That's more expensive than a lot of washing machines and they have a huge motor, loads of metal, lots of lights and cleans my undies 😮.

I've been into model railways/ tramways for about 50 years but the prices now are crazy. I as a pensioner live on £500 a month , how can any independent modeller afford something like that

I’m still feeling sick paying $600 for a brass hybrid BLI locomotive, had to destroy receipt before wife found it 😬😵

Hi Sam, a couple of points from an LMS anorak. You say a couple of times this was rebuilt as a standard Princess, but actually Princess Anne, as it was called, was also unique. It had a more Duchess like steam chest and cylinders. It is good that the radiator flap at the front moves because on the real thing it would be up when running but down when idle.

Washing machines sell by the million so costs spread by the million, I used to see the turbo at Stafford on Saturday mornings, roughly 11.15 off to Liverpool, grime covered, blinkers fitted, as i was about 11 or 12 years old it really intreaged me, I yearned to see it and everything else in full LMS livery and now I can, I'm 86, not in good health and I absolutely love it and all the beautiful LMS stuff that modelling allows, thank you to all manufacturers and to you Sam for showing all the stuff that you do Pete

Through the camera, the light on the back looks very authentic for oil lamps. They aren't bright at all in real life!

Hornby's prices have been really skyrocketing lately. I was discouraged from getting my own APT set, but luckily I was able to pick one up pre-owned from Hattons for almost half of the price. What a steal!

Typical of Hornby to create a heavy model at last & then they go & skimp on the motor's horse-power! I think I'll stick to my trusty old Tri-ang-Hornby Princess. She may be a little noisy at 60 ++ years old but she still looks a treat & runs like there's no tomorrow! Turbo...eat yet heart out! & ;good luck if you decide to re-spray the Turbo-Tender to match the front end colour lol. Great video thanks Sam. You have come a long way with your presentation since the early days on your channel...just sooooo professional & thorough these days. The picture & sound quality has got so much better. Keep up the good work my son. Cheers. A.

I'm an American (Texan). At RRP (not counting shipping and keeping VAT, cuz some shops exclude it for overseas orders, some don't) it comes out to $323 USD (21 hrs of work for me before taxes). For around that price (give or take a couple bucks & still excluding shipping) I can buy: Approximately 1,300 rounds of 9mm ammunition About 40 meals from various fast food restaurants (Subway footlong sandwiches, entire pizzas, hamburgers w/ drink & fries [chips for yall Brits]) A decent pistol chambered in .22LR and about 650 rounds of said ammunition (did buy the pistol as a birthday present to myself) 4,875 rounds of .22LR ammunition (very underpowered round. More for fun/training at a shooting range than self defense) With an additional 20-30 bucks I can buy a very basic AR-15 rifle, fully assembled (kits can be cheaper if you find good deals) Granted, Texas-based Gun Nut may not have the best price comparisons for yall Brits, but entire weapons or easily 2 week's worth of (admittedly unhealthy) meals. Hornby what the hell are yall on man.

Hey Sam! Great and honest review here, as always. I do have a tip for you. I own one of the Dublo range Scotsman centenary models, which have diecast bodies. I had to run it in for longer at a slightly higher speed to fully loosen up the mechanism (roughly 45 mins in each direction, at 55-60 speed). Once I had done that, it performed exactly the same as my main range A1 with decent crawl and good torque. The more I ran it, the more it started to match my other Hornby locos in performance. Hope this helps!

As soon as i saw this on hornby a model world, i knew you would eventually review it, such a stunning model, and as always a great video

The bag of plastic parts is clearly a new common accessories pack - it's identical to the one that came in the P2 boxes, and I imagine the brake rigging is standardised for any Pacific locomotive. Anyone thinking of buying this for a DCC layout should add the price tag for Hornby's new 21-pin decoder too - ouch! You're into Broadway Limited kind of money already!

hi sam. going to keep this short and bitter sweet. back lamp i noticed that while driving forward it lit up white when it should be red and in revers it lit up red when it should be white. hornby shoddy finished product.

Samuel's TRAINS is back at it again with another obscure model locomotive.

Sam, about a year ago we in the US got our own steam turbine locomotive from BLI, the PRR S2, I paid $800 for it, mostly made of brass. I would love to see your thoughts on one, especially after reviewing this locomotive.

Great video, fella. Always good to see modelling happening. Can't wait to see the next video with trains running round

Another great review, I have been following your show for some time now and must say you are developing it to amazing levels, especially the 3d printing side, I watch every show as soon as they are released, great entertainment, keep up the great work.

As I model the Liverpool to Manchester line I’ve nagged Hornby for years to produce it. Yes it’s expensive but, I allowed this in my budgeting for this year. So for me it’s worth it. The front hinged plate was to allow more air into the radiator for an oil bath that lubricated the turbines.

Hornby is pricing itself out existence. It is only a matter of time.

Awesome video Sam, The reason steam turbines don't work on locomotives is that at High speed they're great, but at low speed, they're terrible. This is why all US Steam Turbine locomotives were never successful. At Least William Stainer's attempt was somewhat successful.

This sealed the deal for me, I’m sticking to my plarail for the foreseeable future!

About the front coupling, I think it might just be a spare? Given the very small reverse turbine you'd never run a train tender-first with it so that mean there's less demand for a front coupling? Just my conjecture. Fantastic video as always! :)

Just ordered the DCC/sound fitted version. As soon as it gets to Los Angeles I’ll give it a run and update this reply. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us. Much appreciated. All the best from California 👍

For about 490 pounds I bought a "used" (model was clean, box looked like it may have been opened twice) Broadway Limited Paragon 2 UP-1 4-12-2, which is DCC and sound, is (I believe) a brass hybrid, and if it's not the whole thing is metal, has a smoke unit in it and even has working class lights. It's a better value than the past several things you've reviewed from Hornby but I don't know how good of a value it is considering that I bought a brand new BLI Reading T-1 for an extra 100 USD that also has sound, smoke and all

Again a great and honest review thank you Sam.

I made one of these with a Crownline conversion kit on a Hornby Princess Royal. This is in a different league. I love those lamps!

Well the front lamps are certainly a quality feature, and quite expensive to have fitted by the retailers, a real shame that the rest of it doesn't really match that one specific feature. You certainly convinced me to save my money on this for the foreseeable future!

This completes my collection of every Stanier pacific

Awesome review Sam!

Good review Sam , well done

Sam love your videos and your layout

Maybe the tender is from a Princess Royal Class, or something similar,as the buffers don't match the loco, as the loco has the square buffers while the tender has the circle buffers

Thanks for the review Sam it's a lovely model but too expensive. I saw another review where the front was a bit warped and the front bufferbeam was sloping upwards. I think I see it on this one too. Maybe it's because of the sponge? All the best.

Nice loco, as for the price it's the oldest marketing trick in the book. Start with a high MSRP and then put them on sale, the consumer thinks they are getting a deal yet the manufacturer and retailer still make a big bundle.

I remember the old R066 Hornby Duchess of Sutherland coming out in 1977 - that had working front headlamps to...

Hello Sam, a very informative and useful review of an unusual loco for which thank you. I believe that Hornby Doublo experience a similar problem with the liveries of the loco vs tender due to the fact that the paint performed differently when applied to a diecast metal loco body vs a plastic bodied tender. Sounds like today's Hornby is experiencing the same issue. Thanks again.

I have been wanting one of these for ages

Amazing detail and paintwork

Which Hornby standard 2MT are you reviewing is it one of the first 2 (78047, 78010)which have just arrived or are you waiting for one of the later releases (78000,78054,78006)

You guys need to protest Hornby. For that price in the states we get DCC & sound, all sorts of lights, like headlights, ditch lights, walkway lights, & number board lights. I would never pay that price for just a plain steam engine that’s only DCC ready.

Just awesome! Such a lovely model.

Awesome video today Sam beautiful locomotive I think I might get the br black one

I had no idea she was involved at Harrow and Wealdstone, that was a neat tidbit to learn!

Hi Sam. I can top your most expensive steam loco ever. I’ve recently bought a pre-owned Johnson 1P in crimson lake with no decoder from Hattons. It cost me £271 - an eye-watering sum! It was certainly in mint condition but the model railway world appears to have gone crazy!! Kind regards. Chris

Awesome video Sam's trains

Hi sam I hope you and Chloe are well? I've just received mine like 2 mins ago. Where the exploded diagram I do like to look at them. From what I can see from mine it looks amazing Defo heavy I'll continue watching yours after I have recorded the detail parts of mine Thank you for sharing your models with us Keep safe ARP

Does the trailing truck pivot around curves or stay in one position

A point I'd like to make on behalf of Hornby that to a degree reflects positively on their prices. They innovate and that costs money with english designers on english wages and that money has to be recovered. The lighting is not perfect, but it is an innovation, as is the neat touch switch in the tender (and soon coaches i guess), decent crew, bluetooth controllers, TT, new smoke generator ideas, Skaledale etc. - even Steam Punk. The odd 'miss' still has to be recovered. What is Bachmann innovating within their high prices?

240£!! Thats crazy especially for young or new modelers if i wanted to buy it (which i do but wont 😂) converted to candian dollars its 400! Great video as always -TC5

Decent overall review here Sam, as an owner of one of these models my one being the BR black one I can say it is definitely worth the price being asked, it could be hornbys best locomotive to date and in my opinion it is, the features included on it are incredible the best one in my opinion being the lamps that light up on the front, I’m very happy with mine so in my opinion it is worth what is being asked for it, you may reject the excuse that one offs always command a high price but unfortunately to have these models of one off we have to be willing to pay.

Factory fitted lighting on a steam locomotive is a new standard. I don’t try think it justifies the cost, but just when I thought we had reached “peak model,” we get this.

Something I would really like to see in your reviews would be a DCC test along side your DC test. Have you ever considered adding that?

If you are going to buy one the sound fitted ones are best value,. You basically get the sound upgrade for about £40.00 compared to nearly £70 if you bought it separate. It is the Hornby HM7000 sound but there is no chuff rate to worry about with this model so it sounds ok.

hi sam , i am trying to build a model loco from scratch, as from where i belong ...the concept of model railroading simply doesn't exist..so sourcing loco , rolling stock and tracks is very difficult. I bought a bachmann "Rail cheif" set for 380 £ from amazon , but the quality is not worth the price ..so i decided to build my own loco ,including the motorizing unit along with the gears . ill be using a resin 3d printer to print all of the parts, but i am not sure which resin to use , as some resin shink too much . Your last video gave me the inspiration to try it my self . So in the next followup video of the project you are working on , can u please inculde what type of resin u will be usin and the what type of motor u will use to power the loco ...thanks for making such amazing content ❤

Hi Sam, what do you use to shoot the up close shots on the details of the model? I figure you must have some sort of dedicated macro objective for your camera.

I still find it more surprising that lighting on locos is so rare from Hornby. I have a 1981 catalogue from Märklin and almost all the locos have lights. However, I guess that lighting if more complicated in Britain, because the marker lights can de variably lit depending on conditions. Having said that, I just love lit up trains, even if the lighting is not prototypical.

Loved your presentation. If you are a Hornby member last weekend Hornby were providing 30% back as a reward for future purchases

One thing that could have attributed to the dramatic improvement in standards is there being new blood at the top.

when are you getting a stop watch sam ?? like my old works used to do ,, days since last accident .. you can have minutes before something falls off or breaks

There is some cool features, but a couple of DCC questions, does the Hornby Bluetooth chip fit it (you should do this for all Hornby releases), and whats on the soundfile for the speakers? If the loco no longer exists what did they use for the source sound?

Hey Sam, excellent video as always, I was just wondering how come lights are a first on british model locos when here in australia lights have been a premium for a while now

“Quarter of a grand” 😂 that’s one way to emphasize how expensive it is! It does look beautiful though. Shame about the lights

Do you have a video on mixed era layouts? I'm thinking of digging out my old LMS mostly steam models (from my mum's loft where they've been for over 20 years) to start a layout again but my tastes have changed (and prices increased) so want a nice way of enjoying different eras (trains/rolling stock as well a scenery).

If this was £190 I would buy one today. However it's performance is a concern. I bought 2 of the new streamlined Coronations and the 9 coach set. There was so much drag due to the lights that it ran on my flat layout at a scale speed of 30mph. I had waited for these since 1980. I ended up selling the lot.

will you create a shorts clip of turbomotive sound file installed on a 21 pin hornby hm7000 chip ?

Hmm very nice my friend. Love the color. And wow it's to expensive. But I do like it. Keep being awesome my friend. My train should be here in a few days. Trains are the best.

I love old Hornby locomotives, and kipper the breakfast in Texas.

Another lovely video sam well done great camera work as usual I am really looking forward to seeing your next video I hope you get a nice video next time also when is your next video going to be on KZfaq bye for now Philip

I notice that part of the drop shadow on the 6 is missing. I would think that your experience designing and manufacturing the LNWR single will give you a better idea of costs/potential profit.

Fabulous model Sam and a superb review as always. As long as "we" keep buying 'em at these prices, then nothing will change. Easy for me to say, as I'm not a fan of this model's looks. But could I resist a model at this price that I really liked and wanted? Hmmm.... probably not!

Great review Sam. it's a nice model to much money for me though but the fan's of Hornby will buy it :)

Wow, i was so close to buying one of these... Then i seen that torque. I can't believe the manufacturers keep doing that. What's the point of having good weight when it can't pull itself? You should do a motor swap episode on this loco Sam!

my guess is that the reason they changed the coupler on the tender is due to the diecast body being more heavy then the plastic one, which to be fair i like that version as it more sturdy, looks like the tender light has some stuff blocking it maybe paint? not sure

Very interesting, good features for a £180 loco.

I had a hunch you might get straight in there and review this model this week. It is not that pretty but is very unusual so Hornby should be praised for making it. It is VERY expensive and it is a shame that the motor could be better. I guess this one was developed before the P2. Overall, having seen your review, I think it is a better, more interesting model than I had previously thought.

Hey sam whats the most expensive model you've owned besides this one?

Lovely piece.. which carriages were those please Sam? Hornby prices are very high, there are ones on their site for £320!

Hey Sam! Can you give me a idea of a good loco for me? I like hauling smart coaches along my track but need a smart loco to pull them. I would appreciate if you could tell me 😊

How does it compare performance wise to Hornby's new diecast Dublo Duchess of Atholl ?

For me Sam I has to be the lights, I absolutely love that feature. Cheers Jasper & Willow

on my model of this loco the front buffers are to high as they are on my princess elizabeth loco,is this a hornby fault?

Hi Sam, I always envied your LMS Coaches, I do remember you saying they were Hornby am I correct? I've been looking to buy a set for myself as well with no luck so far, do they have a part number or something??? Cheers mate. Michael.

Regarding the price, one has to consider that Hornby had all the extra work of making and installing the steam turbines instead of the much simpler valve gear.....Oh. Wait.....

Sam you have a massive collection

Capacitive touch requires a dielectric (insulator) between you and the sensor (basically a metal pad) to work properly - think how those new hobs/stoves work with the glass plate. So yes, entirely possible for the tender to be plastic AND have capacitive touch sensing for the lamp enable :) As an aside, it's crazy how much can get in the way of capacitive touch regarding this dielectric - certain types of plastics work better than others; too much moisture content (i.e. in wood) can disrupt it; metallic paints will render it useless, etc.

Another excellent review Sam and overall it looks a very nice model. Price: One thing to be aware of is that by far the biggest cost when making models is labour. The diecast boiler AND running plate will increase the cost, but not to such a huge extent that it justifies the price IMO. The lights are a very nice touch, I wouldn't expect those add much to the cost in terms of parts, although if it's not automated and they need fitting by hand that would increase labour costs. It is over priced IMO, though Hornby aren't quite as bad as Bachmann in that regard. However both Accurascale and Dapol are able to make diecast, detailed locos at a considerably lower prices which shows it can be done. Additionally the model shops sometimes sell old stock at considerable discounts which is a good indication on how big a mark up the two big manufacturers make. Because it's a fairly unique loco I suspect these will sell out fairly quickly, especially the LMS maroon version. However personally I'm not willing, nor can I afford to pay that price, so will hope to pick one up secondhand for a more reasonable cost in the future. If not I've already got three standard Princesses in various liveries which only cost me about £110-125 each secondhand and in boxed mint condition. They have firebox flicker, but not the working lamps or diecast body. However I prefer their looks with the valve gear and increased detail. Loco-tender connection: My guess is these were designed just before Hornby changed to the new connection. Hornby use a variety of factories in China and some have been more affected by shut downs for Covid than others depending on the region. I expect those models whose production has been delayed such as the 2MT will all have the old connection.

For the price, Hornby couldn't quite stick the landing? The differences in paint color are EASY to explain. I noticed the issue before you got to the tender. QC would have caught the color mismatch easily but at the corporate and manufacturing level, they did not care. It saved Hornby $1~2, that is what it comes down to. What happened? Go to 16m30s for a visual reference. 1. They are using the same color paint for the rich burgundy. Nothing wrong with that paint. 2. The difference is the metal and plastic parts. Look at the running board and cab, plastic. Just like the tender. And DO NOT match the shade used on the diecast body. 3. The problem IS NOT the materials (plastic vs metal). They did NOT primer the plastic to save money. They primed the diecast black and said "close enough" to the black plastic. Those two surfaces are NOT the same. Had they applied primer onto the plastic and then painted the burgundy and yellow trim on top, it would have solved this problem. This is basic painting knowledge. They didn't want to spend the money on labor and primer to properly paint the model. There is a lack of burgundy paint above the springs... but that's minor. The lighting for the front top light and tender should have been better. A little more effort in design would have fixed this. I build Bandai models that use clear parts to make light channels to light up their kits. Other notes: Add a bit of black wash to add more details to the copper-colored parts, including those in the cab. (Wash, then wipe off with Q-tips) Add black wash to the coal, don't bother wiping off. It will make add detail and look more coal-like, and dullish. It won't look like plastic anymore. Easily, Hornby should have had a better motor. They almost made a very good product. PS: thanks for making another great video.

im thinking of starting a model train collection and i am not looking to buy cheap trains i want to buy expensive. what website/store should i shop on for expensive model trains?

Hi Sam. At the price this loco must be aimed at the glass case collector market! As a layout item, the slowing down on curves is a detracting feature! I don't think I shall be ordering one, but this unusual loco in an attractive LMS livery makes a great Sam's Trains loco review! Thanks for uploading.

Sam - my friend had his Turbomotive replaced as it appears the motor failed. The loco suddenly stopped when travelling in the forward direction causing some of the coaches to derail. Then, it would only run in reverse but after a few minutes the loco slowed and stopped completely. I am wondering as the standard motor appears to have been fitted coupled with the excess weight of the diecast loco body, we may see this issue highlighted with more customers models over the next few months?

Do you think the tender from an older model ?.

Thanks Sam. Is it me or do those flangeless pony wheels look too small? Love the finish on the body but a shame the paint doesn't match throughout. Great too see some weight, but a mechanism to match would be nice. Hornby remains too expensive and I'm glad my needs are met from other manufacturers at better value. I have just bought a Bachmann 4575 from Olivia's Trains for £147 delivered. This is the same price as the new 44xx from Rapido, of which I have two on order. I'm looking forward to the comparison and wonder how they will compare to the Hornby large Prairie. Cheers.

I love it sam but unfortunately hornby had the opportunity to build a bench mark loco and cut corners in the process, still want one but hopefully the rrp will drop back will consider one then ,great review as always 👍

The RRP price reflects the fact decent retailers offer ‘apparent’ discount as standard. The discount price is the real price, and Hornby can charge a premium on their own website ensuring you get one, rather than chance a retailer running out of allocation. Rails and Hattons, to name two, retailers offer ~20% off RRP as standard, which isn’t cheap but reflects the going market price - almost price fixing, as from time to time unsold stock gets moved on at greater discount, and perhaps at cost pricing just to avoid losing money. Even so, RRP does seem steep, unless the alternative is a handbuilt one-off.

Hi Sam! Long time no comments from me! 😅 That is a nice looking loco, though I do agree that they could have done a better job with the colour matching…. In the fiction of your model railway, you could always just say that the last time she went for her general overhaul they had to use two different paint batches! 😂 On the other hand, at £250 (or more!) Hornby really does need to fit a better motor…. Especially if Turbomotive was supposed to be a mixed-traffic or express loco! I’m definitely not likely to buy one, even 2nd-hand…. Though that is mainly because it’s NOT Japanese N-scale!

I think the fact they have working lights is a pretty cool feature for such a odd looking locomotive

Could someone enlighten me please? Looking at photos of the prototype, the driving wheels have no balance weights, due to the turbine's smoothness eliminating 'hammer blow', yet the Hornby model has the weights. If they're using another chassis for £240 then that really isn't good enough, but am I correct in my observations?

Great looking model of a distinctive, if short lived, prototype. The LMS red ones seem to be flying off the shelves.

Superb looking locomotive, this. Not sure about the price but it looks like one of Hornby’s best

Looks as if the tender light is white when the front lights are white - surely wrong? My dad said he rode on the prototype (he used to spot trains at Lime Street station). I kind of like it but not for over £200.