"Heritage" model railway locos (70's/80's) - OO gauge - who still runs them

[Bessie]

I've built up my model railway collection during two main periods and just about to start on a third. Growing up in the 70's/80's my collection (20 locos) was largely Hornby with one or two Lima and Mainline models (I kept all the boxes as a kid so pleased with that). My collection is focused on GWR/WR era from 1835-1985 (OK I don't have any broad gauge but stopped at time of GWR 150 celebrations). My second period was from 2004-2008 (now with my own house and spare bedroom for a layout) and during this time I purchased a further 30 locos - new ones were Hornby, Bachmann and Heljan but I also enjoyed picking up 2nd hand versions from Lima and Mainline. This 3rd period is just starting (early retirement) and I've been shocked by how expensive new locos cost. As such I've just bought a 2nd hand GWR 0-6-2 T engine made by Mainline and it's in fine working order. I've been unpacking and testing my collection and impressed that most engines still work. As such I get most enjoyment from running what I call a heritage service with my Mainline fleet (Pannier tank, Deans Goods, Prairie tank, Manor) or the old Hornby fleet (King, Hall, Pannier, GWR 0-4-0) plus Lima GWR railcar. All these locos are coming up for 40 years old. Do others run fleets of this age and if so can you recommend any clubs that are focused on keeping the "old toys" running?

 

[Journeyman]

I don't currently have any model railway stuff, and I'd love to get back into it again. I reckon the best 80s models were perfectly acceptable, and I'd happily populate a layout with them again now. Yeah, they're crude compared to modern stuff, but potentially much cheaper. As an example, the Hornby Class 110 DMU was very good in its day, and with a bit of extra detailing, can be made to look superb. I've seen a video of a DCC fitted one with working interior, head and tail lights. Some people might consider this lipstick on a pig, but it works for me.

 

[Cowley]

Lipstick on a pig. Love that phrase.
I’ve been meaning to start a similar thread myself for a while called “Old models we used to struggle with” (the title might need some work), because since I’ve got into N gauge everything I have is from the new generation of models. But when I had my 00 loft layout a few years back I had a mixture of old stuff that I’d kept from the 1980s/90s and new stuff.
Some of those old models were pretty good, I’m thinking the Lima classes 31,37 and 47 and Hornby class 25 for example.
There was also great satisfaction to be had in detailing, renumbering, weathering them etc.

 

[Journeyman]

Some of those old models were pretty good, I’m thinking the Lima classes 31,37 and 47 and Hornby class 25 for example.
There was also great satisfaction to be had in detailing, renumbering, weathering them etc.

True, and that was, of course, the idea behind the Railroad range, with some of those models forming the core of it.

 

[Cowley]

True, and that was, of course, the idea behind the Railroad range, with some of those models forming the core of it.

I picked up a nice Hornby 25 that someone had converted to a 25/3 with brass overlays etc and it was a very very nice model but suffered from the usual old Hornby/Lima stalling at low speed over points due to having not many pickups.
What I did was detail the standard 25 that I had already (flush glazing and extra bits and bobs) to bring it up to the same standard and then through wired them together so that they were a permanent pair (close coupled) and they ran beautifully without stalling. They even had lit up headcodes which was a nice touch.

 

[DB]

True, and that was, of course, the idea behind the Railroad range, with some of those models forming the core of it.

Indeed - and they vary. The ex-Lima HST is a very decent model for its era. THe others vary somewhat.

One of the weak points of Lima models was the motors, but Hornby have modified the ex-Lima models they still produce with a much improved motor bogie.

 

[Journeyman]

I picked up a nice Hornby 25 that someone had converted to a 25/3 with brass overlays etc and it was a very very nice model but suffered from the usual old Hornby/Lima stalling at low speed over points due to having not many pickups.
What I did was detail the standard 25 that I had already (flush glazing and extra bits and bobs) to bring it up to the same standard and then through wired them together so that they were a permanent pair (close coupled) and they ran beautifully without stalling. They even had lit up headcodes which was a nice touch.

I never found pickups to be too much of a problem. The biggest issue I had with Hornby locos is that most diesel prototype models had extremely wimpy motors, and on anything other than completely flat track with a very light load, they'd quickly struggle under the strain.

Indeed - and they vary. The ex-Lima HST is a very decent model for its era. THe others vary somewhat.

One of the weak points of Lima models was the motors, but Hornby have modified the ex-Lima models they still produce with a much improved motor bogie.

Lima were always bit of a mixed bag compared to Hornby - they did very bad and very good models, whereas most Hornby models were somewhere in the middle. I personally think Lima motors were better than Hornby ones at the time, but hey. See above. I had a Lima class 33 that generally performed well compared to my Hornby locos, although it did have a habit of derailing on one particular set of points. I never quite sussed out why. All my Hornby locos were fine on them.

 

[DB]

Lima motors were better than Hornby ones at the time,

Yes, probably - but the Hornby ones really were crap!

 

[Journeyman]

Yes, probably - but the Hornby ones really were crap!

Weren't they just? The ones on 0-6-0 chassis, with the magnetic wheels, were really strong, so my 08 shunter was great at hauling anything, but their main line diesels were really asthmatic and arthritic! The old Tri-Ang motors were better, but the detailing on the models was much cruders.

 

[takno]

I've been having quite a lot of fun recently getting some of these moving again. It's not too difficult as long as you have steady enough fingers to replace the brushes, and are willing to attack the whole thing with nail-polish remover before re-lubricating. The main issue I have now is that I want to do the hack where you replace the Ringfield motor with a CD-Rom drive motor, and I don't have a broken motor to do it with...

 

[DelW]

Do others run fleets of this age and if so can you recommend any clubs that are focused on keeping the "old toys" running?

I'd suggest that (post Covid) you try to visit a few model railway shows. I've been to several where there are layouts of (for instance) Hornby Dublo three-rail models, which must date from the 1950s, and even some Hornby O gauge from about the 1920s or 30s. Most of the exhibitors are only too happy to talk about their models too!

 

[Journeyman]

I'd suggest that (post Covid) you try to visit a few model railway shows. I've been to several where there are layouts of (for instance) Hornby Dublo three-rail models, which must date from the 1950s, and even some Hornby O gauge from about the 1920s or 30s. Most of the exhibitors are only too happy to talk about their models too!

Yeah, I've seen plenty of vintage layouts at shows. I've seen a guy who exhibits some Tri-Ang stuff from the sixties and seventies, there's a regular at Model Rail Scotland that runs Lima's short lived British-outline HO, and I'm sure there's a Tri-Ang TT gauge layout on the exhibition circuit too - I'd love to see that.

 

[birchesgreen]

Although my current layout is HO9 (so HO with N track) i do have a HO tram line and from time to time i get some of my old OO Hornby, Mainline and Lima locos out of the box they have been in since the early 90s and give them a bit of a run. Surprising how well they run after decades of inactivity.

 

[Peter C]

I've built up my model railway collection during two main periods and just about to start on a third. Growing up in the 70's/80's my collection (20 locos) was largely Hornby with one or two Lima and Mainline models (I kept all the boxes as a kid so pleased with that). My collection is focused on GWR/WR era from 1835-1985 (OK I don't have any broad gauge but stopped at time of GWR 150 celebrations). My second period was from 2004-2008 (now with my own house and spare bedroom for a layout) and during this time I purchased a further 30 locos - new ones were Hornby, Bachmann and Heljan but I also enjoyed picking up 2nd hand versions from Lima and Mainline. This 3rd period is just starting (early retirement) and I've been shocked by how expensive new locos cost. As such I've just bought a 2nd hand GWR 0-6-2 T engine made by Mainline and it's in fine working order. I've been unpacking and testing my collection and impressed that most engines still work. As such I get most enjoyment from running what I call a heritage service with my Mainline fleet (Pannier tank, Deans Goods, Prairie tank, Manor) or the old Hornby fleet (King, Hall, Pannier, GWR 0-4-0) plus Lima GWR railcar. All these locos are coming up for 40 years old. Do others run fleets of this age and if so can you recommend any clubs that are focused on keeping the "old toys" running?

I've been doing model railways for five years and in that time I've built up a collection of both older and newer engines/units. I've done some number-crunching and around 32% of my fleet is formed of old Lima/Mainline/Triang models; some approaching, or just over, 50 years old. I personally prefer the older models to a certain extent because they don't tend to go wrong as much as the newer ones, and if they do go wrong I can normally fix them with enough solder and time.
I've actually found that some of my older models are outright more reliable than their modern counterparts: my Lima Class 33, for example, has taken up the role of being my test engine for new trackwork because it works so well and if it derails it won't break the bank in trying to fix it, unlike some modern engines.

I'd suggest that (post Covid) you try to visit a few model railway shows. I've been to several where there are layouts of (for instance) Hornby Dublo three-rail models, which must date from the 1950s, and even some Hornby O gauge from about the 1920s or 30s. Most of the exhibitors are only too happy to talk about their models too!

At my local model/toy fair (which I think has been cancelled, whether due to the current situation or not I don't know), there was a man who had (I assume) a 6'x4' layout using purely old Hornby Dublo stuff. I never asked him about his layout or models but he showed that you can keep those older models running if you look after them.

-Peter

 

[AM9]

I've dipped into and out of models over time. In the late '70s/early '80s, my son had an interest so I bought some contemporary items: a Hornby class 47, an Airfix class 31 and an Airfix Royal Scot in BR green. The 47 was a bit lame and struggled with more than 5 coaches. Both the Airfix locos were a lot better, the 31 impressively so, - it could start 13+ coaches with ease especially with a crude pwm controller that I lashed up for it. Of the coaches we had, the Lima MKIIs weren't the best on detail, but with their pointed axles ends and metal wheels were by far the most free running. The others, both Hornby and Mainline (Bachmann) weren't that smooth rolling.

 

[Cowley]

I've dipped into and out of models over time. In the late '70s/early '80s, my son had an interest so I bought some contemporary items: a Hornby class 47, an Airfix class 31 and an Airfix Royal Scot in BR green. The 47 was a bit lame and struggled with more than 5 coaches. Both the Airfix locos were a lot better, the 31 impressively so, - it could start 13+ coaches with ease especially with a crude pwm controller that I lashed up for it. Of the coaches we had, the Lima MKIIs weren't the best on detail, but with their pointed axles ends and metal wheels were by far the most free running. The others, both Hornby and Mainline (Bachmann) weren't that smooth rolling.

I was going to say that the Lima mk1 was a very nice model in the 1980s and like you say with the metal wheels they ran very smoothly plus they were available in many different liveries.
I had a couple of (I think) Replica Railways mk1s including a buffet car which had better detail than the Hornby or Lima versions but didn’t run as smoothly, although I was able to change the bogies to Lima ones to improve them, I also saw a way of close coupling Lima stock that was quite simple in an article in the Railway Modeller thirty odd years ago and it made a huge difference to how a train looked.
But that was the beauty of those old models - They were robust enough to take a knife or a hacksaw to.

Anyway this is my last remaining Lima mk1 from my old Intercity rake (which used to be six coaches). It’s got a few extras like no smoking signs, people in the compartments and at a couple of the windows, a shortened coupling at one end, a couple of open droplights, white wheel rims, flush glazing and probably other things...

 

[raetiamann]

Some years ago I had an Airfix class 31 loco, which I said at the time had sound, or at least a crude version of. Thing was so noisy, sounding like a bag of scanners, but it ran perfectly.

 

[Cowley]

Some years ago I had an Airfix class 31 loco, which I said at the time had sound, or at least a crude version of. Thing was so noisy, sounding like a bag of scanners, but it ran perfectly.

Didn’t Hornby fit some kind of crude sound system to their Flying Scotsman for a while?
I seem to remember it was some kind of flap rubbing on something in the tender possibly.

 

[Peter C]

Didn’t Hornby fit some kind of crude sound system to their Flying Scotsman for a while?
I seem to remember it was some kind of flap rubbing on something in the tender possibly.

I believe this was the high tech 'realistic chuffing sound', to quote James May; it was a bit of metal mounted on an axle in the tender which rubbed against a bit of sandpaper which was connected to a noise box which would make the sound that bit louder. The tender shell did this fairly well itself though I think.

-Peter

EDIT: They actually fitted it to more than Flying Scotsman I think: I know in the early 2000s a B12 in BR Experimental Express Passenger Blue featured in a train set with sound-making facilities.

 

[Cowley]

I believe this was the high tech 'realistic chuffing sound', to quote James May; it was a bit of metal mounted on an axle in the tender which rubbed against a bit of sandpaper which was connected to a noise box which would make the sound that bit louder. The tender shell did this fairly well itself though I think.

-Peter

Yes. That’s where I heard it, thanks Peter.

 

[Peter C]

Yes. That’s where I heard it, thanks Peter.

You're very welcome

-Peter

 

[BRblue33]

I've a few old models that i still run on my layout. Airfix class 31. Mainline class 56. Lima class 33. Plus 3 Lima class 73's. All the Lima models have been fitted with CD motors . The class 56 may get one fitted.

 

[birchesgreen]

I believe this was the high tech 'realistic chuffing sound', to quote James May; it was a bit of metal mounted on an axle in the tender which rubbed against a bit of sandpaper which was connected to a noise box which would make the sound that bit louder. The tender shell did this fairly well itself though I think.

-Peter

EDIT: They actually fitted it to more than Flying Scotsman I think: I know in the early 2000s a B12 in BR Experimental Express Passenger Blue featured in a train set with sound-making facilities.

A second hand steam loco i bought a long time ago (probably late 80s) had such a device in it (though it no longer worked by then), i can't remember which loco it was, may have been a Black Five.

 

[sprinterguy]

The majority of the models on my layout are either from the late seventies/early eighties or are designs that originated back then. The purpose of my layout is to run the locos and stock that I have a nostalgic affection for and, as per the OP, I can't countenance the cost of brand new models these days so any purchases I do make tend to be secondhand through that well known online auction site. An exception to this is the new Oxford Rail J27 due out later this year, which for the first time in my life I have pre-ordered as it has both local relevance for me and is being offered for less than a hundred pounds, which is incredibly reasonable these days for a highly detailed, brand new model.

The most recent locos I have in my fleet at present are fifteen years old, which is thoroughly "modern" to my mind. The older seventies and eighties locos all run absolutely fine, even if some do have their own particularly foibles, for instance I am learning to hate Mainline and Bachmann split chassis' on their older steam locos.

There seems to be a general consensus that Lima's class 33s, 37s and 47s were incredibly advanced for their time in terms of detailing: There continues to be a strong secondhand market for them and quite a major movement in transferring detailed and weathered Lima bodies onto newer ViTrains and Hornby chassis'. They certainly seem to have stood the test of time.

 

[30907]

I still run two of the original Hornby M7s from c.1970 (though they are not brilliant runners - or indeed very accurate models) and a Wrenn R1 (excellent runner) and have various others which are really surplus to requirements. My Mk1 coaches are similar vintage.

 

[Bessie]

Update - the heritage fleet is growing! In the last few weeks I've picked up a Mainline Collett 0-6-0 GWR goods engine and a Bachmann GWR Modified Hall at a reasonable price from the well known auction site. Can't wait for Covid to be "over" and for model shows to start up again so I can get fresh ideas and speak to the experts.

 

[Cowley]

Update - the heritage fleet is growing! In the last few weeks I've picked up a Mainline Collett 0-6-0 GWR goods engine and a Bachmann GWR Modified Hall at a reasonable price from the well known auction site. Can't wait for Covid to be "over" and for model shows to start up again so I can get fresh ideas and speak to the experts.

I used to have one of those GWR Collett’s and it was a very nice model in its day.

 

[reddragon]

My old railway and now my new layout have always taxed my locos. The old has 6 coach trains and a hill of 1 in 10.

I had Triang, Hornby of various types, Mainline, Airfix, Lima, Wrenn, Hornby Dublo, Joeuff.

Triang - hard work to maintain
Hornby - reliable, easy to maintain but no traction so useless.
Airfix - broke a lot
Mainline - mostly very good if you didn't break the cogs or wheels (my 56 is a star)
Wrenn / Dublo - hit & miss. Some really good, others hard work
Joeuff - class 40 is still going!
Lima - The masters of survival, pulling power and ease to service. My Lima Western has been abused with heavy loads, lead weights, collisions and still runs perfectly on DCC and looks good

 

[PaulC1309]

Lots of Lima all dcc and run very well - 5 class 37s, 4 class 47s, 1 class 40, 4 class 20s, 117 dmu, 2 deltics (1 wearing a Dapol DP1 body), class 66, class 60 which is best runner of all with extra pickups and weight, class 26. Also Airfix class 31 decorated into network rail yellow- sounds like a coffee grinder but will pull a house down.

 

[Cowley]

Lots of Lima all dcc and run very well - 5 class 37s, 4 class 47s, 1 class 40, 4 class 20s, 117 dmu, 2 deltics (1 wearing a Dapol DP1 body), class 66, class 60 which is best runner of all with extra pickups and weight, class 26. Also Airfix class 31 decorated into network rail yellow- sounds like a coffee grinder but will pull a house down.

Sounds like a coffee grinder!