Just discovered you. At first I was Ashamed of this hobby. But you’ve given me confidence that I’m not alone and it’s not something to be ashamed of. Thank you☺️

Just because you uploaded this I am using this class of locomotive in a story I am writing. Thank you for the idea.

This is my favourite loco class of all time. A few years ago I had the chance to drive Oliver Cromwell in real life and it was fantastic :D Great video Sam, keep up the good work :)

How to stabilize the Bachmann Edward: add weighted crew members to the inside of the cab.

got my limited edition class 5mt today. i can really recommend it :). You make great videos and actually got me into hornby and oxford rail.

When I first saw the Britannia class you have here, I thought wow I want one, but after watching your review and taking in the points, I think I have saved myself a large wad of money. Thank you for an honest review.

I was waiting for the Britannia! :D keep up the good work!

How strange to have a static pony wheel.For this sort of money you would expect everything to be correct. Where I live this is a mega bucks purchase in store. From what I have learned here, this loco is best kept in store. So often there are wheel mech issues and coupling issues.

The 'Britannias' are my favorite standard type steam locos!

Oh how lovely is this! Really like the shade of green they have used here. Seen this in a few places but have not seen it out of the box. This review was most enjoyable but I will admit I do shudder at the price. Clint

Hi Sam, great video! The Britannia looks really beautiful! I’m thinking of saving up for it and being Australian the ANZAC loco is quite special. Shame about those minor problems though but I think if it was a more reasonable price it wouldn’t matter as much. Thanks again for a great review!

Very nice review! Thanks to you, I'm getting back into the hobby and buying the flying scotsman set and the 1:1 black five.

26:26 Sam'sTrains: Al pu dup er poll. KZfaq: No.

Man I wish I had as many trains as sam

The Britannia was the loco that drew into the hobby in the first place....such a beautiful loco. You are right about the rear pony truck in the fact that it no longer pivots. I thought that would have to have been a fundamental and important part of it. Great review Sam. I agree with all that you said about it.

After seeing this video it makes me feel good about my older tender drive Britannia which performs fine to this day.

Didn’t look like the name plate was etched. At that price no excuse for printed or am I wrong?

your Right Sam too expensive and poor performance. I would expect to pay no more than £115 absolutely tops. great post keep up the good work.

I have an identical locomotive called the "Firth Of Tay", I bought mine second hand for $50 Australian about 2 years ago. It's missing a couple of details that were broken off prior to my ownership but still a great runner and looks beautiful going around my layout. Excellent review Sams Trains 👍

Gotta love the Britannia class. I remember seeing No. 70000, simlpy called "Britannia", at Cardiff Central last year as if it was Yesterday. I've been inside Britannia's cab and it was roasting. The first tender engine I saw was a Baldwin loco at Brecon Mountain Railway. But the first British Steam Locomotive I saw was the Stanier 8F No. 48151, "Gauge O Guild", on a mainline tour past Port Talbot Steelworks.

Thanks Sam. I really could have found a use for a Brit on my East Anglian layout. But I think you may have saved me the best part of £200. Are you sure there isn't an X04 motor under there? Too much fettling needed by the buyer for that price. Poor assembly, poor gearing, poor design, high price. I'll keep my wallet in my pocket.

I gotta say Sam, it's a beautiful Hornby locomotive from my own honest opinion, I won't what you will be reviewing next, it'll be a mystery to all of us who watch your video's. Hope your keeping updated with everything with this Covid-19 and I hope your keeping well yourself with your nice collection of Hornby Locomotives and Diesels. I hope to hear from you very soon. Kind regards, Paul.

Beautiful model love the way it runs so smoothly

Hey Sam. I also had one of the early Britannias. One of my favourites. She was not near as detailed and I only got to run her back and forth on my counter top before she sold. I would re-build/re-place the rear truck mounting so it swivels. Mounting it solidly seems like a zany idea and not something to deviate from the prototype! Good review, cheers.

Such a good looking loco especially with the coaches it wad haulingshame about the performance and the overall quality, kerp doing what your doing sam!

Oh wow another great video Sam👍

Beautiful model! You’d think more than 2 would be preserved but we’re lucky to have two examples which one of them is the first one built!

My first steam loco was Oliver Cromwell in 1973. Still going strong, and what a puller. Great class of locomotive, I also have Anzac, John of Gaunt and Britannia on my fleet, plus Duke of Gloucester. You can't beat a big Pacific with a nice long rake behind. Personally, I would be sending that loco back, looks like a Friday afternoon job.

Hi Sam, I think you were spot on. It must take a while to set up the running sessions but the theme running is brilliant.

The Britannia is such a lovely engine.

Hi Sam! Thanks for reviewing this model as it’s the first modern Hornby locomotive of my modest collection, my ANZAC seems to run well enough however to be frank it lives in its box as I’m terrified of all that delicate detail & will keep my eye out for a more robust 2nd hand version for every day use, having said all that I’m pleased you listed various issues such as couplings ect as I can now compare, thanks again _Dave 👍👍

I've got one of them myself. Not ran mine in a while but I definitely plan to soon

Hi Sam thank you for another great review ,i have just today ordered 70007 . Do you know if the flange wheels supplied for the rear ponies are a successful conversion. Kind regards Chris.

I just got Britannia class Anzac too she arrived 2 weeks ago in BR Green awesome loco and totally worth the money :) / Great review sam's trains and trust me she will be very fun to have on your layout. (The Britannia class is my favourite class)

I have just started on o gauge the other day, started of with 12 yards of track and a hall class

Wow, they have that’s for Train Simulator as well, I’m into the 1st minute of the video and I like it already

When Britannia was at NVR I worked on her many times, and rode on the footplate four times, that was from 1983 through to '86.

Great vid sam what do you use to edit your videos. Keep up the great work.

As always Sam a good and fair review, I do wonder if yours was built on a Friday afternoon as some people in the comments find that thiers are ok, if I worked at Hornby quality control I would send you a new one out to review and take yours back to investigate, they can't get complacent as there is a lot of competition out there. Thank you for making an interesting hobby even more interesting.

@ Sam's Trains I have three of these Brits class and all three run lovely, if you spent a lot of money on that one you have been outdone or you got a bad one all three of mine can crawl nicely. The real truck may not be nice that I agree but it is easier to make. I still like your reveiws. Just one question are you thinking of getting a Hornby W1 Hush Hush? I have ordered one

when i was a lad,i saved up and bought the tender driven version of this,(as i remember costing somewhere in the £30 pounds range) it had pick ups on the tender and locomotive and the slow speed running was excellent, but much of the detailing was moulded onto the engine, and the valve gear was missing the expansion link, which strangely was fitted to the 9f they produced at the same time (also tender driven ). Anyway when i bought it the shop assistant unboxed it, let me look at it and then put it on the stores layout so i could see it running and let me have a go. This was in the 70's and shopping for a new loco was a day out! I,m guessing you buy online? Disadvantages no day out, no test drive....

I love that music in the background

Historically, one of the Britannia Class locomotives, "Britannia" was on display in the "Dome of Discovery" for the 1951 Festival of Britain. I went to see it there. The name ANZAC is derived from the British Commonwealth Nations: Australia, New Zealand, And, Canada I believe. Anyone know anything different please say!

Love the Duke of Gloucester, it was the first loco I ever got :D

Hi Sam,Was very excited at first, then not so excited after the things you sorted out, It's a very nice class but to big for my layout, (fancy a job at Hornby as aMr fix it ) All the Best Brian 🤗

Hi Sam I was just wondering is there a difference between DCC and TTS sound if so what is the difference thanks for your help

Beautiful locomotive sam

Good video. But, in the video I noticed a whit flair spark at the spring valve after you had adjusted it. I wonder what that was?

Hi Sam, I saw a video where you changed wheels from ones with tyres to just metal. I would like to do the same with my Hornby R2099C LMS 644 4-4-0, it’s Tender driven with plastic wheels with tyres. With a gear molded to 3 of the wheels. Even new tyres keep coming off. Any idea what metal wheels I can use to swap them out. Thanks.

great vid sam : )

We have the Triang Britannia (Older brother) it was and I hope still is a great runner. It had tin Plate NamePlates on the Smoke deflectors they poked through 2 little holes in the Smoke Deflectors. Unfortunately, I think it was me that dropped it and it broke one of the deflectors off and caused some other body damage. I saved my pocket money every week and took it to the local Triang dealer and had it re-bodied. The Nameplates then just had a stick-on foil type sticker. When my brother halved the collection he kept her and gave me a Tender Drive Version instead. It does run ok and it does have flanged Pony Truck Wheels. Martin. (Thailand)

Great video Sam. I recently got the hornby r3809 stephenson's rocket and unfortunately it had missing couplings. What do i do to get some?

Lovely looking engine you have there! Hope it is as good mechanically

Just done a Hornby review myself on the class 08. I wonder if this can beat the 9/10 I gave that?

I have a Britannia class but it is unservicble : ( so I just got old track and put it as a preservation loco. Another great video sam !

Does it manage your curves and points with the flanged trailing wheelset fitted? 🤔

A few years ago, I managed to pick up a "Super Detailed" DCC Fitted version of the Britianna class Robin Hood for £115 and it has been extremely good so far. Occasional issues with the coupling. But none of the other issues you reported. Do DCC locos crawl better than DC ones on general?

Great review Sam I got an old hornby one Oliver Cromwell for only £60 last year

so besides the pony truck, what major downsides does this model have? Hornby's U.S site have a 70013 "oliver cromwell" for pre-order and it's good timing that you've uploaded this. and would the west country class by hornby be any good?

I have a hornby oliver cromwell put in tts sound for the brittania class and works really well sounds nice and I have it pulling ten mk1 coaches for the 15 guinea so called Last run for steam

Are you going to review the new 37 from hornby I'm going for Jhon Tiley in network railway yellow

sam, do you prefer streamlined locos like the a4s, or unstreamlined locos like the b12?

Lovely video, this steam loco looks nice, I love Britannia classes, they are good steam engines you know. Take care from Josh

Interesting fact - My Great Grandfather was working at Crewe Works while a Britannia was being made and got crushed by a falling part from it. He survived, but had a pretty long stay in hospital :/

Hi Sam, now that you have had this for a few months now, is the rear pony truck wheel an issue? I notice a lot of new Hornby locomotives have this now. Some even have additional lead trucks, but no mention in the instructions as to their purpose. But maybe I missed it?!

I have a Union Pasific model train (ho scale) and it cant make it up hills. What do you think I should do. It worked just fine but the wheels are worn out a bit. Any type of sand paper I can use or what?

G’Day Sam I bought one of these in July 2020 and was versus excited to get as I updated it to DCC with sound. All went well then it just stopped. I tried everything cleaned the wheels, reprogrammed it on different numbers going back to factory setting 03. Still no movement but I have sound. There is a whirring sound coming from the motor. Could you please shed some light on this. Thanks Damien

Hey Sam, I have a quick question not pertaining to this video. I am currently looking at a Hornby Princess Royal, the gold plated version. What is your opinion on the hornby locomotives with gold plating and how do you suggest to keep the gold plating from flaking off? Thanks!

The Britannia class is the main reason why I love British model rail. I just love this loco and the 9F. I guess the rod work is its appeal.

I have an interesting question - Would you recommend a Hornby 2P? I'm not bothered by the price and I don't focus too much on detail. I've always wanted a 2P, but I'm undecided after seeing your review on it

I've got a Caledonian pug I got from hattons for less than 15 quid... looks good, no glue marks, ran perfectly straight out of the box, couplings were all the same heights as my wagons and I've never questioned its performance... now I know we're talking about a bigger better detailed loco here but if I'm paying more than 10 times that amount, the very least I would expect is that I could get it out of the box and it would run well without needing to modify/ fix it. I think if I'd paid that much for any loco and it came out of the box with any defect it would be getting sent straight back

This loco is beautiful , nice Sam

Hi Sam - back again! I've 2 'recent' retool Britannias - not quite the very latest, but really super-detailed - sliding roof, draincocks, cab ash / wind deflectors, etc ... Britannia herself and Ollie. Both are too-high geared, I'll agree, but Ollie can run smoothly right down to a reasonable crawl - not Royal Scot / Princess / Coronation / Flying Scottie crawl, but reasonable - Brit cannot. Both are super powerful, quiet and super-smooth from perhaps 40 mph upwards, but generally Brit isn't below that - there's a 'stiff point'. Instinct is to check the chassis - quartering seems OK, all rods (there are a lot!!) seem OK - BUT it's slightly MORE THAN ONE REVOLUTION .... thinks!! Must be gear-related. There's an intermediate gear between the motor worm and the driven axle gear. This has a translucent / transparent plastic/nylon space at one end. I shifted it to the opposite side - worse! I've removed it - perhaps a little better but not really noticeable. As a last resort, the worm seems much too long - I've used a band saw to grind down the far end a little - watch this space, but I think it'll still work perfectly, but it won't be resolved. As a model, the look and detailing, plus available hauling performance are superb, but there's something in the chassis - in-between those gears, there could actually be some slack which could account for this as well as binding. I'm thinking just to set it running at '40+' and enjoy it, and see if it's a tight spot which can 'bed in' ... mechanic's excuse (Dad was one many moons ago!!). Al.

Hooray for the Britannia Class!

Got 2 of these,William Wordsworth,and Firth of Tay, on the second engine I had to assemble the tender body, it literally fell apart, no glue appeared to have been applied! Also had problems with the coupling boxes dropping out on the tender.Too many problems with quality control I fear.

Im looking into getting a pannier tank but this looks really nice

I'm saving up for a Heljan Garratt, should be able to order one tomorrow!

Hi Sam. I got this loco a while back and I had exactly the same issues. Clicking and jerky crawling. It's a nice model but they need to sort out the niggles.

Great review sam one of my favourite locos, not paying 200 quid or even close come on hornby get together 😀

Hi Sam, I just got a brand new one, and while she is lovely there are many Hornby lets downs. I need to get inside her to check the motor, have you opened yours, any tips please?

Hi Sam keep the good vids up

Ahhhh just delivered one from AJM! Including the TTS decoder. Has not been run yet. Now I am getting a bit nervous Sam.

Oh man those locomotives are so elegant

Sam will you be doing a railway news on the accurascale mk5 packs :-)

Hi Sam I have a britarnia class but it needs repairing beacuse it has no name badges on ya smoke deflectors and the br logo has gone of the tender but it was like that anyway when I brought it Thx Ben :)

I believe the odd one out is the black one to the left of the turntable (I noticed the number started with 4 and Standards are 7-9). I recognized a Stanier type tender, but I couldn't see the wheels well enough to determine the class (Black 5, 8F, or something else).

Also I had the clicking problem on sir Nigel Gresley but fixed it by tightening the connecting screw

absolutly beautiful locomotive

17:23 Britannia Class be like: HERE’S JAMES! It looks like the Britannia Class might apply their brakes as they stop so suddenly. The passengers wouldn’t like that happening! 😂

70046 'Anzac' is one my favourite members of this class, mainly because of the ANZAC name and its relation to New Zealand.

There's something about this class that gets me to like it and enough to want to get one. I like to believe, even though I don't know much about it, that the Britannia is iconic somehow. Even though it's a bit difficult here in America, I can always hope for a good deal and I'll snag one so that my one diesel, EMD FT, won't be lonely. Thanks for the video, amazing as always! Cheers! - Bhargav

and can you do a comparison video between this one and the old one?

While I noticed that you said seven thousand and forty six instead of seventy thousand and forty six, but that just means I truly pay attention to your videos, so its actually a compliment.

I was able to pick up mine for £105 pre-owned. I really hope it runs well as I have yet to test it.

Hey sam the bachmann thomas has no coupling in the front because it has make room for the snowplow

Another Super detailed Hornby loco I can highly recommend is the rebuilt Battle of Britain 34050 Royal Observer Corps.

20:56 =Aaaah the Duke ! His design was vindicated after correct rebuilding -as specified in the original . Kylchap blast pipe etc ....and so beautiful (handsome ?) my favourite . ( Always think the "white string" coming out of the cab is unfortunate and messy looking on such a gorgeous loco ??) Wales UK.

Looks really good i like british railway standard designs

Sam, good video of the Britannia. The tender doesn't seem to have many, or any, controls for the brakes, water valve or water scoop. Does it? Likewise, does it have a floor? The fall plate seems to be hanging in mid air. As far as I know, on the full sized loco, the trailing wheels are in a radial truck which is not pivoted like a bogie or pony truck, but the axle boxes and horn-blocks have a sideways motion that allows the wheels to move sideways on curves. Regards, Alan'

Cor, lovely locomotive there Sam- BR standard locos like Brits and the Duke Of Gloucester have such a nice appearance! That loco must've been a Southern region example as it has the larger tender