4498 ‘Sir Nigel Gresley’, with the great man himself in the foreground.
This loco was officially named in November 1937 and was the 100th. LNER Pacific built. It survives today in preservation.
Every schoolboy born before the ‘60s would have known that sister loco 4468 Mallard took the world speed record for a steam locomotive to 126mph in July 1938, a record that remains unbroken.
This is the final article on early express locomotives in ‘OO’ and considers the model history of one of the most iconic locomotives ever designed, Gresley’s LNER A4 Pacific. It’s easy to see why the ‘Streaks’ are still so popular, and not just amongst modellers: their history [that speed record], the artistic beauty of their streamlining [influenced in part by Bugatti’s French railcars], of 35 built there are 6 in preservation, and, well, maybe more than any other locomotive, they reflect an age of luxury and art deco elegance that is now long gone.
But pinning down the history of A4s in OO is almost as complicated and varied as the histories of some of the companies that produced them. Over the years, a bewildering variety of names and liveries have been produced and even three different methods of propulsion: clockwork, electric and live steam. Consequently, providing an accurate, concise summary has proven far more difficult than the earlier articles on GWR Kings and the SR Bulleid Pacifics. So, I have limited myself to trying to capture the essential details of the main earlier releases from the popular manufacturers and, as before, have not attempted a definitive guide. In the main, the article will run from the late 1930s to the very early 2000s.
The story starts in 1938 with, not surprisingly, Hornby Dublo. The heavy, die-cast A4 was their first express loco release in OO and it appeared in two guises: 4498 ‘Sir Nigel Gresley’ in 3-rail electric and 4498 ‘Sir Nigel Gresley’ in clockwork [below].
Both of these models were fitted with valences over the wheels, reflecting the appearance of the loco at the time. The valences were removed from the prototypes during the War to ease maintenance and they were never reinstated. Incidentally, the valences themselves were designed in an aerofoil shape by one Oliver Bulleid when he was Gresley’s assistant at the LNER: a small world….
Today, a clockwork A4 in fair condition could easily hammer between £7-800 and the early electric model between £4-600.
Whilst the clockwork A4 was intended to pull one articulated tinplate coach pair for 50ft. on one full winding, the electric loco did not have to tolerate such inconvenience. Both required deep pockets however and were toys bought by wealthy parents. Production of these early A4s ceased in 1941 when all non-essential manufacturing was given over to the War effort. Because of stringent, immediate post-War austerity, Hornby Dublo did not release another die-cast A4 until early 1948 when No 7 ‘Sir Nigel Gresley’ again made an appearance, but in electric form only and now without valences. The photo below shows the new post-War model. In those days, tenders were sold separately.
And then, slowly through the 1950s and up to 1965, various other die-cast A4s were released by Hornby Dublo, all in BR Green and with names including ‘Silver King’, ‘Mallard’ and ‘Golden Fleece’. It’s perhaps odd, though, that the one which established the still-unbroken world record for a steam locomotive, ‘Mallard’, took so long to be released as it is surely the most famous A4 of all.
Opposite is ‘Silver King’, one of the die-cast 3-rail Hornby Dublo A4s from the 1950s.
In 1965 however, the amalgamation of Hornby Dublo with the Lines’ Group’s Triang Railways was announced and this much-loved British marque was consigned to history. During the following year, a lot of the original Hornby Dublo tooling was sold on to G&R Wrenn, another then-Lines’ Group company. This ended the run of Hornby Dublo A4s once and for all, although the models continued to be manufactured by Wrenn for some years to come under their banner [with metal locos and plastic tenders]. Oddly enough though, the Hornby Dublo name was to be resurrected nearly 60 years later by a descendant company.
In the meantime, Trix [a company whose origins can be traced back to famous German toy makers, Bing, and whose company history is complicated in terms of multiple owners], moved from 3 to 2-rail and in the late 1960s produced a successful and very well received OO A3 ‘Flying Scotsman’. Marketed under the Trix Trains and, later, Lilliput Model Railways banners, the A3 was assembled in Wrexham from mouldings made by Lilliput in Austria.
In 1970, capitalising on this success and using the A3 chassis, Trix produced its own A4, commencing with fully-valenced ‘Mallard’ and ‘Silver Link’ models. These were followed by an un-valenced BR Green ‘Merlin’ with other names and liveries released later. The Trix ‘Mallard’ is shown above although the lettering and numbering may be felt a little crude by modern standards. All were moulded in plastic and their production ceased in the very early 1980s. As with the Hornby Dublo A4s however, this was not the end of the Trix A4 story either, as the tooling for the bodies ended up, circuitously, with Kader, the Chinese company which owned Bachmann. More on that later…
The Trix ‘Silver Link’ is shown above. The livery was not unattractive, although it was released with unpainted wheels which rather spoiled the appearance. The wire running from the loco to the tender provides power for the electronic uncoupler and motor in the tender.
Also producing A4 models at much the same time as Trix was G&R Wrenn of Basildon, Essex. Wrenn was also a Lines’ Group company at that time, and purchased the A4 tooling from Triang following their Hornby Dublo take over. Using the original Hornby Dublo tooling, Wrenn produced a number of variations of A4 names and liveries between 1969 and 1992, with some releases being very limited in number and today extremely expensive. ‘Mallard’ and ‘Sir Nigel Gresley’ appear quite frequently however and, as long as they are not special releases, are quite affordable if one is patient.
The Wrenn A4s had diecast bodies and plastic tenders but, in every other respect, look similar to their H-D forebears.
Opposite, from an internet auction site, is ‘Sparrow Hawk’ in LNER Wartime Black.
With Wrenn’s demise in the late 1990s, the long history of the Hornby Dublo A4 drew to a close. Wrenn has a very strong and enthusiastic collectors’ scene today and some are prepared to pay very high prices indeed for the scarcer models made. Below is a beautiful ‘Great Snipe’ in Apple Green, one of the less-common releases [photo from an internet auction site] which, in this condition, might hammer at £3-400, but it is by no means the most expensive Wrenn locomotive.
Turning the clock back slightly now, in 1979 Triang-Hornby introduced their all-new A4 in the shape of, perhaps inevitably, ‘Mallard’, in BR Green. This was followed over the following nine years by a host of different named and liveried A4s including ‘Silver Fox’ and ‘Silver Link’ in their attractive grey and silver grey liveries. Some models were valenced, other not, some had corridor tenders and others not and some had double chimneys. All were tender driven however, with traction tyres.
One of those new Triang-Hornby A4s, ‘Seagull’, in LNER Garter Blue, is shown below. The photo is taken from the 1981 Hornby Railways catalogue.
Hornby continued producing this A4 for a number of years with occasional small detail upgrades. In 1998 however, a move to Chinese tooling [away from Margate] saw the first ‘super-detail’ LNER A4 released, a model which had finer chassis although it still remained a tender-driven loco. And again, a variety of names, liveries and detail differences followed. Below is ‘Golden Plover’, one of the new Chinese productions. The visible detail changes include a textured fall-plate, much finer valve gear and motion, darkened handrails and a better-applied livery. The cab glazing and detailing is far neater, too.
The considerable variety and longevity of all of these Hornby A4s demonstrates their popularity to modellers and collectors alike and the story is not yet over. An extraordinary A4 development in 2003 surprised the modelling world when Hornby released the first OO live steam locomotive to be commercially produced in any number [in this case ‘Mallard’]. Five different names and three liveries were released with the model having a boiler in the tender which supplied steam to cylinders and pistons in the loco body. The steam produced also operated the whistle! The body was produced in a special heat-resistant plastic.
Above, the inner workings of the live-steam ‘Mallard’, showing the complexity of the model [a Hornby photograph].
This remarkable model could not run in tandem with other 12 volt stock as it required its own electrically isolated system, allowing it to run at between 15 and 17 volts. The set was extremely expensive but initially sold well. Sales dropped off however after some time and heavily discounted new models became available with second-hand stock being even cheaper. Unfortunately, the models were not that easy to operate and could be quite temperamental in use. Although this was a brave and innovative development, production of the A4 ceased after a year. Whilst the value of these units plummeted, they are now sought after by collectors and, yes, they have become quite expensive! There is no sign of live steam returning to OO currently.
In the same year that Hornby’s live steam ceased production – 2004 – they introduced a new and more super-detailed A4, this time with a 5-pole motor and the drive in the loco [at last].
Shown opposite is the inner cab detail of the LNER Wartime Black release, ‘Sir Charles Newton’. The same level of detail appears on the body and, as the photo below shows, the motion is now very much finer and more to scale than before. Of course, all of this comes at a price and careful handling is necessary to avoid damaging the smaller separately attached details. The models were magnificent however.
Again, a considerable variety of names, liveries and detail changes have followed, including the impressive ‘Silver Collection’ of all 4 silver and silver-grey A4s, the ‘Great Gathering’ collection of the 6 preserved A4s which appeared for a never-to-be–repeated exhibition at the National Railway Museum and a number of special edition packs to mark anniversaries [eg the ‘Mallard’ 70th anniversary and the ‘Silver Link’ 75th. anniversary]. I am certain that Hornby will not be slow to exploit other opportunities to promote this popular model.
As a footnote to the above, Hornby has also produced a number of A4s in its cheaper ‘Railroad’ range, the ‘Thomas’ range featured a modified A4 as ‘Spencer’ and later this year, the newly resurrected and limited-release Hornby Dublo range will be producing a number of die-cast A4s to commemorate the 10th. anniversary of The Great Gathering. During the last decade or so, Hornby A4s have been released as DCC-fitted and also with TTS sound. These are beyond the scope of this article however.
Almost finally, in mid-1990 Bachmann Branchline heralded a return for the venerable Trix / Lilliput A4, the tooling having been acquired by its parent company, Kader, some time before. The model was introduced after well over 100 modifications had been made to the body to improve it and a large range of liveries and names followed. The Bachmann model is seen by some as probably having the most accurate [or least inaccurate?] body for an A4 in terms of capturing the complex shapes and curves of the original locomotive, although it lacks the finer details of the latest Hornby models. It has continued to be released at intervals over many years with little change other than an improved chassis in 2011. Below is the Bachmann ‘Dwight D Eisenhower’ in BR Blue, a relatively limited edition.
Bachmann [USA] also produces a sort-of A4 as ‘Spencer’ in their ‘Thomas’ range.
For completeness, and bringing this brief account to a close, is the much later Dapol ‘Black Label’ edition A4, ‘Golden Eagle’ in LNER Apple Green.
The 2017 ‘Black Label’ range was Dapol’s premium steam product and six A4’s were produced in Silver, Garter Blue and Apple Green. These highly-detailed die-cast models featured, amongst other things, working lamps, DCC sound and control, smoke, steam from the whistle and real coal in the tender. Aethetically superb but this level of detail came at a price and the MRP was iro. £400. Current eBay models do not sell for much less!
And that brings this brief account to a close. Even though modellers today move almost inexorably closer to collecting diesel and electric locomotives in place of steam – and the variety of modern traction is becoming eye-watering in itself – it’s difficult to see Gresley’s A4s fading into obscurity. The number in preservation will keep them in the public eye and, with the model liveries available, they can run with any stock between 1938 and 2023. Prices for the scarcer Wrenn models and those early Hornby Dublo ones will almost certainly stay high, but so many others have been made over the years that there will always be one to suit every pocket and certainly those which appear in the Club’s stocksales do not remain on the table for long. So, if you have not already got one, grab one while you can!