Hornby has produced models for the A4 for many years but the level of detail and prototypical accuracy for the revamped versions introduced in 2004 was significantly better than the previous versions. The situation is even more confusing because Hornby have now introduced the “Railroad” series; however these are based on early models some of which had tender-drive and Hornby now markets these as “budget” models. The EasiChas kit is not compatible with these models. It was specifically designed around the revised A4 introduced by Hornby in 2004.
We do not know how much work would be required to use the kit for the Bachmann version of the A4 since the Brassmasters kit has been specifically designed for the Hornby and not the Bachmann model.
We have tried to list all the models that the EasiChas kit is suitable for, although we do not have a complete list, and we will endeavour to update it when more information becomes available.
Revised Hornby A4
This was introduced in the autumn of 2004 and the major differences over the previous versions are:
1. Detailed lamp irons on the front of the loco.
2. A Cartazzi truck fixed to the frames; it does not have a gap between the bottom of the cab and the top of the truck.
3. Wide flangless wheels fitted to the trailing Cartazzi truck (a separate flanged set of wheels were available in a separate packet).
4. Sliding cab roof ventilator.
5. Wind deflectors fitted to both sides between the side cab windows.
6. An 8 PIN DCC decoder socket.
7. “Super Detail” branding and a magnifying glass on the front packaging.
8. Sprung buffers.
The post-2004 models we are aware of are:
|
Ref Number |
Year |
Name/Number |
Comments |
| R2338 | 2004 | 4901 Sir Charles Newton | Wartime black with NE on tender |
|
R2339 |
2004 |
4468 Mallard |
Blue livery |
|
R2340 |
2004 |
60031 Golden Plover |
Corridor tender/Late BR emblem |
| R2494 | ? | Guillemot | |
| R2721 | ? | Sparrow Hawk | Sound |
| R2991XS | ? | Sparrow Hawk | |
|
R2615 |
?? |
60021 Wild Swan |
Single chimney/Early BR emblem |
|
R3008 |
2011 |
60011 Empire of India |
Double Chimney/Late BR emblem/Corridor tender/Blue backed nameplate |
|
|
???? |
60003 Andrew K McCosh |
|
|
R2339 |
2011 |
Mallard |
Blue with valance |
|
R2805XS |
|
4468 Herring Gull |
DCC/Sound/Blue with valances. Single chimney |
|
R2888M |
?? |
4483 Kingfisher |
LNER Blue/Single chimney/Valance/Corridor tender. Sold as part of a train set (Flying Scotsman) |
|
R2896X |
2011 |
Sir Ronald Mathews |
DCC/Sound |
|
R2965 |
2011 |
Silver Link |
Grey livery/Valances |
|
R3012 |
2011 |
60027 Merlin |
Double Chimney/Late BR emblem/Corridor tender |
|
R2784X |
? |
Railroad A4 |
Loco converts but tender needs a lot of carving |
| ? | Falcon | From Heart of Midlothian train pack | |
| ? | Locos in Commonwealth collection |