No.80 Hornby Grange or Bachmann Hall?
I have been rather preoccupied of late and have not been keeping up with the various forums. I have given myself a break today and for some relaxation I will attempt an answer to the question - Hornby Grange or Bachmann Hall – which is better?
First why would you want a Hall or a Grange?
The old GWR constructed around 255 ‘Hall’ Class locomotives and then proceeded to build a further 70 or more ‘Modified Halls’. With 6ft driving wheels the Halls were designed to provide a powerful general purpose engine. As such they could be seen all over the BR Western Region on both freight and passenger duties, often deputising for the bigger and more powerful Castle Class.
In contrast the ‘Grange’ Class locomotives had slightly smaller 5ft 8in wheels. The Granges were supposedly rebuilds of earlier 2-6-0 locomotives and with their smaller capacity tenders they were designed for fast freight and intermediate passenger work. Construction of the Granges was limited to 80 locomotives and looking back at my Ian Allan books they must have been rather rare as I only recorded seeing four of the Class. My last memory of a Grange Class was on the Birkenhead to Chester line, an immaculate green liveried locomotive on a tanker train, I guess originating from the Stanlow oil refinery.
Now how do the models compare?
Hornby Overton Grange
Bachmann Guild Hall
Bachmann Mere Hall
I would say they all look good – even the older Bachmann split chassis varieties.
What happens if we put the models head to head?
Bachmann Guild Hall left verses Hornby Overton Grange right
Close up Bachmann Guild Hall left verses Hornby Overton Grange right
I would say these head to head pictures are the most definitive. I do wonder if the Smoke Box Handles and the Lamp Irons on the Hornby Grange are too thin. They are definitely rather delicate. In fact that would be my criticism of the Hornby Grange. Everything about the Hornby engine is very fragile – including the vacuum pump spindle and the sanding gear beneath the cab.
What about performance?
The newer Bachmann locomotives run superbly – the older ones tend to be somewhat problematic – although in the past these could often be improved by buying replacement nylon axle joiners direct from Bachmann.
However because of the small diameter of the boiler the Bachmann model of the Hall is rather light in weight and the model does not reflect the power of the prototype. The Hornby Grange is similar but appears to have more space available for adding lead ballast and can perhaps be persuaded to haul heavier model trains than the Bachmann engines.
On balance I prefer the Bachmann models.
First why would you want a Hall or a Grange?
The old GWR constructed around 255 ‘Hall’ Class locomotives and then proceeded to build a further 70 or more ‘Modified Halls’. With 6ft driving wheels the Halls were designed to provide a powerful general purpose engine. As such they could be seen all over the BR Western Region on both freight and passenger duties, often deputising for the bigger and more powerful Castle Class.
In contrast the ‘Grange’ Class locomotives had slightly smaller 5ft 8in wheels. The Granges were supposedly rebuilds of earlier 2-6-0 locomotives and with their smaller capacity tenders they were designed for fast freight and intermediate passenger work. Construction of the Granges was limited to 80 locomotives and looking back at my Ian Allan books they must have been rather rare as I only recorded seeing four of the Class. My last memory of a Grange Class was on the Birkenhead to Chester line, an immaculate green liveried locomotive on a tanker train, I guess originating from the Stanlow oil refinery.
Now how do the models compare?
Bachmann Guild Hall
I would say they all look good – even the older Bachmann split chassis varieties.
What happens if we put the models head to head?
Close up Bachmann Guild Hall left verses Hornby Overton Grange right
I would say these head to head pictures are the most definitive. I do wonder if the Smoke Box Handles and the Lamp Irons on the Hornby Grange are too thin. They are definitely rather delicate. In fact that would be my criticism of the Hornby Grange. Everything about the Hornby engine is very fragile – including the vacuum pump spindle and the sanding gear beneath the cab.
What about performance?
The newer Bachmann locomotives run superbly – the older ones tend to be somewhat problematic – although in the past these could often be improved by buying replacement nylon axle joiners direct from Bachmann.
However because of the small diameter of the boiler the Bachmann model of the Hall is rather light in weight and the model does not reflect the power of the prototype. The Hornby Grange is similar but appears to have more space available for adding lead ballast and can perhaps be persuaded to haul heavier model trains than the Bachmann engines.
On balance I prefer the Bachmann models.
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