Given the general prices of model railway locos these days, hornby railroad seems like a lifesaver for a young person interested in joining the hobby

I remember the magic as a kid ripping open Christmas wrapping paper and seeing a glimpse of that Hornby railways logo but £90 odd for a model that is a lower quality version is just ridiculous for a plastic mould and a motor that’s worth about £5. That’s more expensive than even the super detailed ones should be. I love model trains but i think model trains are the lowest value for money product you can possibly buy. Great video as always sam.

Can I just say, I really appreciate that you have put the ads in the appropriate place, not cutting you off in the middle of a sentence or something, it just makes the video seem that much more professional.

"I have been very guilty in the past of worshipping super expensive and super detailed models." *Cough*reviewtherapidostirlingsingle*cough*

At first I thought it was a good deal, but seing how they downgraded the mechanism I definately agree with your ratings. Value maybe half a star off becase the 2012 one is definately better. Great review, Sam

If Hornby simply standardised across their entire range by fitting a good quality five-pole motor with a flywheel to every loco, it would probably save them money overall and avoid criticisms about crawls, pulling power, smooth running and longevity. You're right that this is more important than differences in detail or finish between the ranges, because many owners will be happy and able to modify, upgrade or weather their models to improve them visually. I was able to stand on the footplate of Mallard recently, and it was quite an experience, making me eager to superdetail the cab of an A4 model soon!

Sam now you are talking my language and price range. I purchased this same engine and I love it . I live my buying fantasy through watching your videos. I only buy the ones you recommend that I can afford. Your reviews save me a lot of trouble in returning items that have problems. Thank you for this video. Keep them coming.

Brilliant! I've always been fascinated by the valve gear, it's so mesmerising

I quit the hobby a while back due to the prices and find it amusing how this is an affordable basic railroad model and it's still nearly £100. It was only around 15 years ago when I'd pay £70 or so for something super detailed. When it came to diesels you could pick up the Hornby superdetailed locos for £50. When sound fitted locos started to become a thing even those were less than you'd pay for just the loco these days. Obviously there's Inflation to consider within the last 15 years but it wouldn't make it that much more expensive.

Great review Sam. I’m returning to the hobby after 20 years out and your reviews are incredibly insightful. I’ve since acquired a Railroad 9f a railroad Jinty and a Super detailed 2800 class. They were all uses but the super detailed model, while incredible is soo fragile in comparison to railroad models. I will be sticking to Railroad models in future for robustness, shame about the motor and pickups though. But more railroad reviews please. At £100 that’s more my budget (mainly cos I’m tight).

Thanks Sam, you always speak so much sense and good to hear your views as always

Hey Sam! I love your channel and your very entertaining and I just started watching last week keep up for good work!🤩🤩

The Famous LNER 3-Cylinder Pacific that Still holds the World Speed Record, Hope Mallard Returns for her 100th Anniversary

A 5 pole motor, a higher ratio worm and wheel, and some added pickups and you're golden.

Can you do an episode of Sam’s Engineering where you take the railroad model and spruce it up with paints and wiring such as a beginner could copy and improve? If it has the infrastructure couldn’t you show us how to cheaply make it better, even buying and installing a 5 pole motor?

Glad to see some Railroad models being reviewed. They're all i have now and they are super reliable and run real well.

I'm a model train fan with a budget, and I usually buy things that catch my eye. Thanks to you, we have an interactive catalogue of models that are worth getting that you can recommend

Brilliant review. I have the same model as this, and it is a fantastic runner. I got it to remind me of my visit to the NRM, about a decade ago, when I actually got to sit in the cab (The had steps for visitors to climb in, then, I don't know if that's the case now). You can feel the history, when you're in the Mallards cab, it's rather spectacular.

Great review Sam. Now in my 3rd year of this hobby I have being favoring Hornby’s Railway models and steering clear of the Railroad range of which I bought a few of earlier on. Having said that I don’t mind some of the railroad ones and would like to see some diesel reviews. Whilst we’re on the topic of Hornby diesels, the class 50’s & 60’s (Railway range) I think are particularly good, almost as good as the class 56. Cheers

Saw the real thing in person last weekend, always wanted a model one, this seems perfect. Deffo one of the people who just enjoys running stuff, Im not super fussed on detail, as long as the livery is right and its the right shape I'm happy really. And yes, more diesels please! :3

Would love to see more Hornby railroad reviews! Right in my sort of budget / price range 😊

I recently got this locomotive, absolutely stunning

Very smart. I'm new to this hobby and recently got the Flying Scotsman train set. The mechanism on this model looks very similar to that of my Scotsman, which is, according to the blurb that came with it, a three pole motor with a flywheel. It accelerates and decelerates really nicely and smoothly, but the crawl leaves a bit to be desired. With that said, I'm loving it, and am having to resist temptation to buy a tonne of track, buildings etc.

Bought this model recently , but i also have a Railways A4 , specifically the experimental Purple one I love them both and they've really made me like A4s a lot more than i did lol However I must state that both my Railways A4 and Railroad A4 came in perfect condition - the Railways one has the block of ice and my Railroad Mallard has the same polystyrene as yours , so it shows that there's some models that are good and some that aren't when they arrive. Mine also runs absolutely fine Awesome video as always

Hello Sam, I guess I have been unfortunate with mine. It had all kinds of bits broken already when taken out of the box, even though I used the holes in the back of the polystarine packaging (railings etc). When i ran it it would continously derail, even though running on outer curves, because the front bogees would come off. Found they were over tightened so loosened them, but still derails. I ve got 60+ locos all bought off ebay, and all but a few work ok, as my first brand new buy this was saddly a disapointment. Understand that my location in thailand might mean postage damage was possible, but the package was ok. Enjoy your reviews mate, keep up the good work!

Good review Sam, it also explains a lot of things. I have been messing around with A3/A4 chassis, fitting the newer chassis to my older tender driven locos. Hornby have obviously changed the mechanism, the old ones used the same as the expensive A4s, it was just that the valve gear was a bit clunky. The mechanisms I have been buying also must have used tender pickups, not the 4 pin lead but the 2 way arrangement on the tender pin. What they have done is changed the mechanism to the later Railroad Tornado type and it looks like the tender as well. I had lost the plate that holds the dummy pony truck axle in, as you cannot get it as a spare, I asked Hornby if they could send me one. Hornby did send me the plate, which was good, but it didn't fit. Surprisingly the plate is different between the old A4 chassis and the Tornado one.

Thanks for sharing Sam. Very good idea. I always go full fat, but Railroad models are extremely important, and as you noticed really pretty well detailed ... 'though not that cheap. A4's are definitely holding their price seemingly at the moment. They do need to differentiate between the 2 grades. I've seemingly found that Bachmann locomotives appear to pickup more consistently without tender pickup, than Hornby ones do, almost justifying their insistence in not having tender pickups! Careful with the locomotive brake rods - I recently purchased a full fat blue Mallard, BR, which is absolutely a gem, except, it was coming off at the points ... which I quickly found out was a slightly bent downwards set of brake rods! Thanks for sharing, as usual Sam. Al.

It's so cool to see an A4 in your videos. While your review may have been a bit harsh, I have started noticing those same things on my Hornby Railroad Mallard. However, considering it was my first purchase, I'm not bothered about that, just aware of the downgrade I have compared to other locos... Aside from that, another cool review overall. Nice to see A4s again

I've been after an affordable A4 for ages, then this year I inherited an old Bachmann Branchline Sir Nigel Gresley (model 31-954) from my grandfather. I recommend it if you manage to find one. This one seems very old but well looked after. It runs well, but isn't a strong puller (I have a 2.4% incline on my layout, and it can manage 4 or 5 coaches up it comfortably at best - although the coaches I used are heavier than standard because my granddad has put loads of lighting gubbins in them). It can do 1st radius curves too, which is good for me on my little 6'x4' layout. That's my review.

Sam: its only 100 pound! Affordable! Me: im ok with my 040's

Sam, thanks for this video. I skipped buying the more detailed version when they were available a few years ago so was wondering about the Railroad versions. Now I see I will pass on this one. I’m sure Hornby will cycle these back into production again in a year or two.

At long last, the affordable mallard!

I think their best one is R2339, the first generation of new tooled A4's. Have managed to fit a TTS chip in the loco body with a long thin speaker. Has the pickups in the tender too, but the tender can still be detached. Still a great runner.

Just ordered this today for my son for Christmas. £120.00 in my local model shop. Looking forward to seeing it running. Looks a great model.

Good review Sam, I like the Mallard it is the same type of my favourite loco Bittern

Now on Hornby website they said that the railroad mallard have a 5 pole motor and it also said skew wound.Great review Sam

Nice review Sam, I consider myself intimidate level modeller and I balance up new fancy top range, vs hornby last 10 years vs occasional railroad. A good example I bought the latest 9f railroad and I really cant believe for the extra 120 Id enjoy that new bachmann version anymore.

I have a c1979/1980s BR Green Mallard, and even that had glazing in the cab, and although still basic the pipework in the cab was picked out in a brass colour! And you got a driver and fireman figuers

100% agree with you on this as relatively budget orientated on this hobby as i only have 1 or 2 super detailed models that took me ages to save for there is nothing wrong with cheaper models if you just want to have that model for your layout maybe a railroad vs main could be a good set of videos like the old thomas vs style!!!!! Great review as always!

Great overview Sam. Did you spot the daylight under the right-hand wheel of the rear truck? Seems the wheel isn't actually in contact with the track.

Good review, Sam! I have a Railroad A4 (Silver Link) that came in a train pack with matching carriages (the ones with the scale 1ft window cill). It's okay, but from what you say it must be closer in age to your earlier Railroad A4, i.e mid 2000's.

This was one of the first locos I had, loved the proper bearings

I so wanted to like this and buy it, but now I'm so sure I want to. I watched this review before, so thanks Sam!

Hi sam I only have 2 a4s both in gather blue One a super fat version of Mallard before every one was using the plug. So early till mid 2000s cost me £85 new from Banbury model shop Other one is a 80s Margate built seagull. Look stunning when going round track You rise some good points in this video Keep safe arp

Hi Sam, The TTS sound version is slightly more expensive and viewing some photo's it seems the decoder and speaker are located in the tender. Maybe with tender pick-ups too ? But you're completely right: no savings can be accepted on good running properties and tender pick-ups are a must. They can also blame it on Covid as all the greedy businesses up there now. Thanks for sharing and pointing this out to Hornby !

My 5 year old Railroad A4 runs very well (5 pole, tender pick ups) and looks really good. No trade off in performance against the super detail models, unlike your review sample. Mine cost £48 new at a show! Should have bought 2!

I'm not too picky personally. As long as it passes the silhouette test I'm mostly happy, although I definitely do appreciate the more fine detail when it's there. I tend to want mid range locos, but I only really buy basic rollingstock.

Loving these mini documentries of models it feels like watching it on TV

I'm all for more Railroad-style reviews, and not just from Hornby if other manufacturers do something similar. This was interesting and I'd happily watch more like it. One minor complaint is that when you were running the 3 trains, I couldn't see which A4 were on the inside and middle lines. Would have been nice to know.

Great review

I like the Railroad range as its pretty much the era of model trains I remember and they are decent enough to run even when you have some super detailed locomotives on your layout. Hornby Railroad models are also still cheaper than their rivals latest attempt of a budget range known as EFE.

Hello Sam! I have an older A4 Mallard from the Railroad series, purchased back in 2018 if I'm not mistaking. I have an issue with the leading wheels, they seem prone to derail. Any advice on how I could try and fix that? I tried swapping the original spring to something a little stronger, in the hope it will keep them pushed against the track, but that made only a mild difference.

As ever, Hornby have done their stuff. Beginners' level it maybe, but a stop-frame at around 23:46 shows that Hornby have captured the elusive lines of the A4 to perfection. Yep - as to getting the aura of a locomotive, no-one can rival Hornby.

Lovely video, Mr Warwell! My Mallard’s buffers just fell off, lol!

Great video sam

Look really nice just like the other A4s in your collection 🤩🤩👍

I don’t actually own a running A4 (I have three old beyond repair incomplete models)so this has got my interest.

I'm not an 00 modeller (my scale is H0) but this one is in my wishlist along with the Q1.

Sam I have a Thomas loco and when I put it on the tracks my train keeps on cutting out how do I fix it

A good video as always Sam of Gresley Pacifics. Have been looking at r3371 also r3395tts.

I have the same thing here, only it came in a Mallard Pullman set, and even I had detailing breakage going on, even though it was barely used. I need to find someone that can give my loco some proper detailing and stuff. Any ideas, or takers?

Hi Sam, You said that the older BR version did have a DCC Decoder fitted suggesting the new one didn't, but did the box not state 'DCC Fitted'?

Grate video!

Someone once told me that there are some transfers to improve the detail of the livery, but I have searched on the internet and I couldn't find it, does anyone know anything about this?

My first ever model was a slightly earlier railroad mallard, then I bought a Caledonian Smokey joe. I still have my mallard, but it doesn’t run very well. Might fix it up soon.

It's a very Beautiful and well priced Model yours also seems like a smooth runner compared to other locomotives I've seen.

I've got one of the Railroad TTS models and also one of the more expensive Railway models. I have to say I was pretty underwhelmed with the Railway version. The only thing that I couldn't handle with the railroad version was the funny flaky gold lettering on mine. Oh and I replaced the chunky plastic coal load. A few transfers later and I was a happy chappy. Performance on mine is way better than yours maybe I was lucky or the older ones were better? Nice review as always Sam.

Sam I think the coal is like that because you can get a digital sound version which is what I have so I think the coal was like that because of the speaker and they do have tender pickups aswell and the performance is way better with the pickups and does a really good crawl

Railroad Mallard is the star of my engine shed microlayout 😂😂 I’ve added a crew and painted the cab detail. Mechanically mine doesn’t struggle to crawl like yours does though. It’s not perfect but it is much smoother at low speeds.

How do you stick the top of the mallard to the engine cause I have that exact one and it came off

Rather a great model for the railroad range, really reminds me of the 70’s-80’s Hornby railways A4, that tender is definitely just the one used in that period with a few subtle tweaks, great review as usual, Sam! -theimperialdiamondspinosaurus

Amazing video once again I totally agree with you on the Rail Road A4 Mallard It’s a shame Hornby they don’t do Other styles of A4 in railroad Range just like Seagull A4 what my son got And also I’m wondering if you are going to do railway roundabout series this year again on your models steam locomotives 👍👍👍

They should of made the weight 468g lol Just got an HM2000 as an upgrade from a bachmann easy controller What coaches are behind the hornby railways in blue that you ran? I really like them and want to pick up a set

good vid sam stay safe lee

Hey sam's trains I have that same model and it is a very very good running model

A stunning model of Mallard

Another great video

This sounds interesting an affordable mallard great video sam

Yeah this is probably the same engine that came with my model set last year. The valve came out and I had it sent back to get a replacement. Their choice to do that and I believe the valve malfunctioned again. Lightning strikes twice maybe? Anyway it's nice to see not all Mallards are lemons.

I got this one last week! I got it for 94 pounds. It's so amazing. its UNFREAKINBELIEVABLE!

Hey Sam, since you did this video showcasing cheaper alternatives to high end locos. Could you do something in a similar vein with rolling stock. Like where to get a decent rake of less detailed coaches for example. Pullmans and other similar coaches, like birdcage canopy coaches can break the bank if you want a decent rake. What are some good products if you want quantity and looks from a distance rather than detail?

I need that still, I’ve had models for 14 years and I’ve never got Mallard yet! No idea why. I do have an A4, but that one is 60001 Sir Ronald Matthews with DCC Sound (not TTS). That one used to be LNER 4500 Gargany and built in 1938. Hornby made no. 4500 in a train pack called Queen of Scots I believe. Nice video Sam. Kind regards. Dan

Hello Sam, is it TT 1:120(?) or 00 (1/76 Body?) ist there anywehre one class A4 in 1/87 ? merry Christmas greetings from germany

Hello there Sam! Awesome loco there mate! And also, can you do a review on the Class D51 Japanese Steam locomotive?

Couldn't find the odd loco out... unless it was the non-blue A-4 you had running. Very nice review and I trust your judgement. I would trust, without comparing to the non-blue A-4 you got for a better deal, this loco will be a good seller for those who like "economy-priced" choice locomotives... for those who always wanted a Mallard. John BC, Canada p.s. gonna watch your review from three years ago on the "same" locomotive.

Amazing video!

I didn't recall if you said it actually had pickups in the tender, visually though, it looks like it doesn't. I have the Gresley Collection. and annoyingly, while the A1, A3 and A3 do have tender pickups, with the decoder socket in the tender. The P2 however, has the decoder socket in the Loco, with no tender pickups.

Hi Sam, isn't this just the TTS model with the sound and tender pickups taken out? I have the TTS one and it's runs a damn sight smother than that. I guess the TTS had the 5 pole motor.

Cheap is right though. I bought a 0-6-0 locomotive from trainworld today in Southern Pacific's black & Roman font livery. I can't wait to see what is in store.

Went to hattons today, bought a rolls royce phantom 3 and an Austin low rider taxi in oo gauge

One question I do ask is what are your thoughts on the rear pony truck being in the fixed position.

ive got 2 sam lol one of them i brought and the other i got in a job lot but i dont know how it runs i will sell one when i get to it thx ben :)

I still have two Horny engines from the 1960s, both still work as I have kept them since new as a child. Not really bothered with scale trains until I started watching the TV series on Horny. After looking into the company as it is now I can not believe the quality issues and standard of customer care that people have to deal with and the running issues with so called high end models. I'll keep my two from my childhood thank you!

Would the DCC Mallard run on a normal DC layout?

Indeed, it is an older tender! But, yes: the tender pickups are a real issue. I have the TTS version of this model, so it's very noticeable when it momentarily cuts out over points and such... and tender pickups would most likely fix that. Overall, I still think it's a good package for the £116 that it cost - but, this is an issue that bears mentioning...

Did I spot the B12 in the textiles tower siding? Guessing that's the odd one out although not entirely sure I got the loco right 😅

I didn’t know mallard was affordable first hand . You’ll find a good deal sometimes on eBay. Great video sam

Great video Sam's trains I'm currently looking at buying a Hornby Mallard and i would like to know how much it would cost to by one with 7 coaches on eBay and I Would Like to Know would it be able to pull either 5 or 7 or 16 coaches with a Yellow Saxa Salt Van, a Brown Cattle Car and a Grey GW Mogo Vent Van behind it under its own power and i would like to see a video of the Mallard pulling its maximum weight under its own power.

Yea I have this for close to two years now, bought this with that BR Blue Flying Scotsman you reviewed a while back. :D

You gave a very fair review, I can understand the affects of inflation over 9 years but not that much of a drop in standards ! Maybe someone will take note, I have.