Hornby R3150 Class 60 Diesel Locomotive 60007 DB Schenker "Rail Safety" Livery (OO Gauge) Review HD
8This is a review of the latest Hornby Class 60 model and is a brand new 2013 release that has been upgraded by Hornby as the model has improved lighting connections from the PCB and the chassis has been overhauled to make installing sound much easier. This model is of 60007 in the DB Schenker red livery that Hornby announced in 2012. This locomotive is named as "The Spirit of Tom Kendell" with the "Switch On To Safety" branding to promote rail safety and this sporty red livery does suit the Class 60 nicely as per the real locomotive that wears this livery. 60007 is a Welsh Class 60 I believe and I have added a Welsh theme to the test run as I have used my Wrexham & Shropshire train in the background on my layout during the test run and this Hornby Class 60 model is almost silent when running as most of the noise comes more from the "swoosh" caused by the wagons. So lets cover the upgrades of this model in more depth. The first improvement that Hornby has done is that they have added wires to the cab units and these now plug right into the PCB via the connectors rather than the unreliable brass strip contacts which were temperamental at the best of times. Also the bodyshell is sound compliant as there is drilled out holes under the exhaust pod which allows the sound from a speaker to escape out of the chamber. The chassis is also improved with a smaller PCB and a recess for a DCC sound speaker similar to that what is used on the Hornby sound fitted Class 60's. So I am happy to see these upgrades on the model and Hornby do seem to be listening to our requirements and ideas for upgrading their premium models. So a big thanks to Hornby and Simon Kohler for doing this upgrade and Hornby do seem to be heading in the right direction as well. I have done some extra tweaks to my example of this beautiful model as I have painted the buffers into grey using the Revell USAF grey paint using the matt 76 paint as I use photos of the real locomotive to enhance my model.
Overall Rating: 10/10.