orient Express Train Passenger car set" of 3 coaches manufactured by Trix (HO gauge). I had ordered them in 2019 and I am about to receive them now in 2020. They cost me US$ 399.95 (£ 292.45) + freight to Dubai (where I stay). Would like to see your review if you could get a chance to do so.

More coach reviews please! Would be interesting to here what you think of Dapol coaches

Hi Sam It seems these coaches were released by Hornby earlier as R4469 & R4670. I have both these two coaches and I have tried to check my versions to yours on screen. They look very very similar in detail (mine - grey tops not white). I cannot find any reference online for clerestory sequence releases...….total agreement by the way...magnificent looking coaches !

Absolutely Beautiful what a great find

Great video. Those coaches look beautiful. That brake coach reminds me of a character name old slow coach from Thomas and Friends. Anyways keep up the good work. Stay safe.

I am a real sucker for the Clerestory coaches. I don't have a single one in my collection because budget, but they're just so gosh-darn beautiful that if I could I'd make them the only coaches on my railway.

great coaches. ideal to go behind the railway children pannier tank so i will get 2 of them. i am sure Mr Perks would approve