Hornby R3371 Lner 4468 Mallard A4 Class 4-6-2 Steam Locomotive
Same day despatch for most items. Hornby LNER Mallard A4 Class 4-6-2 Steam Locomotive. Part of our Hornby range of model railway products, train sets, rolling stock and accessories..
Probably the most iconic Pacific Express design of locomotive in Great Britain, the LNER Gresley A4, with its streamlined casing, was a classic symbol of the attitude towards speed and design in the 1930s. The 1930s saw increased competition to the railways from road and air travel and the LNER Board knew that they had to make travel between the major cities faster, more comfortable and more reliable. High speed diesel services were starting to make an impact abroad, in May 1933, the German State Railways diesel-electric Fliegende Hamburger entered service, running for extended periods at 85mph and by 1934, in the USA, Burlington Zephyr had reached I I 2.5mph during a longer 1,015 mile journey. Nigel Gresley, the LNER's Chief Mechanical Officer, travelled on the Fliegende Hamburger and was impressed by its streamlining, although he realised it was only efficient at high speeds.
Gresley was certain that a modified A3 Pacific, with streamlining, could haul greater loads than the German or US locomotives, at the same speed or faster and a series of trials were conducted to confirm the Al's suitability. With the 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, their higher boiler pressure and the 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, improving their free steaming capabilities further. Their streamlined design not only made them capable of high speeds, but created an updraught of smoke, avoiding the obscuring of the driver's vision that was such a major problem on the Class A4 engines. The story goes that during windtunnel 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. In total, 35 A4s were built in four batches, 2509 - 2512, 4462- 4469, 4482 - 4500 and 4900 - 4903, between 1935 and 1938.
They spent their working lives hauling express passenger services from King's Cross to Edinburgh, via York and Newcastle and although the Deities proved worthy successors of the A4s on East Coast Mainline express services in the late 1950s, other diesel classes were unreliable. The A4s were kept in service until the mid-I 960s, the last service under British Rail being the Aberdeen-Glasgow service on September 14, 1966. It was in July 1938 that'Mallard' was recorded travelling at 126mph at Stoke Bank on the East Coast Mainline, snatching the record from the German railway by a mere 1.5 mph - a record that still stands to this very day. Moinimum curve Hornby 2nd radius + / 438mm+ Gauge 00 Length 291mm DCC Type DCC Ready Operator/Livery LNER, Blue Class A4 Designer Nigel Gresley Age Suitability 14+ Wheel Configuration 4-6-2. Not suitable for children under 36 months.
It contains small parts which can present a choking hazard, and some components have functional sharp points and edges. Please refer to the Safety Notes in the main set Instruction leaflet. The introductory Hornby RailRoad range offers a selection of individual locomotives, rolling stock and accessories plus an assortment of train and wagon packs ideally suited for train set rolling stock enhancements or for those who wish to experiment and try their hands at developing their modelling techniques. All RailRoad models are fitted with the standard Hornby hook and bar type couplings and will therefore easily couple to those locomotives and rolling stock in both the standard Hornby and Thomas & FriendsT ranges.
The Hornby RailRoad range is a simple and cost effective way of adding to a train set providing a suitable and most appropriate stepping stone into the varied and fascinating World of model railways. We love to hear from our customers.
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