Which Loco I Carnt Choose Help

[chris_geeza]

Out of these three hornby locos which would you have and if you own one what do you like and dislike about it?

[ChrisWV10]

I have the duchess and the a4 and seen the black 5 demo'd in my local shop when I decided on the a4. Depends on the realism you demand. For me they all make a good chuff. Purists will give a more detailed analysis and I have no idea what the real thing should sound like if the sound samples are incorrect but all I want is to be entertained. The duchess edges the a4 for good chuffing tho' I prefer the whistle on the a4 to the other 2. The duchess whistle sounds like an american loco (think casey jones) the black 5 sounds a bit strangled. a4 also has a guards whistle. Not sure if the black 5 does. Duchess doesn't. All have coal shovelling. Duchess has a good brake squeal if you drop the power to zero from med or higher quickly. They're all good looking locos but I think the A4 in blue is also more striking given that br black and green are quite common liveries on models. If I had none I'd go for the a4 for that reason (and the guards whistle.) Ultimately it's up you tho'. See if you can get a demo in your local shop?



Should add I'm very pleased with both! I have a couple of pics of the a4 and short vid on my layout thread
http://www.newrailwaymodellers.co.uk/Forums/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=21658&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=90#p308874

[SRman]

Agreeing with Chris, all look good. I don't have too many quibbles with the Hornby sounds, although the A4s don't chuff frequently enough per each wheel revolution as they come out of the box, but that can be fixed by tweaking a few CVs. The Balck Five can also be tweaked slightly to improve it, which means that the underlying sounds are already good.

My choice would be the Black Five, as it is a mixed traffic locomotive that can be used on almost any type of train you could wish to run.

(I should add that I don't own any of these myself but have seen and heard enough, between friends owning some and videos on YouTube, to make some judgements myself. Ultimately, though, it is a lot of money to spend, so you have to be happy with your choice, so get the shop to pull them out of the boxes and demonstrate them to you.

[UrbanHermit]

The duchess whistle sounds like an american loco (think casey jones)

That's rather odd, since the A4s were the only British locos to actually have an American style chime whistle...

[Bigmet]

Purely as models, the A4 is the best for external appearance of the three; it was completely newly tooled relatively recently, and it shows, in particular Hornby have the streamlined casing and tender very accurately rendered.

But as SRman posted, given the choice between 2 paciics, both less than 40 in class and confined to main line work by their high axleload; and the the largest class of mixed traffic loco ever to run in the UK with 842 built, that got absolutely everywhere especially in BR service...

[chris_geeza]

Went to my local shop hobbyrail in sutton coldfield looked at the A4 and the black class 5, in the end i went for the black 5 and they gave me a free loco crew so i carnt grumble

[ChrisWV10]

And what do you think of it? Or are you still 'testing'?

[chris_geeza]

I think its rather good loco just had to change the acceleration and deceleration from 8 to 40 makes it a more realistic starting and slowing down speed other wise if you accelerate too quick it ruins the motion of the loco, as my kids have a go on my layout now and then so makes it a bit easier for them to drive the loco at realistic speed.
Didnt have the city of shefield at the shop so couldnt try that one.