all honesty, i'm fine with the detail, long as it runs properly, it's ok in my book.

Definitely a blast from the past -- I had one in the early 1960s, and at the time it was the most stunningly gorgeous loco you could get in the shops. We were more tolerant of fudges and approximations then. Your 'Achilles' looks just as good in the Churchward livery with its black frames and painted dome as 'Lord of the Isles' does in the full glory of Dean livery, though. The 'toolbox' at 9.16 is actually a sandbox. Many British locos had their sandboxes integrated with the splasher shapes, but for some reason the Great Western generally preferred the separate 'trinket-box' style.

60 years old and still works better then the “COUGH COUGH” tango

I really love the Victorian single engines. They're so pretty, so I hope they revise this model.

04:30 That was a good "Single" pun here Sam......😂

Great to see what's under the bonnet Sam. Thanks for your reviews. You provide a great service keeping the manufacturers on their toes.

I really dont like how the front wheels seem to float. But it looks nice, anything from the 1800s is what I'm after, the older the better!

An absolutely fantastic loco. Great video. I really enjoy hearing your knowledge and the history on the class.

I think the front o/s wheel of the tender was locking up in time with the jerking. Sterling Sam .

Found one of these very cheap as a non runner, the Duke of Edinburgh. Turns out it was dcc equipped and a runner! I certainly got my money's worth. I am considering upgrading the handrail, it is such an eyesore.

This is an amazing review Sam! :D

I have one and love it. I have done some detailing work and added some hand rails. It's a real improvement.

My Hornby Emily (which is based on this very model) has the same painted detail inside her cab, which as I've said before; makes her special in the sense that she was the only character Hornby ever released into their T&F range to have paint inside the cab. Her tender suffers from the same drawbacks as this new Railroad release does; lack of pickups and plastic wheels on the tender. My Emily's tender often derails when reversing over point work due to the lack of weight, so I plan on installing a 10g weight under the coal load when I start modelling again. Flaws aside, a really nice model that has aged well and still holds up to this day. Cheers, man.

What a fantastic engine! these have been one of my favorate engines!

Bought the Dean Single in a trainpack with "Achilles", two clerestory coaches for about €175,-- never out of the box and 2 clerestory couches. Very pleased with it. Not the best puller, but it can manage it. But yes "Lord of the Isles" was a better looking model with the red underside and brass dome.

Nice to see another review!

I love great western steam locos. This one is a classic loco. Great video Sam:)

“Triang ones could do about 8000 miles an hour” I dunno, seems about right...

Great video Sam. Well done.

Sorry, my WiFi has been down for a few days so I wasn’t able to watch the other video I will watch it now :) - loved the video Ollie

Great Video Sam And I've Always Wanted To Be A Flag Collector Ever Since I Watched Paranormal Camrine's Flag Collection Videos That Kind Of Inspired Me To Collect Flags Too And That Engine is Very Awesome Sam

Oh, I spotted the Caledonian Class, one of MY favorite single wheelers... Another favorite of mine is, of course, Emily, from Thomas, heheh, yeah... Great review, love the content, keep up the good work, take care, Cheers from America -Jayse

I think you should get/make/beg/steal/borrow a camera wagon for running sessions. Getting a first person view of the trains would be very interesting!

Another Good video! I like how some railways have their own types of singles, is like an animal having multiple subspecies.

Looks absolutely stunning for railroad items! And also are you going to get the new 2020 intercity? I heard that it has tilt mechanisms so it sounds amazing Great review as always, -Dj

Great video Sam I think one of these is a perfect donor for making a midland Johnson spinner but it would need to be modified quite a bit

I've always love the Big wheelers and looks of the English locos, but as a Texan I love our old dramatic looking locos more so the transcontinental ones they used. Absolutely beautiful.

Sam great and fair review as usual. My kind of loco this one, a fair product at a fair price. With some locos in excess of £200 I think the railroad range makes a lot of sense to a lot of people. Take care mate, Terry.

love all of your videos. hope you get to 70k verry soon ♥️

I love this new model

Early :) Very amazing video, train looks amazing and has very good detail! Really want to get one,

Hi Sam, love the new Single Wheeler ! Like yourself I have an old Caledonian one but for some reason the rear axle doesn't sit down on the track which really restricts the power intake down to just the main wheel. Have you any advice ?

Very nice model Sam. The 'Singles' were such elegant machines. Thank you, from a 'kid' of the 50's!!

Glad you got to do a good GWR review after the last one! :D I saw one of the R2828 non-railroad new ones the other day, wonder how it compares to that...

Hello Sam!!! I honestly love these Dean Singles, perhaps even more than the Stirling Singles. But in the Discord servers I am in, they aren't liked much. Nevertheless, amazing video, I love it, and can't wait for the next video

Saw the thumbnail, click click click! 😂 That’s absolutely gorgeous! Would love one! Really good buy there! Your mate - Sam :D

I remember buying a dean single way back in the day. It's amazing horby are still selling a slightly changed version all these years later. I echo everything you said about the original. I still loved mine. Wish I still had it. Nice review.

Hey Sam Just a few little points for interest 👍🏻 The locos were changed from 2-2-2s to 4-2-2s after the class were found to be rough riding in their original state (and I believe one derailed from it) The boxes before the splashers are sandboxes GWR standard livery practice is handrails to match the colour of the underlying paint (black on smokebox, green for boiler) The crest under the name is called a Great Western garter crest The cab windows on the prototype were glazed, with brass frames, and hinged across the middle And the motor on the original triang ones was called the XT60 and it was also used in the TT scale merchant navy and Britannia classes And with triang motors, they have felt pads at each end of the motor shaft, if you put the tiniest dab of oil on each, they run far quieter 😊 Hope that’s of some use 😅

We need more railroad engines like this; simple, robust bodies with updated mechanisms. The lack of exterior details make it ideal for young people to handle, the often more interesting designs (like the single wheeler here) to capture their imaginations and the ability to be controlled easier than the old models so they remain interested. Saying that I would prefer the livery from the triang ones but applied with today's improved methods. Also, there is something very nostalgic about the sound of the original models and the warm oily smells after running an X04 (or equivalent) type motor for just a few minutes, something I look forward to when they are brought out "to play." My only issue is that it could maybe be a little cheaper, but other than that it's a big thumbs up for Hornby.

Plastic wheels! That's unforgivable!

My Dean goods had a dull some on it so I painted it in some brass-like paint. It wasn't bad to be honest. Thanks for the great review

I have a handful of the recent Railroad range trains (class 73, D49, Class 42 Warship) and they are all superb runners and each came in at under £60 brand new. Really happy with the range and the traction tyres don't bother me to much if they're easy to replace.

It looked like the tender's wheel nearest the cab binds up at slow speed and gets dragged along. The first time I noticed it was around 15:30 and couldn't stop seeing it after that.

A wonderful loco at a reasonable price Sam...Sufficient detail for most people, , so thanks again for your unbiased review...Bob

Hey Sam. Loving the vids, you seriously lower my BP after a stressful day. Where did you get your full height foot bridge please?

Wow I like the look of this I might get one when I have finished my boards it would look nice with some blood and custard coaches

Hi Sam. I've just re-viewed your video from 2020 and I'm positive that Hornby released a set comprising a further single wheeler plus two clerestory coaches of the upgraded design. I also have a 'Lord of the Isle' set with three of the older design clerestory coaches, giving you at least a little variety in your coaching stock. There are plenty of clerestory coaches out there and the later issues are more attractive obviously.

Definitely a really good looking loco! I like it!

Wow! As an American I have never heard of this locomotive. Amazing!

I would double check the wheels on the tender mate. When it was crawling the lead wheelset seemed to be sticking which isn't going to help with the overloading aspect! I love the singles, I have a few myself, including the Caledonian Blue that I got for an absolute song as a non-runner because one of the leads had come unsoldered. Beautiful engines, if a tad on the noisy side! Cheers, Dom

Lovely! A bargain really and the only issue for me is the way the front of the engine seems to float above the bogie. But I think I will get one. I think the Triang Caledonian Single No. 123 had the same basic chassis.

In 1965 I bought a set (track not included) of the Dean single Lord of the Isles, the box contained a signal box, plus 3 clerestory cosches for £7.00 from my local Co Op toy department!

Your reviews are honest reviews, you're not afraid to call a spade a spade so to speak. We've all seen the "fake paid for" reviews!

Not my favourite loco but it still looks good! Another amazing video!

8:37 Wow, that’s nice attention to detail right there! We don’t get many Railroad locomotives with painted cabs. Usually, they’re just black with some little bits of detail inside. The cab looks fantastic! :D

I can tell you were awaiting this one, I just saw a "now in stock" post from hattons on Instagram minutes before this review 😉

Well eight months have passed by since you reviewed this. I bought one in the summer, and mine crawls better than the one you have there. However, these cannot cope with a some points and baseboard joins, even with a gap of only a few mms. I have had it chipped with sound and this now glides to a graceful halt over about 10 seconds

hello could you tell me what is the front boggy attached to and the wheel arches are not in line i love the painted cab thank you

I don't know if I'll get one but I might because I'm in to GWR and it's quite nice in general

14:40 This Hornby Railroad Dean Single locomotive is filled with attention detail from Hornby. First we get a painted cab, then a removable coal shell, and now we have a proper set of bearings. For £89, that is nice attention to detail that was put on there since we don’t get Railroad locomotives with proper sets of bearings in them. I can’t think of any other Railroad locomotive that has bearings in the wheel set.

I'm here early! I do have to say it is a nice model, but it does have a lot to be desired. Maybe, just maybe hornby might recreate this model with a more....up-to-date basis. Regardless, very nice review, and I really enjoyed watching another of your videos! Kudos to you Sam! 👍

With the motor, i've done testing on my own layout with 4 wheel trucks. An oxford rail dean goods can only pull 16 cars wheras a J83 (type 7 motor) has the grip to handle 20 (both 0-6-0s). Hornby railroad is good as you get a working loco, not just a loco your afraid to damage.

Nice review mate

A good way to get the Dean Single is buy the “Flying Dutchman” train pack. The loco has the red framed livery and more detail, it’s DCC ready, and comes with three GWR Clerestories (the bigger detailed coaches). I got the set for £120 NOS at a train fair. Another good train pack is “The last single wheeler” with the Caledonian Single (DCC ready) and 3 Caledonian coaches. I got this set NOS from S&J for £90. I dread to think what these would cost from Hornby nowadays! 😵‍💫

It's a beautiful loco Sam. I wouldn't fault it for lack of detail character replaces that on this one. Mine is on way from rails. Great review. Bye for now basil.

I have a 67 year old triang princess Elizabeth and it runs perfect!

I love your vids Sam's trians

Very nice video!

A very nice looking loco, also at 20:51 I have LMS liveried versions of those coaches :)

nice that looks good for its age and i like that it is in the railroad range

What would you recommend as a birthday present for a train as I don’t know as I have got to many to choose I don’t suppose you can recommend one what is a reasonable price thanks

Lord of the Isles for sure... Sam, that's the most fascinating Steam Loco I've ever seen!! 😳😎 SINGLE Axle Drive? Really?? Blimey!! I'd have one just for the conversation and shock value - amongst my American Railroad. 😜 I truly wish that I could afford one of those. Despite the idiosyncrasies and minor letdowns, I'm chuffed! 😁 Right, so how hard would it be to find and fit Metal Wheels to the Tender? Tender pickups aren't difficult (for me), and 2 wires to the Loco are straightforward enough.... With permanent wiring, there's no need for ugly, cumbersome Plugs. 😉 I am indeed fascinated!! BTW, I was born in 1964... 10 days from my 56th Birthday! UGH!! I wasn't insulted by your early remark. 😉 You're likely young enough to be my GRANDSON!! 😳😳😳 Carmine ✈🚂🚙

I remember in your lost locomotives video, you pointed out that there was a replica of this locomotive being built but yet it didn’t ran at all. It was just on static display but I’m not sure what happened to it today. I wonder if the replica is still there or not? Or is it the locomotive by itself since you did mention that the tender was scrapped I think.

How cool would it be to have OO scale broad gauge models? The track they have to make would be interesting too when it comes to combination track

Hi sam, great video! Are you going to be getting the new Stephensons rocket? I have one pre ordered! Looking forward to it! Thanks for the review! Rhys.

The original single had the XT60 motor which I believe was developed for Tri-ang's TT range. It was also used in some versions of the 00 turntable.

Thanks for this one, Sam... But a comment on the supposed lack of rivet detail - the GWR tended to use countersunk rivetheads at this time so if there as rivet detail where you were looking for it on the frames, then it would have been wrong. I prefer the later livery as applied to 'Achiies' because my layout is set in the Great War and this is the main reason that I have ordered a DCC fitted one (also from Hattons) and would not have bought one if it had needed a repaint. One again thank you for your very balance review.

10:56 The wires look distracting when they’re in the middle of the front truck wheels. At least the good thing about the front truck wheels is that it has pickups. I don’t know if InterCity82’s Caledonian Single wheeler has that feature on there.

I’ll give this Hornby Railroad Dean Single locomotive a “B”. I’ll also give it a thumbs up for the attention to detail that Hornby puts into this thing! 👍

Hornby used this tooling I think for their Emily model, and it was basically the only Thomas engine in their range with painted cab details.

25:47 Intrigues me because I do not remember the E1 being at 5th (Pretty sure it was 2nd) so I'm guessing some new locos have got higher scores?

Very good review Sam! Are Hornby making and intercity 125 'Sir Kenneth Grange' loco since it's preserved?

Always liked the look of these

Hello sam I like your videos there really good you inspired me to make my channel thanks a lot Sam

At first I thought this was a bit of a joke but I thinks it's actually refreshing its not the most detailed thing but it's just nice to look at and run. The only thing wrong is the traction tyres and the plastic wheels which don't seem to turn all of the time but the mechanism looks quite nice and the livery is amazing and it's just a hornby classic

Do you think it would be possible to swap the bodywork of the "The Lord of the Isles" and place it on the chassis of the new "Achilles"? Would it be practically worth it to have a brand new "Lord of the Isles" model that ran as well as the new "Achilles" or would it be, in your, opinion too expensive? You could update the paint job to match the old Triang version.

Just got two days ago the 2009 limited edition "Duke of Edinburgh" of the otherwise same model. Like it. Not a great runner and somewhat basic, but solid and an eye catcher (does one say so?). Thanks for the review. You have a nice accent. Where are you living?

I waited soooo long for it to come out

Good one Sam...nice looking model. Thumbs up from me. Agree with you on the livery though.

If I ever get one of these, I'll try to look for a more intricate livery. Such an elegant engine deserves such a scheme.

@ Sam'sTrains Not sure if this has anything to do with it, but the loco seems to "jolt" when that front right tender wheel stops turning.

Maple Leaf Rag is quite the appropriate song considering that the Dean singles were built around the same time it was written. Another rather interesting detail of that song is that Scott Joplin was recorded playing it once in 1916. It’s the only surviving recording of him playing his own material.

I'm intrigued to see how much of a tight turn you can get out of it as I've got a tight layout on flexi track and only running four wheelers like Smoky Joe. I'm after a bigger loco that can handle Less than a first turn radius. This engine looks like it could do tight turns but the coal wagon may not with the six wheels so may have to take the middle wheels out.

Surprisingly nice considering it is older than me! A bit disappointed with the plastic tender wheels and large D coupler, but other than that, thumbs up!

You mention the Stirling Single in the video (Rapido, I presume). Been trying to find one of these for over a year, no luck so far.

hello sam i think that for a very old model is still made today is incredible and I would 75% get one for myself and for a railroad model its a good model and heaps better the heljan 1361 or the tango and I also think that the old tooling is gone is a shame as well and love the video from david

Lovely Loco Sam. Any chance of reviewing a model Bus? I've just bought a few of the Rapido Birmingham buses, and I'm really looking forward to them. I highly recommend them, they look great and you can buy them from Rails of Sheffield for £39,95 or £49,95 (Deluxe Edition with working lights)

i was wondering, do any of the big companies like bachmann or hornby make a model of the GNR "Stirling" single 4-2-2?

For a very basic model it seemed to run good. Nice train👍

When I first saw this locomotive, I got it mixed up with the IronDuke class which are completely different classes of locomotives. The IronDuke class is way older than this which dates back to the 1840s while the Dean Single dates back to the 1890s. At least I know for sure it’s a Dean Single since it was made by William Dean for the GWR.