Airfix GMR 54122 Class 4F 0-6-0 Tender Locomotive

[96RAF]

Hello,

I'm still new to this. I recetly made a post about a Lima Class 33 loco and was blown away with information, so I'm hoping someone could shed some light on my most recent purchase?

Airfix GMR 54122 Class 4F 0-6-0 Tender Locomotive

I think it's absolutely beautiful, so I've bought it. Anyone any idea on rough year of manufacture or anthing else quirky about it?

 

Thanks!

Tom

[Going Spare]

Pat Hammond's catalogue states model 54122 was available between 1978 and 1981.

[Ruffnut Thorston]

Tender drive.

 

Airfix Railway System.

Later marketed as GMR, Great Model Railways, by Airfix.

 

 

Model tooling later passed to Palitoy, "Mainline".

 

Then to Dapol.

 

Then to Hornby.

 

Model still made in China for Hornby.

[Anglia998]

The most recent Hornby 4F 4323 (R3313) has now been discontinued.

This model was introduced in 2015.

[BreatGritain]

Thank you for the information. It still blows my mind that a 40 year old loco can run well. I had a brand new Hornby Pendolino, I don't for a second beleive that it will still be functional in 20 years, let alone 40.

I'm guessing in the real world this would have been used to pull passenger coaches?

 

Thanks again

[jane1707819582]

Class 4F more of a (F)reight loco .but could well have pulled coaches .

[BreatGritain]

Yep, that makes sense! 

 

Thank you!

[LCDR]

I guess there are quite a few contributors who have model locomotives which are 40 years old or over, I certainly have! 

 

I have Hornby Dublo models in my collection which must be 70 years old,(Duchess of Athol and Sir Nigel Gresley), and a Tri-ang 3F 0-6-0T which probably dates from 1955.

 

My oldest is a Clockwork Gauge O No. 2 Hornby 4-4-0 which dates from the 1920s.

[81F]

 My "Oldest" working loco must be 4982 Albert Hall (in terms of owning it longest) which I think dates from around the late 1970s I cannot remember the exact date but was bought from PECO in the may before Hornby brought out Kneller Hall.

 

However it is far from original in that I made a very bad job of detailing it and broke the original tender. After lanuishing in my bit box (minus motor and fron pony truck, I have restored it using spares off ebay and reunited it with its motor that had been powering a pannier during the intervening years. Dispite all this abuse it still runs well though not very often since its coarse wheels won't go through my poinbts verry well so I have not converted it to DCC.

 

The next oldest ibn terms of ownership must be my Airfix 61XX which I renumbered as 4141 and have converted to DCC. that is about 35 years old but has not been constantly run.

[81F]

Just a quick note about the Hornby version of the 4F, mine is loco drive and is mechanically better than an old Airfix 4F I used to own many years ago.

 

I always thought the Airfix mechanisms with their plastic wheels less well engineered than the Hornby tender rives so yours is certainly a good survivor especially compared to my contemporary Dean Goods which are bout to be converted to either dummy locos or a row of scrapped locos since I have replaced them with versions made by someone else.

[BreatGritain]

It hasn't been delivered yet - you never know, it might be terrible!

 

Where I live there's an old steam railway line that has been kept open for tourism. I know next to nothing about trains, but I looked into it, and the train I can see from my window at weekends (before lockdown) is a class 4F. I just had to buy this model, and for £25 it's a bargain. I've bought a small coal wagon with my villages name on it, hoping to find more local stuff over time.

[81F]

 In which case you may need parts!

 

I'm guessing but I think carbon brushes are likely to be the same as the Hornby Dean Goods. You may also find that the traction tyres may have gone as i did with an old dean goods. Not sure if these are the same as on the 4F but could be obtained up until a few years ago but I've not looked for a while. Hopefuylly though you will be lucky.

[BreatGritain]

Well that's something that i've completely overlooked. I'll have to hunt down a service sheet. I'm a novice and haven't done any loco repairs at all, except servicing.

[BreatGritain]

Could anyone help with sourcing a service sheet please? I've tried and can't find the correct one, I can't find a similar one either, as I don't really know what i'm looking for. Spoken to Airfix/Horby and got told they can't help due to the loco's age.

 

Thank you

[Going Spare]

The Airfix 4F service sheet is available in the Service Sheets and Spares section of the website of Lendons of Cardiff.

[BreatGritain]

Brilliant. Got it. Thank you!

[BreatGritain]

Arrived today, appearing to be in near perfect condition. But on a trial run the loco wheels completely locked up. Tender still pushing away fine though. 

 

On inspection is looks like one of the wheels or axels on the loco is warped. So it's being returned to the seller.

 

I'll be back soon to beg for more assistance. If the seller does agree to a refund, i'll need to know which era 4F people would most recommend for reliability and availability of spares. (Not new though, i'm skint!)

 

If the seller does not agree a refund, i'll need to know weather my diagnosis is correct, and where on earth I can buy the parts to repair this one!

[JJ73]

Hiya

Just wondering...Did Designers ever 'copyed' each other??? Cos the reason why I'm asking this, from the photos from that link on page 1 the 'LMS Black Fowler 4f 4454' or the 'GMR 54122 Class 4F 0-6-0' looks very similar to my Class J15 1P2F Designed by T.W. Worsdell!!!

 

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[BreatGritain]

An uneducated answer is, it's quite a common looking steam loco, i'm sure its coincidence?

 

The seller has apologised profusely and offered a full refund. Which leads me to that next question.

 

Which Class 4F would you buy? I like older locos, the tought of owning an old, working machine. But i also like spare parts being available. The airfix one I have just returned was a lovely model, but I couldn't find very many spares online.

 

Thanks

[81F]

 I think the basic 0-6-0 locomotives were generally independantly designed (much like cars are today) so while they conform to the basic layout they were not actually copies. I would also add that that the J15 has a much smaller boiler than the 4F which I am guessing may have been a development of the Midland railway 3F tender locos.

 

As to "copies" I think this was rare if not virtually no existant in the UK although I understand a set of SR Lord Nelso drawings were loaned to North British Loco Company in Glasgow when the LMS Royal Scott was being designed.

 

However, one copy I am aware of is the Vale of Reidol 2-6-2T locos. Originally designed by Davies and metcalf, the GWR later produced very similar locos but with different cylinders and valvegear.

 

Other loco types were made under license by othe r manufacturers such as the Robingson RODs, Stannier 8F, the Riddles  Austerity 2-8-0, 2-10-0s and 0-6-0ST.

 

Just out of interest does anyone know of others or would it be better to start a new thread?

[81F]

...Which Class 4F would you buy? I like older locos, the tought of owning an old, working machine. But i also like spare parts being available...

 

Thanks

 

Given that the Airfix one was not that robustly engineered I would go for the newer loco-drive Hornby one. I have owned both (a long tiome apart) but the Hornby one is a very nice model and runs beautifully.

 

I would also say the same for the old Airfix Casle which also passed through Mainline/Dapol and then Hornby. Indeed I have actually re-chassied an Airfix castle with a Hogwardts castle loco and tender chassis (or is rebodied a Hogwards Castle!)

[JJ73]

Ok Thank you for that 81F  😀

[BreatGritain]

Sacrilege! 

 

The Hogwarts Express is my dream loco. 

 

(My low standards reflect my low budget...)

[BreatGritain]

Sacrilege! 

 

The Hogwarts Express is my dream loco. 

 

(My low standards reflect my low budget...)

[81F]

 @BreatGrittain,

 

The Hogwards Castle was bought off ebaywith a damaged body. I had intended to keep it in the bit box and strip it down for spares as and when I needed them. However, it was quite a reasonable runner so I swapped the damaged body for that on an Airfix tenderdrive Caerphilly Castle which was not a particularly good runner. Given that a couple of attempts to get a decent Hogwarts Castle made up from other "spares or repair" locos failed dismally I hope I am partly forgiven.