‘Live Steam’ driving experience |
£500 (LNER A4 Mallard Live Steam set)
Hornby plc
Westwood,
Margate, Kent
CT9 4JX
Website: www.hornby.co.uk
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Open the regulator a little bit -watch the cylinder pressure gauge. Quick! Close the regulator – we don’t want a Blue Peter!’ Even despite this advice to the novice driver, the big blue streamlined Pacific, Sir Nigel Gresley, spun its wheels vigorously as it attempted to move the heavy three coach train on the Mid Hants Railway.
In fact, there may have been a few expletives that I have not reported in the above conversation, but I didn’t hear them as I was concentrating hard to avoid any more embarrassment. It isn’t until one drives a full size engine that one realises the extreme skill and experience needed to master them. Driving electrically powered engines in the model scales is really only putting on a show to the viewer and the actual experience of really driving
a model can perhaps only be realised by someone working with radio-control and live steam. That was certainly the case until the launch by Hornby of their model of Mallard, electrically controlled and powered by steam. When I first heard of this I thought that someone was pulling my leg, but then visited the Hornby website to find out that it was indeed true. As one of my friends commented, I have been known to suffer from an ‘A4 compulsive purchase disorder’ and so it did not take any persuasion to get my order placed. Just before Christmas 2003 a large parcel arrived.
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