# Hornby live steam discontinued



## norman (Jan 6, 2008)

Hi there:

Hornby live steam is discontinued. ( HO track, OO scale )

Was this a good product or just too expensive to sell in OO scale?

I was tempted but all the videos showed the loco running at fast speed.

Will Hornby bring back live steam?

Does anyone have experience with the product?

Norman


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## Spule 4 (Jan 2, 2008)

Unknown to me, Hornby had sold the line to a liquidator a while back apparently, thanks for the info Norman.


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Here in yUK - home of BRITISH outline model railways - we paid more £ for it than you paid $ = no-brainer.

For those over here it was a VERY expensive toy - and VERY few could afford to drop the necessary $1000 on a ring-fenced railroad model that could not be run except on its own separate trackage. For you, it was a real novelty, but not necessarily life-threatening if you couldn't get one, after all, its one of those -cute but I can live without it' things. 

tac


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## iceclimber (Aug 8, 2010)

I looked into this at one point during my venture into this hobby. I am glad I passed. While Tac says, it is definitely a novelty. I am sure someone somewhere can enjoy what the Hornby H0 gauge brought to the table, but it was not for me. If I had purchased one, it would have been the flying Scotsman for sure.


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## Charles (Jan 2, 2008)

OOPS...


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## Charles (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Charles on 16 Jun 2011 05:53 AM 
Close out deals for $350 for complete set made a purchase worthwhile and enjoyable!


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## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

Hey Norman,

I got one of the starter kits for my 30th b-day in 2007. At the time, I had a layout on a bar with two loops of track, one at 31" radius, the other at 33" radius. After figuring out that the Atlas switches would not carry the necessary amperage and I needed to wire jumpers between all track sections to ensure proper power distribution, I was able to make this locomotive run. 

Some notes: 
1. My 31" radius curves were too tight for top speed, even with a full 10 car train of Athearn streamliner cars. 
2. The throttle and reverser are combined in one device. A small electric motor spins to open and close the trottle/set direction. After some time, I was able to get the locomotive to run very slowly (maybe 15 smph?) without stalling on the tight curve and slight grade. I have to admit that I absolutely loved running this train for guests while we sipped highland single malt scotch or good old Kentucky bourbon. 
3. Because of the electrical/mechanical system, I feel like the motor wasn't robust enough for the service. Intermittent running of the motor resulted in 'dead' spots, and I had to send the engine in for service in the summer of 2008. 


Overall, I found this to be a very pleasant and fun locomotive to operate. At some point in the future (not near), I plan to rebuild a HO scale layout in my basement, specifically designed to run this locomotive at higher speeds. Probably 60" radius minimums for real 150 smph operations.


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## Britstrains (Feb 24, 2008)

I bought a mallard starter set and a few coaches around the Christmas holiday last year. It ran great for me right out of the box. I love mine and enjoy the ability to run live steam indoors anytime. However,yes it is a novelty and I would rather go outside and run one of my gauge one engines if possible.


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## iceclimber (Aug 8, 2010)

@import url(http://www.mylargescale.com/Provide...ad.ashx?type=style&file=SyntaxHighlighter.css);@import url(/providers/htmleditorproviders/cehtmleditorprovider/dnngeneral.css); Posted By Charles on 16 Jun 2011 05:53 AM 
Posted By Charles on 16 Jun 2011 05:53 AM 
Close out deals for $350 for complete set made a purchase worthwhile and enjoyable!





For that price, I might have had a change of mind.


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## Charles (Jan 2, 2008)

Money isn't everything...


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Posted By Charles on 16 Jun 2011 07:34 AM 
Money isn't everything... 


Funny, usually the people who say that have plenty of it....

My rabbi used to say - 'When you are rich you can pretend to be poor, but when you are poor you can't pretend to be rich.'

tac


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## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

I believe some modellers tried to propell HO steamers with a system using dry ice in a pressure vessel to create enough CO2 pressure to work the tiny cylinders. This was probably the late 1950s or early 1960s. It was not overly successful. Kind of like the Lower Slobbovian "Coldsmobile" in Al Capp's Little Abner cartoon strip. The car was made of ice, and the shivering of its occupants propelled it. 

HO gauge live steam seems to pop up every few decades. The Hornby idea was a nice contribution to the effort to make live steam work in OO or HO scale. 

Yours, 
David Meashey


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

We had a Hornby setup at Cabin Fever 2010. Here's one of Charles' photos:


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## steamtom1 (Jan 2, 2008)

Can hardly see the train. It is, however, a great shot of Harry.


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

A couple of German companies make a H0 models of smaller locomotives that are steam driven, pretty much novelties, and as expenseive as though they were made of gold. 

tac 
POH101TLAS 
www.ovgrs.org


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By steamtom1 on 16 Jun 2011 07:37 PM 
Can hardly see the train. It is, however, a great shot of Harry. 

_I think that was the idea. And having the body off the loco doesn't make it any more recognisable!_


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