As with the Bachmann 66, the locomotive was worth the wait.  Unlike the Bachmann 66 there really is no “but…”; it is just superb and, in my opinion (for what its worth), the finest R-T-R modern-image release to date. 

The locomotive looks superb straight out of the box (one being immediately struck by its sheer bulk and solid feel).  The body-side grills are fantastic (being better, in my opinion, than the excellent Craftsman etched class-60 grills with which one formerly improved the Lima model) and draw the eye immediately to the interior of the locomotive which is itself fully modelled.  The paint finish is superb and the prominent glazing modelled absolutely flush with no discernable prism-effect.  The prominent mesh on the locomotive roof is comprised of four separate etches.

Placing the locomotive on the rails one sees immediately that it sits solidly on the rails (with none of the looseness that characterises current Bachmann models) and neither have Hornby have scrimped on their rendition of the WIPAC headlight clusters (they choosing to spurn Bachmann’s dubious practice of printing the outermost light), with each lens clearly modelled and behind which sits a tiny, independently-functioning LED.  Having said that, if I have a criticism of the model (and it must be read with the word “superb” very much in mind) it is that the ultra-bright LEDs used by Hornby are overpowering in a way that the lights on the prototype are not. 

Apply the power and further differences between Bachmann and Hornby emerge.  There is no compromise on pick-ups (all twelve wheels having very neat contact wipers) and the mechanism is silent and powerful throughout the speed range; there are none of the grating and rubbing sounds that characterise a Bachmann 66 under power.  The weight of the one-piece diecast chassis is transferred directly to the wheels enabling the model to emulate the prototype in its ability to start a heavy load.  Certainly, it started a very heavy rake of 30 Hornby HAAs (with the additional drag of pick-ups on the rear wagon to power the flashing tail light) without a hint of wheelslip – a feat beyond a single Bachmann 66.   

So what improvements can be made?  The short answer is very few.  Apart from having to break into the cab to insert a driver (and I should add at this stage that it is only when one does this that one can appreciate the wealth of detail that has been incorporated; power and brake handles, cab-to-shore telephone, printed dials on the control panel, separately-fitted AWS indicator and radio controls on the central windscreen pillar, coathooks and other details on the rear bulkhead and even a fire extinguisher immediately behind the secondman’s seat), I did very little.  Removing the cab also exposes the LEDs for the headlights and so I placed a tiny dab of yellow paint on the diodes that illuminate the outer rectangular lights – a modification that I think does improve the look of the model.  

Bring on the SouthWest Digital Class 60 sound decoder…!