Hornby Railroad Flying Scotsman- R3086, Review and buy links

Hornby railroad Flying Scotsman

The Prototype

The Hornby Railroad Flying Scotsman is based on the world famous Flying Scotsman locomotive .She was built in 1923, for the LNER. The incomparable Nigel Gresley was the designer. He was the chief mechanical engineer of the GNR. The Great Northern Railway was one of the constituent companies present for the grouping in 1923. Flying Scotsman is a Pacific locomotive with a 4-6-2 wheel arrangement. The first Pacific in the U.K was built for the GWR in 1908. That was the “Great Bear”.

During the 1920’s and 30’s Flying Scotsman was the flagship express locomotive for the LNER. Appearing at exhibitions and heading the Flying Scotsman service from London to Edinburgh.

Famous for many firsts, Flying Scotsman was the first locomotive to reach 100 mph in 1934. She also has the record for the longest non stop run for a steam locomotive at 422 miles. This was set in Australia in 1989.

Officially retired in 1963, Flying Scotsman is the most popular steam locomotive in preservation. She frequently sets records for public attention. She is also the most modelled locomotive. Currently the Hornby Railroad Flying Scotsman is the best value model available.

Prototype photos by the author.

Note the buffer beam detail and pipework.
Note the banding detail
Cab detail on the Flying Scotsman

The Model

The Railroad range, by Hornby is a budget conscious attempt to make model railways more affordable and robust. The models have less, easily broken detail and a more basic motor. They have pickups on all wheels and the usual Hornby coupling. Consequently they are compatible with all other Hornby models. The liveries are accurate and they are DCC ready, just needing a decoder.

If you are looking for an entry level model that is good value and accurate in detail, you can’t go wrong with the Railroad range.

Review

The model itself has many finescale features. The linkage rods are nicely detailed, unlike some of the Railroad range. This may be an issue if you give this model to a child as they are more fragile. A plus is that there are pickups on all the tender wheels.

Hornby Railroad Flying Scotsman

The boiler banding has been simplified, with just a white line and the splashers are picked out in gold. Compare with the prototype, above. The nameplate is not etched but is nicely printed, however the font used on the cab is the basic version with no highlighting.

Hornby Railroad Flying Scotsman

Metal buffers with a finescale look, are provided, but they are not sprung. The running board is also a bit basic. Handrails are separately fitted and have a scale appearance.

Hornby Railroad Flying Scotsman

The safety valves are made of metal, another nice touch at this price.

Hornby Railroad Flying Scotsman

Windows are flush glazed and without lining. There is moulded cab detail but it rather basic and it is not painted. Super detailing could not be expected at this price point. See The prototype cab above.

The model is DCC ready and was fitted with a decoder for testing.

Overall this is an excellent model for the price.

Running the loco.

The locomotive has quite a hefty weight. The body is plastic with most of the weight in the chassis. Performance is good with eight coaches being pulled with ease. As with most new engines it benefited from running in. Overall the model is a good performer with some finescale touches and a nice price. The current train set features the Railroad model with three teak panelled coaches.

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