The LNER Encyclopedia

Hullo all, I'm looking to add a J70 or Y6 to my current layout (not the main line station one, of course), because I rather like the look of them. The thing is, I'm a bit divided on how best to go about it. The cheapest and easiest options seem to be:

a) Modify a Bachmann 'Toby' (it is an irrevocable law of the universe that any discussion of GER trams will sooner or later come around to Toby)
b) Buy the Silver Fox J70 kit, shown at http://www.silverfoxmodels.co.uk/st/y6.htm

In terms of overall cost, there shouldn't be much difference - the Silver Fox kit requires a chassis, but I happen to have a Hornby 0-4-0 chassis lying around. I'm leaning towards the Silver Fox kit, but would I need to modify the Hornby chassis to fit the kit? I'm a relative newcomer to kitbuilding, so would prefer to do as little hacking as possible. I note that the Silver Fox website describes the model as a J70/Y6 - does this mean there are scale compromises?

Anyway, sorry to bombard people with questions, but any opinions would be much appreciated.

Hi Honest Tom,

"a) Modify a Bachmann 'Toby' (it is an irrevocable law of the universe that any discussion of GER trams will sooner or later come around to Toby)
b) Buy the Silver Fox J70 kit,..."

They are a nice engine to model. I have purchased a Bachmann Toby and have taken the face off and put LNER across the skirt. I will take off the 7 on the side and repaint or replace the lamps on the front and back. They run okay for what they are and can pull 4 Hornby Clerestory coaches which are heavier with weight and scratch built interior. It actually runs better than the Hornby chassis. And is a good price, about 32 pounds/$65 australian.

The silver fox J70 kit is a more prototypical model. There is a bit of work to do on the kit as it is resin and can break. If you go for this, I would forget the Hornby chassis and go for a Black Beetle motor drive unit available from Branchlines in UK. It may cost you more, but would be a lot easier to fit. I read this in a Model Rail Magazine, I think it was in 2004.

Generally the J70 and the Y6 were very much the same size. The Y6 wheelbase was 6' 6" and the J70 was 6' 8".

Hope this helps

Mark

Hi Honest Tom

If you can get a copy of the April 2007 Railway Modeller, there is an article on page 264 about making the 'Thomas' Toby look more like a J70.

Regards

Richard

Depends how accurate you want the model to be. I can't remember whether the bachmann Toby is to scale... the Hornby one certainly isn't.

Hi Tom

The Silver Fox tram engine was reviewed and built by Chris Leigh in Model Rail No 81 July 2005 page 61.
Bought one with a black beetle,never completed it but found it had twisted with the heat in the attic.Do not forget it is a resin body.
On the RM site in the For Sale section on the 2nd page under the headline ''Rare Steam Engines For Sale - Prices Reduced'',there is a J70,a K's/Nu-cast on offer at the minute.
Manufactures of the Y6 (0-4-0) / J70 (0-6-0) over the years in 4mm have been : K's now Nu-Cast
D & S Models,both white metal kits.
Connoisseur Models
Crownline Conversion,both etched brass kits.
The Nu-Cast model you may get from Autocom,the people who supply/make the Nu-Cast models.
Connoiseur Models,Crownline Conversions and D&S models are no longer in production but you may pick the up seond hand or on e-bay.
The Crownline is not the easiest to build.
I have built and remotored the K's tram and have fitted a Loksound decoder.
I have also built the K's Y3 Sentinel and have fitted a Loksound decoder.I am not worried about the correct sound at this time.
I have started to build the D & S version as well.

I have hornby and Bachmann tram engines as well.The Bachmann is the better of the 2 models.Kids love the moving eyes.Have to entertain and grow the hobby at a young age.

The Y 6 was a inside valves/piston engine 0-4-0, while the J 70 was a outside valve/piston engine and the casing had a large access/inspection plate to oil/service the valve gear.The Y6 had 2 steps to get into the cab and the J70 had 3 steps to get into the cab.
I hope this maybe of some help to you.

I have a soft spot for the Y6/J70 tram engine.

Joe Keegan.