One of the last gap’s in Locoyard’s reviews of Southern models is the unrebuilt West Country / Battle of Britain pacific.  So hopefully this review will wrap things up nicely!

Class: Rebuilt West Country / Battle of Britain class

Use: Express Passenger and Express Goods

Region: Southern

Era: 1957-1967

Preserved examples:

34010 – 21C110 – Sidmouth – under restoration – Swanage Railway
34016 – 21C116 – Bodmin – awaiting overhaul – Mid Hants Railway
34027 – 21C127 – Taw Valley – under overhaul – Severn Valley Railway
34028 – 21C128 – Eddystone – operational – Swanage Railway
34039 – 21C139 – Boscastle – under overhaul – Great Central Railway
34046 – 21C146 – Braunton – operational – West Somerset Railway
34053 – 21C153 – Sir Keith Park – operational – Severn Valley Railway
34058 – 21C158 – Sir Frederick Pile – under overhaul – Mid Hants Railway
34059 – 21C159 – Sir Archibald Sinclair – awaiting overhaul – Bluebell Railway
34101 – Hartland – under overhaul – North Yorkshire Moors Railway

Note, these are rebuilt versions only, a further 10 unrebuilt versions have survived in preservation

Manufacturer: Hornby

Model Reviewed: R2608 34026 Yes Tor (click here for prototype Info)

Motor: 5 pole Loco-drive

Power: Heavyweight

DCC options: 8 pin dcc ready/fitted/sound

Locoyard Review

Detailing:

5/5

Fantastic!  You can tell this is a modern release, with everything from rivets, route disc irons and pipework present.  The cab is great (below), not that you’ll notice it much as it is an enclosed cab.  The lack of an opening cab roof is not enough to minus half a point!

Outline/Looks:

5/5

The Bulleid/Riddles clash of ideals is apparent, with correct Bulleid-Firth-Brown wheels, valve gear and Lemaître exhaust.  It captures the standardised feel of the prototype perfectly.

Finish/Decoration:

4.5/5

Excellent overall with good printing and fantastic nameplates with crests as appropriate.  The brunswick green is very good, although not quite up to Bachmann’s standards.  The lining is fine too.  The only real minus comes from the small but present split line created by the moulding.  I’ve read of it being particularly bad in some cases, but this version was no worse than other models with this common problem.

Running Qualities:

4/5

It has a very smooth and quiet motor with good pick-ups, and it does not stall.  It feels heavier than Hornby’s unrebuilt version, which is as it should be.  The front bogey can come into contact with the valve gear, causing a short, which can make it a little unreliable on a few occasions.

Relative Power:

5/5

A really powerful model capable of pulling very heavy loads.  It is at least as strong (relatively speaking of course) as the prototype.

Specification:

5/5

NEM coupling pocket in tender,  DCC ready/fitted/sound versions, great cab and details, what more could you want?

Value:

4/5

Expensive and it is fairly rare secondhand which means you’ll struggle to get it for much less than £80.  But it is a high quality product, so at least you’re getting a great model for the money.

Overall Locoyardometer Score: 4.6

An excellent five star model and the best of the three Bulleid pacific variations produced by Hornby.  Let’s hope they produce an unrebuilt Merchant Navy to complete the collection!

Detailometer 5, Outlineometer 5, Finishometer 4.5, Motorometer 4, Powerometer 5, Specometer 5, Valueometer 4, Locoyardometer 4.6