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Grand Central Railway purchased six Class 43 power cars and twenty-four Mk3 passenger coaches from Porterbrook Leasing in 2006. Major modifications were required for the Class 43 power cars to make them compatible with the Mk3 coaches. These included changing the train supply from three-phase to 1,000V conventional ETS, fitting jumper connections, changing the central door locking system and more modifications to the couplings and electrical systems. Grand Central launched their new London King’s Cross to Sunderland passenger service on 18 December 2007.

No. 43465 was outshopped from Crewe Works in October 1977 as 43065 in an InterCity Blue and Grey livery. The locomotive entered traffic straight after at Heaton. Not long after, it was repainted into an InterCity Swallow livery. In the late 1980s, 43065 was one of eight power cars fitted with buffers and TDM multiple working equipment to make sure it could work with brand new Class 91 electric locomotives using Mk3 rolling stock. Grand Central acquired 43065 and refurbished the locomotive at Brush Traction in 2010. 

It faced a renumbering change to 43465 and acquired a new Grand Central black and orange striped livery. In 2017, the Grand Central Class 43 locomotives were purchased by East Midlands Trains with the last Grand Central HST service commencing on New Year’s Eve. By 2018, 43465 was painted in an East Midlands Trains blue livery with red and orange stripes. This livery was updated for the ex-Grand Central HSTs by featuring a deeper blue gradient. 43365 is currently in service as a Rail Adventure power car and was part of Rail Adventure’s first dive onto British rails, with the company previously only being based out of Germany.

No. 43484 was outshopped from Crewe Works on 25 February 1978 in a BR InterCity blue and yellow livery and was also part of unit 254015. The locomotive entered service in April of the same year. Not long after, it was repainted into an InterCity Swallow livery. In the late 1980s, 43084 was one of eight power cars fitted with buffers and TDM multiple working equipment to make sure it could work with brand new Class 91 electric locomotives using Mk3 rolling stock. Grand Central acquired 43084 and overhauled the locomotive at Brush Traction in 2010. It faced a renumbering change to 43484 and acquired a new Grand Central black and orange striped livery. 

In 2017, the Grand Central Class 43 locomotives were purchased by East Midlands Trains with the last Grand Central HST service commencing on New Year’s Eve. 43484 was part of a farewell tour for the Grand Central HSTs called The Grand Farewell with the promoters being The Branch Line Society. As for temporary names, the locomotive carried ‘County of Derbyshire’ and then ‘Peter Fox 1942-2011 Platform 5’ nameplates up until the end of The Grand Farewell tour. 

By 2018, 43484 was painted in an East Midlands Trains blue livery with red and orange stripes. This livery was updated for the ex-Grand Central HSTs by featuring a deeper blue gradient. 43484 is currently in service as a Rail Adventure power car and was part of Rail Adventure’s first dive onto British rails, with the company previously only being based out of Germany. 43484 was outshopped from the painters in Rail Adventure grey on 19 April 2021.

The Grand Central HST pack contains a power car with the running number, 43465, and a dummy car with the running number, 43484. Each locomotive sports the distinctive Grand Central black and orange striped livery with the iconic Grand Central logo emblazoned on the bodysides. The power and dummy car both have working lights. Two etched nameplates with the legend, ‘Peter Fox 1942-2011 Platform 5’, are included in an accessory bag for the dummy car. For a full rake, these locomotives are perfect to run with the following Grand Central Mk3 coaches: R40440, R40441, R40442, R40443 and R40444.

Specification

• Item Length - Without Packaging (cm): 24.5
  
• Item Height - Without Packaging (cm): 5
  
• Item Width - Without Packaging (cm): 3.5 
  
• Item Weight - Without Packaging: 0.19
  
• Item Scale: 1:76 Scale 00 Gauge
  
• Finish: Painted
  
• Colour: Black and Orange
  
• Gauge: OO
  
• DCC Status: DCC Ready 8 pin socket
  
• Operator: Grand Central
  
• Designer: Sir Kenneth Grange
  
• Wheel Configuration: Bo-Bo
  
• Livery: Grand Central
  
• Minimum Curve (mm): Radius 2
  
• Motor: 5 Pole Skew wound
  
• Number of Parts: 2
  
• Class: Class 43
  
• Hornby Decoder Compatibility Primary: HM7000-8: Bluetooth® & DCC Decoder (8-pin)

The LNER Gresley A4 is one of the most iconic express locomotives in Great Britain. Its streamlined casing was a classic symbol of the attitude towards speed and design in the 1930s when the railways saw increased competition from road and air travel. The LNER Board knew that they had to make travel between the major cities faster, more comfortable and more reliable.

Nigel Gresley, the LNER's Chief Mechanical Officer, travelled on the Fliegende Hamburger diesel locomotive in Germany and was impressed by its streamlining, although he realized it was only efficient at high speeds. Gresley was certain that a modified A3 Pacific, with streamlining, could haul greater loads than other locomotives at the same speed or faster and a series of trials were conducted to confirm the A3's suitability.

With trials successfully completed, the LNER Board gave Gresley the go-ahead to create the "Silver Jubilee" streamlined trains, the first of the new streamlined A4s. The streamlining of the A4s' steam circuit, higher boiler pressure and extension of the firebox to create a combustion chamber made them more efficient than the A3 as they consumed less coal and water- especially later on when they were also fitted with a Kylchap double chimney. This improved their free steaming capabilities further.

The streamlined design not only improved speeds but it also created an updraught of smoke, obscuring the driver's vision, a major problem on the new Class A4 engines. The story goes that during wind-tunnel testing, after several unsuccessful efforts to get the smoke to lift clear, a thumbprint was inadvertently left on the clay model just behind the chimney. This succeeded in clearing the smoke and was incorporated into the final design.

No. 60016 ‘Silver King’ in its original form as No. 2511 was the third A4 Pacific to be constructed in 1935 and was also designed to haul the new streamlined ‘Silver Jubilee’ coaches. No. 2509 ‘Silver Link’ was named to mark the Silver Jubilee of King George V. Four A4 Pacifics were named with a silver theme in mind. The locomotive entered service in November 1935 in the unique LNER Silver livery designed for the service. The locomotive went on to work under BR as 60016 in a BR green livery before being scrapped in 1965, making it one of the longest-serving A4 locomotives.

Hornby Dublo A4 models feature a die-cast body, just like their original Hornby Dublo counterparts. This is coupled with enchanted decoration which, when paired with the die-cast boiler, provides a realistic finish to the body. The models contain a 5-pole motor with a flywheel and are DCC-ready with an 8-pin socket. The ‘Silver King’ locomotive and tender features a vibrant BR green livery. They also come with crew figures. The accessory bag contains an instruction leaflet, two cylinder draincocks, a wheel/axle assembly, a left-hand driver figure and a fireman figure.

Specifications

• Item Length - Without Packaging (cm): 29.1
• Item Height - Without Packaging (cm): 5
• Item Width - Without Packaging (cm): 3.5
• Item Weight - Without Packaging: 0.6
• Item Scale: 1:76 Scale 00 Gauge
• Finish: Painted
• Colour: Green
• Gauge: OO
• DCC Status: DCC Ready 8 pin socket
• Operator: BR
• Designer: Sir Nigel Gresley
• Wheel Configuration: 4-6-2
• Livery: BR Green
• Minimum Curve (mm): Radius 2
• Motor: 5 Pole Skew wound
• Number of Parts: 1
• Class: A4 Class
• Buffer Type: Metal Sprung Buffers
• Coupling Type: NEM Couplings
• Hornby Decoder Compatibility Primary: HM7000-8TXS: Bluetooth® & DCC Sound Decoder (8-pin)

SDS Models HO T371 Freight Australia T4 Series T Class Locomotive